Let the Wind Lead | Genshin Impact Idol AU

Ch. 2 - Briefing

After convincing myself that idols were a terrible idea, it's quite ironic that I'm standing here at the moment, face-to-face with this chipper idol guy who proclaimed that I'd be best buddies with these strangers.

"Don't scare the newbie, Venti. If he files a restraining order against you, I'm not going to help you out," says the white-haired man.

The green-hoodie guy, Venti, sticks his tongue out playfully. "Ehe, sorry!" 

The other man walks up to me and extends his hand for a handshake. "My name is Kazuha. It's a pleasure."

I shake his hand. "I'm Aether."

Kazuha smiles, chuckling. "That's a very lovely name."

I look away in embarrassment.

"Boooo!" Venti says. "You tell me I'm scaring him, but you're straight up hitting on him!"

Kazuha whips around with hands on his hips. "I am not."

"Are too~"

Venti swiftly dodges Kazuha's arm as he went to smack his shoulder.

I chuckle.

The pair look at me before joining in the chuckling.

"Well then Mr. Aether, you're here to join the group, right?" Venti asks, tilting his head slightly to the side.

I hesitantly shrug my shoulders. "I mean, the e-mail said I got invited to do that, so I guess I am."

"What do you mean, you guess you are? Have a little more confidence! If you're really gonna be an idol, you gotta put yourself out there, y'know?" Venti says, puffing his chest out to demonstrate.

"Not everybody's like you, silly. You've got charisma for days," says Kazuha, shaking his head.

Venti pouts. "I graciously accept your compliment."

Kazuha smiles. "Aether, don't worry about that for now. We'll figure it out along the way, okay?"

"Enough softening the blows, Kazuha. We can't afford to mess around." 

A sharp voice sounds from behind the door as another young man makes an appearance. Despite his rather short stature, his piercing eyes and spiky dark hair makes up for intimidation I couldn't help but take a step back.

"Xiao," Kazuha sighs. "We're not doing this right now."

This guy, Xiao, turns his gaze towards me, staring into my soul with those dark green eyes. He crosses his toned arms, a trait he doesn't seem to hide due to his sleeveless jacket.

"Listen, I don't intend to come off as rude, but you need to understand the truth behind this business. This isn't a forgiving profession. What Venti said was right. You need to possess a distinct aura around you or else our entire group falls apart." he explains.

Kazuha lets out a forced chuckle and takes a step forward. "What Xiao meant to say was, every one of us has to stand out in a distinct way. So-"

I cut him off. "So I'm boring."

"Well," he starts.

"I knew it. I'm not cut out for this shit."

Venti places a hand on my shoulder. "Come on now, that's no way to go about this! Everybody has the capacity to change for the better. Even sour Xiao over there!"

Xiao narrows his eyes. Venti nervously chuckles. "I stand by what I said."

"Right, so what you're saying is I'm currently worthless." I reply.