Aqua approached Seiya with a sincere offer. He would handle the execution of their revenge, and he was willing to take the fall and face a prison sentence alone. He believed that he had to put his life on the line to avenge Ai. Seiya's role would be to assist him. After everything was settled, Aqua would go to jail while Seiya would go back to his celebrity life. That was his deal.
Aqua was confident that Seiya would help him because they had a common enemy who had indirectly killed Seiya's foster brother and paralyzed his foster sister, Ako. Even if Seiya didn't want to help, Aqua knew he wouldn't expose him. That's why Aqua had told Seiya everything.
His gamble paid off. When Seiya left, he took Katsuya Kaburagi's contact information with him. Katsuya was shocked when he got a call from Seiya. He was a well-known producer with a lot of connections, but most of the young actors he knew were either new or had faded from the spotlight. He had never had the chance to work with a popular actor like Seiya.
Seiya got straight to the point. He said his friend, Aqua Hoshino, had asked him to join the next season of Let's Get Serious About Love (hereinafter "SeriKoi"). Katsuya was stunned. He had only mentioned it to Aqua in passing, but he never expected Aqua to pull a stunt like this and bring in Seiya. SeriKoi was a reality dating show for young people, and Seiya was a very popular actor. Katsuya could already imagine how much attention the show's teaser would get.
"Mr. Kaburagi? Is there a problem? If you can't..." Seiya thought Katsuya was hesitant, but Katsuya quickly replied, "It's an honor for Seiya-kun to want to join our small show. But SeriKoi is a dating show, and we've already found three couples. We'd love to have you, but it might be hard for us to find a suitable partner for you in a short amount of time. But please, trust us. We will find a suitable person even if we only have one night."
Katsuya and the SeriKoi production team were not going to miss this opportunity. But since the other cast members had already been decided, they had a problem. They could replace a male cast member with Seiya, but Katsuya had a professional code of conduct. The other female cast members were also not as famous as Seiya, and his fans would not be happy if he was paired up with someone they didn't know.
Seiya was silent for a moment and then said, "In that case, I can introduce a female guest to you."
Seiya arrived home just before the 10 PM curfew. Yuko and Ako, who were watching TV, quietly went to his room and put their ears against the door.
"Seiya is lying now! He doesn't sound like he's talking to a male friend."
"Kana? You mean Kana Arima? I remember they were very close."
"Yuko, who is this Kana Arima? I don't remember her."
"Big Sis, don't you remember our old neighbor, the Arima family? Oh, you were still asleep then. You didn't know Seiya and Kana were good friends."
"Childhood friends? Yuko, you never told me anything this important! So she goes to Yoto High School, they ran into each other today, and they went on a date tonight?"
Seiya, in his room, had no idea that his two foster mothers were listening in. He was on the phone with Kana Arima, who was the most suitable person to be his partner on SeriKoi.
Half an hour ago, Katsuya was happy to hear that Seiya could find his own partner. When Seiya was thinking of a suitable person, many young women came to mind, but he ruled them all out. The entertainment industry is a very realistic place, and Seiya didn't want to owe anyone. He didn't think his "friends" would want to be on a low-budget reality show, and they might not even have the time. The only other requirement Katsuya had was that the person had to be a high school student because the show's theme was "campus love." After all the considerations, he was left with three people: Marielle Hinokuchi, Kana Arima, and Minami Kotobuki. Ruby Hoshino was out of the question; her brother wouldn't allow it.
Marielle would be the best choice to make the show a hit. A popular celebrity couple would be a great gimmick. But she was signed with an agency, and her appearance fee would be too high for the show.
Minami and her agency would not say no to him, since she was a new actress. It would be a great opportunity for her. But Seiya felt it would be weird to ask someone he had just met to be his fake girlfriend.
So, after careful consideration, he decided that Kana Arima was the best person for the job.