Gift Fic for arashiforyou 2/2
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arashiforyou Part 2
“I don’t hear the baseline, can you up it?” Jun asked through the mic, shifting the headphones over his ear. Oguri Shun fiddled with the switches in the control room on the other side of the sound-proof glass of the recording booth until Jun could hear it through the headphones. He was at All Night Nippon, Shun’s recording studio affiliated with J-Ent. It was the first time recording a brand new song fresh from the hands of the lyricist and music arranger. Jun and Shun were still playing around with the track, seeing what fit the vibe the writers were going for. Moments later, the two were in the control room fiddling among the switches, listening to the demo Jun had sung. They were discussing some elements they want to change or keep when the door opened. They both swiveled their chairs around to find a guy, who looked like a boy in his late teens or early twenties, come in bringing bottles of water. He nodded at them, placing the bottles down at the desk in the back of the room, and shuffled backwards out the door.
“Who was that?” Jun turned around to ask Shun.
“A new intern,” Shun said, fiddling around with a switch. “How about if we slow down the tempo at this part?”
“When did he start here?”
Shun paused to think. “A month, a month and a half, I think.”
“How old is he? He looked like a kid fresh from high school.”
Shun paused and slowly swiveled the chair to face Jun. “Are you interested? Do you want me to hook you guys up?” he mocked. Jun punched him lightly on the shoulder. Shun just laughed.
Jun left the studio after a while to head out for home. He ran into Ohno in the hallway of ANN looking flustered as if he had been running through Tokyo. Jun waited for him to catch his breath, smiling amusedly at his manager.
“Good news,” Ohno said after panting a couple of times and swallowing spit. Jun handed him the water bottle he got from the intern. “A casting director from TBS has called. You got a call back from your auditions last week. You’re up against Matsuda Ryuhei and Eita in the lead role.”
“Yes.” Jun pumped his fist.
“They also said that if you do get this lead, they want Storm to record the theme song.”
“That’s great news, Oh-chan, thanks.”
Ohno nodded. “I’ll let them know you are more than interested in taking this. God knows you haven’t been in a drama for months now. I even forgot when the last time you’ve been in one was.”
There was a clatter down the hall. They both turned to find the intern shuffling about picking up the clipboard and pencils scattering on the floor. Jun cringed for him. He started to go help but the guy already had the things collected and he was now walking away.
“Arai-kun, you okay?” Ohno called out to him. The guy turned to nod his head and continued down the hall without stopping. “New guy.”
“So I’ve heard. Doesn’t he look familiar to you?” Jun asked, still staring at the figure. Something else flickered in his brain, but he couldn’t grasp it.
“Nope, not really. Why?” Jun shrugged in reply, turning back to face Ohno. “Okay, well, I just came over here to tell you the news,” Onho said. “My car broke down on the way AND my phone ran out of battery. Sheesh.”
Jun chuckled. “C’mon. I’ll help jumpstart your car.” He placed a hand over Ohno’s shoulder as they walked out of the building.
~~~
Sho smiled at the news Jun was telling him. The man was so excited for the possible role. He pulled him closer, nuzzling his nose at the crook of Jun’s neck. They were cuddling on the bed in Jun’s apartment. Normally, Sho wasn’t the cuddling type. He usually gets up and makes himself something to eat from the kitchen, leaving his partner all miffed on the bed. But something about Jun made him want to draw the man closer in many ways. It was more than just sex, he was starting to realize. He was falling more in love with the man. A trickle of fear crept in his mind. This news about Jun’s possible role was something his father would want. He had made up his mind weeks ago he wouldn’t spy on Storm and tell his father their activities. He hoped his father wouldn’t find out ever.
“Sho?”
“Hmm?”
“I really want this role. The other members have steady solo projects while I’m in the studio and J-Ent offices for concert planning. I need to get back into acting.”
“You’ll get it, babe. I’ve seen your past dramas- I marathoned them these past few weeks- and you’re really good. I have no doubt you’ll star in it.”
“Still, I don’t want to jinx it,” Jun said, placing a hand over Sho’s heart. “Promise you won’t tell anyone?”
“Promise.”
*****
Nino slapped a newspaper over Jun’s laptop keyboard while Jun was working on something. It took Jun a while to process what Nino was so riled up about until he really looked. There on the top fold of the entertainment section was a photograph of Sho standing with Sakurai Gakuto of SG Entertainment in front of TABOO. Under the caption was SG Entertainment founder and president, Sakurai Gakuto and his son, Sho at the grand opening of TABOO.
"I knew I've seen him somewhere. It took me a while to remember where until I saw this in my apartment while cleaning my living room.” Nino jabbed his finger on the photo. “Look at the unmistakable resemblance.”
Jun took the month-old newspaper and stared at the photo, his brain telling him it couldn’t be possibly true. "I bet he's only dating you to get close to you and help out his father for WAH.” He heard Nino continue. “I mean, why would he have them performed at his club's grand opening?"
Jun looked up. "Sho is not like that. He wouldn't-"
"What, betray you?" Nino nearly spat it out. "Jun think about it, why do you think he wants to hang out with the rest of us? Asking us questions what things we’ve been working on?"
"Because he knows you guys are my friends and he just wants to be friends with you, too."
"I hope you haven't told him about our possible new project with the upcoming drama, right?" Jun made a face at this. Nino sighed and rolled his eyes.
"He wouldn't...” Jun said weakly, more to himself than to his friend.
"For your sake and ours, he'd better not."
~~~
Sho answered the door of his apartment to a distraught Jun. He flinched when Jun slapped his chest with a newspaper. The man looked like he wanted a fight, but was keeping it under control. He took the newspaper without a word to see what it was all about. Oh.
"Why do you like me?" Jun said without preamble.
"Is that a trick question?"
"The first time we met at your club, were you pretending you really didn’t you know who I am when we met on the plane?"
"What's with these questions?"
"You haven't replied to any of my questions." The man was pacing back and forth, waving his arms around in frustration.
"No, I had no idea who you were the first time we met. No, I don't like you... I love you." Jun blinked and took a step back. Sho reached for him and held him close. "Jun, I would never hurt you. I'm sorry I've never told you who I really am. I've wanted to many times, but I didn’t know how you'd react. Please. I'm sorry." Sho pauses and asked, "Is being Sakurai Gakuto's son an automatic NG to you?"
Jun shook his head. "I don't really care who your father is. I guess I was just shocked by the news.” He straightened up and looked at Sho in the eye. “I know you wouldn’t hurt me, and I you.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Sho’s lips. “I love you, too.”
*****
It had been two days since he had confessed to Jun that he loved him. Sho was still elated that his lover felt the same. He drove to his father’s house, still smiling like an idiot thinking about that night. His body tingled at the thought of Jun’s touch. It really was just more than sex between them. He slowly came back to earth when he pulled up in front of the house. Taking a deep breath to brace himself in facing whatever his father’s surprise was, he parked his car and walked to the gate. He looked around, wondering why there were a few cars parked just outside, too. He found himself at a party with many entertainment guests and a few selected reporters at the house. He frowned, now really worried what his father was up to.
Sho spotted his mother and he went up to her, kissing her hello on the cheek. “What’s going on?” he asked. His mother handed him a flute of champagne as a waiter walked past. She hooked her arm around his and patted his hand. Sho knew what that meant without a word from her. He was to be quiet and just wait for his father to talk. Sure enough, Gakuto clinked his glass with a fork. The room grew quiet and turned to pay attention.
“I’m glad we are all gathered here in celebration of SG Entertainment’s latest achievement,” Gakuto said, “Our company has reached another milestone. Our very own We Are Hot leader, Akanishi Jin, has gotten a lead role in his first Golden Monday Night 9 time slot!”
Sho almost dropped the glass at the news while everyone cheered. Flashes from the reporter cameras danced before his eyes as he gawked at his father who stood there looking proud. His mind didn’t register what his father wanted him to do until his mother tugged on his arm slightly and he walked with her to his father’s side with Jin standing on the opposite side. He was nearly blinded from the flashes of the cameras. He felt suffocated. He needed to breathe. He needed to call Jun. God only knows how the man was feeling now.
When he finally found an excuse to get away from the hype, he made his way to the hallway that leads up to other rooms of the house. He took out his phone to call Jun. Gakuto suddenly appeared next to him.
"Call your Jun Matsumoto now, and I can guarantee you will lose your club."
"Dad, how could you do this to me? To Jun?"
