Being helped when you're in need is always better than getting a favor when things are going well. A director who's been in the industry for years is a veteran. By introducing Seiya to a new job, he wasn't just helping Seiya—he was also doing a favor for another director, who now owed him one.
But all in all, this new job was a great opportunity for Seiya.
"So, are you going to take the job Director Okawa recommended?" Yuko asked, kneeling in front of Seiya and stroking his head.
"Of course, why wouldn't I? Yuko, you said we're so broke we're almost eating ramen every day. Besides, this job is perfect for me. There's no reason to turn it down."
The job was for a historical TV series set in the Warring States period. Seiya was to play a young lord who was smart and a great fighter. The crew had been having a hard time finding a suitable actor. Luckily, a young crew member saw the "young So-ya" on social media and showed the edited clips to the director. The director's eyes lit up when he saw the scene of Seiya fighting the wolf. He knew he had found his actor.
The entertainment industry is like a tree with intertwined roots. The director contacted Director Okawa, who helped him get in touch with Seiya.
The role was a supporting character, not the male lead, but it was still a significant part. Director Okawa told Seiya he would be filming for a week in Hokkaido, and his salary would be 1 million yen. This was a massive amount for a new child actor who had only been an extra in one movie. Director Okawa was able to get him such a high salary because even though Seiya was new, he was already famous.
The one-week shoot in Hokkaido meant Yuko had to put her work aside to go with him. She was also a bit upset that she, a doujinshi artist, had to work day and night, and she still couldn't make as much in a month as her five-year-old son could in a week. She felt like she had wasted the last 20 years of her life.
Twelve Years Later
Time flew by. Twelve years passed.
A handsome young man with black hair, a piece of toast in his mouth and a bag in his hand, rushed out of a house with the nameplate "Wenren."
"Seiya, you're not eating again! How many times do I have to tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" A beautiful woman with a stunning figure, her long hair in a bun and a spatula in her hand, ran out of the house.
"It's okay. He's a grown man now. Don't scold him all the time. He was late because you didn't wake him up. You should change your personality. You won't be able to get married if you're not a bit more graceful."
Yuko was now in her early thirties. Time had not only been kind to her, but it had also made her more charming and mature.
"Come on, Big Sis, you spoil him too much. You used to scold me all the time when I was in college. And I told you, 'marriage' is a forbidden word to me. My family is just you and Seiya. I'm not going to have a family with anyone else. I'm not leaving this house."
The woman, who looked a lot like Yuko and was in a wheelchair, sighed. She looked at her legs and clenched her fists in guilt. "It's all my fault. You and Seiya could have had better lives."
The woman was Yuko's sister, Ako. As Seiya became a famous actor, Ako received better treatment in the hospital. After years of treatment, Ako finally woke up when Seiya was ten. But sadly, because of the severity of her injuries, she was paralyzed from the waist down and had to be in a wheelchair. According to the doctors, Ako could make a full recovery, but it would require an expensive treatment in a foreign country, which was an astronomical amount of money.
Ako felt like she was a burden to Seiya and Yuko and had tried to take her own life several times. She thought Yuko's unwillingness to marry was because she was taking care of her.
"We are family. You are not a burden to us. If Seiya heard you say that, he wouldn't talk to you for days. Have you forgotten what he told you after you tried to kill yourself? And Big Sis, stop worrying about other people's lives! I told you, I'm not getting married because of you!"
Ako lowered her head at Yuko's words. She couldn't forget what Seiya told her after he saved her. She had tried to slit her wrists in the bathroom, but Seiya came home and found her. He carried her on his back for ten kilometers to the hospital and saved her. Ako still didn't understand how an 11- or 12-year-old boy could have had so much strength.