Chapter Text
“Thank you for today!”
Both the staff and the members of the units thanked each other, before they started cleaning up the venue while some started to leave before the others. Some selected units, including but not limited to 2Wink and UNDEAD were called here for a photoshoot, something related to magazines and such that Kaoru didn’t bother to listen to.
He volunteered to help some of the staff in storing their equipment back to their boxes so they can be easily transported, getting a few additional greetings of gratitude from them. He’s not the only idol who stayed behind to assist them more, although he is quite surprised about the fact that the rest of UNDEAD head on without him.
Being here working in silence gives his mind enough time to think about the feeling bugging him whenever he sees two of his unit members get closer day after day.
Jealousy isn’t the right word to describe this feeling. He’s cool with them and has seen this coming ever since he first saw Koga when he was still in school. That kid really deserved the nickname ‘Puppy’ that they gave him before for his loyalty to Rei despite all the things that happened in between them.
Rei’s been pretty open about his amusement and hidden admiration towards the boy ever since the beginning, although dense when it comes to realising his true emotions. Kaoru felt like Rei could write a song about the qualities he likes in a person and Rei won’t be aware that he’s writing about Koga all along.
It is only fortunate for Kaoru that UNDEAD never got the privilege of sharing a 4-person dorm with each other. Not only won’t it be too small for the accessories and toys that Koga puts around for Leon, but also because Kaoru doubts that he can last a day with a couple who banters over his morning pancake first thing in the morning.
It’s not like he’s bothered with the scene of them being close and lovey dovey with each other, but sometimes he feels a churning in his stomach for reasons unclear to him whenever they show their affection to each other.
“Hakaze-senpai? Hakaze-senpai are you still here?” Hinata from 2wink waved a hand in front of his face in order to get his attention. “Everything’s already cleaned up, Yuuta-kun and I are only waiting for you, senpai. Is there something bothering you?”
“Hm? I’m alright, thanks. Sorry for worrying you.” Kaoru apologized, one hand in front of his face doing the amen sign that was taught to him before. It isn;t necessarily considered to be one since his other hand is occupied as of now, but maybe his message is clear enough.
He figures that he has done enough thinking about those two and tried to keep the both of them out of his mind. This isn’t the time for him to think about relationships inside the unit when UNDEAD’s in a pretty rough situation at the moment, so he has to shift his entire focus and attention to the problem at hand.
He decided that UNDEAD’S current crisis must be the reason why he feels more upset compared to before, and nothing related to Rei Sakuma and Koga Oogami.
To be honest, he is not in the mood to head inside the Ensemble Square dorms even if he has nothing else planned for the day. He did head back to the building with both Hinata and Yuuta, humoring them for a bit, but he did not go to the dorms even when Yuuta volunteered to go there with him.
The cafeteria doesn’t sound too good for him either. His stomach’s not empty, and around this time there could be a chance that he’d find two lovebats eating dinner there so he’d rather not. Since when did he start to despise their relationship?
He heard that there’s a new garden nearby the dorms that’s perfect for romantic dates and that social media app where you upload pictures and such. He hasn't checked that out at night before and Kaoru is unsure if it’d look better at night, but he isn’t really up to talk to anybody at the moment.
He needs his alone time for a while, to gather his thoughts and not think of things unrelated to their unit for the next few weeks until their conflict with the higher ups are solved.
Kaoru’s feet brought him to the underground live house that he used to manage, taking a moment to look at the sign of the place above the entrance before he looked around if there were any paparazzi around. Rei would scold him surely if he is seen in a place like this. After checking, he entered the venue.
Nothing really changed much under a different manager. The multicolored stage lights are still the same, the stage occupied by performer after performer as they try to entertain the guests with the talents given to them. The air still smells the same, sweet with a hint of something alcoholic, and a little thick due to the number of people around.
He didn’t really expect to get a free drink upon entrance, saying that the tropical fruit shake is on house because of his outstanding management back in the days. Kaoru politely thanked the bartender and requested to have his drink made again, suspicious that it’s already prepared when he just stepped foot inside the building.
The bartender reluctantly agreed, although looking as if he might protest. The idol could tell that he’s grown a bit more cautious around his surroundings but maintaining his easygoing and flirtatious personality. UNDEAD already did a collaboration with the unit Adam, and could confirm that they would do whatever it takes to show that Adam or, in some cases, Eden, would be favorable to the audience compared to any other units.
