Pop Rock Love (19 page)

“I just did my best. I have to
thank the whole team,” she said, shrugging.

“Tell me Mimi, what is your
dream? Have you pictured yourself ten years from now?”

She scratched her head and looked
at the floor. “Actually I never thought I would say this, but my dream is to be
like you.”

“What?” he asked, stunned.

“I mean, creating music not
just for myself but for others too. Being a producer, isn’t that such an
awesome thing to do?” she said, clasping her hands together, looking
starry-eyed.

“I’m sorry to burst your bubble
but there can only be one ‘Sato’ in the world,” he said, reaching out to pat
her head.

“One ‘Sato’ is more than
enough!”

He laughed at her and got up.
Mimi looked at him seriously and said, “You know Sato, I’ve always regarded you
as a dear friend. Maybe you just treat me as an artiste, but if you ever have
any problems, please feel free to confide in me.”

Sato looked at Mimi for a
moment when he suddenly winced in pain. Holding his stomach, he crouched down.
“Sato! What happened!?” exclaimed Mimi, running by his side. “Do you need an
ambulance?” Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead and he looked like
he was in pain but he shook his head. He reached for his jacket pocket and
fished out his car keys. “Mimi...drive...me home,” he muttered softly. Mimi had
a driving license but truth be told, she had never really driven any other cars
beside the ones from her driving school. However she decided to ignore that fact,
and putting the producer’s arm over her shoulder, she helped him to his feet.

“Did you eat something wrong?
Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?” she asked, as they made
their way to the parking lot. “Just drive me home,” he answered softly. Mimi
soon located the black convertible, endearingly named Baby, and sat behind the
wheel. Sato let out a groan as he sat down on the passenger’s seat, rubbing his
stomach. Oh my goodness, she thought, I’m gonna drive a BMW. I think it has
been more than a year since I drove anything.

“What are you waiting for?”
cried Sato, looking at her with furrowed brows. His hands were wrapped tightly
around his stomach. Mimi took a deep breath and placed her hand on the clutch.

“Here we go, hold on!” she
said, stepping on the pedal. A loud screech was heard and the car zoomed off.
Sato felt himself being thrown back. He quickly reached out to hold the side of
the car door while glaring at Mimi furiously. “What is wrong with you? Do you
want to get hauled in by the traffic police?”

“I need to focus on the road,
hush...” she said, suddenly making a sharp turn, causing Sato to slam on the
side of the car. “If there is even one scratch on Baby, I’m cutting the repair
costs from your pay!” he barked.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be home
soon,” Mimi said. She heard a loud “bonk” out of nowhere. “What was that
sound?” she asked. A foul pungent smell greeted her nose and now it was her
turn to glare at Sato. “Sato, did you fart? I don’t believe you! Open the roof!
I can’t breathe!” she cried, coughing and gasping for air.

“I had indigestion,” Sato said,
pressing a button on the dashboard, which made the car’s top go down. Another
loud “bonk” was heard. It sounded like a mini explosion, but the sound was the
least of her problems. Mimi started to gag. “Can you stop farting?” she
protested, picking up the speed. Sato smirked, amused at her suffering.
 

Back in his apartment, Sato ran
towards the toilet in Mimi’s old bedroom while she shook her head and sighed.
She walked towards the kitchen, having recalled Yamada storing some pills that
would help relieve indigestion in the medical cabinet. The apartment was still
so familiar to her somehow. She found what she was looking for and started to
boil some water for Sato. Twenty minutes later, a toilet flush was heard from
the bathroom. Sato staggered out of the toilet and slumped on the guest room’s
bed. Holding on to the packet of medicine and some warm water, Mimi checked up
on him.

“Sato?”

She saw a pale figure sprawled
on the bed, with his eyes shut. He groaned in reply. She sat next to him on the
bed. “Sato, take this tablet. It’ll help,” she said, passing him the pills.
Sato reluctantly sat up and took them from her, swallowing them down with a
gulp of warm water. “Thank you,” he said. “I’ll be fine after resting.”

Mimi never saw Sato look so
frail before. But I guess, no one is omnipotent, not even King Midas Sato, she
thought. “Sato, do you need anything? I can cook some porridge if you want. You
can ask for anything.” But he didn’t answer her. Instead, his eyes looked
glazed and appeared to be staring into nothingness. Mimi wondered if this was
the first sign of madness when he finally spoke. “Can you spend the night with
me?”

