Chapter Text
Oka peeks into the studio room quietly observing the boys. Langa was rocking his head, earbuds swinging gently while he mouthed the lyrics following a print out. They’d started the training process since the first day they’d met. After Reki’s impromptu dance lesson the two boys had been inseparable. Despite his previous worries, Langa had taken everything like a fish to water. What he didn’t have in natural talents was made up for in enthusiasm. Oka would argue he’s probably the one person that rivaled Reki in his passion for being an idol. Watching Langa now was like watching Reki the first time Oka started training him. Inexperienced, but filled with enough excitement to take on the world.
He looked towards the room’s center where Reki is quietly strumming his guitar. Large red headphones decorated in hand drawn doodles of his own mascot hung on his head. His back was turned to the door but Oka could still see the steady thumping of his head as the hood of his jacket bounced against his back and feet to the tempo from his headphones. Watching him like this, Oka felt like he could see the younger Reki next to him, mimicking his exact movements. Plucking a few chords, mumbling indiscriminately while scribbling down phrases and ideas. But one gesture broke from the mirage. The Reki that sits here would occasionally peek up, glancing at the model seated in the couch. A faint blush creeped against his neck everytime he looked up.
“Inspiration” he used to say. When Reki first started writing his songs he insisted on being alone, having someone else would disrupt him, he had said. Although, Oka supposes, that rule could be exempted for his muse. Earlier when he tried to bring it up he was quickly shut down by Reki.
Seems he still hasn’t told Langa how he wrote those songs.
Oka smiles to himself before knocking on the door and making his presence known. Langa looks up and pulls out an earbud while Reki pulls down the headphones to hook around his neck, twisting his body to look at Oka.
“I have news boys, Kaoru Sakurayashiki just called and said he’s coming to talk with you two later today,” Oka announces, his face twisting into a small frown.
“What?!” Reki fully twists to face Oka. Almost tripping to get up, making sure not to trip on his own guitar. “Why would he do that!”
“Who?” Langa asks, taking out the other earbud, starting to roll it back up.
Reki turns back to Langa in shock. “Cherry, man! One of the founders of S?!” Langa looked just as confused as he was before but nodded anyway. Reki looks back at Oka, “Did he say why? Are we being cut early?” He asked anxiously.
Kaoru Sakurayashiki. More notably known as Cherry of MatchaBlossom. He, Joe of the same group, and a third unknown member founded S from the ground up as an idol agency renowned for its talents throughout Japan. Cherry originally started as an independent singer and was known as having the voice akin to angels. His voice rang clear when he sang and many regard him as essentially the top dog of S.
Normally if Reki got to meet one of THE founders of S he’d be over the moon with stars in his eyes. But a sudden meeting like this, especially at a time like this. Oka and Reki simultaneously felt a chill run down their spines.
Oka sighs, “I don’t know either but since he’s coming there’s nothing else we can do now.”
Reki looks like he wants to argue but simply gapes before sighing. He balled his fist in his hair, repeating the motion a few times before letting his arms fall. “Well there’s no time to lose.”
-
“It’s very nice to meet you, Cherry, sir,” Reki awkwardly greeted, holding out his hand. As soon as the time was confirmed Oka was called off to a meeting with the higher ups. Neither he nor Reki believed for a second it was a coincidence but there wasn’t much they could do about it. Langa and Reki were left to their own devices, like fish in a barrel, waiting for the big man to find them. Now in front of the two sat a tall lean man with hair a pale pink color reminiscent of fresh cherry blossoms. Even without makeup or costumes he held an air of elegance.
“No need to be so formal,” Kaoru responds with a soft chilling smile, leaving Reki’s hand to slowly fall down. “I’m sure it must be confusing as to why I’m here, simply to say I’m just here for a trial.”
“A trial?” Langa asks.
“Oh you’re new so you must not know the details, in short, new trainees get put in a small trial of sorts with senior members to confirm whether they would have the abilities to debut,” Kaoru explains, “should the trainee fail the trial they will be forced to resign early.”
“Wait wait!” Reki shoots forward, “Langa barely got here for a week, there’s no way you can put him on a trial this early.” He glances back at Langa who seemed as stoic as ever.
Someone please help this boy.
“Ah, but that’s not entirely true is it?” Kaoru argues calmly, “Blaze, you’ve debuted for a little over a year, since you two are going to debut as a team I’d say that’s more than enough experience to be put up to a trial.” If Reki didn’t know better he’d say the man seemed to be taking pleasure in this.
Reki scrunches his hands against the table. They both know that’s nothing but twisted logic, trails don’t typically occur for trainees until at least 6 months of training. Only problem was that it was never written as a rule, only common courtesy. In truth, a trial may occur “when a senior seems a trainee ready for one.” It wasn't something they could simply refute, especially with the time Reki had loaded on his back.
Langa pulled Reki back gently by his hood down onto the seat next to him. He whispered to Reki, “I think we could do it, besides I have you with me right?” He pulled back with a smile waiting for a response.
Reki was left a blushing mess, Cherry’s entire existence was wiped from his mind the second Langa got close to his ear. He could still feel the remnants of his voice, his breath, against his ear. “Um, yeah, of course,” Reki quickly agreed.
“Wonderful, I’ll be waiting in the recording studio,” Kaoru said, stepping out of the room without waiting for a beat. Langa quickly got up to follow him and Reki was left gaping at what he’d just agreed to. He grumbled quietly before leaving to follow the two.
