The old man carefully walked upstairs and stepped into his house; the building right next to ours.
I stood still, unconcerned about the burning noon sun rays. The new glass door allowed me to see the girls standing behind it. They were going to have a thousand questions, so I finally stepped forward to go inside.
They were speechless and so was I. Although I had planned the renovations, I hadn't seen them in person.
"Everything looks so white and… empty," Astra said.
"It's a miracle the renovation company did all of this on time," I replied. "We'll have to arrange everything by ourselves. Also, we saved money by not paying for that extra service."
"It's so different," Risa continued, looking deeper into the hallway.
The following week was uneventful yet filled with progress. The girls practiced; Umi composed the last song and the bonus one, so they were now ready to be recorded; Aya, Tomokazu, and I planned more things for the album's release; and the second floor was renovated. Although the reception area, the art and sewing office, and the gym were going to be left for later, we finished setting up the dance and recording studios. The girls finally had a proper space to practice and Umi could record the last two songs. Help was always welcome, however. The new choreographer and sound engineer were hired, chosen with everyone's opinions in mind, and they were eager to give a good first impression. Aki and I walked through the glass door five minutes before twelve o'clock—the normal start time of our work schedule. Both the
"So, what conclusions have you come to?" I asked. "Satō, go first." "Yes," she replied. "The choreographies are cute and energetic enough. They tell the story of the songs nicely and the energy is well distributed between the sections of each song. The energy is also balanced among all the other songs overall and they aim at the same audience. However, they lack fundamental things like more dynamic movements, character, and collaboration." I stared at her. This is why we needed a professional. "And what are your suggestions?" I asked. "To revise them. As I said, they are good enough already, they just need some details." "How long will that take?"
The time finally came. Aya, Tomokazu, and I had prepared every single detail for the announcement of the album's release date. We updated our social media profiles with pictures and banners that had the release date—made by Jun—accompanied by a short phrase: Idols Are Back. The background of the images was pink and the letters were white. We then posted a short video—also made by Jun—showing short sequences of Japan based on antique pictures from the two thousands; the city, rural towns, beaches, and mountains. One of the sequences showed an idol group performing a show for two seconds, although with their faces out of frame. The final sequence showed the girls from the back, wearing the Blostars costume, facing a white void while pink leaves floated around them. After a couple of seconds, a pink leaf covered the screen and the same phrase from the banners ap
The show came to an end. I would've loved to give food to our guests, but that would've been too expensive and would've required more planning. Thankfully, they all seemed content to just head home after sharing their thoughts and saying goodbye. I made it home by midnight and fell dead on my bed. I woke up somewhat early, so I reviewed the notes Aya, Tomokazu, and I had made. Then, when it was time, I walked to HQ with Aki and checked the office before heading to the dance studio. We arrived to see Satō standing still in the middle of the room with her hands on her waist and the girls lying on the floor. They didn't react to me arriving at all and Satō giggled as she saw me. Before any word could be said, Aki joined the girls on the floor. "Are you okay?" I asked them. As the girls and Aya chatted with Kiku and ate, Miki, Tomokazu, Satō, and I moved all of the equipment from the vans into the storage room. Even though Butcher stood outside in front of the door, the small room was cramped with boxes and people. "Should we start assembling everything?" I asked Miki, not giving him even five seconds to breathe. "We could take it slowly, but we might run short on time if there's a problem." "Let's start now, then." "Can I help?" Satō asked. "I won't be doing much until the girls start to warm up anyway." "That'd be great," I replied. "I need five minutes," Tomokazu panted. "I'm not used to this much physical activity in such a short amount of I Became the Manager of the First Galactical Idols Showtime
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 se
The girls wanted to take a shower as soon as possible, so they took turns to shower one by one. Meanwhile, there was a lot of equipment to disassemble, but the crowd was still heading out of the café. Several minutes later, the place was empty enough for Aya, Tomokazu, Miki, Satō, and I to start disassembling everything. We walked into the café and the few people that remained inside clapped at us. I didn't know how to react until Aya hit my arm. "Wave and smile," she whispered. Not having time to properly process what she said, I complied and waved and smiled at the small group of people. They seemed content before walking out of the café. "It wasn't so hard, was it?" Aya smirked. "Yeah, but I shouldn't be the center of
A sudden thought attacked my mind and made me sit up in a jump. The black sweater guy…. Could he be the hacker? It can't be. Am I going crazy? But it makes sense. "My arm…," Aki complained hoarsely. My jump had flung her arm backward. She rolled over some so she faced up. "Sorry. Did I hurt you?" She shook her head. "Why did you wake up? A nightmare?" "No." I sighed. "You'd worry if I told you it's nothing or not to worry about it, wouldn't you?" "Obviously." I stared down at the blanket before continuing. "Do you remember the fan that shook your hands?"