Your Song

Chapter Thirty Five | Managing

You were in your studio on your laptop, trying to balance emails inviting you to interviews and such, and a phone pressed against your ear. You weren't in the mood for a sudden hiatus in your career since you wanted to help out your mom in the house expenses, since you moved in and she needs to pay for two kids on her own.

"Yep, eight o'clock. Or... uh," You added eight to twelve in your head. "20:00. Yes, thank you!"

You heard the interviewer hang up and placed your phone on your table. Four interviews in the month. It wasn't much compared to your usual schedule, but it was better than just disappearing altogether.

"Well. I do not have a car." You stated. Some of these interviews were across town, some in a whole different city.

Public transport was a huge no-go.

You leaned forward, resting your head on your desk. "What's Kotaro's pay check? He does too much." You stopped for a moment, letting out a sigh and sitting up straight again. "...I want coffee."

You untucked your chair and walked out of your studio and towards the cafe that was a few turns away. "Hey Y/N." Your hairstylist greeted as you passed by. She wiped hair dye from her hand and placed the cloth on the table. "What's up? You're not often up there."

"Eh, I was just looking over interviews I have. Where is everybody?"

"The shop's closed today. I'm just checking out some hair dye colours. You wanna check them out later?"

"Sounds fun." With a grin, you lifted your mask and put on your sunglasses and made your way down the street. 

You entered the cafe and got in line, looking up and seeing the closest thing to Iced Cappe you could find on the menu. The cafe wasn't that full, so there were only two people in front of you, but you kept your head down so you didn't really know who else was there.

"Next please!"

Once you walked up to the cashier and you put your hands in your pockets, your eyes widened a bit. You had forgotten you wallet. "Um, actually-"

"Good morning." You felt someone's hand on your shoulder. A near squeak left your mouth, but you simply gasped. When you turned, you saw the familiar person that Miya specifically told you to stay away from. Adam. "Why don't you order?"

You didn't want to make it seem like you were in trouble, since you really weren't, so you said, "I'll have the iced coffee.." 

"Alright, and how would you like to pay?"

"Credit card, please."

There were quite a few people looking your way, and you didn't know if it was because of you, or because of Adam who had his hand on your shoulder the entire time. You were given your iced coffee and slowly walked out of the store.

"What do you want?" You took off your sunglasses. "Have you been following me?"

"I simply go to the same cafe as you. Is that so weird?"

"People were staring at you the whole time. I know that you don't go there often. So wha-"

"I just thought you'd be interested to hear about your manager."

You paused, turning your head towards him. "...One chance. Disappoint me, I better not see you again under these circumstances." He nodded and you took in a deep breath. "What... is it you know about Kotaro?"

•••

"I said I'd listen, not 'Sure, let's go on a road trip.'" You said, sitting in the backseat of the car, with Tadashi driving and Adam in the front passenger seat.

"Well, you got in, didn't you?"

"I heard you went to Langa's 18th birthday, so if you're trusted enough for that, then I don't care. Besides, Hina's able to track our phones from anywhere, even if we don't have internet. So if you try anything, you'll get a really pretty, but really scary French-Asian woman."

Adam turned back, the first hint of confusion on his face he's shown in quite a while. "I see."

You looked out the window, watching everything go by. It wasn't easy for you to go anywhere without being photographed or stared at, so you were always in the car or surrounded by your friends so no one tries anything scandalous.

Maybe, one day, you should take a walk around the town. By yourself. Not going to any stores, just walking.

"Is that a longing you have?"

You flinched and looked at the front of the car. "Huh?"

"Walking around without any disturbance and being able to enjoy things like any child would." Tadashi said.

You crossed your arms. "No. I decided to make my life surrounded by lights for a reason." Again, your eyes travelled to the world going by outside the window. 

The car came to a stop and you noticed the familiar area. You weren't in the car for very long, now that you thought about it. The car stopped at a skate park, the same one where you and Miya had your first actual interaction.

You remembered just wanting to walk around and you ended up stopping at the skatepark since it was empty and had somewhere for you to sit.

"Why a skatepark?"

"It's just a place I often visit. Would you like to go somewhere else?"

You watched a few people skate around the dip in the centre of the park and looked down. "No, this is fine." 

There was a park bench with a table nearby, where the three of you sat down. "By the way," You began, looking down at the their hands. "Are you two married?"

"Hm? Oh, no, we're not." Adam smiled down at the ring he had. 

You deadpanned. "Right..." You sipped your iced coffee. "How would you know anything about Kotaro?" Then, you glanced at the car, then his dapper wear, then Tadashi's dapper wear. "Never mind, rich people have connections to everything."

"That's not true."

"Fine, you don't have connections to everything." You cleared your throat. "In any case, you don't have to reveal anything Kotaro wouldn't want you to, if that's what you're about to do. Simply tell me if he's safe."

Adam nodded. "He's safe, you don't need to worry. He simply has an issue with his mother."

"Really? But I heard he didn't even leave Japan."

"He did. He's still there. Although I don't quite understand why he didn't tell you."

You looked down, a small smile appearing on your face. "That's good. But why would his credit card be paying for things that aren't in Canada...?" You stood up. "Thanks. See you around, I guess."

For some reason, even if you got such a vague answer to the thousands of questions that swirled around in your head, you felt at ease. Just like you had a life apart from Kotaro, Kotaro had a life apart from you.

"Maybe I should send money over." You pulled out your phone and paused. I... could've just used my digital wallet. But when you opened your phone, you noticed a message.

Y/N, we've gotten a call from Kotaro. But he was asking for you.

It was from Shindo. You furrowed your brow. "Well, that's... ironic, actually."

You ran down the street and back to your hairstylist's shop. "Hey, Lilac, could you do me a huge favour?" She nodded, her brow raising. "Of course. Is something wrong?"

"Could you bring me to Shindo's house."

She tapped her chin. "Shindo... Shindo, Shindo, Shindo... Oh, that kid with the glasses, right?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"Of course, my car's parked out back."