“What?” she cried, staring at
him in disbelief. Did he just say what she thought he said?

“I have been having trouble
sleeping lately. That night when I was spooning you to sleep, that was one of
the best nights of sleep I’ve had in a long while. So if you don’t mind...”

Mimi heaved a sign of relief
upon hearing his explanation. Sato stared at her curiously. “What? Did you
mistake my request for something else? Oh please, I told you before, you are
not my type.”

“Anyone would have mistaken
you,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Anyway, I won’t say ‘no’ to a dying man’s
request. But if you were to fart in your sleep, I’m out of here!”

“You’re so cold. And who was
the one going on and on about us being friends a while ago? And who said I was
dying!”

“Fine! It’s really late now
anyway, so let’s get some sleep. Even if I’m not your type, no hanky-panky,
okay!”

“Fine, I’ll just pretend you’re
a soft toy,” Sato mumbled as he turned off the lights. This is such a weird
situation, thought Mimi to herself as she crawled into bed. She felt Sato’s
arms cuddling her. But I think it’s even weirder that I feel comfortable in his
arms, she thought, as she closed her eyes.

“Mimi...”

“What?” she mumbled, keeping
her eyes closed. She was feeling really tired.

“Nothing. Go to sleep.” He soon
heard Mimi snoring. He wondered if there would ever come a day when he could be
completely honest with her. He held her tightly and closed his eyes. Not today,
he thought, letting out a soft sigh.

Track #17

“Naoki, do you want to have a
drink?” asked Yuki. It was 1 am, but the both of them had just finished a day’s
work. They were both changing out of blue hospital scrubs in the dressing rooms
and were completely drenched. They were at the television studios and had just
wrapped up filming for a variety show called
Doctor X
. The both of them
were there as guests and had to undergo wacky experiments with animals. Today’s
programme included communicating with a chameleon (or at least try to) and
trying to swim faster than a dog (which explained their current wet state).
Naoki passed his friend a large white towel and answered, “Sure. I need a
drink. I can’t believe the dog swam faster than me!”

Yuki smirked. The leader was
always so competitive. Actually all of them were, in their own way. Even Jiro
with his kooky knitting, hated to be second best to anyone.

The two idols decided on a
small cosy bar, located at one of the small side alleys in Ebisu. Soft jazz
music played in the background. No one bothered to disguise themselves at this
time of the night, not even pop idols. It was already winter. After removing
their coats, both of them were clad in thick knitted sweaters (gifts from
Jiro), jeans and boots and sat by the bar counter. The place was empty, save
for the bartender.

“Two bottled beers and some
yakitori
please!” ordered Naoki, referring to grilled skewered chicken. They both drank
their beers in silence before Naoki spoke up. Turning towards the wavy-haired
member, he spoke, “So rumour has it that you passed the screen test.”

Yuki took another gulp from his
bottle and mumbled, “It's not confirmed yet.”

“You look distressed. I thought
this was your dream? You worked so hard for it,” Naoki said, observing Yuki’s
expression.

“But I will be away from
everyone for four months, at least. And...” he stopped midway and let out a
sigh.

“And?”

“Nothing...” he mumbled,
putting the beer bottle down on the counter. Naoki knew better than to pry. He
had known Yuki for ten years. They practically grew up together. There was a
reason why Yuki wanted to have a drink with him, even though they were both
exhausted. The bartender placed a plate of
yakitori
on the counter. He
picked up a stick and start chewing on the meat. It was sweet and juicy.
Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Like A Star” was playing in the background while Yuki
just continued drinking.

“Naoki, if I work hard at the
movie, won’t the Fire Boys become even more famous?” he asked, staring down at
the bar counter.

“Of course, it’s a Hollywood
movie for crying out loud!”

“Naoki, there is someone I
really like.” The leader was taken aback by his confession. Naoki furrowed his
brows and said, “The reason you are telling me is probably because it’s
serious.”

“Yeah, it is.”

Naoki wished he could knock
some sense into Yuki but he seemed resolute this time. Instead, Naoki took a
swig from his beer bottle and commented, “You know what our job is like. Even
if we date, we don’t even see the other person often. Most girls can’t stand
that. You have been cheated on before, what makes you think she won’t cheat on
you also?”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to
take.”

