Hard Work Payoff

My latest novel Blow: a CTCT Spin-off has just ended. I'm participating with it in MAL's contest. I hope you can support me by reading it and sharing it if you like it.

Remember that IBMFGI is 40 chapters ahead on other platforms that you can find on my website.

Edited by RedPandaChick

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I turned off the lights of the storage room before opening the door that led into the café. I glanced outside, only to see dim rays of sunlight passing through the narrow gap between the windows and the closed shutters. I could barely see anything else.

"We are going," I told Miki through my glasses.

"Understood," he replied.

A second later, the orchestral track faded out. The crowd cheered for a few seconds before falling completely silent. I signaled the girls to follow me with my hand and stepped outside the storage room. I made sure that they were behind me before walking through the narrow corridor. No claps nor whistles sounded yet, meaning they hadn't seen the girls.

I reached Aya, Tomokazu, and Miki, who stood in the corridor. The platform could already be seen, so I pointed at it with my finger to guide the girls. They rushed towards it, not even looking me in the face.

They hadn't reached the platform yet when the crowd cheered once again. Umi climbed onto it first and walked to the opposite end, followed by Astra, Sanae, Risa, and Aki. They stood still in a peaceful pose, holding their own hands in front of themselves as they stared down at the floor.

The crowd fell into a silence that lasted for a couple of seconds. The room remained in complete darkness even when uplifting trumpets burst on the speakers. They built up a momentum that exploded again with the entrance of the rest of the instruments. The girls started dancing as lights of multiple colors danced around the stage as well and the crowd didn't take long to join in by clapping in synchrony with the music.

Finally, the introduction of Blossom Stars—the song—ended. Sanae stepped forward as she was the first one to sing. She sang with lungs of steel, a powerful and calm voice that served well as a middle point for the rest of the girls. As usual, she showed no anxiety even though she could be terrified inside.

Half a verse later, it was Astra's turn. She stepped forward just as Sanae did and started singing. Even though her nervousness was more obvious, it was nothing to worry about. It even gave the performance more personality. Luckily, the girls lowered their dancing intensity a little whenever they had to sing alone, which meant they were less likely to make mistakes.

In preparation for the chorus, Aki flaunted her deep and sensual voice to sing a short pre-chorus. Only a moment later, the song broke out once again with all the instruments playing at once and the girls singing along.

The first half of the song was repeated to make the second half, except that Aki and Umi sang the verse instead of Sanae and Astra. To end the song, the girls sang a slow, instrument-less bridge to introduce the last verse and the outro.

The song ended on a high note. The lights switched off and the crowd clapped. Aya, Tomokazu, and I clapped as well from where we stood in the corridor. I approached Miki, who sat beside us.

"How's everything going?" I asked.

"There are no problems with the equipment so far," he answered.

"Good," I replied and slapped his back.

The lights faded in again over the stage in white color to let the girls speak.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" Astra shouted as she and the girls waved at the crowd, who enthusiastically responded with cheering.

"Thank you for coming today," Risa said. "We appreciate your support and we hope that you enjoy your stay."

"The song you just heard is called Blossom Stars," Sanae continued. "It is the opening song for our new, and very first album called: Blossom Stars."

"You might've heard the song before, along with a few other ones," Aki added, "but they have been improved since then. However, they won't be the only songs you'll be hearing today."

"Our album will be released today," Umi continued, "immediately following this performance. So, without further ado, here's the second song: Cherryish Life."

As soon as Umi stopped talking, the lighting turned blue and the uplifting track started playing, followed by the girls dancing.

A minute into the song, I checked the live stream status. An average of twelve thousand people watched us, of which some commented. Everything seemed to be going well despite the hate comments I expected.

With only three breaks to speak to the crowd, the girls sang and danced to the rest of the album's songs.

Runaway Galaxies: a song about the fact that galaxies drifted away from each other with the passing of time. However, the lyrics also worked as a metaphor for shyness.

Forever Gravity: a bittersweet song that talked about the weight of one's own decisions, whether intentional or not, and the implications that would last forever.

Planet of Plight: the demise of a planet. It included destruction, loss, and the absolute darkness life could reach and the void it left behind.

Skyless Time told the story of the darkest times, a void that couldn't be filled with anything, not even with the passing of time.

However, a spark of life finally appeared, as told in Sparkling Before After, a ballad that talked about acceptance. A dim light that appeared after the darkest times. Achieving happiness despite admitting defeat.

Then it was time to resurface. Celestial Rebirth, a beautiful and epic song, told the story of a civilization starting from nothing. Despite losing their home planet, they found a new place to call home.

Nova Vida talked about starting a new life after falling down to the lowest point, but being willing to change for the better.

Finally, the show ended with Starry Sunrise, a cheerful song. Again, the crowd clapped in synchrony with the music as the girls danced. Even though they had been performing for almost an hour and their faces shone with sweat, they still managed to perform such an energetic song flawlessly.

The girls struck the final pose as the lights aimed at them. The crowd cheered and the girls responded with a bow.

"Thank you for being with us today!" Sanae smiled as she and the girls waved goodbye. "Our album will be available on multiple platforms in the next few minutes. You can check our social media pages to find it. Thank you again and see you again soon!"

The crowd continued to cheer as the girls walked off the platform. They headed directly into the storage room and I followed them, although not before telling Butcher to guard the door through my glasses.

When I entered the room, they were hugging Satō. Then they dropped dead on a sofa or on the floor. Satō looked at them and grinned.

"It feels like I forgot to dry my clothes after washing them," Aki said.

"Gross," I replied. "But you did it! Everything went as planned and you delivered an incredible show," I grinned.

Still lying down, the girls stared at me with a slight smirk.

"What?" I asked.

"It's not every day that you grin like that," Aki answered.

"I agree," Astra chuckled.

Not knowing how to react, I merely cleared my throat. "Anyway. I truly meant what I said. Today was the payoff of all your hard work."

"Aw," the girls uttered.

Aki stood up from the floor and approached me to squeeze me.

"You've been working hard too," she said. "Everyone has."

"Your clothes are disgustingly drenched."

Suddenly, the rest of the girls approached and hugged me as well, except for Umi.

"You're doing this on purpose," I said.

"You don't like it? Some people would kill to be in your position," Aki replied, making me sigh. "We should always do this after a show."

"Umi, you should join us," Astra smiled. Umi simply glared at her from the couch. "Or not," Astra giggled. "Ms. Satō, you can join us too."

"Thanks, but it would be weird to hug my boss."

Finally, someone with common sense. It's not bad to have a group hug, but not when they are soaked in sweat.

Out of nowhere, someone joined the group hug. It was Umi, whose arms were loosely placed over the girls' backs. She turned her head away from us as much as she could. I couldn't help but smile.

"Are we interrupting something?" Aya joked as she, Tomokazu, and Miki entered the room. "We can come back later."

"Please interrupt this," I implored.

The girls laughed and finally let go of me. I brushed my shirt with my hands and shook my body.

"Mr. Miyahara," Miki called me, "should I publish the album now?"

"Please do," I answered.

He nodded and, only a few seconds later, he replied, "Done."

"The first reactions will be posted by the time we are back at HQ," Tomokazu said. "Although the crowd's reactions were splendid, the QNet anonymity makes people braver. Are you all ready to receive the harsh words of the critics?"

"Bring them on," Sanae smirked.