Business Days

The Sun + You and I

Tokyo, 2015

A slender young man sat immersed in his own world. His friends brought in a voice for him to use in his new track Lifted, but the recording had not gone as planned.

"That sounds disgusting..."

He lifted the headphones and rested them around his neck. He ruffled his jet black hair, and leaned back in his chair.

"What's wrong with it?" The girl, some chick his friend was probably trying to impress, asked.

It's you...

"The melody could use some work, I guess." He tried to make an excuse.

"So fix it?" She responded in a snooty manner.

Your voice isn't suited for this... he thought.

His friends egged him on. Jun grew impatient.

"It's fine, just go. I want to work on this some more," he tried to keep some semblance of kindness in his words. His friends chuckled and remained in their seats.

After more banter between them, Jun put his headphones back on.

"I said go." His voice lost the gentleness from before. The weariness morphed into frustration, and his friends could begin to sense the aftermath if they didn't leave.

They ushered the girl out of the studio waving apologetically at the annoyed Jun.

I wonder what Mayu would suggest here...

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Tokyo, 2017

"In the beginning, I didn't have any artists! I just made music like usual, and my friends would bring interests by. I'd try them out on some tracks but not many people fit the sound."

Rena listened intently to Jun's story. Kashiwagi Yuki, on the other hand, had a hard time focusing since Mayu sat so close to Jun. She could only see his sleek figure in her peripherals. Slowly, her eyes would slip onto him and she'd have to shock herself back into Jun's story.

There was this nagging sense of familiarity whenever she looked at the young co-CEO.

Watanabe Mayu...

The name rang over and over in her head, but she couldn't place her finger on it. All she knew about him was his affiliation with P48 as a new co-CEO... maybe he played an instrument or was a long-time friend of Jun, or is actually an international spy. Oh my... 

"Did you ever find a good voice for that track?" asked Miyuki.

Jun shook his head.

"Why don't you let Yukirin try?" Miyuki grinned and leaned her back against Sayato's arm. The man took the cue and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Yuki...rin?" Jun repeated, his face contorted between half-impressed and utterly confused.

"Yukirin, nickname for Yuki! Isn't it cute? I just thought of it. Lets go with it for when she debuts with your track!"

The group turned to look at Yuki. It took her a moment to realize why Mayu was looking her way.

"Ah!... Ah, yes. I guess we could give that a try. If you're okay with it, of course, Jun-san."

"Please, call me Jun." Jun gave a confident smirk and finished his glass. "Shall we go now?"

Miyuki did a small cheer.