Rehearsal (An Ichika Nakano x Reader story)

Act 2

"Sixteen... Seventeen... Eighteen, Nineteen and... Twenty"
You fall down to the ground together with the weights. It was an early morning, the sun lit up the room in a golden light, you had the gym for yourself. You were looking up to the ceiling, lost in millions of thoughts.

These past weeks were pretty busy, I barely had the time to get my workout done. You pick up your drink and take a long sip from it. Every day was the same, get to shooting, help out Ichika with some studies, finish up the shooting then head to some other photoshoot, talk with the agency, go home and repeat. I swear that Dad is a blessing and a curse at the same time. Oh yes, Meyer [L/N] current CEO and owner of the Union Conglomerate which is a major shareholder in many of the biggest agency networks, studios and music labels alike. The conglomerate was founded by your grandfather originally but it was actually your father whose ideas brought the wealth and fame. Nicknamed "The Baron of Entertainment" his hand reaches far and wide in the business. Naturally being the "heir" to such great kingdom puts great pressure on you. There were many clashes within the family when you started being a model. Your Dad saw some potential in you, so he stood by you against the others.

"You stood out for me back then, why can't you give me just a little freedom if only back then-" Your monologue was stopped in its tracks by the sound of a new message. You check what it says.

"Let's see here, Assistant-chan.... Yes, shooting begins at 9:45 okay.... Seems like I still have some time before I need to leave. I also have to take a shower before so I need to pick up the pace" You hit the resume button on your phone and continue the work. You still had to do some bench presses and some abdominal training; those six packs need to stay firm.

The water was pleasant and with the protein shake already in your belly it was time to go to the shooting. It was not a bad idea to arrive early because you still had to eat something. You open your car and put your bag in the back. The leather seats were comfortable, maybe too comfortable after an intense workout session, you find yourself daydreaming in the comfort.
"I need to get going before I nap in here. Maybe something intense will help. Let's see here." You start scrolling down your playlist until you find the song you are looking for. "There you are" *Play* "That's more like it." The seatbelt gets fastened and it was time to head to work.

Traffic was alright, the roads were a bit busy but karaoke in the car is the best way to spend the time, no road rage just the lyrics. You arrive to the parking lot, and find a nice place for your car.
"It seems like the executives returned, they stopped coming after a couple of days. Makes sense, this is the last day of shooting, they want to see that ending. Looks like our little assistant is also back to her overwhelmed self." The assistant was tapping her foot, she was obviously nervous, her fingers twirling her shoulder-length brown hair. You turned off the engine, grabbed your phone, got out of the car and took out your bag.

"Mr. [Y/N]! Good Morning!" The assistant was relieved to see you, it was reminiscent of the time you first arrived here, but it was a lot more peaceful now.

"Ahhh Assistant-chan! Good morning! Everything all right?" You asked while once again while walking to your room.

"I'll let you know, that I have a name!" She was flustered by your teasing.

"But it's a lot better to call you Assistant-chan, has a nice ring to it." You did not stop.

"Mr. [Y/N] you bully!" She was getting very worked up from your comments.

"I get it, I get it I'll stop, just don't start crying please. So, is there anything I need to know or be prepared for?" You guessed it was time to get back to business.

"The food you ordered is waiting for you in your room, it still should be warm. The executives as you probably guessed are here to see the ending, if you ask me, they look like they are hiding something." She got a very serious face on. Well a ditzy-serious face you would expect from someone her caliber.

"Conspiracy theories now? Don't worry they are always planning and hiding information." You laugh at her idea.

"I know, but still there is this strange feeling. I can't describe it. Anyways I will knock on your door as usual when the crew arrives, have a pleasant time until then!" The assistant ran off quickly.

What a strange woman. You close the door and head to the table with your food. You ordered omurice and a bowl of ramen. Hmm it looks so good. It has everything I need in it. Itadakimasu. The hunger grabs hold of you as you dig in into the food. The meal gets gobbled down. You only have enough strength to crash down onto the sofa.
Wow that was good. Maybe I should take a nap. The sentence gets barely finished before our actor dazes off into sleep. No matter how good you are, it's not wise to fight tiredness.

After the power nap.

You wake up to the assistant knocking.

"Mr. [Y/N]! The crew arrived."

"Come in." You reply while trying to get a grasp of yourself.

They already knew their job; it did not take long for them to finish. You change into your uniform and head to the "stage". You meet the director who has been waving to you.

"Ahh [Y/N]! Perfect timing as always, Ichika will arrive shortly - HEY! WHAT DID I TELL YOU, THE LIGHTS SHOULD COME IN FROM THIS ANGLE NOT THAT ONE! AND WHERE IS THE COFFEE I ORDERED? Meet me when Ichika finished up, I have something to tell you." The director hardly looked at you, he was doing a hundred things at once. He could be hardly blamed this was the finish and the executives have also returned.

"Okay, I'll wait for Ichika here, then come meet you." The director just nodded and you went closer to the route Ichika would come from.

Speak of the devil. Ichika arrived in 5 minutes. She was all prepared for the shooting. Costume spotless, make-up on point, hair looking perfect. Wow just wow. This is something else.

"Good morning [Y/N]!" She casually greeted you.

"Morning Ichika, you look absolutely stunning, no wonder you are a hot-take in the industry." Ichika could not believe what you just said and turned into a light shade of red. Maybe it was just the makeup, but she did look at the ground. To tell the truth, the moment you realized what you said, you also got a bit flustered.

What is this, I could easily pull these comments of before with a number of girls, what changed now? Don't tell me...

Ichika took a deeper breath.

"Pretty bold, aren't we? What would the others think?" She chuckled with that strange smile of hers.

"I just said what's true, I did nothing bold or reckless."

"Confidence is a great thing. But thank you for the praise, it feels good to get some from time to time." She looked a bit sad.

"One would guess you get it every time."

"It's not as often as you think, but to what do I owe the pleasure? You surely did not come here just to compliment me."

"Who knows, maybe I did come here to compliment you, but there was another reason. The director said to meet him with you, so I came here."

"Do you know what he wants?" Ichika asked.

"To tell the truth I have no idea, he told me he wanted to tell us something that's all." You replied casually.

"We should go then, no point in making him wait." Ichika stated.

"Could not have said better myself. Then let us be off to the director." With that the two of you started to walk towards the set.

****
What does the director want to say? Why can't the model and actor compliment like before?
What does the executives want?
What's with Ichika?

Thank you for waiting, I waspretty busy so I had a hard time writing the chapter. I also still struggle abit with this type of writing so bear with me. I'll try to stick with onechapter a week, only more often than that. Once again thank you for reading andI hope to see you in the next Act. Till then
~tovarish