"Are you kidding me? I’m doing this FOR you. You think if I hadn’t worked hard to get this agency up and running you’d have had the opportunity to study in America? Wake up, son. This is business. Your life wouldn't be the same if it hadn't been for these boys working their ass off."
"How did you even know about that drama? Jin wasn't even in the running for the lead."
Gakuto smirked. "So you did know about it, but I don't recall you ever telling me that information. But I'm not surprised. Good thing I thought ahead. I have my resources. I knew I couldn't fully trust you. You're a disappointment of a son." With that, Gakuto walked away.
Sho quickly called Jun, but there was no answer. He hung up and redialed. Still no answer.
*****
Sho arrived at Jun’s apartment and was taken aback to find Nino answering the door, looking very much like he wanted to punch him. Sho swallowed but asked to see Jun.
“I need to tell him something,” Sho said, trying to get past the scowling best friend. Nino wouldn’t budge. “Please.”
“Go away. You have done enough damage already.” Sho tried again, and Nino pushed him this time. "Do you know how long he waited to act in a new drama? You cost him his opportunity."
"No, wait, I didn’t."
"Leave, please." Without waiting, Nino slammed the door in Sho’s face.
Sho waited outside, dialing his phone to call Jun. A moment later, the door opened and out came Ohno. Sho stopped in the middle of dialing and looked at the man with hopeful eyes.
"Sakurai-san, I don’t know what your motives are, but I don’t think it's a good idea for you to be here. Please don’t make me call the police on you and draw more attention."
"I just need to talk to Jun, please. I want to explain."
Ohno shook his head. He might be smaller than Sho, and Sho could easily pick him up and set aside, but it was a hassle to deal with other members of Storm, who were most likely inside protecting their friend. With a sigh, Sho turned to go home.
"Can you please tell him that when he’s ready, to call me so we can talk?" Sho asked with a sigh.
Ohno nodded. Feeling defeated, Sho walked away.
*****
It had been almost a week since Jun found out about Jin taking the lead to the drama that he really had worked hard to get. He acted okay about it at work, keeping up appearances for the sake of his band mates. To keep himself busy, he got involved with planning for their concert that was coming up at the end of the year. He set his laptop at the far end corner of the table in the dance studio while Aiba practiced the choreography for his possible solo performance. While Jun worked with headphones on, someone tapped his shoulder. An intern stood beside him, bringing him a slice of cake. She bowed slightly, setting the plate down beside his notes. Jun smiled and nodded back, but something pricked at the back of his mind. He stared at the girl, trying to figure out. He had seen her before, that, he was sure, but he couldn't place where. He tried to look at her face, but her bangs and the baseball cap pretty much hid half of her face. Frustrated, he got back to work and looked at the cake. There was a mini card placed next to it. “I miss you.” Jun cursed half-heartedly at the lump forming on his throat. He couldn’t believe how a stupid piece of paper tug at his heartstrings like that. So he sent his secretary to bear the message, did he?
As if on cue, his phone rang. It was Sho again. He glanced up at Aiba, who was still getting step-by-step instructions from the choreographer and wasn't paying attention to him. He looked around, noticing that Toma and Nino weren't in the studio, either. He hesitated. He really wanted to talk to Sho, to demand why he would betray him like that. But… what if Sho didn't betray him? The man didn’t seem to be the type.
"You've only known him for a few months, what makes you think he's like that?" Nino had asked him the night Sho went to his apartment, knocking on his apartment door incessantly until Nino and Ohno had to kick him out. Jun knew, though that he couldn't avoid Sho altogether. At least, to hear his side. He picked up the phone and texted him.
~~~
Although it was technically closed before sunset, the bar section at TABOO was open for happy hour, welcoming office workers unwinding from work. Sho led him to the secluded section of the club, just around the corner of the bar counter.
"Jun, I’m glad you called me back." the man sounded relieved, but Jun grabbed his collar and slammed him up against the wall within a few seconds.
"I ought to punch you in the face," Jun said thru gritted teeth “Why did you betray me that way?"
"I didn’t. Somehow that audition callback you told me about leaked to my father. I swear, Jun, I would never hurt you. I promised. Please." Jun loosened his grip on Sho's collar, but didn’t completely let go. He searched his eyes, trying to find the truth in them. With a sigh, he dropped his hands and wearily leaned his head on Sho's shoulder. Sho felt wetness on his shirt, but instead of commenting about it, he just wrapped his arms around Jun, patting his back and kissing his hair. "I love you so much, you know that?"
"Fuck I can't believe I’m crying in front of you," Jun said, quickly turning around to wipe his eyes. Sho wrapped his arms around him from the back and pulled his close in an embrace. He kissed Jun’s nape.
"What do we do now?" Sho asked.
"Storm hates you, especially Nino. He wants to castrate you. I suggest you stay away from him." Sho chuckled softly, his lips still on Jun's neck.
"My dad has a spy, but I don’t know who he hired."
"You knew all this time?" Jun whipped around.
Sho shook his head. “I only found out last week when my dad had a celebratory party for Jin. He had said he didn’t trust me to tell him everything about Storm’s activities.” Sho cocked his head slightly at Jun’s smirk. “What?”
“He knew you wouldn’t say anything. That you wouldn’t betray me.”
Sho nonchalantly shrugged, but smiled. "So, are we okay?"
Jun nodded. "We’re okay, but we can't hangout a lot. I have to keep my distance from you for now."
Jun pulled away just as one of the bartenders rounded the corner and saw them talking. The bartender stopped short, nodded slightly at them and quickly rushed back where he came from. Jun blinked, something tugged in the back of his mind. “Who was that? He looks familiar.” he said.
“Oh, that was the bartender you met at the office a few weeks back. The one who needed an extra shift.” Jun nodded, but still it wasn’t the explanation he was looking for. It was something else. He quickly said goodbye to Sho and rushed out, neither wanting to risk being seen together again.
*****
A few hours after meeting up with Sho, Jun was back at the recording studio. It was already almost 11 at night, but between him with slight perfectionism and Shun being meticulous in details, his solo would never be finalized since it wouldn’t be near the perfection they both had set. Good thing the J-Ent president had set a deadline, highest perfection or not. This was the last recording for the song.
“Okay, that’s a wrap, I guess,” Shun said through his headset. Jun chuckled, giving him a thumbs-up.
“You don’t sound sure,” he said through the mic. Behind the glass to the control room, Shun just shrugged. Jun replaced the headset on its own stand and walked out the booth. “I need to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back.” Shun raised a hand in reply without looking at him.
On the way, he sent a quick message to Sho where he was. He was still typing on his phone, not seeing the other person coming out from the room next to recording studio. Crash!
“Sorry,” the intern said, hurrying to collect the papers off the floor. Jun helped him out. He studied the guy when he handed him the rest of the paperwork he gathered. The guy nodded quickly and rushed away, but Jun had a good look at him this time. Now he knew why he was familiar. Before Jun could call out his name, he vanished. Jun ran after him, but nobody else was in the other hallway. Sighing, he rushed to the restroom to call Sho.
*****
“Hello?”
“Sho! Is that bartender there?” Jun’s voice rang in his ear.
“What?”
"The bartender. The one who needed an extra shift. Is he there?"
"Huh? Not sure. He usually comes in around 11 pm for the graveyard. Why?"
“Can you check?”
Sho got up his desk and looked towards the bar through his glass window. “I see only one of them, but there’s still time. What’s with all the questions? Are you okay? You sounded agitated or something.”
"I think he's the spy."
"What? How?"
“I just bumped into him. He’s here as an intern in ANN. I remember him because I had a good look at him that day I interrupted your talk with him in your office. I had noticed he has a mole on the outer corner of his right eye.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean it’s really Arai-kun you saw.” Sho said, still looking out the window to the bar. The bartender at the counter was checking his watch and calling out to the general manager passing by. They seemed to exchange some words, the GM nodded and continued on while the bartender checked his watch again. “What makes you think it’s him?”
“I saw him earlier at your club, remember? When he turned around, I thought his back look familiar. When he ran off after we bumped in the hallway a few minutes ago, it was the same mannerism.” Jun paused. “But, I saw him here wearing glasses, though.”
“Arai-kun doesn’t wear glasses.”
Jun clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Could you just check? I know who I saw. I tried to chase after him, but he seemed to be gone already. Just go, please. I said he has a mole on the corner of his right eye, right?”
