Reincarnation: Yukino Yukinoshita Is My Childhood Sweetheart

"What? You want me to act?"

Eriri, sitting in the spacious lounge after being invited by Yukino, was utterly shocked. Her face was full of surprise and confusion, as if she had just been told to fight a monster.

"Yes," Yukino replied with a serious tone.

Eriri immediately recoiled, shaking her head in rapid denial. "No way, I can't do that. Absolutely not."

"Would you mind telling me why?" Yukino asked calmly.

When it comes to serious matters, Yukino has always been patient.

Eriri looked torn, a mix of nervousness, guilt, and a myriad of emotions. Deep down, she was curious, but her nerves quickly drowned out any other thoughts.

Yukino turned to look at Haru, silently asking for backup.

Haru considered his words carefully before responding in a calm voice, "It's just a game, really. There's no need for you to be so nervous, Eriri."

"A game?" Eriri looked at him with clear disbelief.

"Yes, a game," Haru repeated.

"But... you're from the photography club," Eriri said, her face skeptical. "You're professionals. How could this just be a game?"

Haru grinned and countered, "Do you see any professional equipment around here?"

Eriri blinked. She had to admit that this did make sense.

Biting her lip, she muttered, "So, it's really just a casual shoot?"

"Exactly. We're using our phones, so it's definitely casual. Besides, it's boring to sit out there alone. It's more fun to hang out with others our age."

Haru smoothly offered an alternative reason.

Eriri hesitated for a moment but then straightened her posture, puffing her chest out as she said, "Alright, I'll give it a try. But just so you know, I only agreed because I wasn't comfortable out there."

Her words were dripping with the classic "Tsundere" tone.

Haru smiled in amusement.

"Alright then," Eriri said, now visibly more relaxed, her eyes full of curiosity and anticipation. "What should we do next?"

Haru turned to Yukino. "How do you want to shoot this?"

Haru had already noticed that Yukino seemed to have prepared for this moment.

Sure enough, Yukino stood up confidently. "We'll shoot it like the other day, but I've added a few changes."

She didn't forget about Eriri. "Eriri, I'll explain the details in a moment."

"Okay."

Eriri quickly adjusted herself, sitting up straight like a student waiting for a lesson.

Haru almost laughed, but seeing Yukino's serious expression, he held back.

"I'll walk over from there and stop here," Yukino said, pointing to the chair next to her.

Then she gestured to Haru. "Eriri, you'll sit over there."

Eriri blinked. "So you want to film us sitting and chatting together? But with the lighting, it looks a bit too dim for that shot..."

She trailed off, noticing that Yukino was staring at her with a slightly puzzled look.

Her face immediately turned red. "Did I say something wrong?"

Yukino smiled softly. "No, you're right. You're quite perceptive about lighting. Did you learn about this before?"

Eriri quickly shook her head. "No, I never studied photography."

She gave a nervous laugh, clearly hiding something. She had another identity she couldn't let slip.

Yukino saw through the lie but decided not to press the issue for now.

Haru, who knew the truth, remained silent.

Eriri, as a well-known doujin artist, had great talent. If she had ever studied comics, her sensitivity to visual details would make perfect sense. After all, the purpose of comic paneling was to imagine different camera angles, and then recreate them through drawing. It was a blend of photography and illustration.

Meanwhile, outside the room, three other figures stood. One was Eriri's mother, Sayuri, and the other two were Mrs. Yukinoshita and Ms. Ninagawa, who had come to speak with Sayuri.

They instinctively paused their own conversations and watched the scene unfold.

After a while, Sayuri leaned in and whispered, "Do you understand what they're doing in there?"

Mrs. Yukinoshita was about to answer when Ms. Ninagawa spoke up. "It looks like we're going to have an interesting scene."

The two women immediately turned to her.

Ms. Ninagawa lowered her voice so as not to disturb the young people inside. "Look at the young man, the one holding the lights."

She was referring to Haru, who was carefully adjusting the two small lamps in the room, placing them behind Yukino and Eriri's chairs. With a flick of the switch, warm-toned light illuminated the space.

Haru was patiently adjusting the bulbs, checking the color balance.

Mrs. Yukinoshita chuckled. "It looks like they got bored out there and didn't want to leave too early, so they're making use of the time by working on a club activity."

"A club activity?" Ms. Ninagawa asked, intrigued.

"Yes, Yukino and Haru started the photography club together. As for Sayuri's daughter, she probably got roped into this by Haru —he's always had a ton of ideas."

"Now I understand what they're doing."

Ms. Ninagawa suddenly smiled. "Those two lamps have warm light. If I'm right, the two girls will sit there, and the warmth of the light represents the youthful energy of their age."

The other two women were silent for a moment.

Ms. Ninagawa continued, "Look at that phone. They're probably using a color-lighting app to create a blue glow."

"Blue light? What does that mean?" Sayuri asked, now interested.

"Blue can represent many things—melancholy, calmness, rationality. We'll have to watch and see. But what interests me is why they've kept the blue light so faint."

As the three women observed, inside the room, the filming paused.

Haru signaled, and Yukino elegantly entered the frame, her posture graceful as she walked to Eriri and sat down.

Haru gave a subtle gesture for them to improvise their lines.

Yukino, without missing a beat, turned to Eriri, who was still somewhat tense. "Eriri, you really haven't studied photography before?"

Haru's mind briefly wandered, thinking how Yukino had just used their agreed-upon "improvised" script to satisfy her own curiosity.

Eriri's eyes darted around. "I... I told you already, I haven't."

Her reaction was all too obvious.

Yukino's curiosity grew. "So the way you instinctively understand the camera, could it be... talent?"

"Maybe. I really haven't studied it. I've only been to the photography club once," Eriri stammered, her anxiety growing.

Yukino, unfazed, pressed on. "If it's talent, then why are you so nervous right now?"

"Because... the camera's pointing at me! That's why!" Eriri sputtered. She felt overwhelmed by Yukino's intense gaze.

Yukino smiled knowingly, as if recognizing the shift in Eriri's demeanor.

Just as she was about to speak again, she caught Haru's subtle signal, and her hair shifted to block the blue light in the room.

With a quiet but confident voice, Yukino spoke, "With your talent, it'd be a waste not to join the photography club."

Eriri blinked in confusion, unsure whether Yukino was serious or just playing with her.

But Yukino was playing her part... expertly.

At the door, Ms. Ninagawa smiled knowingly.

"That blue light represents calmness. From the very first line, Yukino was subtly probing for the truth. It's clear now—she was using the blue light to mask her emotions, while controlling the conversation to lead Eriri into revealing more."

The other women stared in silence.

Ms. Ninagawa's gaze fixed on Haru. "That boy—what's his name?"

"Amamiya Haru," Sayuri Sawamura said that she could finally speak.

"Mrs. Yukinoshita just said he's from the photography club?" Ms. Ninagawa asked.

"Yes."

"How strange," Ms. Ninagawa mused, her eyes never leaving Haru. "He's handling the lighting and the direction of the shot like a true professional. But he's from the photography club? This is something a director would do."

Under the stunned gazes of the two beautiful women, she smiled and said, "This is clearly a talent that only directors have. Are you sure he is a member of the photography club?"