The doorbell rang. Ding-dong.
Michiya Gōshin ambled to the door and peered through the peephole. He saw a delivery man in a greyish-green uniform holding a black document pouch.
"Michiya-san, your express delivery!"
After opening the door, the delivery man wiped the sweat from his forehead and handed over the signing slip.
"Director Aoyama had me bring this. He specifically instructed that you must sign for it in person."
"Thank you for your trouble."
After signing, Michiya Gōshin took the black pouch from the man's hands. He hefted it and found it was surprisingly heavy.
Returning to the living room, the young man opened the pouch and pulled out a stack of printed materials.
The first page was stamped with the words: Love is a Required Course in Life Member Profiles.
"So this is the Wolf's secret weapon?"
Michiya Gōshin smiled slightly. As the designated "Wolf" for the upcoming show, the director had sent him the other members' files two days early.
This was to allow him to get a head start on gathering information. After all, a wolf's plan requires preparation. The show would only film for two weeks, and if he wanted to prevent any pairs from forming, he needed to understand everyone's personality and background in advance.
"Huh? Why are there only four?"
After sorting the files by name, Michiya Gōshin suddenly felt puzzled.
"Didn't they say there would be six members in total—three men and three women? I'm missing one here."
After checking again, Michiya Gōshin's expression grew even stranger.
This was no laughing matter. To perfectly execute his plan as the Wolf, he couldn't afford any slip-ups right from the start. He immediately took out his phone and called Director Aoyama.
"Hello, is this Director Aoyama?"
"Oh, it's Michiya-kun. What can I do for you at this hour?" Aoyama Akihiro's voice was cheerful and hearty.
"The files just arrived, but why is one missing?"
"There's a small issue with one of the files at the moment. Michiya-kun, you can look over the four you have for now."
"But... isn't there only two days left to prepare?"
Michiya Gōshin was confused. Logically, for a top agency in the entertainment world like Nenshi, gathering information should be child's play. How could there be a problem?
"Heh heh, it's not a big deal if one file is missing, right?" Director Aoyama's tone suddenly became playful. "This way, we can add a little anticipation to your job as the Wolf."
"..."
It seemed Director Aoyama was up to his old tricks again. He definitely had the last file; he just didn't want to hand it over.
"I understand. I will prepare well."
"Mm, don't worry, Michiya-kun. Since you've signed the contract, I will fully support your work as the Wolf," Director Aoyama's tone grew slightly more serious. "Only by working together can we turn this show into a flagship program."
"Understood."
Michiya Gōshin thought for a moment. It didn't matter if one person was missing. Having the files for the other four was already a huge advantage.
"I will prepare well."
"Do your best."
Hanging up the phone, Director Aoyama looked down at a file on his desk. On it was a girl with blue hair. Her cool, delicate features were somewhat aloof, with a high-bridged nose and thin, clearly defined lips pressed into a straight line.
"Heh heh, since you already know Michiya-kun, you can create even more drama for the show."
After Kurokawa Akane's audition, Director Aoyama had immediately sent people to gather information on her past interactions with Michiya Gōshin.
On the surface, the two had only worked together as supporting actors on a set, but the magazine featuring the [Winter Lovers] theme was quickly delivered to the director's desk.
He had heard that Michiya Gōshin was the one who recommended Kurokawa Akane for that job. A simple professional relationship wouldn't go that far.
"Don't disappoint me, Mr. Wolf~"
Director Aoyama placed the file deep inside his drawer. During the audition, he had told Kurokawa Akane that she needed to keep her selection a secret from everyone.
Thus, the man was eagerly anticipating the official start of filming.
There was sure to be an interesting chemical reaction.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
After ending the call with the director, Michiya Gōshin spread the four delivered files out on his desk.
There were two men and two women, with the names Kumano Nobuyuki, Morimoto Kengo, Asakura Toru, and MEM-cho.
The first three names were relatively normal; the last one had to be a stage name.
"Let's start with the women."
As the Wolf, whose job was to prevent any couples from forming, focusing his primary efforts on the women seemed like the right strategy.
"First up, Asakura Toru."
He picked up the file. Attached was a photo of a girl with soft, light-purple short hair, the ends curling slightly inward. It was as fluffy and light as sun-kissed wheat. Her eyes were a clear cyan, and her skin was fair and translucent.
His gaze moved down as he began to review the profile prepared by Nenshi.
Asakura Toru, affiliated with the idol agency 283 Production, member of the four-person group "noctchill".
A cheerful-looking idol who exudes an aura of transparency. She is childhood friends with her "noctchill" group mates Higuchi Madoka, Fukumaru Koito, and Ichikawa Hinana.
She serves as the group's Center but has a carefree personality, and her words and actions are incredibly spontaneous.
"A 'transparent-type' idol, huh?"
Michiya Gōshin mulled over the file's contents, committing the information—including her interpersonal relationships and personality traits—to memory.
"Next."
The next woman was named MEM-cho. Her features were exquisite. She had fluffy, golden-blonde short hair, as soft as a freshly made pudding cake, with the ends curling inward to frame her small, round cheeks.
She had large, sapphire-blue eyes that drooped slightly at the corners, paired with a signature cat-like smile. When she spoke, the corners of her mouth would unconsciously turn up, revealing a touch of cunning childishness.
Most eye-catching were the small, black devil horn hair clips on her head and the silver star-shaped earrings that twinkled under the light.
"Her occupation is a YouTuber?"
Michiya Gōshin stared at her profile. Although she was an adult active on YouTube, she had a petite frame and a face that hadn't lost its youthful charm, making her look like a high school student just out of class.
A person like that would indeed be very popular with audiences.
"...As expected of Nenshi. They can even gather such detailed family background information?"
Besides the photo, the information below detailed her family's past.
MEM-cho's dream was to become an idol, but she came from a single-parent home and had two younger brothers.
After her mother was hospitalized due to overwork, MEM-cho resolutely chose to drop out of high school to work and send her two brothers to college. She ultimately succeeded, and her mother's health recovered.
However, because she was already over 23, she could no longer become an idol, so she channeled her passion into her career as a streamer.
She gained immense popularity by posting videos from the perspective of an "active JK," and her Twitter follower count was over 400,000.
"She's a very capable person with a wealth of life experience. She probably won't fall for a man easily, right?"
Michiya Gōshin rubbed his temples. After memorizing her profile, he realized that neither of these women would be easy to handle.
For him, the "Wolf," this was good news.
Just as he was lost in thought, the phone he had placed aside suddenly rang.
"Hello."
The call connected, and a familiar, slightly languid female voice came through.
"Michiya-san, I heard you're going on a love variety show. With your charm, you'll be easily adored by all the girls, won't you? How enviable~"
"..."
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