“Yes, though I’m kind of jealous why you remember such details on another guy,” Sho said with a chuckle.
Jun clicked his tongue again and hung up. Sho looked at his phone screen and scoffed. He was just joking with him to relieve the tension from his voice, but Jun must have been too anxious about it. It didn’t matter anyway. He was already down to the main floor on his way to the bar to check up on the graveyard shift.
“Subaru-kun,” Sho called out to the bartender. He waited until the bartender had served two women sitting at the counter and walked to him.
“Yeah, boss?” He nodded at another patron who called for his attention. “Be right with you.” He turned back to Sho. “Can I get you anything, boss?”
“No thanks. Are you by yourself? Is Arai-kun scheduled for tonight?”
Subaru rolled his eyes. “The fucker is late again,” he said. “This is the third time.”
“Third time? Why wasn’t I informed?”
“Yeah. Manager Horikita-san wanted to handle it for a while since he usually comes straddling in a couple minutes or so. She warned him tonight’s the last chance or he’s fired.”
Sho frowned and checked his watch. It was already 11:15. A small concern crept up his mind of what Jun said, but if it was true, then most likely Arai probably was on his way to the club from the recording studio. He was going to have a serious talk with the guy. “Did Maki-chan call another to sub?”
“Yup. Manager Horikita-san was on it. Yoko is on his way… though, he’d be a while.” He nodded to a group of five flocking to the counter, and he turned back to Sho. “Uh, sorry, boss, but I gotta take care of these people. Kinda busy tonight.”
“I’ll help you,” Sho said, rounding the corner to get behind the bar. Subaru looked taken aback at him. “What? As long as they order a beer or something simple, I can handle it. I’ll leave the cocktails and whatever else to you.” Subaru shrugged and attended to the patrons. Club regulars were coming in, the bar was getting busier. Sho could barely keep up and didn’t notice the two familiar figures in front of him.
“Sho-chan?" called a familiar voice over the music. He looked up to see a couple of guys standing in front of him and he wondered who these douchebags were who think they’re all that by wearing sunglasses at midnight. He studied their faces and realized to his surprise, it was Aiba and Nino. "I didn’t know you bartend?" Aiba asked, looking pleased at the discovery. They pulled their sunglasses off.
“I don’t. I just pass out the beers,” Sho said, scratching his head in embarrassment. “I’m one man short. Someone is a no-show, and the sub is still on the way.” He set two bottles of beer in front of them. Aiba looked happy, though Nino was frowning at him. At least he sat on the barstool and took a swig. “I thought you guys have work tonight?”
They furrowed their eyebrows at him. “No,” Aiba said. “We have the night off.”
“Oh. Jun called me minutes ago from the recording studio.”
Nino rolled his eyes. “Typical.” He set the bottle down with a thud. “By the way, Chief here insisted we talk to you about something. We’re not patrons here.”
Sho paused. “In that case, it’s on the house. So... you’re not mad at me anymore?” he asked Nino. Nino scoffed and looked away. Aiba gave Nino a side hug.
“He’s really sorry for being an asshole to you,” Aiba said, squeezing Nino. “Right, Kazu?”
Nino gritted his teeth when Aiba hugged tightly. “Okay, whatever you say, Chief.” Aiba let go and smiled at Sho. “Being a leader has such benefits.” Nino took a deep breath when Aiba let go and unfolded a piece of newspaper clipping he got from his pocket. Nino jabbed his finger on the photo in the clipping. “Who the hell is that?” Nino said roughly.
Sho looked closer to inspect the picture. It was the one taken for Jin's announcement of his new drama. "That’s me, my mom, my dad and Akanishi-kun."
"No, not that," Aiba started to say.
"I’m not stupid, stupid," Nino interrupted gruffly. "I kinda figure that out. I'm pointing to this guy, right here." he jabbed his finger on the photo again at the figure in the background just barely inside the frame. Sho's eyes widen. "That’s Arai-kun, my bartender. My dad must have hired him for that evening. He is trying to find a second job."
"When does he come for work?"
“His regular shift is at late afternoons for happy hour,” Sho said. “He picked up an extra shift working graveyard. As a matter of fact, he is the no-show I told you about.” Aiba and Nino turned to each other. Sho glanced between to the two of them. From their mannerism, they seemed to be up to something. “Is he really an intern at ANN studio?”
They looked at him, mouths hanging in surprised. “How did you know that?” Aiba said.
Sho shrugged. “Jun called me,” he said.
“Oh.”
Sho opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly. He wasn’t sure if he should tell the other members what Jun had told him. Though he believed that Jun might be on to something about Arai, they still weren’t sure why he would do such a thing. Money? He was already working two shifts. What could a bachelor do with more money? He shifted to eyes to Nino who was staring at him, noticing his hesitation.
“What? Just tell us,” Nino demanded.
“Jun mentioned that he thinks Arai-kun is spying on Storm.” Aiba and Nino straightened up and looked at each other again. “And I take it you two had thought about that possibility? How is that possible?”
“Toma, Nino and I have already discussed this,” Aiba said. “Whenever we are doing something at the dance studio, he seems to be there as an intern. When we have our recording, he was there, too. Now why would he be working as intern to two different studios AND still manage to work here?”
Sho sighed. “Maybe, but the theory is flimsy at its best.”
The other two sighed, and nodded in resignation. “I guess you’re right?” Nino said. Sho tried not to react to that comment. Getting a semi-praise from Nino is rare and he’d gladly take whatever he gave him. He glanced at his watch. “Where is that sub?” he mumbled to himself. He asked Subaru about it, and found out Yoko was stuck in traffic when the bridge en route collapsed and vehicles were stuck for miles.
“I’ll do it,” Aiba piped up. Before Sho could say anything, the man went around the counter and rolled up his sleeves. A girl called to order and Aiba called out “Hai!” and turned to her, mixing her drink quickly. Aiba beamed at Sho. “I played a bartender in a drama once. I had to learn some skills and kept them.”
A group of girls realized who was tending the other side of the bar, and flocked around him. Aiba seemed to take it in stride and started serving.
“Are you sure?” Sho looked warily at him during the lull. Aiba nodded and Nino just took another sip of his beer again. Sho shrugged-couldn’t hurt to get free help. “Maybe I’ll just go and meet up with Jun at the recording studio.” They nodded. Sho bade goodbye to Subaru, telling him about Aiba. Subaru looked just as hesitant to have a celebrity serve the guests, but accepted his charge. Waving goodbye to them, Sho made his way out.
*****
Sho arrived at ANN and walked in to its empty lobby. The doors were unlocked and no one was in sight, not even a guard. Shun or Jun must have forgotten to lock up and he made a mental note to warn them about intruders going into the building unannounced. He smiled at the irony of that for he was doing the very thing he would warn them about.
With no receptionist to ask, either, he studied the map of the company posted on the wall and headed for the studios. He followed the first hall down and soon came upon one. The door was ajar. Sho paused, weighing if he should go in. He might be interrupting. He pushed on the door slowly.
“Sorry for the intru-” Sho greeted and stopped short in his tracks. There, lying on the ground next to a swivel chair was a man. Sho rushed to his side. The man was unconscious and still breathing. Sho sighed in relief. At least he was still alive, but barely. He quickly called for an ambulance. Terror filled his mind. Jun!
Sho rushed down the hall, torn between trying to stay quiet yet run in the halls and risk the sound of his footfalls echo in the hallway. He peered through each studio-some locked, to his frustrations- and hoped that he wouldn’t find Jun in the same way.
BANG!
Sho jumped at the gunshot. It was down the other hallway. He ran toward the sound. He almost fell backward when he skidded to a stop. He saw through the glass panel of a control room Jun holding up both his hands to appease a guy pointing a gun at him. His back was toward Sho, but he could tell it was Arai. He didn’t see Sho standing outside the room. Jun was saying something to him, shaking his head. Arai was shaking the gun, apparently yelling something. Willing to take a risk, he slowly turned the doorknob, praying that someone had oiled the hinges.
“Are you kidding me?” Arai was shouting. “You’re the leader of Storm. Like hell you don’t have influence. Tell Kiratani to add me to HSD.”
“That’s not true on both accounts. Kiratani-san listens to senpais before Storm and Aiba’s the leader of our group.”
“Bullshit!”
“About Kiratani or Aiba?” Jun asked. Arai shot the ceiling. Jun and Sho cringed from the blast. “Don’t fuck with me, Matsumoto.” Arai aimed the gun to him again.
