by Raine Koh
He came in and gave her a tall black stool to sit on. Mimi held the guitar on her lap. It has been such a long time since she played an electric one.
“Alright, if you insist. But this one is rather loud and it’s not yet finished,” she said. She cleared her throat and started to strum the guitar. A low growl sounded from the guitar, Mimi thought it sounded good and solid.
She took a deep breath and sang a few verses. The song, “Maybe” was a fast, edgy and rather angry Japanese rock song. In spite of all the pink she wore, Mimi’s singing voice was low and raspy.
“Maybe...One day I’ll forget your face. Forget what it was like.
Sitting beside you. Being by your side. Maybe...I’ll forget your voice.
But now, I wonder if it has been raining for me?
Endless dreams, you forget if you are awake or not
Drifting by the grey sky
Has the rain become your tears?
Maybe what we had was meant to remain a memory
Maybe we were meant to remain in the past.
But you are my obsession? Why am I so hopeless?
I’m serious in the weirdest ways.
Maybe I love you...”
Mimi stopped at that point. She had yet to finish it. Sato was looking at her strangely. He looked as if he couldn’t blink his eyes and was breathing slowly.
“Sato?”
“It’s good.”
“Thank you?” she said, unsure about his response. She placed the guitar down and limped outside.
“Did you record it?” Mimi asked, curious.
“Of course I did,” he said, “Finish the song quickly.”
“I will,” she said, smiling, suddenly feeling a sense of achievement.
“We need to go somewhere now.”
“Now? Where?”
He just ushered Mimi out of the studio and without another word, they were in the car, driving off to somewhere.
“Are we having lunch or something?” Mimi asked when they stopped in front of a huge, white building. Mimi found the place strangely familiar.
“The hospital?” she asked.
“It’s time you got that ankle of yours checked on. I want you to heal faster so that you can move out soon.”
Mimi was speechless. Was he being nice or sarcastic? They both sat at the hospital waiting room and she kept looking at him.
“I know I’m handsome but I will appreciate it if you stop staring,” he remarked.
“Sato?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you for today, for everything.”
He looked at her and reached out to pat her head. “Don’t mention it.”
Track #7
Yuki stared at his mobile phone and wondered if he had made a mistake. Why did he text her? Didn’t he want a clean break? Why was he being so wishy-washy?
Anyway, he didn’t have much time to dwell on it because today was the day the Fire Boys were filming their first major television commercial for MAX mobile. He threw on a checkered shirt and baggy jeans and drove to Fame Factory Headquarters much earlier than he was supposed to. He hadn’t been able to get a good night’s sleep and he craved coffee. In Yuki’s opinion, Fame Factory’s cafeteria served the best coffee in the whole of Tokyo, or maybe he thought so because he had been drinking it since he was a teenager. He ordered a cappuccino from the barista and was surprised to see Hiroki already there. “Hiroki, good morning! You’re here early,” Yuki greeted, and with coffee cup in hand, sat down next to his senior.
“No time to sleep these days. Haru and I are working on our 10th Anniversary Album.”
“It’s amazing, isn't it? Reaching your 10th anniversary and you guys are even more popular now than when you first started.”
Hiroki waved off Yuki’s comment nonchalantly, “10 years is not uncommon in Fame Factory’s music history. But I do agree that it takes a lot of sacrifices and hard work. Yuki, you already look tired though you’ve just started!”
The wavy-haired pop idol cocked his head to one side, and thought about it. “Not tired, but lately I have been wondering about how much I’m willing to sacrifice for my band,” he replied, taking a sip from his cup.
Hiroki folded his arms and looked at him thoughtfully. “You’re talking about love, aren’t you.”
Yuki choked on the coffee he was drinking. Violently slapping his own chest whilst coughing, he looked up at Hiroki, shocked. “How did you know?”
“What else is there?” he asked, shrugging his shoulders. He passed Yuki a serviette. “But you know, there is a way to have a relationship without any hindrance from the company.”
“By keeping it a secret?” Yuki asked, his voice down to a whisper.
“Do you think you can keep anything a secret from Kon?”
“Probably not,” Yuki answered with a sigh. “Then what way is there?” he asked, leaning closer to his senior.
“Be invincible,” he replied with a wink.
“What!? How?”
“By selling a million copies of your album.”
Yuki leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his curly locks. It was almost impossible to achieve that at this stage where downloading was rampant and CD sales had decreased dramatically. The Fire Boys were popular but not that popular. At least not right now.
“Of course there is another way,” Hiroki added with a grin. “Wait until you are 30, like me, and keep your relationships a secret from the public. I doubt I’ll ever sell a million copies in my lifetime.”
“That is not encouraging at all,” said Yuki, getting up in a huff.
