Chapter 29

Thud! Ren thumped his fists on the long meeting table at Eclipse and stood, his chair falling to the floor behind him. "I thought we went over this before?" Ren growled. "We're free to befriend and date whoever we want—"

"So long as they hold a good image," the CEO of Eclipse, Koda Yuichi, said as he stood across the table from Ren, his arms crossed.

"Misaki did nothing wrong! She's an amazing, talented woman who'd still be a star if you and your team hadn't thrown her under the bus and abandoned her!" Ren gritted his teeth, his clenched fists shaking.

Shun stood beside Ren and gripped his shoulder. "Calm down," he whispered.

"It was unfortunate what happened to her, but we couldn't let the company take a hit alongside her. There was too much bad press."

"You realize she didn't plagiarize, right? It was her music that was stolen—"

"She was writing under our label, so it was our music."

"Tch..." Ren took a deep breath. "Akihiro was the one who stole it and pulled this whole stunt. You should've stood by her back then, and you should stand beside her now. She's already under contract with us, and we're not going to break it."

Koda rolled his eyes. "I've heard all of this before from your manager." He gestured towards Daichi, on the other side of Ren. "And I told him we could pay her to break the contract. She'll get money, and we get to keep the company safe, away from another potential scandal."

"What kind of crap deal is that? I thought you wanted another album from your moneymakers?"

"Ren..." Daichi hissed. "Your outburst isn't helping."

"Sir, with all due respect, Ren is right," Shun said, gripping Ren's shoulder tighter. "And we should be setting up our own press release, standing by Misaki and making sure the world knows the truth. She was used and manipulated by a manager that you hired."

Koda sighed and shook his head. "Definitely can't say that, but we should be clearing the air that she's not Ren's girlfriend, despite all the photos of them together."

"That's what you care about?!" Ren snapped at Koda, and he flinched back. "I'd be honoured to be her boyfriend! I'd love that! In fact, that's my goal right now, because I'm head over heels in love with her!"

Koda's jaw dropped. "Did you just say...?"

"Yes, I did. Got a problem with that?"

"Well... maybe you should turn your attention to a current idol, if that's your type."

The vein on Ren's temple throbbed. "That's not how love works! You can't force your feelings away, and you can't force yourself to fall for someone else."

"If you just gave it a shot—"

"Sir," Shun interrupted him. "It's not going to happen, no matter how much you wish it. And unless you want Ren to walk out again, and for our next album to be delayed indefinitely, I suggest you think about it from the other side."

"The boys and Misaki work wonderfully together, and I'm told they have several first drafts done for the album already. Ren was in a writing slump before running into her."

Ren frowned, glancing at Daichi, but held his tongue.

"If you want to keep Hayase happy and productive, it'd be in your best interest to keep Misaki on our team. Even offering to break the contract feels insulting, considering she isn't at fault. If anything, we'd be better off running with the 'Ren in love' angle."

"People like their idols single; they sell more that way because then they don't feel guilty imagining themselves in relationships with them. Shattering that fantasy can sink their careers. You should know this already, Daichi. Besides, we don't want people digging deeper and losing our sponsorships. Misaki's scandal was hard to move past the first time."

"Honestly, with the photos, it's a bit hard to deny their connection."

"Say she's just a friend and deny any romantic connotations. We also don't want people knowing she's working on the album with them, or she might leave a stain on it."

"Again, she didn't plagiarize!" Ren snapped at him. "Stop suggesting she did. She'd never need to with how lyrics flow out of her. I wish I had her talent for writing."

"I see you're serious about this, but I can't see a connection to her helping us. It was bad enough she dated her manager, but the accusations against her, and the stalking from Akihiro really left her tainted."

"Don't you see how you guys failed, though? It's not her job to keep an eye on her manager; it's yours. I can't do this anymore." Ren threw his hands into the air. "She stays on with us, or you're not getting another song out of me."

"You're under contract too, Ren."

"And? See if I care. And if you try to distance us from her, I'll put it out in my own words that I am dating her. I'll expose how you're trying to push things."

"Ren..." Daichi pulled him back and stepped in front of him. "Boys, let me have a word with him alone, please."

"You're not going to back down from this, are you?" Ren whispered.

"Of course not. I'm partially at fault for how things went this time. If anything, I've already been planning to spin it as the hero saving the woman he loves, for how it went the other day, and outing your relationship with her actually falls in line after."

"Let's go." Shun urged Ren to leave.

"Fine. We're counting on you, Daichi."

"As you should." Daichi nodded to them and adjusted his lapels as he faced the CEO.

Shun and Ren left the meeting room and paced the hall, waiting for Daichi to return.

"Do you think he can help?" Ren asked, his hands still shaking.

"He has in the past," Shun replied, rubbing his temples. "It's not the first time you've had a hissy fit and threatened to leave. Daichi has always smoothed things over, and somehow got things your way."

"I'm pretty sure it comes down to money, and we know we make them the most in the company by far. It's always money..." Ren sighed. "She's going to be curious, isn't she?"

"Naturally."

"I'm going to have to tell her what they said, aren't I?" Ren's shoulders slouched.

"I assume you don't want to lie to her, so yes. Are you going to include the bold love confession?"

Ren's face burned. "S-she knows how I feel... I think."

"We all knew you liked her, but that back there." Shun pointed at the meeting room. "That was next level, and definitely more than I've ever heard you say."

"Well... I was wound up! It just spilt out."

"Did you mean it?"

"Yes, though I'm not sure if that helped or hindered our situation."

"It may have helped." Shun smirked. "Because now he knows how serious you are about this, and if he's learned anything about you in the past, he'll know you aren't bluffing. If you leave, I leave, and they lose their biggest source of revenue. There's no fighting that fact. My guess is that they might have harsh penalties if things go south, or some other way to make sure we are the ones responsible."

The door to the meeting room opened, and Daichi waved them in. "Come along, boys."

"Can't tell if he's in a good or bad mood," Ren mumbled to Shun as he followed him in.

The CEO approached Ren, his jaw tight. "Daichi has vouched for her and given me an earful about how our company handled her situation, but that doesn't mean I'll give in like you want. If Misaki Minase is as amazing as you make her out to be, then she should help you outdo your last album, correct?"

"Naturally," Ren replied automatically.

"Ren..." Shun hissed.

Koda smirked. "Then it shouldn't be a problem for you to be liable for her involvement with you, and any fallout because of the connection, correct?"

"What are you getting at?" Ren narrowed his eyes.

"Do you still want to work with her if you are financially responsible for any fallout her presence may cause because of her scandal? Any cancelled deals or lost sponsorships will be on your head, Ren Hayase."

Ren swallowed hard. "If you think this is going to make me back down, you're mistaken."

"Ren," Shun called out to him in a hushed tone.

"So I can add a contract addendum to make you financially responsible for her in an official capacity, then? I'd rather keep any risk to the company minimal." He held his hand out to Ren.

"Deal." Ren shook his hand right away, jaw tightening.

Shun sighed, crossing his arms.

"Good." Koda picked up his tablet from the table and held it up to Ren. "I already made one up with Daichi, as he insisted you'd take this deal."

"He knows me well." Ren glanced at Daichi, who nodded, and he signed his name.

"Despite this, I'm cheering for you, Ren." Koda's eyes narrowed. "Make this album with her your best ever." He glanced at Shun. "I suppose sink or swim, you're along for the ride."

"Of course," Shun said. While he would've preferred to talk with Ren about it first, he wouldn't have turned down the deal and turned away from Misaki, anyway.