“So you're just gonna kill me? You didn’t debut with Hey Say Dance with your friends so you punish another guy who has nothing to do with any of your problems?"
Arai laughed mirthlessly. "I need the money. What better way to get it from Sakurai Gakuto-san to spy on AND get more by getting rid of one of the Storm members. What was it you said to the press?" he paused mockingly, "Oh, yes, 'Storm is four people. You take one out, and there wouldn't be Storm anymore'." Arai scoffed. "Well, let's see if that's true, shall we?"
Sho lunged at the guy from behind and tackled him to the floor. A gunshot rang too loudly inside the room. Arai struggled under Sho who pinned him against the floor. There was a squeak of rubber shoes on the tiled floor. Sho looked up to see Jun falling to the floor, blood spreading quickly on his shirt.
"Jun!" Sho rushed to the man, freeing Arai. He didn’t hear the guy springing up to his feet and aiming the gun at Sho’s back. Sho clamped down his hand over Jun's wound in attempt to stop the bleeding. "Hang in there, babe." The door burst open and there was a crash. Sho looked behind him to find Toma holding a chair over his head while Aiba straddled Arai on the floor as Nino stamped on the guy's hand until he let go of the gun, then kicked it away. Moments later, EMTs came and rushed Jun and Shun to the hospital as the police escorted Arai to the police station.
*****
Jun opened his eyes to see Sho sleeping on the chair next to his bed. He looked around and found a vitals monitor beside him clueing him that he was in a hospital. He groaned, feeling the dull pain on his shoulder. Sho stirred, waking up. “Hey,” Sho smiled, getting up and kissed his forehead. “I’m glad you finally woke up.”
“What happened after Arai shot me?” he asked hoarsely. He cleared his throat. Sho helped him up to give him ice chips. “Can’t have water or food for 24 hours,” he said. Jun raised an eyebrow. “They took out the bullet. It missed your heart by a couple of centimeters.”
“And Shun?” He cleared his throat again. The ice wasn’t helping, but he didn’t care.
“He’s okay, too. Arai hit his temple with the butt of his gun. He bled a lot but the ambulance came on time.”
There was a knock on the door, and in came three-fourths of Storm plus Ohno. They gathered around his bed, Aiba hugging Jun tightly. “Ow, watch the wound,” Jun yelled, hitting Aiba on the head. Aiba merely grinned as he rubbed the spot. He leaned down and smacking a kiss on Jun’s forehead. “We got our Jun-chan back!” he said happily. He started recounting the events for Jun, saying how he and Nino called Toma to meet up at ANN. They had planned to go out for drinks with Jun and Sho, but heard the shot.
“Toma just reacted and swung the chair, knocking Arai down,” Nino said, laughing. “I think we pretty much attacked the bastard.”
“So, hey, where’s the bullet?” Toma said. “I want to make a necklace with it and give it to you for your birthday as a gentle reminder that you are blessed.”
“Aw, how sweet,” Nino said sarcastically. Toma jabbed his friend’s side with his elbow. Nino yelped, rubbing the sore spot.
“Okay, okay, you guys are getting loud,” Ohno said, ushering them out. He handed the flowers to Jun. “Get well soon, okay? We can’t do anything without you.”
“Move it, people,” Nino said. “Let’s leave the love birds alone.” He turned to look at Sho and Jun with a small smile as the rest walked out the room. He waved before closing the door behind him.
*****
Sho sighed, folding up the newspaper, dropping it onto the coffee table. He threw back his head over the backing of Jun's couch. The news had reported on Arai’s trial and the attempted murder charges and his sentence on the front page. Of course there was no mention of his father. Arai had confessed that Gakuto had hired him to spy on the group, but unfortunately, Gakuto only confessed to hiring him to get information of the group’s activities, not to kill any members. With no proof to back up Arai’s accusation on that, Gakuto managed to get only a light sentence. In another section, the drama that Jun had a callback for and was stolen from him did fairly okay in the ratings, but hardly a hit. Jin’s acting wasn’t up to par for the lead role and was getting harsh criticism from the critics and viewers alike. Technically, it wasn’t the man’s fault for taking the role, but Sho couldn’t help finding justice in that, too.
There was a knock at the door. Sho expected a Storm member or Ohno, but to his surprise, it was Shokou. She gave him a hint of a smile in greeting that quickly fell flat into a tiny frown. Her eyes weren’t sparkly over the fact that she was at Jun’s apartment, either. "What's wrong?" Sho asked, letting her in.
"I went to your apartment to give you something.” She opened her bag and handed him a letter-size manila envelope. “Since you weren't there, I figured you're here at MJ's. I promise, I won't tell anybody where he lives, even if it kills me. No one would believe me anyway."
“Why don’t you come in for a moment,” Sho asked, stepping aside to let her in. Shokou insisted to just stay at the genkan, though. “I can’t stay long, anyway,” she said.
Sho opened the envelope to find formal papers from his father’s financial advisors notifying him that his father had pulled out his investment on TABOO. Sho sighed. The letter was signed a week ago, and without the huge chunk of financial backing, he would be forced to close the club in a week or two. “Well, that’s that. Goodbye TABOO,” Sho said with a sigh. He was expecting this.
Shokou looked down to the ground and sniffed. “What now?” she asked. Sho looked at her. “Shokou.” She looked up. “Thanks for being a great friend as well as being one hell of an assistant.” A smile tugged at corner of her mouth. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but for sure, I will let you know.” He hesitated. “If you’re on your way to find another job, I totally understand. Let me know if you need any recommendations.” Shokou bit her lip and hugged Sho.
“Thank you, Sakurai-san,” she said. “You’re a totally awesome boss. Good luck with your plans.” With that, she let him go and waved goodbye.
Sho closed the door behind her, and was startled to find Jun standing there. “That wasn’t what it looks like,” he said. “She was just-”
“I know. I heard everything,” Jun said. Together they made their way to the couch and sat. Sho put his arm Jun, drawing him closer in a cuddle. Jun winced when Sho grazed his hand over the still fresh wound. “Sorry,” Sho said, leaning over to kiss it.
Jun smiled, and playfully pushed on Sho’s head to prop him back up. “So let me guess,” Jun said. “In that envelope in your hand now is a ‘Dear John’ letter from your father, telling you he took his money, so goodbye.” Sho chuckled, but nodded. He threw the envelope on the coffee table. “You don’t seem surprised.”
“Well, he has been telling me that he’d pull out his investment if I stay with you, so…” Sho shrugged. “Dad always keeps his word.” Jun sighed, leaning his head on Sho’s shoulder. “What are you going to do now?” he asked.
"Right now? Hmm, let me see..." Sho feigned that he was thinking about it as his hand trailed down over Jun's pants zipper rubbing over Jun's cock.
"Are you kidding me? We’re having a serious moment here."
Sho just smiled. “I’ll worry about things later. For now, I’m serious about this.” With that, he knelt between Jun’s legs and unzipped his pants.
"I'll do you good, baby." he said, licking the tip of Jun’s cock, teasing his lover. Jun just smirked. "Prove it," he challenged. And Sho did. He can keep his word, too.
The End
arashiforyou Part 2“I don’t hear the baseline, can you up it?” Jun asked through the mic, shifting the headphones over his ear. Oguri Shun fiddled with the switches in the control room on the other side of the sound-proof glass of the recording booth until Jun could hear it through the headphones. He was at All Night Nippon, Shun’s recording studio affiliated with J-Ent. It was the first time recording a brand new song fresh from the hands of the lyricist and music arranger. Jun and Shun were still playing around with the track, seeing what fit the vibe the writers were going for. Moments later, the two were in the control room fiddling among the switches, listening to the demo Jun had sung. They were discussing some elements they want to change or keep when the door opened. They both swiveled their chairs around to find a guy, who looked like a boy in his late teens or early twenties, come in bringing bottles of water. He nodded at them, placing the bottles down at the desk in the back of the room, and shuffled backwards out the door.
“Who was that?” Jun turned around to ask Shun.
“A new intern,” Shun said, fiddling around with a switch. “How about if we slow down the tempo at this part?”
“When did he start here?”
Shun paused to think. “A month, a month and a half, I think.”
“How old is he? He looked like a kid fresh from high school.”
Shun paused and slowly swiveled the chair to face Jun. “Are you interested? Do you want me to hook you guys up?” he mocked. Jun punched him lightly on the shoulder. Shun just laughed.