“Aww, don’t be mad. It’s such a waste to see a frown on that beautiful face. But honestly, the Fire Boys have a higher chance of selling one million copies than Haru & Hiroki ever did. We never got a mobile company contract,” he added, bringing his cup to his lips.
“Thanks Hiroki, for the advice and all the best with your new album. I’ll buy five copies,” Yuki said, bowing politely before leaving the cafeteria. There was only one thing that could cheer him up at a time like this. He walked into one of the dance studios and switched on the light. This was the usual studio where the Fire Boys held their dance rehearsals. The side walls were painted with rainbows while a huge mirror adorned the front wall. Yuki turned on the music to full blast and the introduction to Black Eyed Peas’ “Imma Be” filled the whole room. Moving his body to the music, his small and skinny frame suited popping and locking moves best and Yuki always found dancing to be therapeutic.
Actually the main reason why he joined Fame Factory was because he wanted to dance for a living. He was just twelve when he first entered FF for an audition. Back then, he thought that the air in here smelled different – it was the place where dreams came true. Ten years have passed since then and he still thought that way, although he now knew that dreams were not built in a day and there was always a price to pay. Beads of perspiration started to trickle down his forehead as his body became one with the music beat. He performed a body wave and spun around. Yuki wondered if selling a million copies was really impossible. It sounds impossible but he still wanted to try. The music ended and someone was clapping behind him. Yuki turned back and saw Naoki leaning against the door, with his eyes half-closed, applauding lazily. Naoki was always rather grumpy in the mornings, especially when the Fire Boys were surviving on just two to three hours of sleep each day.
“Nice moves. Come on, Jun is waiting at the lobby,” Naoki said.
Yuki looked at Naoki and thought, it was my love for dancing that spurred me to join Fame Factory but it was my members who helped me to keep on this road. “Leader! We will sell a million copies! We can make it!” cried Yuki, pointing at the half-asleep figure.
“Huh... If you say so,” mumbled Naoki in reply, while stifling a yawn. “The rest are waiting at the lobby. Let’s go.”
Yuki arrived at the lobby to see the rest of the members together with some camera crew waiting. Jun, their manager, started to bark at the pair,
“Naoki, Yuki, they are doing a day-in-the-life of the Fire Boys special segment on Star TV. Just act natural. Yuki, why are you so sweaty in the morning?”
Yuki waved at the cameraman in response while Naoki tried to stifle a yawn again. Yuki put his arm around his friend and spoke to the camera, “He is always like this in the mornings. Give him one more hour and you’ll be able to see our bright and cheerful leader.”
The members piled into a van and made their way to the filming location. Naoki was still out of it. He sat next to Yuki and leaned on his shoulder. Before long, gentle snores were heard from him. Yuki stared out of the window and wondered if they could ever reach one million copies. But till then, he really wanted to see Mimi, even if it was just for the last time.
*
For the second night in a row, Mimi couldn’t sleep and found herself staring at the ceiling of her room. She was finding it hard to sleep these days. She got up and looked at her ankle. After her visit to the hospital, the cast on her ankle had been switched to a smaller bandage. The doctor even told her that she didn’t need her crutches anymore, but she had to walk at a snail’s pace. Mimi sighed and leaned back on her bed. Honestly, after seeing Yuki on stage with his members, it made her a little sad. No. Depressed was more like it. He seemed to manage so well by himself. There was a light about him when he was on stage, and it was something that she should not disturb, if that made any sense. It was probably best to just leave him alone. She should just leave Tokyo. Her ankle was doing much better and she had been so much trouble to Sato too. Maybe even leaving tomorrow sounded like a good idea. She should just book the next air ticket out of here.
Suddenly, Mimi heard the faint sound of her own singing voice. She crawled out of bed and limped out of her room. It seemed so surreal to hear her own voice in the middle of the night. Mimi cautiously climbed the spiral staircase to Sato’s study. He was sitting by his laptop, listening to the music coming out of the speakers. As usual, a cigarette was dangling from his fingers.
“Sato?” she asked, peeking in through the doorway.
“I thought you were asleep?”
“I couldn’t really sleep. What are you doing?” she asked, stepping inside his study room.
“Listening to your song. Did you perform when you were in Singapore?”
“Well, I own a small bar, so I sing live occasionally. Is something the matter?” she asked, staring at the screen of his laptop. There were weird green squiggly lines on his screen.
Sato lowered the volume of the music player and turned to her. His expression was solemn. “Take a seat please.” There was something in his politeness that made Mimi uneasy. Maybe it’s because she was more used to his brutal attitude. She sat on the couch and looked at him expectantly.
“Have you ever considered being a professional singer?” he asked. Mimi raised her eyebrows. Was he joking?
“I guess you haven’t? Well, would you want to be one?” he asked, stubbing out his cigarette on an ashtray.
