Seven years later.
Japan's top entertainment star, Hasebe Haruka, was wearing a pale blue evening gown. The figure she had at twenty-something was something else entirely compared to seven years ago. Nearly all of her clothes had to be custom-made by this point, because nothing off the rack would fit her properly.
Not because she had gained weight, but because a certain area had become rather difficult to accommodate. If her measurements had already been an F cup seven years ago, one could imagine what seven years of further development had produced.
Her manager was currently arranging her shooting schedule while Haruka studied the script in her hands with careful attention to every detail. She stopped at one page and held it out.
"Can this part be changed?"
Her manager pushed her red-framed glasses up and examined the section in question, then went silent with a helpless expression. "Hasebe-san, all it asks you to do here is hold the male lead's arm. There's nothing else. Isn't that fine?"
Haruka tossed the script aside. "It's very much not fine. When my husband gets jealous, things get complicated."
"It's just holding an arm, surely that's acceptable?" Her manager tried to reason with her.
The pay for this project was exceptional. And Haruka was the most sought-after star in the industry right now. Bluntly speaking, even if she appeared in a mediocre film, her name alone would fill seats.
Haruka crossed her arms and made her position clear. She would not take any scene involving physical contact with another man. She didn't want to, beyond the professional obligation. Outside of her husband, she had no desire to be touched by anyone, not even a hand-hold. Other men simply felt wrong to her in a way she couldn't explain.
Her manager hit a wall. "Is the man at home really that particular about things? I can understand refusing kiss scenes. But holding hands? Even linking arms?"
Haruka rested her cheek on one hand and smiled sweetly. "You don't understand. The fact that he cares is precisely because he loves me. The day he stops caring is the day he stops loving me. Think about it honestly, where in this world is there a man who doesn't feel jealous?"
"Manager, consider this carefully: if your partner never gets jealous, be worried. Either he doesn't love you, or he's seeing someone else. Those are the only two explanations."
Her manager's expression twitched. "Thank you ever so much for that wisdom."
Her own husband happened to be the unfaithful variety. Haruka's little observation had just pressed directly on an open wound.
Haruka stretched languidly, clearly thinking about her husband with some fondness. "I'd rather not take scenes like that at all. Even if my fee got cut in half, even if I weren't paid at all, I wouldn't take it. That's my loyalty to him."
Her manager said quietly, "Hasebe-san really does love her husband very much."
Haruka smiled with the full warmth of someone thoroughly happy with her life. "Of course. My husband and my child are what I love most in this world."
At that exact moment, a small girl with blue hair came running in and threw her arms around Haruka. She was the daughter Haruka had with Ryunosuke, and her name was Hasebe Hinata.
Haruka lifted her daughter, settled her into her lap, and asked, "Why did you come in alone? Where's Papa?"
Hinata looked up at her mother and answered in the soft, slightly unclear voice of a child still getting used to having all her teeth. "Papa's outside~"
She was only three years old, and the gaps in her baby teeth made her speech endearingly imprecise. Haruka kissed her daughter's cheek.
Ryunosuke came in shortly after, his expression neutral. "Are you finished talking about work?"
There was a trace of displeasure about him. The entertainment world was merciless, and he was always worried his wife might get taken advantage of.
Haruka smiled brightly and said everything was sorted.
Her manager made one last attempt. "Ah, Hasebe-san, about the fee this time, I'll try to negotiate something better, so perhaps you could reconsider just this once."
Ryunosuke stepped forward in front of his wife and said without warmth, "My wife said she doesn't want it. Did you not hear her?"
The jealousy was not subtle. In truth, he had never been fully comfortable with Haruka working in entertainment. But it was something she loved, and he wasn't going to stand in the way of that. He had accepted it, though accepting it didn't mean doing nothing about it. He had made certain her manager was a woman, as a basic precaution against people with bad intentions.
His wife was far too beautiful. All of his wives were, honestly. He himself looked entirely ordinary by comparison. People outside never quite understood why so many striking women had chosen to marry him. Truthfully, he didn't entirely understand it either. Perhaps only the women themselves knew why.
Finding no opening with Ryunosuke, her manager admitted defeat inwardly. She had her own reasons for pushing so hard. The male lead attached to this project was a major shareholder who had funded ninety percent of the production. His single request in exchange had been the chance to hold Haruka's hand in a scene.
She had thought it was a trivial thing and agreed to it without hesitation. She hadn't anticipated that both Haruka and her husband would refuse so absolutely.
(People still act like this in this day and age. This isn't some ancient era where touching hands was a grave offense.) She thought to herself.
Ryunosuke didn't linger. He took his wife's hand and walked her out of the manager's office.
Haruka, carrying their daughter, teased him as they went. "Jealous, darling?"
The corner of his mouth moved. "I told you not to go into entertainment and you didn't listen. I looked into the main shareholder behind that script. He's the type who preys on actresses, lures them with large fees and then drugs them. Could you please be a little more careful?"
He flicked her lightly on the forehead, but his voice was laced with worry rather than irritation. Haruka touched the spot he had flicked and smiled with deep contentment. "As long as you're there, what is there to be afraid of? Besides, I would never give anyone an opening."
He didn't soften at that and made up his mind to give her a brief cold shoulder. Haruka leaned close and whispered something in his ear, her voice very soft. "There's a reward waiting for you tonight. So please don't be upset anymore~"