The Silent Sun

August 2, 2024

After a two-day break, the band was now preparing for the third and fourth concerts of the tour, both of which would take place in Saitama on today and the third of August, followed by a single date in nearby Tokyo itself on the fifth of August. These two dates in Saitama would be their most attended, with crowds expected to be around thirty thousand people on each night, followed by a crowd of fourteen thousand in Tokyo on the fifth. As the band did a joint soundcheck with A TO Z SIX, Hideki was talking with Jun Masakage and Masaru Oma in an office backstage regarding the spreading rumors about Momo and Sadako, and the conversation was getting a bit heated.

“I don’t like this at all,” Masaru said to the other two. “I feel like we need to put out an apology over this. I still can’t believe those two girls were able to pull this on us right under our noses.”

“I understand you’re upset,” Jun replied to him. “I really do. However, I would rather not cause further backlash. Listen, I know that there’s gonna be backlash if idols date or if an idol is actually gay instead of it just being a marketing thing, alright? However, the world is changing, Oma-san. People aren’t gonna be happy if we trot the two of them out and basically force them at proverbial gunpoint to apologize for having a boyfriend or being a lesbian. It won’t be good press, especially overseas where a lot less people care about that parasocial relationship stuff between idols and their fans.”

Masaru nodded. “I know overseas fans are growing in numbers, but we’re still a primarily Japanese company for the Japanese market. Japanese fans won’t particularly care for one of their idols having a boyfriend she goes on dates with.”

“Admittedly,” Hideki replied to add to the conversation. “They do more than just date.”

“What do you mean?”

Jun realized immediately what he meant and chuckled. “Ah, young love. Teenagers are gonna be teenagers, I suppose.”

Confused still, Masaru asked Hideki and Jin, “Guys, what the Hell are you talking about?”

“They’re fucking each other, Oma-san,” Hideki bluntly put it. “Officially, I booked their hotel rooms so that the girls had two rooms and Sakamoto and Ushiyama had their own room, but in practice, Takahara and Sakamoto have been sleeping in what’s supposed to be one of the two girls’s rooms while all the other girls give them privacy. I haven’t walked in on them going at it or being nude, and since I don’t want to go to jail, I would prefer to never do that, but I’ve seen them act pretty friendly around each other in the morning, and I swear I saw them exit a changing room together while in Sendai. Takahara was wiping something off of her lips and tossed it in a trash can.”

“Well,” Masaru then asked him, now in denial. “Did you see what it was? It could have been anything.”

Hideki sighed. “I’m ninety-nine percent sure Takahara blew Sakamoto in that changing room before going on stage with A TO Z SIX. I swear, it’s like one of those doujinshi eromanga you’d find about idols in anime.”

Finally, the realization hit Masaru. “They… Oh my God… They’re really having sex… Damn it, we are so screwed.”

“Calm down,” Jun told him. “Listen, I want to just deny the rumors and continue on like nothing’s happening. The last thing either Sweet Juliet or A TO Z SIX need is to be distracted by this bullshit. I’ve already contacted the company lawyers to go after the people who leaked the photos and the private social media account. We’ll get these bastards in court.”

“I want to prevent this from happening again,” Masaru insisted. “We need to keep a tighter leash on those two. I don’t care about the other three. They’re not idols. Their reputations don’t matter as much. If the reputations of Takahara and Takagawa go down the drain, they’ll drag the rest of A TO Z SIX with them.”

“Listen,” Hideki then replied to him. “Frankly, I don’t actually have a problem with Takahara and Sakamoto dating or Takagawa being gay. I only act like I do sometimes because you tell me I have to. Takagawa was in tears when she found out she had been outed.”

“She should have been more careful online, then.”

“Maybe she could have, but still!”

“Guys, guys,” Jun then said to both of them. “No arguing, please. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I understand your concerns, Oma-san, but we can’t let this bog us down. Sweet Juliet has a lot of potential, and the singles they have out now are doing quite well for a brand new group that was put together so recently. People like what they’re putting out, and that’s the most important thing.”

Masaru nodded, admitting, “You’re right… Sales numbers matter.”