“Eh?” Mimi gaped. He seemed pretty serious. “I guess I never really thought about it. What exactly are you talking about?”
“Your voice, your song, there’s potential. If you are interested in a music career, I can turn your song into a number one hit but only if you want to.”
“Really? Does this mean you are thinking of recruiting me as a singer for Niji Records?”
“Yes.”
“But I don’t think I’m good enough,” Mimi said, rubbing her eyes. Was she dreaming?
“Obviously you are not. No one starts out being good enough, but I can change that. At least you have the potential.”
Mimi thought, this man never fails to amaze me. He was a stranger whom I depended on when I was in trouble. Why do I get this feeling that I can trust him?
She replied, “I can’t really believe this and I don’t know if I am dreaming. But if you really think my music is good enough then, yes, I entrust my music into your hands.”
“Good. Tomorrow we’ll go to my office and sign a contract. If you have raw demos of your other past songs, bring them along too. Don’t get your hopes up, beginners don’t earn much and you’ll have to work the hardest in your first year. And I’ll need you to compose fast too.”
“Alright, I understand.”
“And one more thing, you won’t mind if someone else composes for you occasionally right?”
“I guess. If it’s ideal for my voice, I don’t see why not. Is there a song you have in mind?”
“Maybe mine.”
“Oh...”
“So I will see you tomorrow. Go and get some sleep, I have work to do,” he said, turning his attention back to his laptop.
Mimi nodded and went back to her room. But how could she sleep now? She quickly switched on her laptop. All her music was stored in it and she was relieved that she had them with her at this moment. If it wasn’t for her injured ankle, Mimi would be dancing around right now. Maybe sticking around wasn’t a bad idea. Let’s see how far this will go, she thought.
Mimi’s mobile phone suddenly rang. She glanced at the clock, it was 3am. Maybe it was her brother Roy, she thought. As she reached out for it, the ringing stopped abruptly. Checking the screen, Mimi gasped.
One missed call from Yuki.
Come to think about it, he texted her two nights back as well. Was he really worried about her? Even though she travelled so far to find him, the thought of actually speaking to him scared her. Plucking up her courage, Mimi dialed his number.
“Hello?” he answered almost immediately.
“Yuki?” her voice was barely a whisper, but she could hear her heart beating wildly.
“Mimi.”
“Yes.”
“I saw you, didn’t I? In the audience?”
“Yes. My friend is a fan of yours.” She felt a little relieved that they were able to have a proper conversation in the safe confines of the phone.
“Your foot? Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry, I just got into a little accident. I will be fine.”
“Mimi...”
“Hmm?”
“I’m sorry.”
Mimi bit her lower lip to prevent herself from crying.
“Mimi. Can we meet?”
“We don’t need to meet. You don’t have to apologise. It’s better this way.”
“Don’t say that...”
“You’re very busy, aren’t you? I think I am going to be busy from tomorrow onwards as well. Let’s just forget we ever knew each other.” Mimi switched off her phone and crawled into bed, crying.
The next day she was woken up by Yamada. Mimi looked at her and wondered how she would feel if she knew that Yuki had called her. “Mimi, good morning,” she said brightly.
“Good morning, thanks for waking me up.”
“Hurry up!” barked Sato from the living room.
Does that mean that he is my boss now, thought Mimi grumbling a little. She quickly went to get ready.
“Are you bringing that with you?” he asked, pointing to her laptop. Mimi nodded. He took it from her and tucked it under his arm. “Let’s go,” he said, unlocking the front door.
They arrived at his office at 7.30 am. He sat by his desk and gestured to her to take a seat as well.
“Here’s the contract, look through it. It’s valid for two years. Basically it says that you’ll be under Niji Music. We are an independent record music label and we manage rock bands. We will be responsible for the promotion of your music and we will help you produce your first album. Any questions?”
Mimi looked at Sato and then looked at the contract. It seemed like a blur of Japanese words. She didn’t think her Japanese was that good. “Will being non-Japanese be a problem?” she asked.
“No, but I think it will be advisable for you to attend some advanced Japanese studies. We’ll assign a personal tutor for you. And remember... We lied about you being my sister, so we may need to deal with that.”
“Oh yes, what should I say?”
“On second thought, just don’t say anything. People would think we lied to keep your debut a secret, so it should not be a problem. Do you have any video footage of your past performances at the pub?”
“I believe my drummer’s sister may have recorded some of our performances.”
“Good, ask her to send it to you and then pass it over to us. We will do some viral marketing.”
Mimi scratched her head and said, “But what exactly do you need me to do? I mean... Right now? I am feeling kinda overwhelmed by this...”
Sato said, “Right now, since your ankle is not well, we’ll focus on recording your demo single and album. I’ll need you to write more also and go through your songs with me. Once your leg is well enough, you can be the opening act for one of the groups under Niji.”