Screw Langa and his handsome face. Screw Langa and his attractive voice.
-
Reki and Langa were set up inside the small booth with matching headphones while Kaoru stayed in the control room to direct them. Kaoru decided the trial would be a first take cover session. He would select one song and they’d get to listen to it once. Then they would have to record a cover to the song, the catch being they only get one shot.
“Alright I’ve chosen the song, get ready boys,” Kaoru warned from the other room. Reki looked to Langa who had his eyes closed as he prepared for the song. While waiting for the song to start, Reki took the opportunity to study Langa’s face up close.
He has pretty long eyelashes huh.
His thoughts were quickly interrupted when the baseline started and he could feel his stomachs drop. It was his debut song. The one he wrote when he first figured out he loved Langa. Fuck.
“Looking up to you from down below, your figure seems untouchable. I reach for you, not even a glimpse in your vision. I don’t have a reason to know you, not a chance for you to see me, but even without knowing, I long for you.”
Reki could feel his face blaze in heat, listening to his own voice sing about his crush to his crush is simply embarrassing. He dared a peek at Langa who’s looking at him with an eyebrow raised.
“Isn’t this you?” Langa mouthed. In the week they had training, Reki let Langa listen to most of his songs but he made sure to strategically avoid any that explicitly professed his love to the blue haired boy. This song being at the very top of that list of songs he tried to hide. Reki just shook his head, “Later,” he mouthed back. It seemed to be enough for Langa who closed his eyes again.
Listening to the strum of his guitar and the hums of his own voice was an experience he never thought he’d have to endure. He could only hope Langa wouldn’t put the pieces together.
“What is this feeling I can’t name, what I long for I can’t tell you. In my dreams I only see you, in my heart I only feel you. Let my voice reach you, let my figure be seen. My love can only hope to reach the heavens you reside in.”
Reki had to hold everything in himself from running out of the booth and burying himself six feet underground.
This can’t be real.
Fortunately for Reki’s soul the song finally ends. Kaoru doesn’t even give them the time to react before announcing the beginning of the recording. He hears beeps start coming through his headphones warning him of the impending music that would start soon. Without looking towards the very source of his afflictions he focuses on giving the very best performance he could.
Reki’s soul truly could not take much more of this. It’s one thing for him to sing the song in front of his crush, it’s another to have his crush sing the very same song to him. Well in actuality it’s more with him, but a boy can dream.
As soon as the song ended he practically ripped off the headphones. He didn’t get a chance to breathe before Kaoru’s voice rang through the booth. “Congratulations to the both of you, that performance was satisfactory, Blaze, if I could speak with you alone for a moment?”
Reki just looked at Langa who shrugged back at him. “Talk to you later?” Reki asked. Langa nodded and Reki quickly left the booth not wanting to wait and see if the other boy had anything to add.
-
Sitting across from the man now, Reki felt like he was faced with a completely different man. The air of elegance was still prominent but he didn’t seem as chilly as their initial meeting. His eyes carried almost a softness to it.
“Do you know why I wanted to meet with the two of you at all?” Kaoru asks, tapping the desk. “It was because of him,” he gestures to Langa outside of the room, “Snow, the ever chilling teen model, quits and is now an idol in training, the gorilla wanted to see how he’d hold up against other trainees but I was sure he’d just end up scaring him away so I came in his stead” He leans back in the chair and looks over to Reki, “I’m sure you know at the progress you’re making, S, no matter how generous it is, cannot continue to support you right?” Reki blushed in embarrassment and looked away without a word. Kaoru sighs, “Truthfully, I had full intention of ordering you two to split and quit but after that showcase I can’t say you’re a charity case though, you’re music is something I respect, but seeing you here I can say you definitely have talent, however talent to be an idol I cannot say.”
“Is that why you paired a Langa with me? Why did you order us to debut in 3 months even though everyone knows that’s not enough time for anyone, much less a novice, to debut?” Reki accuses the lyrics he wrote scrunching in his hands. “On top of that, why stage this whole trial?” He was more than aware of his lack of progress, but to hear it said to his face like this angered him to no end. Regardless of his position, they roped Langa into this as well, not allowing him a fair chance.
Kaoru raised an eyebrow before briefly taking a sip of the tea, “That whole order is fishy if I’m being honest, against popular belief, I don’t actually run S,” Kaoru explains. “I couldn’t handle being an idol and agency administrative work so most decisions are made by a separate branch.” He gently places his cup down and takes out an iPad, tapping a few buttons before handing it to Reki. “This is Ainosuke, he was the third person to create S with gorilla and I, if anyone else the decision most likely came from him to pair you with Hasegawa,” Kaoru says with a frown. “He’s a real piece of work and this whole thing has his name written all over it. The only question is, why would he bother? From what I can tell you two are good but nothing extraordinarily good nor bad.”
Reki looks down at the pad where a navy haired man stares back at him, ruby red eyes that seemed to pierce his own gold ones even through a screen. Unconsciously, he grips the pad tighter, it felt like all the pieces to a puzzle were dumped on him but no matter how much he tried he couldn’t figure out the picture. He looks back up at Kaoru, “Why are you telling me all this?” Tossing the pad against the couch next to him, “you got what you wanted right, so why tell me all this?”
Cherry looked back out towards the door before staring back at Reki. “Because I want to help you,” he admits, “call it a decision made on a whim but I think you two could really make it far with the right tutelage.” Cherry smirks, “that is if you think you have what it takes to endure my training.”