“Exactly. Now, I want us all to get along, and I want to be able to see these two groups of mine perform without having to worry anymore about this shit.” He then got up from the table they had all been sitting at. “Gentlemen, I’ll see you in a few hours when the show begins.”

With Jun out of the room, Masaru told Hideki, “You’re playing a dangerous game.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t win, though,” he confidently replied as he got up and left too, leaving Masaru by himself in the room. “Anyway, I got two groups to manage. I’ll see you later.”

…

The time had come for Sweet Juliet to perform in Saitama to their biggest crowd yet. As all five members of the band took their positions, the mood in the air was one of excitement and nervousness. In just about two and a half months, the band had gone from performing in a practice room at their school to opening for a major idol group in front of a massive arena audience. The band all nodded to each other to signal they were ready as Momo cleared her throat and took a deep breath. She then turned her in-ear microphone on and told the audience from a darkened stage in her usual more subdued tone compared to her performances as an idol, “Good evening, Saitama. This is Sweet Juliet. Thank you all for coming. We have some music we would like to play for you before A TO Z SIX takes the stage. This first one…” After waiting a bit to let the crowd cheer, Momo continued. “This first one is a song that will be on our first full-length album, which will be coming out later this year, and will be called Tall Tales From the Mind. This is called The Tragic Tale of the Green Man.”

The song began as usual, with Ryosuke playing the organ before the rest of the band joined in on a steady 4/4 beat.

Once there was a house by the edge of town

Inside the house was a sight like no other

‘The Green Man lives there’ cried the people with a frown

They said ‘His skin’s contagious, outrageous, vexatiously weird’

The Green Man was none of those, he just wanted a friend

Contagious his skin was not, one touch would not spread his disease

‘I cannot go on’

‘I cannot go on’

‘I cannot’ (No!)

‘Stay in here’ (No!)

‘If I do’ (Do!)

I’ll go crazy! (He’ll be crazy!) I’ll go insane!’ (They’ll put him in a nuthouse!)

The man cannot stay

The man cannot stay

He must face his fears

Even if society rejects his color

He cannot stay in his house forever

He has to leave

He has to leave

And find a true friend!

During the first flute solo, Momo danced around a bit on stage, having much more room to play compared to the small stage at the Fox Lounge. She also leaned over to Ryosuke and looked at him as she played her instrument, earning a chuckle from him before the song transitioned back to its original slower and steady pace, with Momo setting her flute down and playing the piano.

So the Green Man left behind the house

The house he had known for all his life

That house had brought him comfort and shelter from the world

But now he had to go into a world that was rife

With the judgemental eyes of the public

And the whispers of their rumors

Not to mention laughter

Hahahahahahahahaha!

But then one man saw him and asked him who he was

The Green Man told him his name

Expecting to be laughed at, he almost turned away

But the man stayed

Yes, the man stayed

He reached out (out!)

Gave his hand (hand!)

The Green Man (Man!)

Looked at him and said (Oh, he said!)

‘Why are you here?!’

The other man said

‘You were alone’

“And looked like you needed a friend!’ (A friend!)

Even if society rejects his color

He cannot stay in his house forever

He has to leave

He has to leave

And find a true friend!

For the second flute solo, Momo walked down a small part of the stage that extended out into the audience, getting closer than before as the crowd lit up penlights that corresponded with the color she normally used in A TO Z SIX, all of them waving to the beat of the song as they chanted her name. Far removed from the issues she had in Sapporo, Momo could not help but break out into a smile as her flute solo ended. As usual, she ran backstage as Ryosuke’s keyboard solo took center stage to change outfits.

Emerging in the same blue and white outfit from the Fox Lounge after having changed out of the black and green suit from the beginning of the song, the song picked up speed as she began to play the flute once more. The audience was raucous in their cheers and applause as the song intensified. When the song changed gears again, Momo sat down at her own piano keyboard and began to play there instead, eventually singing the last lines of the song as it closed out.

