Pop Rock Love (21 page)

“What? Is that right? I have to
apologise!”

“Apologise? What for? It’s been
a long day for all of us. We’ll deal with this mess tomorrow. Someone from Fame
Factory will contact us soon.” Mimi felt unsettled, but she followed after her
manager as he headed towards the car.

The rest of the Fire Boys were
joking around in the waiting room when Jun entered with Yuki.

“Yuki, what happened to you! We
need to call an ambulance!”Jiro cried, freaking out and running towards him.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a cut,”
he said, his eyes looking to the ground. Jun applied some medicine on Yuki’s
wounds. He winced at the stinging sensation. Jun could not hide his annoyance
at him.

“Yuki, I don’t know what to do
with you. Do you want to be sent away again? You were sent away to Singapore
and instead of keeping a low profile, you went and messed around with another
girl. Do you know what can happen if the CEO finds out? You will be kicked out
of the Fire Boys, and no amount of ad campaigns can save you then!”

Naoki looked concernedly at
Jun, “What happened?”

“He was fighting with Shuji
from Filth over a girl.”

“Jun, he was attacking her!”
Yuki protested.

“Look at your face! You think I
care what happens to some other artiste! You and I are going to lose our jobs
and you only care about being some white knight!”

“Jun, I’m sorry but I had to
stop him.”

His manager let out an
exasperated sound. “I’ll go and get some ice,” he said, getting up and leaving
the room.

Yuki looked woefully at the
other members. “I’m sorry, everyone.”

“It was her, wasn’t it?” Naoki
asked.

“Yes.”

“What? Am I missing something
here. Who? What?” asked Makoto, scratching his head. Ginta shrugged and looked
puzzled as well. Naoki looked at the both of them and said, “I’ll explain
later.”

Jiro passed a bottle of water
to Yuki, looking concernedly at him. Yuki looked like he was on the brink of
tears. He muttered, “If I can’t even protect her, then I don’t deserve her.”

Track #19

As Kenta predicted, Mimi
received a phone call from Fame Factory the next day. He introduced himself
over the phone as Jun, a manager of the Fire Boys. “Please tell me what time
you’ll be available today. We need to talk,” said Jun.

“I have a magazine shoot and
interview at Aoyama but I should be done by three.”

“I will see you then.”

“Do you need the address?” Mimi
asked.

“I’ll find you,” he replied,
ending the call.

Mimi felt a sense of dread seep
in. It was early morning and the streets were jam-packed with cars. She was in
one of those black celebrity vans with tinted windows while her manager was in
the driver’s seat beside her. “Who was it?” he asked.

“Jun from Fame Factory. Kenta,
should I be worried?”

“Well, it really depends. Did
you do anything wrong?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think
so, but I feel like I did.” Mimi said, taking a sip of water from a bottle and
pulled her pink muffler closer to her face. She was dressed in a striped pastel
pink and grey knit dress with a white beret and knee high black leather heeled
boots. Tokyo was starting to get chilly.

Kenta looked at his artiste and
asked directly, “Is there something between you and Yuki?”

Mimi choked on some water and
started coughing. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“I...am....okay...” Mimi
sputtered, patting her chest.

“So is there something going
on? You need to tell me if you want protection.”

“Protection? From what?”

Kenta turned into the magazine
office’s parking lot and stopped the car. “Fame Factory may look all sparkly
and sweet, but under that facade, it’s serious business. Every one of their
artistes is worth millions, so they don’t let potential girlfriends off the
hook easily.”

“But Fame Factory has been
around for decades, I’m sure there have been successful relationships with FF
artistes.”

“Yeah, but that’s when the
artistes are in their thirties or if someone got knocked up. By then, the
management may not have a choice but to let it go. Wait, so this means there is
something going on between you and Yuki!” he said, pointing at Mimi.

“Kenta, we are going to be late
for the magazine interview.” Mimi hurriedly got out of the car and charged
towards the elevator. Her manager entered the elevator with her and added,
“Anyway, just to warn you, managers from Fame Factory are not as nice as me. Do
you know, that FF managers are not allowed to get married? If you’ve noticed,
all of them are single men.”

