Vol. 2 Chapter 49 – A Close Look at Asahi Hikaru’s Day (4)

“Being told to film, huh…” (Reiya)

I stood there blankly, smartphone in hand.

On the other side of the ball-stopping net, practice had already begun.

“Hah! Next one, a little faster tempo, please!” (Hikaru)

On the court, Hikaru was giving instructions to the staff member feeding her balls.

How exactly was I supposed to film this…?

As her boyfriend, you should understand her charm best.

Of course, I wanted that to be true, but self-perception and reality don’t always align.

Besides, if this was going to be exposed to nearly a million followers, I couldn’t just shoot something half-baked.

“What should I do…” (Reiya)

From an outsider’s perspective, maybe agonizing this much over photos and videos for SNS seems unnecessary.

But, as Asahi Hikaru’s boyfriend… and as her number one fan…

I didn’t want to take boring shots and damage her public image, even slightly.

“Um… Is it okay if I go inside to film?” (Reiya)

For starters, I figured I couldn’t get a good shot from behind the net, so I asked a nearby staff member.

“Yes, as long as you don’t get too close during play, it’s fine.”

Having readily received permission, I detoured and entered the netted area.

Focused on her practice, Hikaru didn’t even notice me come in.

She continuously chased and hit balls fed consecutively to various parts of the court.

Now, what moment should I capture from this scene to make it ‘Insta-worthy’?

…Maybe just the standard moment of hitting the ball.

After a little thought, I decided the orthodox approach was best.

Determined to take a shot worthy of gracing the cover of a sports magazine, I started searching for a shooting position.

“This angle, maybe…” (Reiya)

I positioned myself diagonally in front of her and watched her through the smartphone screen.

She ran under the fed ball, set her stance firmly, and hit.

Just that simple action looked incredibly beautiful, even possessing a certain elegance.

Even to me, an amateur with no tennis experience, her high level was clearly visible.

The phrase ‘like a textbook example’ seemed perfectly fitting.

“Right, I need to stop staring and actually take pictures…” (Reiya)

As a test, I took several photos of the moment she hit the ball.

“Hm… I thought it would be blurrier, but they’re coming out quite clear.” (Reiya)

As expected of the latest model, known for its camera performance.

Various corrections worked automatically, allowing even an amateur like me to take clean shots.

“But, something’s… hmm…” (Reiya)

They were just cleanly taken photos; they didn’t feel like pictures that conveyed 100% of Hikaru’s charm…

What was wrong…?

The composition? The lighting? Or maybe the lack of a theme?

Or perhaps my internal ideal was just too high…?

Maybe I should start by throwing a delicious apple to lower her guard…

No, if I enter screenshot mode from the menu screen, I can stop time and shoot as much as I want.

“Whoa, stop, stop. My thoughts are straying too far, turning into game brain…” (Reiya)

I shook off the strange ideas bubbling up in my head.

“It’s just one picture out of the many uploaded daily to SNS, I shouldn’t be so stiff about it…” (Reiya)

Telling myself not to overthink it, I refocused on shooting.

But still, I couldn’t quite take a photo I was satisfied with.

As a change of pace, I decided to try shooting video too and switched the camera mode—

“Huh? Reiya-kun? What are you doing over there?” (Hikaru)

Hikaru, entering a short break, finally noticed me.

“Your mom asked me to take videos for SNS uploads, so I’m filming.” (Reiya)

“Heeh… Is this recording right now?” (Hikaru)

“Yeah… Though, I just started, so it hasn’t captured any practice footage yet.” (Reiya)

“Hmm… Yay! Peace, peace! Is everyone watching~? Like this?” (Hikaru)

Putting down her racquet, Hikaru smiled and waved at the camera, flashing peace signs.

“It’s not a live stream… Besides, I’m supposed to be filming the practice.” (Reiya)

“Really? I think something like this is totally fine though… Ah, right! I just had a great idea!” (Hikaru)

It seemed she’d thought up something mischievous again.

“How about I introduce you as my boyfriend, Reiya-kun?” (Hikaru)

“Rejected.” (Reiya)

“Aww… Why~…? It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s the truth.” (Hikaru)

She pouted and approached me.

“It’s not good to sell off too much of your private life… Besides…” (Reiya)

“Besides?” (Hikaru)

“…I’m scared of being resented by your male fans.” (Reiya)

A rising star in the tennis world, a teen model with looks rivaling or surpassing idols.

No matter how much she herself avoided being marketed that way, idol-like popularity inevitably arose.

If it became known she had a boyfriend, it would surely affect her popularity, and the fans would undoubtedly resent me.

“Ehh… Do you really think there are male fans who care about that kind of thing~…? I’m not really an idol, and I basically only appear in magazines aimed at girls.” (Hikaru)

“No, no, there are definitely tons of them…” (Reiya)

“Really? Why do you think so?” (Hikaru)

She put her index finger to her lips, asking as if feigning ignorance.

…She definitely knows what she’s doing.

She knows, and she’s trying to elicit a specific reaction from me.

Having fallen for it time and time again, I’d finally learned her methods.

“Because… well, surely you realize…?” (Reiya)

“Nope, no idea at all.” (Hikaru)

Her feigned innocence was so blatant, if this were text, it would have ‘(feigning ignorance)’ appended to the end.