Jun left the studio after a while to head out for home. He ran into Ohno in the hallway of ANN looking flustered as if he had been running through Tokyo. Jun waited for him to catch his breath, smiling amusedly at his manager.
“Good news,” Ohno said after panting a couple of times and swallowing spit. Jun handed him the water bottle he got from the intern. “A casting director from TBS has called. You got a call back from your auditions last week. You’re up against Matsuda Ryuhei and Eita in the lead role.”
“Yes.” Jun pumped his fist.
“They also said that if you do get this lead, they want Storm to record the theme song.”
“That’s great news, Oh-chan, thanks.”
Ohno nodded. “I’ll let them know you are more than interested in taking this. God knows you haven’t been in a drama for months now. I even forgot when the last time you’ve been in one was.”
There was a clatter down the hall. They both turned to find the intern shuffling about picking up the clipboard and pencils scattering on the floor. Jun cringed for him. He started to go help but the guy already had the things collected and he was now walking away.
“Arai-kun, you okay?” Ohno called out to him. The guy turned to nod his head and continued down the hall without stopping. “New guy.”
“So I’ve heard. Doesn’t he look familiar to you?” Jun asked, still staring at the figure. Something else flickered in his brain, but he couldn’t grasp it.
“Nope, not really. Why?” Jun shrugged in reply, turning back to face Ohno. “Okay, well, I just came over here to tell you the news,” Onho said. “My car broke down on the way AND my phone ran out of battery. Sheesh.”
Jun chuckled. “C’mon. I’ll help jumpstart your car.” He placed a hand over Ohno’s shoulder as they walked out of the building.
~~~
Sho smiled at the news Jun was telling him. The man was so excited for the possible role. He pulled him closer, nuzzling his nose at the crook of Jun’s neck. They were cuddling on the bed in Jun’s apartment. Normally, Sho wasn’t the cuddling type. He usually gets up and makes himself something to eat from the kitchen, leaving his partner all miffed on the bed. But something about Jun made him want to draw the man closer in many ways. It was more than just sex, he was starting to realize. He was falling more in love with the man. A trickle of fear crept in his mind. This news about Jun’s possible role was something his father would want. He had made up his mind weeks ago he wouldn’t spy on Storm and tell his father their activities. He hoped his father wouldn’t find out ever.
“Sho?”
“Hmm?”
“I really want this role. The other members have steady solo projects while I’m in the studio and J-Ent offices for concert planning. I need to get back into acting.”
“You’ll get it, babe. I’ve seen your past dramas- I marathoned them these past few weeks- and you’re really good. I have no doubt you’ll star in it.”
“Still, I don’t want to jinx it,” Jun said, placing a hand over Sho’s heart. “Promise you won’t tell anyone?”
“Promise.”
*****
Nino slapped a newspaper over Jun’s laptop keyboard while Jun was working on something. It took Jun a while to process what Nino was so riled up about until he really looked. There on the top fold of the entertainment section was a photograph of Sho standing with Sakurai Gakuto of SG Entertainment in front of TABOO. Under the caption was SG Entertainment founder and president, Sakurai Gakuto and his son, Sho at the grand opening of TABOO.
"I knew I've seen him somewhere. It took me a while to remember where until I saw this in my apartment while cleaning my living room.” Nino jabbed his finger on the photo. “Look at the unmistakable resemblance.”
Jun took the month-old newspaper and stared at the photo, his brain telling him it couldn’t be possibly true. "I bet he's only dating you to get close to you and help out his father for WAH.” He heard Nino continue. “I mean, why would he have them performed at his club's grand opening?"
Jun looked up. "Sho is not like that. He wouldn't-"
"What, betray you?" Nino nearly spat it out. "Jun think about it, why do you think he wants to hang out with the rest of us? Asking us questions what things we’ve been working on?"
"Because he knows you guys are my friends and he just wants to be friends with you, too."
"I hope you haven't told him about our possible new project with the upcoming drama, right?" Jun made a face at this. Nino sighed and rolled his eyes.
"He wouldn't...” Jun said weakly, more to himself than to his friend.
"For your sake and ours, he'd better not."
~~~
Sho answered the door of his apartment to a distraught Jun. He flinched when Jun slapped his chest with a newspaper. The man looked like he wanted a fight, but was keeping it under control. He took the newspaper without a word to see what it was all about. Oh.
"Why do you like me?" Jun said without preamble.
"Is that a trick question?"
"The first time we met at your club, were you pretending you really didn’t you know who I am when we met on the plane?"
"What's with these questions?"
"You haven't replied to any of my questions." The man was pacing back and forth, waving his arms around in frustration.
"No, I had no idea who you were the first time we met. No, I don't like you... I love you." Jun blinked and took a step back. Sho reached for him and held him close. "Jun, I would never hurt you. I'm sorry I've never told you who I really am. I've wanted to many times, but I didn’t know how you'd react. Please. I'm sorry." Sho pauses and asked, "Is being Sakurai Gakuto's son an automatic NG to you?"
Jun shook his head. "I don't really care who your father is. I guess I was just shocked by the news.” He straightened up and looked at Sho in the eye. “I know you wouldn’t hurt me, and I you.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Sho’s lips. “I love you, too.”
*****
It had been two days since he had confessed to Jun that he loved him. Sho was still elated that his lover felt the same. He drove to his father’s house, still smiling like an idiot thinking about that night. His body tingled at the thought of Jun’s touch. It really was just more than sex between them. He slowly came back to earth when he pulled up in front of the house. Taking a deep breath to brace himself in facing whatever his father’s surprise was, he parked his car and walked to the gate. He looked around, wondering why there were a few cars parked just outside, too. He found himself at a party with many entertainment guests and a few selected reporters at the house. He frowned, now really worried what his father was up to.
Sho spotted his mother and he went up to her, kissing her hello on the cheek. “What’s going on?” he asked. His mother handed him a flute of champagne as a waiter walked past. She hooked her arm around his and patted his hand. Sho knew what that meant without a word from her. He was to be quiet and just wait for his father to talk. Sure enough, Gakuto clinked his glass with a fork. The room grew quiet and turned to pay attention.
“I’m glad we are all gathered here in celebration of SG Entertainment’s latest achievement,” Gakuto said, “Our company has reached another milestone. Our very own We Are Hot leader, Akanishi Jin, has gotten a lead role in his first Golden Monday Night 9 time slot!”
Sho almost dropped the glass at the news while everyone cheered. Flashes from the reporter cameras danced before his eyes as he gawked at his father who stood there looking proud. His mind didn’t register what his father wanted him to do until his mother tugged on his arm slightly and he walked with her to his father’s side with Jin standing on the opposite side. He was nearly blinded from the flashes of the cameras. He felt suffocated. He needed to breathe. He needed to call Jun. God only knows how the man was feeling now.
When he finally found an excuse to get away from the hype, he made his way to the hallway that leads up to other rooms of the house. He took out his phone to call Jun. Gakuto suddenly appeared next to him.
"Call your Jun Matsumoto now, and I can guarantee you will lose your club."
"Dad, how could you do this to me? To Jun?"
"Are you kidding me? I’m doing this FOR you. You think if I hadn’t worked hard to get this agency up and running you’d have had the opportunity to study in America? Wake up, son. This is business. Your life wouldn't be the same if it hadn't been for these boys working their ass off."
"How did you even know about that drama? Jin wasn't even in the running for the lead."
Gakuto smirked. "So you did know about it, but I don't recall you ever telling me that information. But I'm not surprised. Good thing I thought ahead. I have my resources. I knew I couldn't fully trust you. You're a disappointment of a son." With that, Gakuto walked away.
Sho quickly called Jun, but there was no answer. He hung up and redialed. Still no answer.
*****
Sho arrived at Jun’s apartment and was taken aback to find Nino answering the door, looking very much like he wanted to punch him. Sho swallowed but asked to see Jun.
“I need to tell him something,” Sho said, trying to get past the scowling best friend. Nino wouldn’t budge. “Please.”
“Go away. You have done enough damage already.” Sho tried again, and Nino pushed him this time. "Do you know how long he waited to act in a new drama? You cost him his opportunity."
"No, wait, I didn’t."
"Leave, please." Without waiting, Nino slammed the door in Sho’s face.
Sho waited outside, dialing his phone to call Jun. A moment later, the door opened and out came Ohno. Sho stopped in the middle of dialing and looked at the man with hopeful eyes.
