Pop Rock Love (9 page)

Then somewhere during the
chorus, she wondered if she imagined it, Yuki stopped dancing and looked at her
direction. Mimi blinked twice and there he was, standing still, looking at her.
The rest of his members were dancing in sequence but he just froze. Did he see
her? She wanted to shout his name. Then Jiro walked up to him and put his arm
around Yuki, blowing gently in his ear. The fans grew ecstatic with this
display of affection and Yuki quickly came out of his daze. He completed the
rest of the song without mishaps and Mimi wondered if he really did see her.

“Yuki was looking at you,” said
Yamada,
 
after the show was over.

“He was? Who is Yuki?” she
asked, trying to move quickly with her crutches. She was waning from the
determination she felt in the morning and she didn’t want to burst into tears
in public. They were both walking into the elevator when her mobile phone rang.
Mimi answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Mimi...” his voice whispered.

She was standing in the
elevator when she saw him in the distance, standing in the hallway. He was
holding on to his cell phone, dressed in a white shirt and black jeans, looking
at her. The next moment, chaos and high-pitch shrieks broke out when the fans
realised that their idol was standing among them.

Yamada yelped as the lift door
closed. “Wasn’t that Yuki?! Quick, open the lift door!” She started to bang on
the lift door. But it was no use. The lift was going downwards.

Mimi’s eyes suddenly welled up
with tears.

This is hopeless, she thought.

Track #6

Jun marched into the Fire Boys’
waiting room with Yuki trailing behind him, and cried out, “What were you doing
wandering outside? You were almost stomped to death! You’re not a kid, but why
are you behaving like one?” Jun held his temples and sighed, “I am having a
headache. Jiro, can you talk some sense into Yuki? Where are the other
members?”

Jiro was sitting by the
dressing table, knitting and looking rather bewildered by their manager’s
outburst. “They’re taking a shower. Did something happen?”

“I’m sorry Jun, I just needed
to check something. I won’t do it again,” said Yuki, bowing at Jun. His manager
shook his head and sighed again. “I’ll look for them. Jiro, make sure he
doesn’t leave your sight!”

The frazzled manager left the
two alone. Jiro just shrugged and continued knitting. Yuki sat beside the
shaggy-haired boy and shut his eyes. “I really messed up.”

“It’ll be okay. Do you want to
talk about it?” asked Jiro, stopping his needlework and looked at his group
mate.

“Thank you for helping me with
the performance.”

Jiro turned his attention to
his knitting, “You were looking at the cat, weren’t you?”

“Cat?”

“That girl. You were staring at
her while we were on stage. Do you know her?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Is she the reason why you have
been so distracted lately?” Jiro asked.

“Yeah,” answered Yuki. Jiro
stopped knitting and looked up. Yuki noticed that he was making a black stuffed
cat.

“Do you like her?” Jiro asked.

“I think I love her,” he said,
burying his face in his hands.

“So what are you going to do
now?” asked Jiro.

 
“I don’t know.”

That night, Yuki sent her a
text message.

I was
surprised to see you today. Is your leg okay?

That’s it, Mimi thought as she
read the message in her bedroom. He probably thinks I’m some stalker fan. Part
of her was happy that he spotted her in the crowd yet another part would rather
that he didn’t. “I’m going crazy,” she muttered to herself. She limped out of
bed and walked into the living room. The apartment was dark except for the
light in Sato’s study room. Does he ever sleep? Mimi wondered. It was past
midnight but he was still working in the study room. She decided to retreat
back to her room but accidentally knocked against the coffee table.

“Ouch!”

“Mimi, is that you?” he called
from the study room.

“Yeah.”

“Come up for a moment.”

Again, he spares no thought for
my ankle, making me climb the stairs on a regular basis, she thought. Even
though Mimi could walk better now but still, she didn’t think she should be
climbing the stairs so often. Sato was in his study room, sitting by his white
laptop, typing some emails and smoking a cigarette. His hair was slightly messy
and he was wearing a black singlet and jeans. Mimi walked over and sat on the
sofa.

“How are you? I heard you broke
down at the studio today,” he said, his eyes never leaving the laptop screen.

“Nothing, maybe it was the
crowd. I do get claustrophobic,” Mimi mumbled, scratching her head. Sato let
out a short laugh. “You lie terribly.”

“What?” she cried.

“You don’t have to worry about
Jiro, I told him not to tell anyone that you’re living with me. That kid can
keep a secret,” he said.

“Thanks, I guess,” mumbled
Mimi.

“But if you want, I can arrange
a meeting with Yuki.”

“NO!” Mimi shouted and stood up
against her better judgment. A sharp pain ran through her leg and she stumbled
back on the sofa.

“Are you alright?” he asked.
Sato took a seat next to her on the sofa. “It’s obvious you still have feelings
for him, so maybe it’s best if you two sit down and talk it out?” he
suggested.
 

Mimi was not used to Sato’s
gentle tone. Somehow it made her want to cry again. Her face was soon wet with
tears. “He abandoned me, Sato.”

“Excuse me?”

“He just left me, without a
word. I didn’t even know who he was, what he did. I think he made it very clear
how he treasures our so-called relationship. He doesn’t care and I’m the stupid
one who’s still lingering around here... I don’t even know why I’m here.”

Sato handed her a tissue and
tried to calm her down. “Look Mimi, the music industry is messy... The pop idol
scene especially. There are a lot of things happening there that cannot be
easily understood. So don’t blame yourself. I’m sure that Yuki has a good
reason for leaving the way he did.”