I knew she was doing it on purpose, and I had learned my lesson.

“Hikaru, you’re incredibly cute, so you have lots of male fans too…” (Reiya)

But I also knew that one-on-one, I couldn’t win against her, no matter what.

Waving the white flag, I produced the words she wanted.

Saying things like that myself was still too embarrassing, making me unable to look at her face except through the lens.

“…Say it again?” (Hikaru)

“Hikaru is many times cuter than any idol out there, has tons of male fans who like her for her looks, and if they found out she had a boyfriend, I’d probably be resented, so for now, I’d like my existence to be treated as practically air, publicly speaking.” (Reiya)

“Heeh… So that’s how you see my face, Reiya-kun~…” (Hikaru)

Flashing her usual impish grin, she edged closer and closer.

“No, it’s not just me, that’s the general public perception too… Hey, you’re too close…” (Reiya)

“Really? Not close at all, right? You just think that because it’s through the camera.” (Hikaru)

“No, no, we’re way past filming distance now…” (Reiya)

“But according to Reiya-kun, you need to get a closer shot of my ‘incredibly cute face’.” (Hikaru)

Saying that, she leaned in so close it looked like she might kiss the camera.

“What kind of face is cute? A smile? A troubled face? Or maybe an embarrassed face?” (Hikaru)

“Everything’s cute… Look, just let me film the practice already…” (Reiya)

“Not ‘everything,’ you have to tell me properly which face is the best.” (Hikaru)

The absence of her mother, my powerful ally.

That alone created an overwhelming gap in our relative strengths.

It was more hopeless than Yorick matching up against Irelia in the top lane.

“…A smiling face.” (Reiya)

“A smile? My smiling face is the cutest?” (Hikaru)

When I nodded in affirmation, she let out a satisfied ‘Mmph’ breath.

“Okay then, for Reiya-kun, here’s my best smile… Yay! Peace!” (Hikaru)

Facing the camera, Hikaru beamed her brightest smile of the day and made a peace sign.

If I uploaded something like this to SNS, her male fanbase would probably grow even larger.

Practice resumed, and she headed back towards the court.

Watching her back, thinking, ‘There’s no way I can use this,’ I started recording with a new file.

And so, after wrestling with composition for another two hours, trying this and that—

“I’m back~. How did it go? Get anything good?” (Mitsuki)

“Yes, well… moderately… Though I feel like the number of shots just kept increasing…” (Reiya)

Returning the smartphone to Hikaru’s mother who had come back, my filming event concluded.

“I see… Wow, you really took quite a lot…” (Mitsuki)

Looking at the smartphone screen, her mother sounded slightly surprised.

“Well, thinking that hundreds of thousands of followers would see it, I felt I had to take the best photos possible… that’s kind of the result…” (Reiya)

“Thank you for your hard work. I’m sure there are lots of wonderful photos, so it was worth splurging on a reward for you.” (Mitsuki)

“A reward…?” (Reiya)

“That’s a surprise for after you see it. Hikaru~! You can wrap it up soon~!” (Mitsuki)

Her mother flashed a mischievous smile reminiscent of her daughter’s, then called out towards Hikaru on the court.

“Okay~! I’ll just cool down a bit then head up~!” (Hikaru)

Hikaru replied in an equally loud voice.

Thus, Asahi Hikaru’s day as a tennis player, and my observation tour, came to an end.

＊＊＊＊＊

“Doing this almost every day during the break, that’s amazing…” (Reiya)

I muttered to myself while sitting on an empty chair in the main building’s lobby.

Starting at 9 AM, with about a thirty-minute lunch break, she practiced almost non-stop until just past 5 PM.

Asahi Hikaru was a person who seemed more incredible the more new facets of her I discovered.

“I need to learn from her example a little…” (Reiya)

I murmured, looking down at my own body.

Slender, hardly describable as sturdy even with compliments.

We were going to the beach together soon, and there would surely be other occasions to show my body.

Thinking about those times, it seemed like a good idea to train a little.

“Still, isn’t she taking a while…?” (Reiya)

As I daydreamed about a version of myself, muscular as a Western game protagonist, holding Hikaru, the time approached 6 PM.

She was taking quite a long time just for a post-practice shower and change of clothes.

“Did something happen…?” (Reiya)

It was still bright outside because it was summer, leaving plenty of time to enjoy the summer festival.

But her being this late made me start to worry if something had happened.

Just as I stood up from the chair to go check on her—

“Sorry for the wait~! Took me a little while to get ready~!” (Hikaru)

A somewhat cheerful voice echoed from the hallway behind me.

She was just late, then. Letting out a sigh of relief, I stood up.

“No, it’s alrigh—” (Reiya)

The moment I turned around and saw her figure, I was rendered speechless.

“How do I look? Does it suit me?” (Hikaru)

Raising both hands to shoulder height, Hikaru spun around on the spot as if showing off her whole outfit.

The hem, reaching down to her ankles, and the gracefully drooping cuffs fluttered softly.

An elegant blue floral pattern adorned the entire garment, a white piece of Japanese clothing with a passionate vermilion sash tied around her waist.

She was clad in the attire known as a ‘yukata.’