"Sakurai-san, I don’t know what your motives are, but I don’t think it's a good idea for you to be here. Please don’t make me call the police on you and draw more attention."
"I just need to talk to Jun, please. I want to explain."
Ohno shook his head. He might be smaller than Sho, and Sho could easily pick him up and set aside, but it was a hassle to deal with other members of Storm, who were most likely inside protecting their friend. With a sigh, Sho turned to go home.
"Can you please tell him that when he’s ready, to call me so we can talk?" Sho asked with a sigh.
Ohno nodded. Feeling defeated, Sho walked away.
*****
It had been almost a week since Jun found out about Jin taking the lead to the drama that he really had worked hard to get. He acted okay about it at work, keeping up appearances for the sake of his band mates. To keep himself busy, he got involved with planning for their concert that was coming up at the end of the year. He set his laptop at the far end corner of the table in the dance studio while Aiba practiced the choreography for his possible solo performance. While Jun worked with headphones on, someone tapped his shoulder. An intern stood beside him, bringing him a slice of cake. She bowed slightly, setting the plate down beside his notes. Jun smiled and nodded back, but something pricked at the back of his mind. He stared at the girl, trying to figure out. He had seen her before, that, he was sure, but he couldn't place where. He tried to look at her face, but her bangs and the baseball cap pretty much hid half of her face. Frustrated, he got back to work and looked at the cake. There was a mini card placed next to it. “I miss you.” Jun cursed half-heartedly at the lump forming on his throat. He couldn’t believe how a stupid piece of paper tug at his heartstrings like that. So he sent his secretary to bear the message, did he?
As if on cue, his phone rang. It was Sho again. He glanced up at Aiba, who was still getting step-by-step instructions from the choreographer and wasn't paying attention to him. He looked around, noticing that Toma and Nino weren't in the studio, either. He hesitated. He really wanted to talk to Sho, to demand why he would betray him like that. But… what if Sho didn't betray him? The man didn’t seem to be the type.
"You've only known him for a few months, what makes you think he's like that?" Nino had asked him the night Sho went to his apartment, knocking on his apartment door incessantly until Nino and Ohno had to kick him out. Jun knew, though that he couldn't avoid Sho altogether. At least, to hear his side. He picked up the phone and texted him.
~~~
Although it was technically closed before sunset, the bar section at TABOO was open for happy hour, welcoming office workers unwinding from work. Sho led him to the secluded section of the club, just around the corner of the bar counter.
"Jun, I’m glad you called me back." the man sounded relieved, but Jun grabbed his collar and slammed him up against the wall within a few seconds.
"I ought to punch you in the face," Jun said thru gritted teeth “Why did you betray me that way?"
"I didn’t. Somehow that audition callback you told me about leaked to my father. I swear, Jun, I would never hurt you. I promised. Please." Jun loosened his grip on Sho's collar, but didn’t completely let go. He searched his eyes, trying to find the truth in them. With a sigh, he dropped his hands and wearily leaned his head on Sho's shoulder. Sho felt wetness on his shirt, but instead of commenting about it, he just wrapped his arms around Jun, patting his back and kissing his hair. "I love you so much, you know that?"
"Fuck I can't believe I’m crying in front of you," Jun said, quickly turning around to wipe his eyes. Sho wrapped his arms around him from the back and pulled his close in an embrace. He kissed Jun’s nape.
"What do we do now?" Sho asked.
"Storm hates you, especially Nino. He wants to castrate you. I suggest you stay away from him." Sho chuckled softly, his lips still on Jun's neck.
"My dad has a spy, but I don’t know who he hired."
"You knew all this time?" Jun whipped around.
Sho shook his head. “I only found out last week when my dad had a celebratory party for Jin. He had said he didn’t trust me to tell him everything about Storm’s activities.” Sho cocked his head slightly at Jun’s smirk. “What?”
“He knew you wouldn’t say anything. That you wouldn’t betray me.”
Sho nonchalantly shrugged, but smiled. "So, are we okay?"
Jun nodded. "We’re okay, but we can't hangout a lot. I have to keep my distance from you for now."
Jun pulled away just as one of the bartenders rounded the corner and saw them talking. The bartender stopped short, nodded slightly at them and quickly rushed back where he came from. Jun blinked, something tugged in the back of his mind. “Who was that? He looks familiar.” he said.
“Oh, that was the bartender you met at the office a few weeks back. The one who needed an extra shift.” Jun nodded, but still it wasn’t the explanation he was looking for. It was something else. He quickly said goodbye to Sho and rushed out, neither wanting to risk being seen together again.
*****
A few hours after meeting up with Sho, Jun was back at the recording studio. It was already almost 11 at night, but between him with slight perfectionism and Shun being meticulous in details, his solo would never be finalized since it wouldn’t be near the perfection they both had set. Good thing the J-Ent president had set a deadline, highest perfection or not. This was the last recording for the song.
“Okay, that’s a wrap, I guess,” Shun said through his headset. Jun chuckled, giving him a thumbs-up.
“You don’t sound sure,” he said through the mic. Behind the glass to the control room, Shun just shrugged. Jun replaced the headset on its own stand and walked out the booth. “I need to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back.” Shun raised a hand in reply without looking at him.
On the way, he sent a quick message to Sho where he was. He was still typing on his phone, not seeing the other person coming out from the room next to recording studio. Crash!
“Sorry,” the intern said, hurrying to collect the papers off the floor. Jun helped him out. He studied the guy when he handed him the rest of the paperwork he gathered. The guy nodded quickly and rushed away, but Jun had a good look at him this time. Now he knew why he was familiar. Before Jun could call out his name, he vanished. Jun ran after him, but nobody else was in the other hallway. Sighing, he rushed to the restroom to call Sho.
*****
“Hello?”
“Sho! Is that bartender there?” Jun’s voice rang in his ear.
“What?”
"The bartender. The one who needed an extra shift. Is he there?"
"Huh? Not sure. He usually comes in around 11 pm for the graveyard. Why?"
“Can you check?”
Sho got up his desk and looked towards the bar through his glass window. “I see only one of them, but there’s still time. What’s with all the questions? Are you okay? You sounded agitated or something.”
"I think he's the spy."
"What? How?"
“I just bumped into him. He’s here as an intern in ANN. I remember him because I had a good look at him that day I interrupted your talk with him in your office. I had noticed he has a mole on the outer corner of his right eye.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean it’s really Arai-kun you saw.” Sho said, still looking out the window to the bar. The bartender at the counter was checking his watch and calling out to the general manager passing by. They seemed to exchange some words, the GM nodded and continued on while the bartender checked his watch again. “What makes you think it’s him?”
“I saw him earlier at your club, remember? When he turned around, I thought his back look familiar. When he ran off after we bumped in the hallway a few minutes ago, it was the same mannerism.” Jun paused. “But, I saw him here wearing glasses, though.”
“Arai-kun doesn’t wear glasses.”
Jun clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Could you just check? I know who I saw. I tried to chase after him, but he seemed to be gone already. Just go, please. I said he has a mole on the corner of his right eye, right?”
“Yes, though I’m kind of jealous why you remember such details on another guy,” Sho said with a chuckle.
Jun clicked his tongue again and hung up. Sho looked at his phone screen and scoffed. He was just joking with him to relieve the tension from his voice, but Jun must have been too anxious about it. It didn’t matter anyway. He was already down to the main floor on his way to the bar to check up on the graveyard shift.
“Subaru-kun,” Sho called out to the bartender. He waited until the bartender had served two women sitting at the counter and walked to him.
“Yeah, boss?” He nodded at another patron who called for his attention. “Be right with you.” He turned back to Sho. “Can I get you anything, boss?”
“No thanks. Are you by yourself? Is Arai-kun scheduled for tonight?”
Subaru rolled his eyes. “The fucker is late again,” he said. “This is the third time.”
“Third time? Why wasn’t I informed?”
“Yeah. Manager Horikita-san wanted to handle it for a while since he usually comes straddling in a couple minutes or so. She warned him tonight’s the last chance or he’s fired.”
Sho frowned and checked his watch. It was already 11:15. A small concern crept up his mind of what Jun said, but if it was true, then most likely Arai probably was on his way to the club from the recording studio. He was going to have a serious talk with the guy. “Did Maki-chan call another to sub?”
“Yup. Manager Horikita-san was on it. Yoko is on his way… though, he’d be a while.” He nodded to a group of five flocking to the counter, and he turned back to Sho. “Uh, sorry, boss, but I gotta take care of these people. Kinda busy tonight.”
