Aoi's Day at the Office

“‘I care about you?’ What kind of confession is that?” said Hiroaki, incredulous about the words I had used with Mika.

“It wasn’t a confession it was more like a-”

“Go back to that apartment and redo it and properly confess, what were you thinking?” said Hiroaki, seemingly exasperated by my failure to help Mika.

“I wasn’t planning on confessing...” I replied, recalling the events of that stormy night in Mika’s apartment. “You weren’t there, that girl’s emotions are like a whirlwind, sometimes they sweep you off your feet.”

“And you haven’t even mentioned Eiko? Just how clueless can you be? Are you really my brother?” Hiroaki scolded me sternly. I agreed somewhat, but the situation never felt right to bring those topics up. I remained silent for a moment, thinking back at everything that had happened, Mika, Eiko, and the trip.

“It all happened so fast. I wasn’t ready,” I said eventually. My brother just shook his head.

“Anyway, make sure to fix that before it becomes a mess,” he warned.

“I will,” I said somewhat confidently, and my brother trusted me. “Now, what did you want me in this studio for?” He had brought me to a studio room to show me a new idea of his.

“Ever seen ice hotels?” asked Hiroaki, as he put some pictures on the display of the studio.

“I’m familiar, those Nordic luxury places?”

“Yes those. What if we made an ice stage where some of our singers could perform. What if we call it Idols on Ice,” he said proudly.

I couldn’t believe the words Hiroaki was saying, as they sounded ridiculous. I know sometimes to get genius ideas like he has, he needs to make several mistakes in the process, but I couldn’t hide my disappointment with this one.

“Hiroaki, how are they supposed to dance on the ice stage?” I asked, as I looked back at him with a serious look. “It’s made of ice.”

“I’m looking into adding a protective film that could give them some grip to work with.” He then added mock art of some people singing on the ice, with clothes that were clearly not adequate for that type of weather.

“At that point, why don’t we just do that in a green screen studio here and just edit it afterwards…” I said, trying to make Hiroaki see reason. Just as I was finishing my sentence, I heard loud bangs on the studio door, and eventually the door opened.

“Hiroaki, where are you!” I heard a girl loudly call for my brother from the hallway. It was Summer. She’s a brilliant actress, somewhat on the short side, who is currently the leader figure of the Vtuber group that Hiroaki wanted Mika to work with. Summer always wears athletic types of clothes, and seems ready to practice acting or dancing at any time; that’s how dedicated she is. She was sometimes… difficult to deal with, so I admired my brother's patience.

“Aoi, have you seen Hiroaki?” she asked. I pointed at my brother hiding behind a piano. I wasn’t willing to take the fall for whatever he had done.

Summer then looked at what my brother was projecting on the screen. “What is this stupid idea anyway? Idols on Ice? And what are these outfits? Are you the kind that thinks girls don’t feel cold or something?” She humorously dismissed my brother's idea. I found it amusing, and I had a hard time hiding my reaction. I definitely agreed with her initial impression. Hiroaki, realizing I had exposed him, revealed himself.

“Summer, I’ve told you not to barge into recording studios, you never know what kind of important work is going on behind the doors, how did you even get in anyway?” he asked as he sat down, resigned.

“Important things? Like Idols on Ice?" said Summer mockingly. At that point I chuckled, acknowledging Summer was right, but then she glared at me, which forced me to regain my composure. “I know you try to hide from me in these places Hiroaki. I know your tricks.”

“Fine, what do you want, Summer?” asked Hiroaki, resigned.

“I just can’t do it, I can’t work with her. She’s a total amateur and is just going to ruin our content.” Through Summer’s words, I realized she was talking about Mika.

“She’s new, Summer. And it’s not like Winter or Autumn are perfect, either,” said Hiroaki in Mika’s defense.

“I’m fine with a novice, but she actually just makes our dynamic worse, why can’t she just stay quiet? It’s like she’s actively trying to ruin the show, and we're just practicing! Aoi, can you make him see reason?” Summer then turned to look at me. I realized I didn’t want my brother to take responsibility for everything involving Mika.

“I can’t,” I said calmly. “Because this was my choice.”

“What?!” Summer was surprised and annoyed. “So do I have to take this to your father instead? Is that how I’m going to stop this?”

Hiroaki, usually calm, started feeling nervous at the prospect that this issue might escalate, and tried to intervene.

“Would you prefer it if she didn’t try? How is she going to learn if she doesn’t?” he asked. “Besides, she’s your junior apprentice, it’s your responsibility to mentor her.”

“Oh yeah? And when we actually stream something together, and it bombs, and everyone can see the reason why, then what? If the fans feel like we’re posting sub par content without caring, that might be the end of our group.”

While she was talking, Autumn and Winter entered the room. They are the other two members of the team that Mika would have to work with. Autumn was just observing, waiting for her chance to speak. I knew she’d be open to anything, so I never worried about her. Winter was absorbed in a mobile game, at least on the surface. I didn’t think Winter would be a problem either, given that she’s fine keeping her distance from everyone else and doing her own thing.

“Do you two also feel the same?” Hiroaki asked them.

“She makes things harder,” said Winter, still focusing on her game. That was a predictable response for someone like her, so it wasn’t really concerning.

“I think she’s a little new to all this and needs some time,” Autumn intervened in a sensible way like she usually did. I was expecting her to be helpful and welcoming to Mika, and she was.

“We don’t have time,” said Summer, reminding us that their Spring member had been set to debut for a while, with her character’s model and everything else already prepared and designed. “We’ve been waiting long enough,” she warned.

“Wait, where is she?” I asked, realizing Mika was not with them. Judging by their reactions, nobody seemed to know where she was.

“Don’t worry, everyone. I have an idea, leave her to me,” said Autumn, trying to cool Summer down. Autumn, the gentle voice of reason, was the one that prevailed in the end. I felt comfortable leaving Mika to her, as she left the room looking for her.

Winter, at some point during the conversation, understandably took the chance to slip away and avoid wasting time for things she wasn’t being paid for, but the conversation between Hiroaki and Summer continued in what seemed to be a never ending argument. I honestly tuned both of them out, despite agreeing with Summer. I knew Mika had a lot of things to improve, and sadly, none of them were specifically about her music.

I would’ve gotten a headache trying to follow everything Summer had to say. At some point, I wanted to spare both of them the negativity that was flowing between them.

“What do you think she needs, Summer,” I intervened.

“Training, lots of it, and she needs a lot more time than we have before her debut.”

“There’s not much I can do about time. What kind of training would benefit her?” I asked.

“Voice, acting, even just talking to others. Find something she’s good at, or make her good at something,” said Summer threateningly.

“Prioritize what you think is most important, and let me know. We’ll get the best we can immediately,” said Hiroaki, ready to intervene with all his knowledge.

Summer gave us a detailed summary of what she thought Mika was lacking, and Hiroaki immediately got to work as I took notes.

“This is something we’re good at. And I’ll be responsible for her. You do your best on your side, and let me know how I can help,” I said, as Summer finally seemed to have calmed down. My brother looked at me, relieved.

It was only Mika’s first week at the job, and the whirlwind of emotions had already started. But, I couldn’t deny it. I was looking forward to this new future.