the idols race for love, are you ready? | book one | utapri

chapter fifty-three

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『 your p.o.v 』

"So, you just happened to run into Otori Eiji at a cafe and then magically appeared at HE★VENS' concert earlier?"

I caved in some on myself at Shining's less than amused tone as I stood in front of his desk within his large office. "It's the truth. We spoke at the cafe a bit, he offered for me to go and see his brother perform, and I didn't think to ask just who his brother was until it was too late. I'm sorry for not handling this situation better Shining..."

The older man sighed as he ran a hand through his dark burgundy hair. "I'll cut you some slack since this was an accident, but you need to think things through more Miss Kotobuki. The next time you make a mistake like this, I won't take it lightly." He then warned, his voice holding no warmth to it now.

"I understand. Actually Shining, can I talk to you about Quartet Night while I'm here?" I asked with a hesitant smile. "I know you're upset about this but-"

Holding up a hand, Shining cut me off before nodding towards the couch closest to his desk. "What is it you want to discuss?"

Sitting down on the plush cushions of the couch, I diverted my gaze downwards to my hands that are fisted around the end of my school uniforms skirt. "Well, there's two things. Firstly, Quartet Night and I spoke a few days ago about their group song and they said they want to hold off on making another so their two new cd's will only be featuring their four solo songs if that's alright with you."

"If that's what they want to do then I don't see anything wrong with that. Now what's the second thing you want to talk about?" Shining asked, his tone more gentle now than before.

My fists tightened ever so slightly as I debated on really asking this or not. "Secondly... Is AI related to Aine somehow..?"

I didn't dare look up as a long pause passed us by, Shining not saying a thing for a good while. But, I had to ask him about this. Ever since I learned of Aine and saw pictures of him and heard his voice, there's no denying that something fishy is going on here and I don't want Reiji getting hurt by whatever that something is. He's my idol and I want to protect him just as Mom asked me to. Even if she didn't ask me to watch over Reiji, I would have done it anyways. I care too much about him to not try my hardest to keep him happy...

"What makes you think they're related?" Shining asked instead of giving me a direct answer.

Glancing up to meet the older man's cold gaze, I instantly caved in on myself just a little more. "I never knew Aine, but I've listened to his songs and seen pictures of him and, AI is just like Aine. I know Reiji thinks so too but he won't say a thing about it so I will. I'm not asking for specifics or anything, but I don't want Reiji getting hurt because of this."

"Are you asking as my student, as Quartet Night's composer, or as Kotobuki Reiji's younger sister?"

"Both as Quartet Night's composer and as his younger sister." I responded without an ounce of hesitation. "I care for those four and I want them to succeed and Reiji needs to be focused on his work in order for that to happen. He already ended up in the hospital once because of his grief over Aine's disappearance and now being in the same band as AI and it's only a matter of time before he does something stupid again because of this. I just want to know if there's anything I should tell him when things fall apart again?"

Staying quiet, Shining stood up from his chair and moved to look out the windows behind his desk that overlook much of the school. "Your brother is a capable idol. He'll pull through any of his own personal issues for the good of the band. All you need to be concerned with is composing for them."