Kyosuke paused. Before he continued, he let out a sorrowful chuckle.

“To say I was surprised is an understatement. I was completely dumbfounded when Sato came and told me that he was in love with Touma. I never saw anything more than friendship between them, so finding out my two best friends were actually lovers shocked me to the core. Despite that, though, we continued to hang out together. They never pushed me aside when there was talk of going out for drinks. Neither did they shun me during the rest of the time. Instead, we kept doing most of the stuff we usually did together. 

Furthermore, I never showed any disapproval towards their relationship. After all, they were grown men and were free to love whomever they wished.

Things went well for a while. I saw how happy Sato was, how much he loved and was loved in return. Even his workload increased. Due to his positive attitude and innocent look many directors wanted him to play roles in high school dramas or teen movies. Things were really looking up for him. 

But then, everything took a sudden turn for the worst when Sato and Touma auditioned for the same role in a historical movie. It was a big production that was expected to have a lot of success.”

Reaching up to here, Kyosuke took a break. He raised the glass to his lips, taking a considerable amount of whiskey. The fiery alcohol slid down, burning his throat. 

After quenching his thirst, Kyosuke put the glass down and remained quiet, staring blankly at the bar’s surface.

The event he just mentioned was still vivid in his mind. 

That production had been so big that they took special measures when choosing the cast. Hence, the casting process was split in three phases, each aiming to showcase a certain talent.

The first one was about general acting. Its focus was on the way the actors understood their characters and the plot, as well as their basic understanding of the background story. It was mainly a Q&A session. 

Then, the ones who got the highest scores were able to participate in the second phase, which consisted in acting out a scene from the script and showing the judges the actor's take on the character. 

Those who moved on from this phase were allowed to go to the third and last phase. These represented less than a quarter compared to the initial number. That’s where the true war was being waged. 

Everyone who had advanced to the last phase was the best of the best among all the applicants and the competition was very tight. Especially for those like Sato and Touma, who auditioned for the same character, it was a nerve-wracking time.

Several minutes later, Kyosuke took a deep breath and was finally able to continue his narration.

“In the beginning, they both seemed calm and cool-headed about it. They never quarreled and even went as far as to practice their lines together. 

Whenever Touma had an audition Sato would always cheer him on. And that time wasn't any different. Even though they were competitors, Sato never once showed any traces of jealousy or dislike towards his partner. On the contrary, he always tried to be positive and supportive. 

However, Touma slowly began to change. 

The entire casting process took a whole month and by the time the last week came he was increasingly irritated. He got annoyed from the slightest thing and always snapped at Sato. I tried talking to him a few times but we almost ended up in a fistfight. Sato came to stop us at the right time, but from then on I maintained my distance from Touma. I was sure everything would go back to normal after the audition was over, so I thought this was for the best. Boy, was I wrong about that! Little did I know that such an awful thing would happen in less than a few days’ time.”

Kyosuke paused again. Looking down at his hands, he noticed the empty glass and sighed.

“Here.” 

Asakura almost magically produced another glass of whiskey, placing it in front of the troubled looking young man.

“Thank you.” 

Kyosuke nodded and took a sip before continuing. 

“The night before they had to take the last interview, Sato and Touma had a heated argument. All three of us lived together in a two-bedroom apartment, so I could easily hear the shouts coming from their room. Just when I was considering knocking on their door, Touma burst out from the inside and rushed past me like a storm. Sato went after him, ignoring me entirely. His entire being was set on catching up to Touma. He couldn't care about anything else.

I don't know where they went or what happened between them. All I know is that when Sato returned his appearance was dreadful. His clothes were in disarray, his hair looked messy and wet. Heck, even his shoes were dirty. But those alone would have been fine, if not for his face looking the way it did. A purple eye and a cut lip were the clear proof that he had gotten into a fist fight. 

However, the worst was revealed only when he took his clothes off. At the sight of his body, I felt the air escaping from my lungs. Sato’s arms and legs, as well as his back were covered in bruises. Whenever he tried to breathe in deeply he winced in pain. 

At this sight, I instantly saw red, almost fainting from anger. That night, I pushed and pulled, forcefully taking him to the hospital. That’s how I found out that, on top of the other small injuries, Sato also had two broken ribs and a sprained ankle. When I asked him what happened he kept silent, simply staring blankly at his hands."

As he reached this point in the story, Kyosuke’s countenance changed from red to white, then from white to black, before it reverted to its initial color. Retelling all this had obviously upset him very much. 

As he took the glass to his lips, his hand shook slightly.