Tokyo Literary Masters: Starting from the Late 1980s

This is where dreams begin, and where dreams come true.

"Director Ichikawa and Ms. Yasuko... are they stuck?"

Hearing Kadokawa Haruki's extremely anxious voice on the other end of the phone, Kitahara Iwao's eyes showed a hint of doubt.

In his memory, although Yasuko Sawaguchi was a Toho Cinderella who took the pure and innocent route, her acting skills were outstanding among her peers.

Ichikawa Kun is a titan known for his mastery of control.

It's truly surprising that this combination of two people would take up two days to film a single scene.

"Brother Kitahara, you have no idea what's going on there!"

On the other end of the phone, Haruki Kadokawa's voice lacked its usual composure, instead tinged with deep anxiety: "You know how eccentric that old man Ichikawa is; his obsession with cleanliness in the visuals is practically pathological!"

"Under his immense pressure, Yasuko Sawaguchi is on the verge of a breakdown!" Haruki Kadokawa explained rapidly.

Kitahara Iwa frowned slightly and asked succinctly, "What exactly happened?"

"She's stuck in a dead end!"

Haruki Kadokawa gritted his teeth and said, "Sawaguchi really wants to prove himself, he really wants to play this role well."

"So the pain and anger she displayed were indeed..." However, in Ichikawa's view, Sawaguchi's performance was all outward hysteria, completely lacking the deathly stillness that Moriguchi Yuko possessed, like an eternal ice cellar.

"So Ichikawa cursed at her for two days in a row."

"It's one thing to criticize, but Ichikawa only keeps making mistakes and can't provide the correct solution."

"Now, Zekou can't even deliver a complete line of dialogue, let alone act, let alone act."

At this point, Kadokawa Haruki took a deep breath, his voice carrying a sense of having no other choice, and said, "Brother Kitahara, it was you who wrote about Yuko Moriguchi."

"The entire crew is at a loss right now. Only if you personally step in and give Zeguchi acting instructions can you pull her out of this dead end."

"If you don't come, this film... might really rot in the studio."

All that could be heard through the receiver was Kadokawa Haruki's heavy breathing.

Kitahara Iwa didn't waste any words, simply replying with two words: "Wait for me."

After hanging up the phone, Kitahara Iwa casually grabbed a black trench coat from the hanger, draped it over his shoulders, and then pushed open the door and went out.

Normally, Kitahara Iwao would never easily interrupt his creative process by a phone call to go to the set to help the actors discuss their roles.

But "Confessions" is different.

This is the first novel under my name to be officially adapted into a film or television series. If the entire production collapses because of the female lead's breakdown, it will inevitably have a significant negative impact on my future film and television adaptation plans.

Whether out of a bottom-line requirement for the purity of the original work or out of consideration for practical interests, Kitahara Iwa was unable to remain indifferent.

As I approached the luxury apartment building, a black luxury sedan was already quietly waiting by the roadside.

Kitahara Iwa has not yet acquired a private car. This is because Shinchosha has specially provided him with a dedicated driver and car in order to fulfill the contractual agreement.

"Good evening, Kitahara-sensei."

The driver respectfully opened the back door for him.

Half an hour later, the black sedan smoothly cut through the neon lights of Tokyo and headed straight for Kadokawa Studios.

In the biting autumn wind, Kitahara Iwa, wrapped in a trench coat, got out of the car and went straight to Studio One.

Guided by staff, Kitahara Iwa pushed open the heavy soundproof door.

This is the filming location for the movie "Confessions," and filming is currently underway.

Kunichiro Ichikawa sat behind the monitor, his thin face expressionless.

Hearing the noise behind him, he turned his head slightly to look.

When the director recognized Kitahara Iwao as the newcomer, he unusually did not get angry. Instead, he nodded to him and moved aside to make room for Kitahara Iwao.

To perfectly present the extreme visuals in "Confessions," Ichikawa Kun implemented extremely strict and high-pressure management on set.

In this situation, all the staff became extremely careful, even when they were breathing.

Kitahara Iwao walked to the monitor and quietly watched Sawaguchi Yasuko's entire performance.

Under the spotlight, Yasuko Sawaguchi, once known for her pure and innocent image as Toho's Cinderella, now has sunken eyes and a haggard appearance.

She stood in front of the podium, enacting the most crucial scene in the entire film—Yuko Moriguchi declaring her revenge to the whole class.

To be fair, her acting at this moment was already excellent enough, with great tension in conveying the suppressed grief and the pain of losing her beloved daughter.

Although she had given a stunning performance during the audition, under Ichikawa Kun's extremely discerning gaze, her performance at this moment still carried an indescribable sense of incongruity.

She acted too much like a grieving mother, not like Yuko Moriguchi.

"Cut! No good!"

At that moment, Ichikawa Kun's voice, filled with frustration and anger, suddenly boomed through the studio: "No! Still no!"

"Yasuko, you're acting too pained. I don't want a victim!"