Mimi took in deep breaths and
tried to understand Sato’s words. He pointed towards his keyboard. “You want to
hear this new song I’m writing? I think Filth is becoming too big for their own
good, so I may just give it to one of the younger, more useless bands.”

“You can’t do that! You have to
give it to Filth!” Mimi cried. Sato just smiled and sat on the piano bench. He
started to play a tune. It was the same slow, sad melody she heard a few days
ago. Sato began singing a few lines.
 

“Just a few days ago, I received an email from you.

Cyberspace seems to be a little slow,

When the real world has already erased
your existence

Are you alive or dead?

You are still alive in my mind...

I would willingly give up half of my life to see you again

Even if it was just your tears, I want to see you

The moments we shared together, they are locked in my heart

I can only dream of you

I can only dream of us...”

His voice was deep and
soothing, yet the lyrics were so tragic. “Please sing it again,” she whispered,
closing her eyes. Mimi was tired out from all her crying and soon drifted off
to sleep on the sofa. Mimi woke up a few hours later to see Sato switching off
his laptop. The time was 7am and he was putting on his jacket.

“Are you going to the office?”
she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Yes, go back to sleep.”

“Wait!” Mimi exclaimed,
reaching out. She grabbed the edge of his jacket. Sato stopped and looked at
her.

“Can I go with you? I won’t
create any problems... I just... Cannot... Cannot stay home today...” she said
with her head hung low, expecting a ‘no’ from him.

“Sure, but Filth is having a
day off today, so you won’t be seeing them,” Sato said.

“That’s not a problem.”

“Go and wash up then.”

Mimi looked at her own
reflection in the bathroom. She looked a complete mess. Her eyes were dry and
her skin looked blotchy. She shouldn’t face the world like this, but then staying
home would cause her to think too much. She was afraid that she might end up
replying Yuki’s text.

Mimi wore a pink hoodie and a
black skirt. Pulling the hood over her head, she looked down at the cast and
wondered when she could ever wear proper shoes again.

“Are you hungry?” asked Sato.
He was wearing a black jacket with a white T-shirt inside, paired with blue
jeans.

“Not really. Do you always go
to the office this early?”

“Pretty much, do you know how
many bands I handle? The company will crash if I’m not there.”

“Right...” Mimi said, too tired
to argue. She limped to the door with her crutches.

They both sat in the car, with
music from Filth blasting through his car stereos.

“Is this a raw demo of their
latest album?” Mimi asked, suddenly cheering up.

“Yeah. Sounds alright.”

“It sounds awesome.”

“You’re such a groupie,” said
Sato.

Mimi wrinkled her nose but
there was something he said last night that she was curious about. “Sato, I was
thinking about what you said about boy bands.”

“What did I say?” he asked,
turning a curb.

“You said something about how
it’s complicated. I think I’m starting to understand a little. I mean, members
in boy bands are not supposed to date right? Is it the same with Filth?”

“Not exactly, since Filth is a
rock band, they are expected to be obnoxious. But the company still has to make
sure that they don’t get anyone pregnant or kill anyone, you know?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, these rock guys are a
hundred times crazier. But the management surrounding the boy bands is a
hundred times stricter. You know what’s taboo in a boy band?”

“What?”

“They cannot fall in love. Or
at least make it public... Until they are 30 or something.”

“You really know a lot,
Sato...”

“Of course, do you know who I
am?” he asked, snidely.

“We’re here at Niji records!”
Mimi exclaimed, trying to change the subject.

“You’re retarded. Do you need a
wheelchair? I can get one for you.”

Mimi scoffed at his suggestion.
Surprisingly, he wasn’t the first one at Niji Records. The security guards were
around and so were a few other employees. Everyone greeted Sato politely. Mimi
made a mental note to Google on Sato one of these days.

“So what will you be busy with
today? It’s a Saturday right?” she asked.

“I’ll be down at the recording
studio with this new band, Vizard. They will debut probably in September.”

“Are they any good?”

“They are pretty awful.”

“Then why do you sign them on?”

“All the bands start off as
awful, that’s why they call me King Midas.”

“Who did?”

“
Time Asia
. I’ll give
you a copy later.”

“It must be tiring to be in
love with yourself 24/7,” replied Mimi. She was back at the basement of Niji
Building, except that the studio they were in was much smaller. Vizard was a
four-piece band who seemed to like old school Visual Kei, in the likes of Glay
and some older hits of X Japan. Strangely though, they looked rather preppy for
a rock band. They were wearing black-rimmed spectacles and checkered vests.
After they finished their song and everyone else had left the studio to take
their lunch break, Sato turned to Mimi and asked, “What do you think?”

“I think they have strong
instrumentals, especially their drummer. But the singer is kind of lacking. I
mean, his voice is not outstanding or distinctive. And I am not very sure about
their style, but I guess that can be changed.”

“Wow, you are really direct.”

“What!? I am being honest,”
Mimi said, folding her arms.

“I think that’s the difference
with Singapore girls,” Sato said, turning his attention to the sound console.

“Whatever... You asked for my
opinion.”

“Anyway, can you help me with
something? Since no one else is here,” he asked, pressing some buttons on the
sound mixer.

“What is it?”

“Can you go over there?” he
asked, pointing to the recording booth.

“Do you need me to test the
sound?” she asked. Mimi cautiously entered the booth with her crutches. It was
her first time in a recording booth. She looked at Sato through the glass
plane.

“Can you hear me?” he asked,
pushing a few buttons on the control panel. Mimi nodded.