“I’ll help you,” Sho said, rounding the corner to get behind the bar. Subaru looked taken aback at him. “What? As long as they order a beer or something simple, I can handle it. I’ll leave the cocktails and whatever else to you.” Subaru shrugged and attended to the patrons. Club regulars were coming in, the bar was getting busier. Sho could barely keep up and didn’t notice the two familiar figures in front of him.
“Sho-chan?" called a familiar voice over the music. He looked up to see a couple of guys standing in front of him and he wondered who these douchebags were who think they’re all that by wearing sunglasses at midnight. He studied their faces and realized to his surprise, it was Aiba and Nino. "I didn’t know you bartend?" Aiba asked, looking pleased at the discovery. They pulled their sunglasses off.
“I don’t. I just pass out the beers,” Sho said, scratching his head in embarrassment. “I’m one man short. Someone is a no-show, and the sub is still on the way.” He set two bottles of beer in front of them. Aiba looked happy, though Nino was frowning at him. At least he sat on the barstool and took a swig. “I thought you guys have work tonight?”
They furrowed their eyebrows at him. “No,” Aiba said. “We have the night off.”
“Oh. Jun called me minutes ago from the recording studio.”
Nino rolled his eyes. “Typical.” He set the bottle down with a thud. “By the way, Chief here insisted we talk to you about something. We’re not patrons here.”
Sho paused. “In that case, it’s on the house. So... you’re not mad at me anymore?” he asked Nino. Nino scoffed and looked away. Aiba gave Nino a side hug.
“He’s really sorry for being an asshole to you,” Aiba said, squeezing Nino. “Right, Kazu?”
Nino gritted his teeth when Aiba hugged tightly. “Okay, whatever you say, Chief.” Aiba let go and smiled at Sho. “Being a leader has such benefits.” Nino took a deep breath when Aiba let go and unfolded a piece of newspaper clipping he got from his pocket. Nino jabbed his finger on the photo in the clipping. “Who the hell is that?” Nino said roughly.
Sho looked closer to inspect the picture. It was the one taken for Jin's announcement of his new drama. "That’s me, my mom, my dad and Akanishi-kun."
"No, not that," Aiba started to say.
"I’m not stupid, stupid," Nino interrupted gruffly. "I kinda figure that out. I'm pointing to this guy, right here." he jabbed his finger on the photo again at the figure in the background just barely inside the frame. Sho's eyes widen. "That’s Arai-kun, my bartender. My dad must have hired him for that evening. He is trying to find a second job."
"When does he come for work?"
“His regular shift is at late afternoons for happy hour,” Sho said. “He picked up an extra shift working graveyard. As a matter of fact, he is the no-show I told you about.” Aiba and Nino turned to each other. Sho glanced between to the two of them. From their mannerism, they seemed to be up to something. “Is he really an intern at ANN studio?”
They looked at him, mouths hanging in surprised. “How did you know that?” Aiba said.
Sho shrugged. “Jun called me,” he said.
“Oh.”
Sho opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly. He wasn’t sure if he should tell the other members what Jun had told him. Though he believed that Jun might be on to something about Arai, they still weren’t sure why he would do such a thing. Money? He was already working two shifts. What could a bachelor do with more money? He shifted to eyes to Nino who was staring at him, noticing his hesitation.
“What? Just tell us,” Nino demanded.
“Jun mentioned that he thinks Arai-kun is spying on Storm.” Aiba and Nino straightened up and looked at each other again. “And I take it you two had thought about that possibility? How is that possible?”
“Toma, Nino and I have already discussed this,” Aiba said. “Whenever we are doing something at the dance studio, he seems to be there as an intern. When we have our recording, he was there, too. Now why would he be working as intern to two different studios AND still manage to work here?”
Sho sighed. “Maybe, but the theory is flimsy at its best.”
The other two sighed, and nodded in resignation. “I guess you’re right?” Nino said. Sho tried not to react to that comment. Getting a semi-praise from Nino is rare and he’d gladly take whatever he gave him. He glanced at his watch. “Where is that sub?” he mumbled to himself. He asked Subaru about it, and found out Yoko was stuck in traffic when the bridge en route collapsed and vehicles were stuck for miles.
“I’ll do it,” Aiba piped up. Before Sho could say anything, the man went around the counter and rolled up his sleeves. A girl called to order and Aiba called out “Hai!” and turned to her, mixing her drink quickly. Aiba beamed at Sho. “I played a bartender in a drama once. I had to learn some skills and kept them.”
A group of girls realized who was tending the other side of the bar, and flocked around him. Aiba seemed to take it in stride and started serving.
“Are you sure?” Sho looked warily at him during the lull. Aiba nodded and Nino just took another sip of his beer again. Sho shrugged-couldn’t hurt to get free help. “Maybe I’ll just go and meet up with Jun at the recording studio.” They nodded. Sho bade goodbye to Subaru, telling him about Aiba. Subaru looked just as hesitant to have a celebrity serve the guests, but accepted his charge. Waving goodbye to them, Sho made his way out.
*****
Sho arrived at ANN and walked in to its empty lobby. The doors were unlocked and no one was in sight, not even a guard. Shun or Jun must have forgotten to lock up and he made a mental note to warn them about intruders going into the building unannounced. He smiled at the irony of that for he was doing the very thing he would warn them about.
With no receptionist to ask, either, he studied the map of the company posted on the wall and headed for the studios. He followed the first hall down and soon came upon one. The door was ajar. Sho paused, weighing if he should go in. He might be interrupting. He pushed on the door slowly.
“Sorry for the intru-” Sho greeted and stopped short in his tracks. There, lying on the ground next to a swivel chair was a man. Sho rushed to his side. The man was unconscious and still breathing. Sho sighed in relief. At least he was still alive, but barely. He quickly called for an ambulance. Terror filled his mind. Jun!
Sho rushed down the hall, torn between trying to stay quiet yet run in the halls and risk the sound of his footfalls echo in the hallway. He peered through each studio-some locked, to his frustrations- and hoped that he wouldn’t find Jun in the same way.
BANG!
Sho jumped at the gunshot. It was down the other hallway. He ran toward the sound. He almost fell backward when he skidded to a stop. He saw through the glass panel of a control room Jun holding up both his hands to appease a guy pointing a gun at him. His back was toward Sho, but he could tell it was Arai. He didn’t see Sho standing outside the room. Jun was saying something to him, shaking his head. Arai was shaking the gun, apparently yelling something. Willing to take a risk, he slowly turned the doorknob, praying that someone had oiled the hinges.
“Are you kidding me?” Arai was shouting. “You’re the leader of Storm. Like hell you don’t have influence. Tell Kiratani to add me to HSD.”
“That’s not true on both accounts. Kiratani-san listens to senpais before Storm and Aiba’s the leader of our group.”
“Bullshit!”
“About Kiratani or Aiba?” Jun asked. Arai shot the ceiling. Jun and Sho cringed from the blast. “Don’t fuck with me, Matsumoto.” Arai aimed the gun to him again.
“So you're just gonna kill me? You didn’t debut with Hey Say Dance with your friends so you punish another guy who has nothing to do with any of your problems?"
Arai laughed mirthlessly. "I need the money. What better way to get it from Sakurai Gakuto-san to spy on AND get more by getting rid of one of the Storm members. What was it you said to the press?" he paused mockingly, "Oh, yes, 'Storm is four people. You take one out, and there wouldn't be Storm anymore'." Arai scoffed. "Well, let's see if that's true, shall we?"
Sho lunged at the guy from behind and tackled him to the floor. A gunshot rang too loudly inside the room. Arai struggled under Sho who pinned him against the floor. There was a squeak of rubber shoes on the tiled floor. Sho looked up to see Jun falling to the floor, blood spreading quickly on his shirt.
"Jun!" Sho rushed to the man, freeing Arai. He didn’t hear the guy springing up to his feet and aiming the gun at Sho’s back. Sho clamped down his hand over Jun's wound in attempt to stop the bleeding. "Hang in there, babe." The door burst open and there was a crash. Sho looked behind him to find Toma holding a chair over his head while Aiba straddled Arai on the floor as Nino stamped on the guy's hand until he let go of the gun, then kicked it away. Moments later, EMTs came and rushed Jun and Shun to the hospital as the police escorted Arai to the police station.