The stark contrast in roles, coupled with two days of relentless, high-pressure torture from Ichikawa Kun, finally caused Sawaguchi Yasuko's psychological defenses to crumble.

She bit her bloodless lips hard, her thin body trembling slightly uncontrollably.

Her eyes were completely red, and tears were welling up in them. She was clearly on the verge of a breakdown, about to be scolded to tears.

In the midst of this suffocating stalemate, Kitahara Iwa, who had been silent all along, spoke up at the opportune moment to defuse the situation: "Director Ichikawa, let's take a break for ten minutes and let everyone rest. I brought some hot coffee for everyone."

Ichikawa Kun glanced at the nearly collapsing Sawaguchi Yasuko, then at Kitahara Iwa beside him, and finally nodded with a frown, swallowing the even harsher reprimand that was about to come.

Upon hearing this, the other staff members relaxed, casting grateful glances at Kitahara Iwa.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the entire crew, Kitahara Iwao, holding a cup of hot coffee, walked straight to Sawaguchi Yasuko, who was on the verge of tears.

Kitahara Iwa first placed the steaming paper cup into her cold, trembling hand, then said softly, "Ms. Sawaguchi, have some hot water first, and calm down."

"Teacher Kitahara... I'm sorry... I..."

As Yasuko Sawaguchi felt the warmth emanating from the paper cup, her long-suppressed grievances finally broke down.

She kept her head down, her voice choked with sobs and broken into fragments.

As the much-anticipated Cinderella of Toho, she felt extremely powerless in front of the man who created Yuko Moriguchi.

Hearing Yasuko Sawaguchi's response, Iwao Kitahara didn't offer any further comfort. He simply waited until she had caught her breath before speaking, "Sawaguchi, look at me."

Upon hearing this, Yasuko Sawaguchi subconsciously raised her head to look at Iwao Kitahara.

Feeling Yasuko Sawaguchi's gaze, Iwao Kitahara slowly said, "You don't need to feel sorry. You've just gone in the wrong direction."

"Don't act angry. Anger and resentment are emotions that only living people have."

"And Yuko Moriguchi is already dead."

Upon hearing this, Yasuko Sawaguchi abruptly raised her head, her red eyes filled with astonishment, and she even paused for a moment.

Imagine your most cherished daughter...

Kitahara Iwa spoke at a measured pace, but every word was like a rusty nail, precisely chiseling into her psychological defenses.

"She was only four years old, so small and so cute, yet she was thrown into a cold swimming pool like a broken toy by the student you patiently taught every day, and drowned."

"You are heartbroken and want the murderer to pay for his crimes in blood."

"But you despairingly discover that what lies before you is the absurd and cold Juvenile Law."

Kitahara Iwao stared at Sawaguchi Yasuko's violently contracting pupils and continued to cruelly dissect the soul of Moriguchi Yuko that called herself a mother: "The law tells you that because they are minors, even if they are murderers, they only need to write a few flimsy letters of repentance and receive some painless psychological counseling to continue living with a clear conscience."

"Your daughter is rotting away underground, while the murderer laughs wildly in the sunlight."

"At this moment, faced with this extreme helplessness and absurdity, Yuko Moriguchi, as a normal mother, had already been killed."

"All your sorrow, weakness, and the last shred of trust you had in this world were utterly crushed into dust by that law!"

At this point, Kitahara Iwa took a step forward, his shadow completely enveloping Sawaguchi Yasuko, and continued, "So, right now you are an empty shell without a soul."

"Since the law can't punish those two guys, you can only become even more thoroughly evil than them."

"What keeps you standing here is not to seek sympathy from the audience."

Kitahara Iwao looked directly into Sawaguchi Yasuko's eyes and said, word by word, "Give up your dignity and inhibitions as a national idol."

"Yuko Moriguchi doesn't need tears; all she wants is revenge."

As she delivered this precise analysis, Yasuko Sawaguchi gripped the paper cup tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white.

But her shoulders, which had been trembling due to the pressure and grievances, miraculously stopped shaking.

As the steam from the paper cup slowly dissipated, the bewilderment and vulnerability of the victim in Yasuko Sawaguchi's eyes were gradually stripped away in this brief silence.

At that moment, she finally realized the reason for her constant sense of unease.

Subconsciously, she was still playing the role of a "sympathetic positive heroine," trying to gain pity through sadness.

But in the story of "Confessions," the mother's grief has long since died along with her daughter in the face of a murderer who cannot be punished by law; all that remains is an absolutely cold revenge.

Thinking of this, Yasuko Sawaguchi slowly exhaled a long breath and placed the slightly deformed paper cup on the podium next to her.

Then, with an unprecedentedly solemn demeanor, Yasuko Sawaguchi bowed deeply to Kitahara Iwa in front of her.

"Teacher Kitahara, I understand."

When Yasuko Sawaguchi straightened up again, the slight tremor in her voice had completely disappeared, replaced by an extreme calmness like still water: "Thank you for your guidance."