The Green Man and his friend

Shared their days until the end

The Green Man and his friend

Shared their days until the end

Even as society rejected and spat at them

The Green Man and his friend

Shared their days until the end

The Green Man and his friend

Shared their days until the end

Even as society rejected and spat at them

The Green Man and his friend

Shared their days until the end…

With the end of the song, the crowd cheered as Momo got up from the piano and bowed, telling the crowd, “Thank you very much! Thank you! You’re a wonderful crowd, Sapporo!”

Sadako remarked to Masato from the side, “So far so good! I told you we’d be fine!”

“So far we are,” he replied with a laugh. “I haven’t fucked up in front of thirty thousand people yet!”

“You won’t,” she assured him. “Don’t worry!”

…

After the first concert ended for both Sweet Juliet and A TO Z SIX, both groups were relaxing in a back room together. “You guys sounded fucking awesome,” Miyako told the band. “Honestly, if management’s up for it, I wouldn’t mind if they took out our backing tracks and had you guys perform our instrumentals for us.”

Momo laughed and replied, “Yeah, but how are me and Sadako-chan gonna sing?”

“I think you two can dance with your instruments,” Aoi replied to them. “You moved around a lot with your flute, Momo-chan.”

“I’m not gonna dance around with a piano in my hands, though,” Momo pointed out.

“And I’d rather not drop either of my guitars on the stage and smash them,” Sadako also replied. “At least, not yet. Maybe if I’m really frustrated and have more money at my disposal, I’ll start smashing guitars on stage.”

“If you ever do that,” Miyako replied, amused by the idea. “You gotta send me a video of that. Not just a photo. A whole video.”

“I’ll make sure I get one,” Ai then interjected, having heard the conversation. “Trust me, I’d love to see that shit, too.”

As the whole group laughed, Momo thought about that night and how far Sweet Juliet had managed to go despite the band being so young, both in the sense of its members’ ages as well as the band’s age itself. She would have never guessed when the year began that she would be in a second group, much less a group that performed music like the songs Sweet Juliet made. She also would never have guessed that she would be embroiled in controversy as an idol or in a relationship that caused said controversy. Even so, she enjoyed every last minute of it.

Sweet Juliet had indeed reignited her love of music, and it had given Sadako a much better outlet for her creativity given that the record label had rejected her efforts to play guitar for A TO Z SIX. It had also brought both of the girls closer together, introduced them to a drummer girl that Momo considered the most creative person she had ever met, introduced them to a highly talented bassist who helped provide a sane man for the band at times, and had helped her and Ryosuke finally admit their feelings for each other after they had known each other for two years.

Overall, she had zero regrets about forming Sweet Juliet, even with the paparazzi, and neither did Sadako for that matter, as it had finally made her fully accept her sexuality and bond with her friends.

However, as time went on, Momo would need to make a decision.

Should she stay in A TO Z SIX and divide her time between that and Sweet Juliet, or should she leave her idol group and focus solely on her band? If she were to leave, when should she do it and when should she tell her friends in the group?

For now, though, those questions could stay on the wayside. As Momo ate a piece of a cake that Hideki had gotten for both groups to celebrate the two shows in Sapporo, she handed another piece on a paper plate to Ryosuke, telling him, “Eat up.”

“Thank you.” He then took the plate and ripped off a small piece of the cake on his plate with his fingers. “Wanna trade?”

Momo smiled and did the same with a small piece of her own, and the two proceeded to feed each other before giving each other a quick kiss, which unintentionally smeared some frosting on each other’s faces. When they saw what they had done, they both laughed and wiped the frosting off of each other. “Sorry,” she said to him with a chuckle.

“It’s fine,” he assured her. “I love you too much to be mad.”

“No, I love you more.”

“I love you more.”

“Oh boy, here we go,” Momo replied. “Let’s stop here before we get caught in another infinite loop and just say we love each other.”

“Agreed.” Ryosuke then finished his piece of cake as Momo did the same. When they tossed their plates out, the two looked at each other and held hands, being free to do so in this private space away from the prying eyes of the press or from judgemental ‘fans’ who would not accept them. “This tour’s gonna be great.”

“You’re damn right it will be.”

…

END OF VOLUME 1