“What, are you kidding? What
happens when they do?”

“They can’t work as FF managers
anymore.”

The lift doors opened and Mimi
reminded herself to smile. She was greeted by a group of magazine journalists,
photographers and assistants who started to fuss over her. Three o’clock seemed
like a long time away but Jun’s words rang through her head like a threat,
“I’ll find you.” He sounded like a hitman to her.

During the interview, Mimi
tried to expand on her answers. Maybe if the interview went into overtime, she
wouldn’t have to meet Jun. However, everything wrapped up by three. She bit her
lower lip and looked at Kenta. Her manager just shrugged and gestured to the
clock. At that moment, her cell phone started to ring. She glanced at the
display screen to see an unidentifiable phone number.

“Hello?”

“Hello Mimi, this is Jun. I’m
waiting for you at the carpark basement. I have already spoken with your
manager and he’s agreed to let you come meet me... Now.”

After ending the call, Mimi
gave Kenta the evil eye. “You!” she cried, pointing at him.

“Hurry up, don’t keep him
waiting. Call me if you need me to fetch you later.”

A black car was waiting for her
at the carpark. Jun stood beside it, wearing dark sunglasses and a brown trench
coat. “Come with me,” he instructed, opening the door of the car for her. Mimi
resigned herself to her fate, sitting on the passenger’s seat and putting on
the seat belt.

Jun was in his late twenties,
had light brown short hair and was very tall. He had a no-nonsense air about
him and they both sat in the car in silence. Mimi didn’t have a clue about
where they were headed to and she didn’t have the guts to ask. They only
traveled a short distance before reaching their destination, the Masahiro
Aoyama Building. “We need to go to the basement,” Jun said. Mimi followed
meekly behind. They ended up at the Aoyama Berry Parlour. She glanced inside to
find that the interior was dimly lit. Somehow it reminded her of a
sophisticated club, but it didn’t look menacing at all. “After you,” said Jun,
motioning to her. Mimi stepped inside and was led by the waitress to their
seats. “This place is renowned for their parfait. Pick one,” said Jun.

Mimi widened her eyes as she
looked at the menu. Pictures of luxurious ice-cream sundaes adorned the pages,
and everything looked too pretty to eat. “I’ll have the mango caramel please,”
Mimi told the waitress. She looked at Jun and asked, “Aren’t you ordering too?”
He shook his head and answered, “I don’t like sweet things.”

“Oh, we could go to a coffee
house if you want...”

Jun shook his head coolly. Mimi
placed both her hands on her lap, thinking of things to say but she thought
that it might be better to hear what he had to say. The parfait arrived and the
mangoes were carved in the shape of rose petals. “It’s so lovely,” she
commented, thankful for the distraction.

Jun just continued staring at
her. Mimi thought that his gaze held no meanness, though being stared at wasn’t
really helping the situation or making her any less uncomfortable. “The Fire
Boys love coming to this place, especially Yuki. The parfait you are eating, it
happens to be his favourite too. I have been their manager since their debut
and even though I may not look like it, I do care about them deeply,” said Jun.

Mimi listened intently and
nodded. He continued, “Artistes under Fame Factory are different from others.
They have an image to uphold to their fans and they need to be available to
their fans. How marketable an idol is depends on how available he is
personally, which means, no girlfriends.”

He took a deep breath and
continued, “The CEO gives each artiste three strikes. Every time they commit a
grave mistake, they get a strike. Once they hit three strikes, they get fired
from Fame Factory and they will never get another chance at stardom. Due to his
previous scandal with a model, Yuki already has one strike under his name. If the
CEO knew what happened in the broadcasting studio that day, he would be in
trouble. I have kept that matter under wraps for now, but if the CEO discovers
the relationship between you and Yuki, it will spell the end of Yuki’s career
and possibly even the Fire Boys. So I’m asking you, before anything serious
happens, break all ties with Yuki and don’t ever see him again. Both of you
have a bright future ahead, don’t complicate it by being together.”

Mimi let every word sink in.
She placed the spoon down on the table and said, “I understand where you are
coming from, but I really need Yuki to be in my life. I can’t possibly be the
first one to have a relationship with an FF artiste. Please tell me how this
relationship will ever be approved by the CEO.”

