Who are you

Save Face

Katsumi had finished singing her unreleased song, making way behind the curtain. Immediate shock took over once she'd realized who was drinking a beer beside the stereo.

"Luke?"

The man grinned, spreading both arms out to welcome her into his arms. "What's up babe?!"

The nickname made her sick, but she was surrounded by fellow artist and workers from Celeby Records. She forced a smile, walking up to him. "Good to see you. How long has it been?", she asked.

Luke took another swig from his beer, closing in the intentional gap. "Too long. I've missed you", he said. Katsumi wasn't trying to hear it. He knew what he did, but for the sake of her image, she had to act cordial. Her team, along with some of the guest were present, so throwing things was outta the question.

"How sweet. See you're taking advantage of the complementary drinks", she jabbed nicely.

"Had to build up liquid courage to give you the great news", he smirked. She took a deep breath in, maintaining a smile. "Oh? And what news would that be?", she asked.

"Heard the news about this year long break and let's be real. You're a musician. A damn good one, so why put a pause on it? That's why I got you a gig in LA. Venue holds up to 50,000 people. Unbelievable right?!"

Her facade faltered for a fraction of a second. The gesture may have been pure, but it had a sense of control. Luke had a habit of controlling every aspect of Katsumi life, for her betterment he would say, but she knew better. She wasn't happy about this news, but seeing how things were going down in Japan, it did spark the tiniest bit of interest.

"Wow uh- that's sudden. A month away?", she repeated. He nodded with an enthusiastic Hell yeah and a confident smile like she would agree without a second thought, but little did he know, she was. She stood there, not knowing how to answer. She wanted to scream and also fight him for bringing up this amazing opportunity, but mostly, she wanted to find a reason to stay.

On queue, Shouta appeared from behind the curtains in a desperate search. His eyes connected with Katsumi's, so he waved. "Hey"

Katsumi watched Shouta walk in closer, eyeing the man behind her with a displeased look. Without hesitation, he asked, "Who's he?"

She froze in place, this being an awkward situation. She thought fast, wanting to introduce the geezer as nicely as possible "He's an old friend"

Not satisfied with the answer, Luke chimed in with a smug "An ex boyfriend". Shouta's cheeks sunk in, trying his best to hold the little composure he had left. Katsumi explained that they were just having a conversation and how Luke got her a gig back in the states. She didn't explicitly say she was going to accept, but she did say that Luke booked her a spot at the venue within the next month. Shouta was under the impression that she wouldn't leave until her year long break was over, so he was upset to hear it was shortened by a drastic amount.

Kumiko felt the tension rise, Luke not making it any better by continuing to call her pet names which Shouta was not oblivious to in the slightest. She went to check on guest to relieve herself of the ongoing stress. She had to keep calm until the event was over. No matter what she did, she had to save face.

Shouta P.O.V

Has she always been this talkative? I cut her off, so she didn't forget the objective at hand, "I understand this is late notice, but it's best if-"

"Shouta, I told you I can't. That girl won't listen to anything I have to say. All she does is blame me for leaving, so what the hell do you expect me to do?", she argued.