Naoki banged the bottle on the
counter and raised his voice. “Then what about us? You know what Kon is capable
of. You may end up being kicked out of the Fire Boys!”

Yuki just sat in silence. Naoki
shook his head and threw his hands up, clearly exasperated. A thought suddenly
occurred to him. “You knew about the consequences and that was why you had been
working yourself to death, haven’t you?”

Yuki nodded. Naoki placed his
hand on Yuki’s shoulder and let out a sigh. “Tell me more about this girl. What
attracted you to her?”

Yuki placed his elbows on the
counter and thought about it for a moment. “The moment I heard her sing, I fell
in love with her.”

“So it was love at first
sound?”

“Yeah.”

“Is she a singer?” Naoki asked,
suddenly feeling curious.

Yuki nodded and added, “You can
see her at
Music Stage
, she’ll be performing.”

“Wow, she must be really
special then,” he said, taking another bite of chicken meat.

“More than you’ll ever know.”

“You do know that you are in deep
trouble then.”

“I know,” Yuki replied, smiling
sadly.

*

Mimi woke up the next morning
to an empty bed. It took her a while to realise where she was and she quickly
sat up in shock and glanced at her watch. It was seven in the morning and she
wondered if Sato was home. She crawled out of bed and the soft sounds of the
keyboard were heard from upstairs.

“Sato? Are you feeling better?”
she called out. There were no response, but the playing continued. She climbed
up the spiral staircase to Sato’s study to see him playing the keyboard. He
looked much better now. “Sato?” she called, rather meekly. He stopped playing
and turned to look at her.
 

“Are you alright? Do you want
anything to eat? I can cook some porridge for you?”

“No I’m fine. Sit next to me. I
want to ask you something.”

Mimi felt a little apprehensive
about how he was acting. He was actually being nice and polite. Maybe he’s
really sick. She sat down beside him on the piano bench and placed her hand on
his forehead to make sure. “Your temperature seems fine,” she said, feeling
puzzled. She peered at him curiously. Sato was getting a little uncomfortable
at how close her face was to his. He pinched both her cheeks in retaliation.
“Ouch!” cried Mimi, retreating away from him.

“Now focus on what I have to
say!” said Sato, jabbing one finger on the keyboard, making a ruckus. Mimi
glared at Sato angrily but she felt relieved. He was back to being the
unreasonable producer.

“I’m listening,” she said.

“Have you composed anything new
lately? We need to record your next single soon,” he asked.

Mimi suddenly remembered
something. “Sato, I have been writing a new song, but I only have a rough idea
of the verse. Could you please take a listen?”

“Sing it for me,” he instructed
with both his hands positioned on the keyboard.
 

Softly, Mimi began to sing a
slow rock tune,

“The way you shone when I first saw you.

I should have known you were a star.

Love, music, pain.

Two manic stars creating a cosmic creation across the
universe. We may not know what happens tomorrow, but it was a beautiful meteor
shower.”

Sato started to play on the
keyboard, crafting a melody from the raw materials of her voice. Mimi looked on
in awe as he continued playing the tune of the chorus and pre-chorus too even
after she’d stopped singing. “Amazing,” she said and clapped her hands when he
finished. “It’s done!” she exclaimed, smiling at him. He reached out and patted
her head, “Just come out with the rest of the lyrics and you’ll have your
song.”

“Yes! We are the invincible
producer-artiste duo! The rock industry will experience a revival because of
us!” she said, punching her fist in the air.

“You really love him, don’t
you?” he asked, looking closely at Mimi. Her face turned red in reply. He
continued, “Mimi, if you want to reach for a star, you need to shine as
brightly as one. If you want the CEO to approve of you and Yuki, be the best
rock star ever.”

The best rock star ever. Mimi
wanted to be that too and he was right. The only way to exist with a star was
to stand on the same level as one.

“And do me a favour,” he said.

“What is it?”

“Next time, even if I’m dying,
don’t ever sleep in the same bed with me again.”

Mimi stood up in a huff and
cried, “I don’t even know how to respond to that. You do know you are weird,
right? Anyway, I need to go to Niji Records now and I’m already late!” She
turned away and walked off, leaving him alone in the apartment.

Once he heard the front door
slam shut downstairs, Sato muttered to himself, “If you sleep on the same bed
with me again, I don’t think I will ever let you go.”