“There is nothing you can do,
but let go of Yuki’s hand.”

“Unless he lets go of my hand
first, if not I won’t let go of his.”
 

“Let him go, he is a star too
bright for you to hold on to. He needs to be free to shine.”

“What do you mean?”

“You will find out eventually.”

The manager let out a loud sigh
and stood up. “I guess that is the end of our discussion. Please finish the
rest of your parfait, I will take my leave now.” Mimi thought he looked
disappointed. He bowed politely and left the café. She stared at the ice cream
as it slowly melted right before her eyes. Why should loving someone be so
complicated? Mimi was tired.

She just wanted to go home.

*

Jun got into his car and
sighed. He took out his cell phone and dialed the number of his boss. “How did
it go?” asked a deep, gruff voice at the other end. “She is not going to give
him up,” Jun replied. A deep silence was heard at the other end. Jun could
imagine the CEO frowning in disapproval.

“We need to keep them apart,”
Kon answered. “Let Yuki leave for America two months earlier and tell the media
that the reason for his early departure is because he has to learn English and
improve his dancing skills.”

“Does that mean he needs to
leave next week? What’s going to happen to the Fire Boys then?” asked Jun,
clearly worried. The Fire Boys were doing so well in the industry now despite
having only debuted for three years. However, this could mean that the group,
as a five-member unit, would be out-of-action for at least six months. The Fire
Boys were popular, but they were not invincible – at least not yet. In a
fickle pop world, being out
 
of the
public eye for so long could be fatal.

“We’ll have to see how well
they can cope without him and how well he does in America. We’ll make the
decision on whether to keep him in the group after the six months are up,” Kon
answered. Jun didn’t think the bond the boys shared was that easily broken
though. If the company decides to drop him from the group, he could forsee a
barrage of different troubles. But the manager kept his thoughts to himself.
Instead he said, “I understand. We can only decide after the six months are
up.”

*

Mimi left the café with a
million and one thoughts running through her head. She was worried sick about
Yuki but Kenta had specifically instructed her to not contact him for a week.
“Till things cool down a bit,” he said. She just couldn’t shake off this bad
feeling that she was going to lose him. But no matter how tightly she held on
to him, it seemed the end was inevitable. She hailed a cab and absent-mindedly
told the driver that she wanted to go to Shibuya. She took out her mobile phone
and stared at it. She really wanted to see him.

It was a chilly night. Mimi
pulled her muffler higher up to cover her face partially, as a means of walking
the streets unrecognised. As predicted, the music video for the Fire Boys’
“Violet Crush” was playing on the big LCD screen on one of the buildings at the
Shibuya Crossing. She stared at the screen from across the road. Two teenage
schoolgirls clad in their uniforms stood next to her, waiting for the green man
to appear. One of them started pointing at the screen and talking animately to
her friend. “Have you heard the latest news? Yuki landed a role in a Hollywood
movie! He is going to leave for America next week.”

“What? Really? That’s amazing
but what is going to happen to the Fire Boys?”

“I don’t know, he could be away
for awhile.”

The traffic light had turned
red but Mimi did not cross the road. She froze in her tracks before whipping out
her phone. The first person she decided to call was Yamada. “Yamada, I’m so
sorry to call you so suddenly, but I need to ask you something.”

“Mimi, how are you doing? I’ve
heard your single is doing very well now. Congratulations,” replied the
middle-aged lady brightly.

“Thank you, but I need your
help urgently,” Mimi said, not really in the mood for chit-chat.

“Sure what is it?”

“Is it true that Yuki is
leaving for America soon?”

“Why yes, the news have just
been published on all the major entertainment news sites,” Yamada sounded
surprised at her question. “I can’t believe you know about it already. He’s
filming a dance movie in America.”

“When is he leaving?” She could
feel tears welling up in her eyes.

“I believe next week.”

“Yamada, would you happen to
know where Yuki is now?” She was certain that her questions made her sound like
some crazed stalker. But if anyone knew where Yuki was right now, she was sure
Yamada –
 
the Fire Boys’
number one fan – would.