Chapter 50: Master and Apprentice, and Aiko’s Acting Class

At Otake Shinobu’s insistence, Mother began filming.

In the plot of the first episode, Aiko’s character, “Reina,” addresses Nao as “Teacher.”
Although there were a few scenes where “Reina” calls her biological mother, Ōmori Ryō was a “sensible” director and immediately said it would be fine to film those a bit later.
So, the initial phase of shooting after the start of production was not significantly affected.

After spending some time with Aiko, Otake Shinobu, who had taken on the role of “acting coach,” discovered that her new apprentice was indeed a smart and lovely child.
Although she could be mischievous and stubborn at times, she would earnestly do whatever the adults instructed her to, and her ability to understand directions far exceeded that of her peers.

At noon, Otake Shinobu treated Aiko to a kid’s meal of fried chicken and fries.

Otake Shinobu had figured that few children could resist the temptation of this kind of fried food, and the result was just as she expected—Aiko ate very happily.

“Is it good?” Otake Shinobu asked with a smile, sitting across from Aiko.

“Mhm, mhm.”
Aiko nodded repeatedly, her little legs in white stockings swinging back and forth.

“Does Aiko come to this restaurant often?” Otake Shinobu asked again.
Aiko had chosen this fried chicken place herself, so it seemed to be a place she was familiar with.

“No,” Aiko shook her head.
“I’ve only been here once or twice with Rika-chan.
Sister says this is unhealthy food and tells me to eat less of it.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

In the 1980s, although some scientific experiments were already demonstrating the close link between fried food and cardiovascular disease, it had not yet become a societal consensus.
But this didn’t affect the conversation between Otake Shinobu and Aiko.

“But, but…” Aiko suddenly lowered her voice mysteriously.
“Sister is actually super good at making fried chicken, you know.
No one else knows.”

Otake Shinobu found this amusing and lowered her voice as well, “Really?”

“Mhm, mhm, only I know,” Aiko nodded emphatically, a hint of pride in her voice.
“Sister’s cooking is super delicious, but she never cooks for anyone else.
She only makes it for me when I want to eat!”

Otake Shinobu thought of Seiko’s appearance—a sharp-edged personality beneath a calm exterior.
She felt that Seiko was more of a “simply too lazy to cook” person than someone who was “only willing to cook for her little sister.”

However, Otake Shinobu didn’t burst Aiko’s “my sister loves me so much” bubble.
She played along with a smile, “Then your sister must be really nice to you.”

“Hee hee hee…” Aiko squirmed in her seat shyly, but after a moment, she couldn’t help but show off again.
“Also, also, Sister can tell stories and sing, you know.
Only I know that.”

“Really? That’s amazing.”

“Mhm, mhm, Sister even taught me.
When I’m scared and can’t sleep, Sister holds me and tells me stories.
Sister is super amazing, she can do anything…”

Seeing Aiko’s tendency to gush on and on when bragging about her sister, Otake Shinobu listened with a smile for a long time before suddenly interjecting, “So, Aiko only wants to call her sister ‘Mama’, right?”

“Ah…”

Caught off guard, her thoughts exposed, Aiko blushed and lowered her head, falling silent.

After some interaction, Otake Shinobu finally figured out Aiko’s awkward little mindset.
Perhaps because she had been raised by her sister from a young age, her sister had come to occupy too important a position in the little one’s heart.
Although the little one didn’t call her sister ‘Mama’, she was unwilling to call anyone else ‘Mama’ either.

“Aiko really likes her sister, doesn’t she?” Otake Shinobu asked with a smile.

Aiko’s little face looked like it was about to catch fire, and her ears turned bright red.

“Then has Aiko-chan ever told her sister?
Like, ‘Sister, I like you the most’,” Otake Shinobu asked again.

Aiko shook her little head vigorously, her cute twin ponytails bouncing along with it.

“Well, that won’t do,” Otake Shinobu wagged a finger.
“Aiko-chan, Sister likes you so much, but if you don’t let her know that you like her too, it will make her sad, you know.”

“Huh?”

Aiko looked up, her little face full of confusion.

“Does Aiko-chan have any good friends at school?” Otake Shinobu asked.

“Rika!” Aiko answered without thinking.

“Then if you kept talking to Rika-chan, but Rika-chan ignored you, would you be angry?”

“Mmm…”

“If you always told people that your best friend is Rika-chan, but when someone asked Rika-chan who her best friend is, she didn’t say it was you, would you be angry?”

“Mmm!”

“So, you see, if you like your sister very much, you have to tell her too.
That’s what will make her happy.”

“But, but, I, I…”

“Are you shy?”

Otake Shinobu asked with a smile.

Aiko nodded.

“Well, now is a good opportunity to learn.”

“Learn?”

“Yes, learn to convey your feelings to others,” Otake Shinobu guided her gently.
“In acting, this is called emotional expression.”

“Mmm!”

Aiko only half-understood.

“Now, let’s try it right now,” Otake Shinobu took a sip of her coke, put it down, and looked at Aiko seriously.
“Aiko-chan, let’s practice.
Give it a try.”

“Practice?”

“Aiko-chan, try to pretend I’m your sister and say, ‘Sister, I like you the most’.”

“Mmm…”

Aiko opened her mouth but still squirmed shyly, unable to say the words.

“Doesn’t Aiko-chan like her sister the most?” Otake Shinobu asked with a smile.

“Mhm, mhm.”

Aiko nodded affirmatively.

“Then why can’t you say it?” Otake Shinobu feigned confusion, thought for a long time, and finally compromised “helplessly.”
“Then let’s start practicing with something simpler.”

“Okay,” Aiko agreed.

A sly smile crept across Otake Shinobu’s lips.
“Then you can still pretend I’m your sister, and let’s practice secretly calling your sister ‘Mama’, how about that?”

“Ah…”

Aiko was a bit stunned.

“Don’t worry, don’t be shy.
Sister won’t know,” Otake Shinobu coaxed.
“Just try it.
Doesn’t Aiko want to call her sister ‘Mama’?”

Of course, Aiko wanted to call her sister ‘Mama’.
She had been so happy saying it when she rehearsed lines with her sister.
She fidgeted for a long time, and finally, under Otake Shinobu’s encouragement, she opened her mouth and said in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, “Mama…”

Mission accomplished.

Otake Shinobu finally revealed a relaxed smile.
Her only worry had been that the child would refuse to speak at all.
The term “Mama” was a thread that ran through the entire drama.
If Aiko couldn’t say it, or even just couldn’t say it well, then they would indeed have to replace her.

But as long as Aiko was willing to say it once, Otake Shinobu was confident she could get her to say it a second time, a third time…

“Aiko-chan, you’re doing great!” Otake Shinobu gave her two thumbs up.
“Now let’s add our feelings to it.”

“Feelings?”

“Yes, Aiko-chan, think about it.
When you’re unhappy, how do you call out to your sister?”

“Sister…”

“Come on, give it a try.
Call out ‘Mama’ like that.”

“Mama…”