Just as this psychological reshaping was completed, a thin figure stood quietly in the shadows at the edge of Studio One.

This is Akina Nakamori, who specially rushed over late at night to discuss with Kun Ichikawa in order to finalize the theme song for the movie "Confessions".

At this point, the fragile feeling that had once driven people to despair about Nakamori Akina had gradually scabbed over.

Having completely severed her blood-sucking, ill-fated relationship with Masahiko Kondo, her mind is being rebuilt from ruins.

And Kitahara Iwa, who pulled her out of the shadows, has now become an extremely special, even obsessive, anchor in her heart.

Separated by several cold cameras, Akina Nakamori quietly watched the scene that had just unfolded.

Seeing that Kitahara Iwao, who usually didn't care much about anything else and only focused on writing books, was now so concerned about Sawaguchi Yasuko, Nakamori Akina subconsciously frowned.

As Yasuko Sawaguchi, under Kitahara Iwao's guidance, had the last trace of life in her eyes completely drained, transforming into a chilling stillness, a dangerous ripple quietly appeared in Akina Nakamori's eyes.

A strong sense of crisis and a hidden jealousy instantly entwined her heart like thorny vines.

She didn't say anything, but unconsciously clenched the lyrics book of the theme song tightly in her hand.

He remained completely unaware until his knuckles turned a bloodless bluish-white and the edges of the smooth paper were crumpled beyond recognition.

Just as this hidden jealousy was growing rampant in the shadows, Kitahara Iwa, under the spotlight, nodded slightly, turned around without saying another word, returned the stage light to Sawaguchi Yasuko, and retreated back into the shadows next to the monitor.

When Yasuko Sawaguchi turned around and faced the blackboard covered with chalk writing, the air in Studio One seemed to be completely sucked out in an instant.

Kon Ichikawa, behind the monitor, sat bolt upright, his shrewd, eagle-like eyes fixed on the slender figure on the screen. With the intuition of a top director, he keenly sensed a chilling transformation.

With the intuition of a top director, he keenly sensed a chilling transformation.

"All departments in position—"

The next second, Ichikawa Kun, in a hoarse voice suppressing extreme excitement, suddenly waved his hand and shouted, "A!"

The camera slowly zooms in along the track.

Yasuko Sawaguchi slowly turned around.

She didn't shed tears, didn't become hysterical, and even the grief and indignation she had been suppressing in her heart vanished without a trace.

Her once clear eyes were now like two dried-up wells, covered with a chilling layer of deathly ashes.

"Love of beauty doesn't lead to death by accident."

Yasuko Sawaguchi spoke up.

The voice was unexpectedly soft and calm, without any emotional fluctuations.

"The murderers who killed her were in this class. I'll call them culprit A and culprit B."

The feeling was like an ordinary morning when the homeroom teacher was reading out the day's duty roster to the students.

But it was precisely this flat tone that made everyone in the crew freeze in their tracks.

Then, Yasuko Sawaguchi stood behind the podium with an extremely dignified, even perfect, teacher's demeanor, her hands naturally folded in front of her.

She was recounting the tragedy of her daughter being drowned, yet her facial muscles were so relaxed that she resembled a lifeless shell.

"The police determined it was an accident, and I will not report them to the police."

"Because even if they are arrested, with the protection of the Juvenile Law, they will not receive the punishment they deserve."

Yasuko Sawaguchi casually announced the most vicious revenge in the world: "So just now, I mixed HIV-infected blood into the milk that prisoners A and B drank. I hope this will be the first step for you to rediscover the value of life."

As she finished speaking, Yasuko Sawaguchi gazed quietly at the camera.

That look was no longer directed at the two underage students, but rather at two pieces of meat that were about to slowly rot.

After Yasuko Sawaguchi completely shattered the extreme grief of losing her daughter with extreme rationality and calmness, the absolute coldness she displayed was more chilling than any hysterical ferocity.

At that moment, the temperature in Studio One seemed to drop to freezing point instantly.

No one dared to breathe loudly; only her cold, emotionless voice echoed in the deathly silence.

"Cut! OK—!!"

"It's approved!"

After a deathly silent performance that lasted for several minutes, Ichikawa Kun suddenly stood up from the director's chair.

This notoriously demanding tyrant on set was now trembling slightly, even as he held a cigarette.

He ignored the crew members around him who were still stunned and chilled to the bone by despair, staring intently at the icy woman on the monitor, and let out a hoarse, almost fanatical exclamation: "Perfect...this is truly despair-inducing perfection!"

Immediately afterwards, it was as if some kind of immobilization spell had been lifted.

Whoosh—!

The previously oppressive atmosphere in the photography studio, where even breathing was difficult, suddenly erupted into thunderous applause.

Every member of the crew, lighting technician, and camera assistant was clapping enthusiastically, paying tribute to Yasuko Sawaguchi's phenomenal performance.

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