I Was Possessed By An Unknown Manga

With a jolt, I woke up to the feeling of the bus stopping, and the cityscape outside the window had completely changed.

I found myself somewhere on a hillside in the suburbs.

It seemed we had arrived at the drama set.

Stretching my stiff shoulders, I looked around to see others busily preparing to disembark.

Since I had come with little on me, I was the first to get off the bus while others bustled around.

“Sigh.”

The fresh air, so unlike anything in downtown Tokyo, filled my lungs deeply.

It was a world apart from the stuffy air inside the bus.

“Uh… young man? We need to get off too.”

I quickly stepped aside after hearing the voice from behind.

The lady standing at the bus stairs gave me a quick nod and hurried off toward a temporary building.

The others did the same, rushing to the drama set without making eye contact with me, standing by the door.

Left alone, I discreetly followed them toward the set.

The Blue Academy Youth Apocalypse.

That was the name of the drama I was appearing in today as an extra.

After hearing from Rika that there was an original work, I looked it up when I got home and discovered it was a hugely popular work about 10 years ago.

Of course, it was within the ‘Scramble Love’ universe, so it was natural that I was unaware of this manga.

Since it had obviously been animated, I watched a few episodes online and memorized some basic information.

It was just a bit of a part with maybe a line of dialogue, so it likely wouldn’t be very useful.

Following the people from the same bus, I was heading toward a waiting room at the corner of the set when I heard a familiar voice from afar.

“Ah! Senior! Over here!”

Minato Naoya, who had scouted me for the extra role, was waving her hands happily.

Thanks to that, the attention of those around us was instantly drawn to me.

After all, how many people on the filming set could be referred to as “senior” by an actress known as the nation’s little sister?

Extras and bit-part actors walking ahead cast curious glances my way, but I, the person in question, longed to disappear into a mouse hole.

Nevertheless, since she had greeted me first, I couldn’t ignore her, so I made my way over to her side.

“Ah, is this the school senior Minato mentioned?”

“Yes! It’s Kim Yu-seong, senior! Director!”

As she spoke, Minato suddenly grasped my left arm.

I was startled by her abrupt action and attempted to step back, but the person she called the director chuckled heartily and clapped my shoulder just a beat sooner.

“Hahaha! The photo doesn’t do you justice! I really like it! As expected of Minato! She has a knack for this!”

Puzzled by the situation, I glanced down at Minato beside me, who was now slightly biting her tongue, and said,

“The role you’re playing today was originally intended for another actor, but they didn’t quite match the director’s vision. So when I thought of you, Senior, and showed him your photo, he insisted on casting you immediately.”

…I had been completely unaware of such a backstory.

Feeling bewildered, I alternated my gaze between Minato and the director, then decided to inquire about something that had just crossed my mind.

“Does the role I’m playing today have any lines? I’ve never acted before.”

The director assured me with confidence,

“You just need to sit and deliver one line. In fact, a touch of awkwardness might even be preferable. It will add to the tense atmosphere.”

“Ah, okay.”

Well, if he said it was fine, I suppose it was all right.

I decided not to dwell on it.

After exchanging greetings with both of them, I was about to make my way to the actors’ waiting room when the director called out to me.

“Wait a moment.”

“…?”

I turned around, curious about what he wanted, to find the director appraising me thoughtfully.

“You look better in that cap than I expected. The character didn’t wear a cap originally, but it suits you.”

He called over a passing staff member and instructed them to bring a gakuran, pointing at me.

“You’ve got some time before your scene, so feel free to tour the set. If you tell the other staff that I, the director, have given permission, they’ll understand.”

“Ah, thank you.”

I thanked the director sincerely for his unexpected consideration.

I had heard that extras often waited a long time during drama shoots.

Being able to fill that waiting time was a great opportunity.

Honestly, how often does an ordinary person get to visit a drama set?

Getting 50,000 yen a day and being able to tour the set was clearly a win-win situation.

“Just remember, no filming. I don’t think you would since you’re Minato’s senior, but please be mindful of the set’s security.”

“Yes.”

“Then, Senior, see you later~”

With their farewell, I headed toward the waiting room where the other extras had gone.

The extras’ waiting room was made from a container.

It seemed that, unlike the main actors, many of the extras were on their own and busily applying makeup for their respective roles.

Normally, with so many people, it would be noisy, but inside the container, it was quiet as a mouse.

This made it awkward to start a conversation, so I sat in a corner and fiddled with my phone until someone entered through the container door.

“Who is Kim Yu-seong, the one playing the gang leader today?”

“That’s me.”

Creak!

As I stood up in response, everyone in the container turned their eyes toward me.

Wondering if the chair had been that loud, I approached the staff member standing by the container door with a bold expression.

The drama staff, looking surprised, handed me the clothes and a hat they were holding.

“You’re to wear this outfit today… But are you really a high school student?”

I nodded and accepted the outfit from the staff.

“Should I show you my student ID?”

“Oh, no, that’s fine.”

The staff, shaking his head, asked me to wear the clothes in advance and to wait, as I might be called at any time.

I nodded and then changed into the clothes in a small changing room inside the container.

Expecting a typical gakuran, I was surprised to find it was a modified, long-coat style gakuran, reminiscent of something out of a 1980s manga.

With a student cap, anyone would look like they had just popped out of a manga.

It felt more like cosplay than a drama costume, but realizing that this was a Japanese drama based on a manga made sense.

Japanese live-action dramas often faithfully reproduce the original work, even if the result looks awkward.

Perhaps it was a relief that I didn’t have to wear a wig.

Looking at myself in the full-length mirror, which only showed me from the neck down, I adjusted the modified gakuran I was wearing for the first time and carefully opened the changing room door to step out.

The inside of the container was as quiet as a mouse.

There seemed to have been some conversation while I was in the changing room, but now it was quiet once again.

It seemed to be because of me, so I discretely decided to leave the area.

Having been granted permission by the director to tour the filming set, it wouldn’t be fun to just sit and wait.

Yamada, now in his third year as an extra, had his own pride and dreams as an actor.

Although just an unknown newcomer for now, he harbored the bold ambition to someday reach the pinnacle of the entertainment industry.

With this in his heart, he diligently went from one broadcasting station to another every day.

However, a fellow extra, like him, was suddenly cut from his role.

Shocked, he called and learned that the director had unilaterally fired his friend for a better actor.

It was nothing less than an abuse of power, and Yamada wanted to confront this reality, but he felt helpless in the face of such harshness.

After all, he too could be cut from his role at any moment.

So he intended to see just how impressive this newcomer, who had parachuted into the role he had coveted, truly was.

If the newcomer proved to be unremarkable, he was determined to give him a lesson as a senior.

However, on the day of shooting, as Yamada boarded the bus with resolve, he was greeted by a colossal ‘something’.

The normally noisy commuter bus, filled with familiar faces, was now as silent as a graveyard.

It was all due to one man sitting quietly in the front seat, his eyes shut.

An overwhelming aura emanated from him.

Like a being from another ‘species,’ a man with the dignity of a king dozed off, his baseball cap pulled down over his eyes.

In that instant, Yamada was convinced.

His friend hadn’t been pushed out unjustly.

The role had simply found a more suitable successor.

“Hey! Yamada! Sit down quickly! You’ll wake him up!”

“Ah! Yes!”

Regardless of the solemn resolve he had upon boarding the bus, he turned into a docile sheep, obediently finding his place in the fold.

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