(Part 2)

At this time, Kuroyama Sumiji (age 30) had already produced a film(s?) that received accolades at film festivals overseas, although reception in Japan is so-so.

(TN: this fact was more or less re-iterated in Ch 3 of Act-age)

He is working as a part-time teacher at Asagaya for the job's decent pay.

Despite the headmaster's welcoming speech to the students, Kuroyama cannot find it in him to share in that sentiment before his class.

• Like, with the availability of digital cameras, smartphones and movie making software for the masses, people from middle schoolers to Youtubers are earning money 100 times what he's got.
• The proliferation of video cameras and the internet has turned tens of thousands of people into creators.
• And acclaimed directors from Spielberg to Iwai Shunji had never learnt filmmaking at school.

They are practically living in a golden Age of filmmakers, so just what are you kids doing here at such a school at such a time!?

(TN: I can't tell if Kuroyama was serious about his pointlessness of the students' decisions, or if he's just trying to be a drill sergeant of sorts)

When it's Hiiragi's turn to answer his question, her response was that she's loved movies since she was young, but before she knew it, thoughts like "what kind of place is the world?" and "what kind of person am I?" started swirling in her mind.

And so she started thinking that maybe she should try filming a movie. Sorry for the weird answer.

"Don't use the standards of others to measure your own values then apologise for it. Or else I'll kill you."

She didn't know why, but hearing his absurd words made her happy. So before she realised it, she spoke out something that she'd die of embarassment for:

"Teacher, no director!! Please take me as your disciple!"

She didn't actually mean it, and after he's checked if she had even watched his films before (she hadn't), his reply: "Are you making fun or me? I'll kill you."