Chapter 2

Ren held the microphone further away, lifting his hand higher as he held the last note while the guitar chord faded. The light dimmed, and the audience erupted.

"Hayase! Hayase!" the crowd chanted.

Ren leaned back-to-back with his brother, Shun. Their shoulders heaved as they caught their breath, with sweat beading down their foreheads. The spotlight shone on them as the crowd screamed.

"Thank you all for joining us tonight." Shun wrapped his arm around his little brother's shoulders, and they bowed together. "We hope you had as much fun as we did, our lovely fans." Both Ren and Shun held their hands together to make a heart sign between them.

"We love you!"

"Encore!"

"Marry me!"

Members of the audience yelled at them.

"We love you, too!" Ren winked and blew a kiss at the audience, causing an even bigger uproar. "And we look forward to the next time we get to perform for you, but for now, this is the end of our tour."

"Aww!" the audience complained.

"Don't worry; this is our home turf, so it won't be too long before the next concert. Until then, we bid you adieu." Shun and Ren bowed again before heading backstage.

The stagehand handed them both a towel and a bottle of water each.

"Thanks." They dabbed their foreheads as they headed to their dressing room.

"Great job, guys." Their manager, Daichi, patted them both on the back. "Maybe for the next concert, we can release a new song."

Ren's eye twitched. "New song? I haven't been able to write a new one for the past year!"

"That's just writer's block. With a deadline, maybe it'll push your creative gears into motion."

Ren pushed his hand away, off his shoulder. "That's not how it works."

"Then we'll hire a ghostwriter. Nothing wrong with that."

"We've always written our own lyrics," Shun said, worried Ren might snap at him. "And we don't like any of the songs you've shown us. We don't resonate with them." In reality, it was mostly Ren, but Shun would always have his back.

"So we look for new writers. It's no big deal; there's bound to be someone who can write for you."

"I want to write it myself!" Ren grumbled and changed out of their white and gold military-style costumes into blue jeans, a white shirt, and a black jacket.

"But if you can't write—"

"Then we'll wait until we can," Shun said, stepping between Daichi and Ren. "It's not like we need to be in a rush. Inspiration will hit out of nowhere, and the words will flow again. I know I'm not as good as Ren at writing, but I'll work on it more, too."

"Fine, fine." Daichi sighed and threw his hands into the air. "Who am I to argue with you two? Other than the one who found you and gave you a chance." Daichi shook his head, shoulders slouching.

"You mean we're your money ticket." Ren rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his gelled-up brown hair to comb it down.

"You know you two are more than just money to me, right?" Daichi inched closer, so Shun held him back. "You two are like family to me."

"We know, and we appreciate you, but you can't keep pushing what you want onto us," Shun gripped his shoulder tighter. "Back off, and everything will fall into place. Okay?"

Daichi nodded. "Okay, if you say so, Shun."

Ren threw a baseball cap on, ducked his head down, and headed out.

"Hey, where are you going?" Daichi reached out to him.

"Leave him be. He needs to unwind a bit."

"But he's not taking any bodyguards with him!"

"He can't unwind with them around," Shun said.

"What if something happens to him?"

"Ren is a grown man; he can take care of himself."

"I'm surprised you're being so chill about this."

"Because I understand where he's coming from." Shun sighed and pulled his costume jacket off. "I know him better than anyone; we're brothers, and we've worked side-by-side for years. Give him some space."

"But the label wants more music, and soon."

"And we're breadwinners for them. Stand up to them and make use of the fact that we know how popular we are."

"That's a dangerous card to play."

"If we were still a new duo, then sure, but not now. How many awards have we won? How many stadiums have we sold out? Not everyone can make it in this business, but we've proven we're here to stay."

Daichi nodded, his jaw tight as he shoved his hands into his suit pockets. "I guess you two have grown."

"We may have kept our youthful looks, but we're not teenagers anymore. Trust us a bit more, and let him spread his wings. You'll have an entire album before you know it."

"If you say so."

Ren snuck out of the stadium building, evading the noisy crowds hoping to see Hayase again, and headed down the street with his hands stuffed in his pockets, not bothering with his motorcycle.

He stopped at a nearby park and couldn't help but remember the time he spent there with his brother, long before they became singers. It was busy as always, so he kept going, trudging down the street as the stars peeked through the sky.

The sound of a piano caught his ear, sending a prickle down his skin, and stirred something in him that'd been silent for months. He followed the melancholic tune until he heard a woman singing.

"Haruka's Diner? Been a while." He reached out for the door and hesitated. "That voice... where have I heard it before?" Unable to resist the pull of the song, Ren entered the diner.

The music stopped, and all he heard were the whispers of the crowd.

"What—" A woman ran into Ren, and papers went flying everywhere.

"I'm so sorry!" She scrounged up her papers, hugged them to her chest, and bolted.

Ren spotted a paper that slid under the table. "Hey, you missed one!" he yelled after her and picked up the wrinkled paper. He slid his thumb across it, flattening it as he sat at the counter.

"Hey, fancy seeing you here," Haruka greeted him.

"Been a long time, hasn't it, Haru?" Ren smirked and read through the sheet music.

"What'll you have?"

"How about a highball and the name of the woman who ran out of here?"

Haruka's eyes widened. "Sorry, kiddo, but I don't think she'd want me giving that out."

"How else can I return this?" He held up a piece of sheet music.

"I can return it to her when she manages to come in again." Haruka reached for the paper, and he pulled it away.

"But then how do I get a chance to meet her?"

"Now, why would you need to do that?"

Ren smiled and leaned his elbows on the counter. "So we can make music together."