Kaoru’s not the type to be overly suspicious of things but after the incident concerning Adonis and a depressant drug slipped in his drink without them noticing is something that he can never overlook.
He took a seat not necessarily near to the bartenders, his instincts telling him that they would encourage him to start a conversation whenever they can. He has his back faced to them, full attention to whoever the next performer is.
Judging from the excited murmurs of anticipation of the audience around him, Kaoru can guess that this performer is famous in this live house nowadays. He hasn't been here for years, so of course he won’t be caught up with the people who entertain them nowadays.
He can’t see exactly what they look like since they have their cap on and their back facing the audience. They are currently preparing the equipment they’re going to use, which piqued his interest for a while before they revealed that they’re only using an acoustic guitar.
There are two mics that they’ll use, one for the guitar they’re holding and one near their lips. Kaoru played around with his drink for a while, using the straw to mix the shake as he waited for them to perform.
“Ahaha~ Ain’t there a lot of ya here this time?”
Kaoru almost dropped his shake, surprised at the voice that emitted from the speakers connected to the performer’s mic. He, the performer, is seated on the stool already, cap removed for the sake of the audience so they can see his face more clearly. Kaoru made sure that the prominent features are 100% correct — the ruffled, gray hair, the familiar glint in his amber eyes whenever he’s doing something related to his interests, and the body accessories that decorated him ever since he was young. It really is Koga Oogami.
But what is he doing in a place such as this? Someone with talent like him shouldn’t be performing in places where only a limited amount of people could see! It is true that Koga started performing here when he was still a first year but he has improved a lot now. His talents should be showcased in a venue with much more space capacity for more audience to see the wonders of Koga Oogami.
Ah, no stop that. Thinking back about that now, Kaoru feels disgusted with himself. He sounded exactly like Itsuki Shu back then, always talking about Nazuna as if he’s some doll who owes his life to Shu. One’s life and talents are owned by the person who got gifted by it and not to any other people around them. If Koga wants to perform in an underground live house, then so be it. Kaoru’s merely an audience this time, and it’s not like he is close to Koga in a way that gives him permission to limit his activities.
He was just… taken aback, yes. He never expected that Koga’s still performing here after all this time even after they graduated.
Kaoru kept his eyes down, focused on his drink when he felt Koga’s eyes scan the crowd, perhaps looking for familiar faces. He heard a sharp intake of breath no sooner, notifying Kaoru that he was found. Koga didn’t make any remark on it and started strumming his guitar.
It didn’t take long for Kaoru to realize that this is the first time that he heard Koga play anything other than the electric guitar given to him by Rei.
The sound of Koga’s voice accompanied by an acoustic guitar feels foreign to the ears, especially by the fact that Koga’s singing something that Kaoru won’t classify as rock. If under normal circumstances he would feel tempted to mock Koga about him knowing to play anything other than rock, but rather he feels quite jealous. Does Rei-kun get to see this side of Koga often?
His mind started working once again, that place full of looms that are always weaving an unexplained tapestry representing the things that are at the bottom of thoughts. He’s not even concentrating on the performance anymore, just the gloomy feeling of him not being the one who gets to discover the other sides of people he truly admires. Kaoru is aware that there is much more that he doesn’t know about Koga, or about anyone at all.
He starts to think if he’d feel the same when it comes to other people, and has come to a conclusion in such a short notice that he would not. He is only interested in Koga, but frankly, the boy is interested in someone else.
Here he goes again to thinking about the man performing in front of him. He went to a place hidden from the majority of the people to keep his mind off him, and yet Koga still manages to appear in places he would not expect him to appear.
And what’s with that sudden ‘ Does Rei-kun get to see this side of Koga often?’ bullshit. It’s not like him, and it will never be like him to think and be jealous of a boy. Especially not to people he is close to, and he is definitely not jealous over the relationship of Rei Sakuma and Koga Oogami.
Kaoru immediately finishes his drink, not bothering to stay until the end of the performance. He could feel Koga’s gaze on his back when he left, but Kaoru figures that he’s done with seeing Koga Oogami for the day.