Chapter 3

"Hayase?" Misaki read the name again before opening the email. They wanted to meet up and talk about buying her song 'Dream', and possibly working together to write more music after.

This can't be real! I didn't send this song to anyone. I didn't even save it on my computer. "How is this possible?" she muttered and bit her thumbnail. It can't be a hoax either, because it has the song name right there, and it's their official address with an Eclipse domain.

Maybe I should ignore it... "But I can't keep turning people down... I need the money." Misaki groaned. Hayase is different, though.

She thought back to when they had met as budding singers in training for the same company. Ren and his older brother, Shun, stuck together like glue. They both also reached out to her when one of the other girls tried to bully her.

She pulled out a photo album from her training days, tucked away in the bottom drawer of her desk, under a pile of junk. "It's been a long time." Misaki sighed and stared at the picture of the three of them on stage, and afterwards, enjoying an ice cream cone. "The only time we performed together. What would make them reach out all of a sudden? And how did they know about that song?"

Misaki paced around her room, the email still open, as she debated.

"If it's them, it might be okay."

She took a deep breath and responded to the email, agreeing to meet up. "And they should get back to me tomorrow at earl—"

Bing. Another email came in suggesting a time, date, and location for a meeting.

"Tomorrow at 10 A.M. at Eclipse Entertainment studio..." An image of Akihiro, her ex-manager, in a business suit, sporting a charming smile, flitted through her mind. He didn't work there anymore, but even the thought of the company left a bad taste in her mouth.

It wasn't their fault, but they also didn't protect me from him... But they took a hit for it, too. Wait, would they even want anything to do with me after the scandal? Do they not know? Or does it not matter because I'd be behind the scenes only?

She flopped back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "Can I even go back there? What if people see me?"

I can't let that happen. "I'll have to go full incognito!" Misaki replied, agreeing to meet, and made sure her mask and sunglasses were ready for tomorrow.

The next day, after skipping breakfast because her nerves wouldn't let her eat, Misaki put on her full disguise, leaving as little skin showing as possible, grabbed her backpack, and headed out.

People stared at her and whispered as she boarded the bus.

Guess I'm attracting more attention like this, not less, but at least they can't tell who I am.

Her legs shook as she stared out the nearby window, trying to control her breathing as they got closer to the studio.

Once her stop came, she hopped out and craned her neck to stare up at the modern building down the street labelled 'Eclipse Entertainment'.

Forgot how huge this place is. She took a deep breath and shuffled down the street, into the building, to the receptionist at the front.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The receptionist didn't bat an eye at her outfit.

"M-Misaki Minase, here to see..." Misaki swallowed hard and gripped the straps of her backpack as she resisted running away.

A short chuckle came from the hallway around the corner behind the receptionist. "Let her through."

Oh no, did someone recognize me? Her heart raced. I should've asked them to give me a code name to use...

"Yes, sir." The receptionist gave her a guest pass.

"Thank you..." Misaki used the pass on the gate, her eyes on the man peeking around the corner at her. Ren? Her heart skipped a beat. Oh, shut up, you. He's basically an old classmate, nothing more.

Ren waved her over. "Geez, you're even more covered up than you were yesterday."

"Yesterday?" She followed him around the corner. "When did you see me..." Misaki trailed off as he held up the sheet music.

"How did you get that?" She took the sheet back.

"Because the young woman, who was hiding her beautiful self, ran into me and dropped her papers. You missed one, by the way."

Misaki stared at the paper. "You guys are asking to buy the song off of one piece of it?" Guess it makes sense how they know about it now. I didn't even notice it was Ren I ran into.

"Yes, that's how good it is. I heard you playing from outside the diner, but the moment I came in, you ran right into me. Also, we're safe here, so you don't need to hide." He snatched her hat and glasses, and when she reached for them, he took her mask.

"Hey! Give those back." She puffed out her cheeks, hands on her hips as her hair flowed down, out of its loose bun.

"I will when you're headed out." He snickered, thinking about how cute she looked.

Give up; you know how he is. It's not like you can stay mad at him for long, anyway. Misaki sighed and rolled her eyes. "I don't particularly want to be seen these days."

"I've noticed. You've been out of the public eye for a while now, but you're still making an effort to stay hidden. Although I guess with how beautiful you are, eyes would be on you otherwise." He kissed the back of her hand and winked at her.

Geez, he's an even bigger flirt now than he used to be. Must be all the fake smiles for the spotlight. She pulled her hand away from him. "Might want to tone down the flirting." She slowly moved her hand in a circle. "Even here isn't safe, and you don't want any rumours starting."

Ren frowned. "Can't say we've had any issues from inside the building, but I understand things were different for you. I'll try to be more careful, but it's hard to hold back sometimes."

She stared at him blankly. "Do I need Shun to put you on a leash?"

"Ouch!" He held his hand over his heart and cringed. "That one stung a bit. I was just trying to ease the tension and show my appreciation. Anyway, we should head upstairs before they think you're late."

Her eyes widened, and she looked at her watch. Dammit. She rushed by him towards the elevator and slammed the floor button repeatedly.

"Seriously?" He sighed and rushed after her, stopping the elevator doors with his hand. "You were going to leave me behind? I was just teasing you again. You wouldn't be late, since I'm the one requesting the meeting." He pointed at himself.

"Oh... right..." She took a deep breath as the elevator headed up. "W-why'd you greet me, anyway? Shouldn't it have been your manager?"

"Because I know you, so I could make it easier for you to get through, and so you wouldn't bolt at the last moment."

"I..." Misaki trailed off, her mouth a tight line. I can't say he's wrong about that possibility. Rather not even be in this building.

After a while of only listening to jazzy elevator music, Ren spoke up. "I'm sorry about everything, by the way."

"Why are you sorry? You had nothing to do with it." Misaki clutched her arm.

"Still... We're part of the same record label, and I never noticed anything."

"You and Shun are a bit busy being pop stars on your own to worry about what's going on with another talent."

Ren frowned. "But I never liked him. Aki, I mean. Something always felt off, but I never thought to check anything. Maybe I could've prevented it."

Misaki shook her head. "No, I don't think you could've, not unless you had proof of him doing something wrong. No one saw any of it coming." I'm the one who should've known something was wrong. That's what I got for trusting him, no questions asked.

Ren gripped her shoulder. "Sorry about bringing it up. I'm sure you'd rather not have it hang over your head like this. It's just that I haven't seen you since before it happened, so I never got to say anything."

"I think about it all the time even without someone else mentioning it, so don't worry about it."

"Who knows, maybe this opportunity will finally be a way for you to put it behind you?"

Doubt it.

"Maybe you'll even perform again without hiding yourself."

Misaki gritted her teeth, staring at the floor. "I've tried it, and as you know, it hasn't worked." More times than I care to count.

"But that's going it alone. It's different when you have someone supporting you." Ren smiled at her.

Sounds like he speaks from experience. "You're lucky you have Shun."

"He can be overbearing at times, but yes, I am."

Bing. The elevator stopped, and the doors opened.

Ren held his elbow out to her. "Milady."

"Quit being silly." Despite her protests, she took his arm, and he led her to the meeting room.