𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐑𝐒! ➛ a. keiji ✔

𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝟬𝟲 ── 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦-𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴

listen to the song above for a soundtrack!

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arriving at the producer's office didn't take them 20 minutes — unfortunately, however, that was not due to lack of traffic. bokuto sped through every single yellow light possible, accumulating more tickets that he'd care to admit. watanabe-san swore she'd never let her boyfriend drive again, especially when they needed to be in one piece for a crucial meeting with an important person. akaashi, on the other hand, was more worried about the creaking noises — buried under shouts of "we're gonna die!" from both the musician and his manager — the car made with every jolt and sharp turn his roommate took.

still, the three of them arrived on time for the meeting, and akaashi's heart beated out of his chest as ichika opened the door for them to enter. the office was exactly what one would expect when meeting with a music producer — and a big one at that. himawari tanaka had her face plastered all across the room with all kinds of musicians she'd gotten to the top: rock bands, pop singers, and even upcoming artists akaashi recognized from his days on online platforms.

all at once, keiji felt intimidated by the inspiring aura that swallowed him whole, engulfing him in flames of imminent media attention as soon as he stepped foot into that office. the whole room just emanated the sour scent of the gateway into the music world, if there was such a thing. apart from pictures up on walls and whatnot, the room was indeed very inviting. the all-white walls filled with pictures suddenly didn't seem so startling as the lady in front of them showed the three a warm smile, welcoming them all inside her office.

"hello! good morning. so you're akaashi keiji, right?" she asked, her smile still present on her face as she chin pointed to the coffee machine, asking them if they wanted a cup. the blue-eyed man answered with a polite nod, too afraid to say anything. noticing akaashi was yet to feel comfortable in that environment, ichika took the reins.

"yes, he is," watanabe-san said, shaking the producer's hand. "i am ichika watanabe, his manager and friend — we've talked on the phone before — and that is koutarou bokuto," she added, looking at her boyfriend, who was sitting on the sofa next to the coffee machine with bouncing legs that could barely contain itselves. "my boyfriend." bokuto waved sympathetically to the woman.

keiji noticed how beautiful she was. not wasn't she only a huge producer in the musical world, — and interested in him — making her an enormous source for motivation, she was also truly endearing, with her appealing gray-blue eyes and shoulder-length dark hair. she wasn't really tall (akaashi could tell that from the height comparisons the pictures gave him), but she acted as if she stood upon the tallest building, blessing us all from above.

the man was woken up from his trance with a nudge on his arm. ichika was begging with her dagger eyes for him to say something and not just stand there apathetically. "uh-hello," he managed to utter, "you saw my video on the internet, right?" he asked, hoping that had been a good enough conversation-starter.

"ah, yes, i did indeed," she said, looking at him fiercely in the eyes. "and it was amazing, by the way. the lyrics are great, i'll give you that. i just missed something more... let's see... deep, you know? something touching." keiji opened his mouth to suggest something, but was quickly interrupted by the producer. "don't get me wrong, i do love to bash on my exes' existence — that was what the song was about, right? — but i felt as if you could do more now. don't you agree?"

the woman went on rambling about how she would like to see him thrive in the music industry, not letting him share his own ideas. she talked about how he was clearly a man of extravagant potential, yet akaashi wavered on that concept, for he was too afraid to come clean about his unknown songwriter. while ichika and tanaka-san chatted back and forth about how they would work together to polish akaashi's music and turn him into a superstar. the two of them do get along, huh?