*****
Jun opened his eyes to see Sho sleeping on the chair next to his bed. He looked around and found a vitals monitor beside him clueing him that he was in a hospital. He groaned, feeling the dull pain on his shoulder. Sho stirred, waking up. “Hey,” Sho smiled, getting up and kissed his forehead. “I’m glad you finally woke up.”
“What happened after Arai shot me?” he asked hoarsely. He cleared his throat. Sho helped him up to give him ice chips. “Can’t have water or food for 24 hours,” he said. Jun raised an eyebrow. “They took out the bullet. It missed your heart by a couple of centimeters.”
“And Shun?” He cleared his throat again. The ice wasn’t helping, but he didn’t care.
“He’s okay, too. Arai hit his temple with the butt of his gun. He bled a lot but the ambulance came on time.”
There was a knock on the door, and in came three-fourths of Storm plus Ohno. They gathered around his bed, Aiba hugging Jun tightly. “Ow, watch the wound,” Jun yelled, hitting Aiba on the head. Aiba merely grinned as he rubbed the spot. He leaned down and smacking a kiss on Jun’s forehead. “We got our Jun-chan back!” he said happily. He started recounting the events for Jun, saying how he and Nino called Toma to meet up at ANN. They had planned to go out for drinks with Jun and Sho, but heard the shot.
“Toma just reacted and swung the chair, knocking Arai down,” Nino said, laughing. “I think we pretty much attacked the bastard.”
“So, hey, where’s the bullet?” Toma said. “I want to make a necklace with it and give it to you for your birthday as a gentle reminder that you are blessed.”
“Aw, how sweet,” Nino said sarcastically. Toma jabbed his friend’s side with his elbow. Nino yelped, rubbing the sore spot.
“Okay, okay, you guys are getting loud,” Ohno said, ushering them out. He handed the flowers to Jun. “Get well soon, okay? We can’t do anything without you.”
“Move it, people,” Nino said. “Let’s leave the love birds alone.” He turned to look at Sho and Jun with a small smile as the rest walked out the room. He waved before closing the door behind him.
*****
Sho sighed, folding up the newspaper, dropping it onto the coffee table. He threw back his head over the backing of Jun's couch. The news had reported on Arai’s trial and the attempted murder charges and his sentence on the front page. Of course there was no mention of his father. Arai had confessed that Gakuto had hired him to spy on the group, but unfortunately, Gakuto only confessed to hiring him to get information of the group’s activities, not to kill any members. With no proof to back up Arai’s accusation on that, Gakuto managed to get only a light sentence. In another section, the drama that Jun had a callback for and was stolen from him did fairly okay in the ratings, but hardly a hit. Jin’s acting wasn’t up to par for the lead role and was getting harsh criticism from the critics and viewers alike. Technically, it wasn’t the man’s fault for taking the role, but Sho couldn’t help finding justice in that, too.
There was a knock at the door. Sho expected a Storm member or Ohno, but to his surprise, it was Shokou. She gave him a hint of a smile in greeting that quickly fell flat into a tiny frown. Her eyes weren’t sparkly over the fact that she was at Jun’s apartment, either. "What's wrong?" Sho asked, letting her in.
"I went to your apartment to give you something.” She opened her bag and handed him a letter-size manila envelope. “Since you weren't there, I figured you're here at MJ's. I promise, I won't tell anybody where he lives, even if it kills me. No one would believe me anyway."
“Why don’t you come in for a moment,” Sho asked, stepping aside to let her in. Shokou insisted to just stay at the genkan, though. “I can’t stay long, anyway,” she said.
Sho opened the envelope to find formal papers from his father’s financial advisors notifying him that his father had pulled out his investment on TABOO. Sho sighed. The letter was signed a week ago, and without the huge chunk of financial backing, he would be forced to close the club in a week or two. “Well, that’s that. Goodbye TABOO,” Sho said with a sigh. He was expecting this.
Shokou looked down to the ground and sniffed. “What now?” she asked. Sho looked at her. “Shokou.” She looked up. “Thanks for being a great friend as well as being one hell of an assistant.” A smile tugged at corner of her mouth. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but for sure, I will let you know.” He hesitated. “If you’re on your way to find another job, I totally understand. Let me know if you need any recommendations.” Shokou bit her lip and hugged Sho.
“Thank you, Sakurai-san,” she said. “You’re a totally awesome boss. Good luck with your plans.” With that, she let him go and waved goodbye.
Sho closed the door behind her, and was startled to find Jun standing there. “That wasn’t what it looks like,” he said. “She was just-”
“I know. I heard everything,” Jun said. Together they made their way to the couch and sat. Sho put his arm Jun, drawing him closer in a cuddle. Jun winced when Sho grazed his hand over the still fresh wound. “Sorry,” Sho said, leaning over to kiss it.
Jun smiled, and playfully pushed on Sho’s head to prop him back up. “So let me guess,” Jun said. “In that envelope in your hand now is a ‘Dear John’ letter from your father, telling you he took his money, so goodbye.” Sho chuckled, but nodded. He threw the envelope on the coffee table. “You don’t seem surprised.”
“Well, he has been telling me that he’d pull out his investment if I stay with you, so…” Sho shrugged. “Dad always keeps his word.” Jun sighed, leaning his head on Sho’s shoulder. “What are you going to do now?” he asked.
"Right now? Hmm, let me see..." Sho feigned that he was thinking about it as his hand trailed down over Jun's pants zipper rubbing over Jun's cock.
"Are you kidding me? We’re having a serious moment here."
Sho just smiled. “I’ll worry about things later. For now, I’m serious about this.” With that, he knelt between Jun’s legs and unzipped his pants.
"I'll do you good, baby." he said, licking the tip of Jun’s cock, teasing his lover. Jun just smirked. "Prove it," he challenged. And Sho did. He can keep his word, too.
The End
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no subject
Date: 2015-09-09 03:52 pm (UTC)Thanks for writing this!!
no subject
Date: 2015-09-09 06:21 pm (UTC)All Night Nippon. for some reason I get the feeling that's a clever pun to Sunrise Nippon. is it? (actually, i looked it up and i learned that it's real. nice!)
Arai-kun is the spy! he's the spy! i highly suspect him >_>
no nino! it's just a coincidence! sho really loves jun! he's not a spy anymore! don't be so jelly nino! ;A;
noooooooooo evil father! you Darth Vader! why!!!!
and jun won't answer sho, noooooooo!
uh oh, nino sassy friend alert, about to chop off some dick! XD
sigh, at least ohno is reasonable. such a well mannered manager ;A;
*GASP* IT'S THE BARTENDER! HE'S THE SPY! ARAI KUN AAAAAAHHHH!
i like how there are familiar names as characters in the story! Subaru, Horikita Maki, Yoko, Oguri Shun :D
it's so easy to picture their faces and such
aw aiba is the leader of storm :3
(aiba the bartender to the rescue!)
oh no! man down! GASP! crazy Arai-kun with a gun! oh noes! Crazy kid! sho stop him!!
(Hey Say Dance XDD...actually that's a more catchier name O_O)
OH NO! JUN DOWN! JUN DOWN!! ;;A;;
STORM TO THE RESCUE! (i can totally picture toma going berserk since i've seen too many dark toma trailers XD)
:DD and nino finally approves of them! :DD
yay, justice was served!
bye bye taboo...JUN HIRE SHO AS AN ASSISTANT MANAGER FOR STORM! XDD
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woo! i loved it! it's got a plot i can follow, there were other characters than just arashi, and a nice touch on smutty stuff too but not too much to derive away from the story :D
i find it interesting how you played around with familiar words. and i realize, after looking them up, All Night Nippon and ANN are real stations and i didn't know that XD so that's really clever to use real settings and names. it makes the story more realistic. i really really like that!
Thank you anon writer! i really enjoyed this!
no subject
Date: 2015-09-20 07:50 pm (UTC)I was giggling over your comments. It was like you were being a sports commentator or something. hehe.
yeah, I had a picture of M.A.I.N. "bullying" a bully and all working together. It kinda looks funny in my head instead of scary and violent. Yeah, I'm weird, as you've already figured out.
Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the fic. It was fun writing it.
no subject
Date: 2015-09-10 02:41 am (UTC)I knew that Arai was up to no good! >:(
I seriously hated Sho's dad from beginning to end xD I'm glad his spying and all that stuff still didn't make his group more popular mwahahahahha~ >:)
Anyway, this was awesome! So happy about how everything ended ^^ Thank you for sharing it with us!