Ch 25: Drop That Flop!

Makoto sat on the couch in the SUN MEDIA lounge area as he sipped his coffee, his eyes shut as he tried to stay calm.

Sitting adjacent to him, were the Smile Days members; Miki, Ayumi, Kairi, Megumi and Chisato.

Usually, they did not come into the office unless Makoto called them in or they had some work scheduled. So, their surprise visit today had Makoto feeling extra irritated and the rest of the staff whispering and theorizing amongst themselves.

All of them were dressed casually, yet their apparel gave off a chic and fashionable impression. Miki, as their leader, made sure that all of them were always prepared to be caught on camera by paparazzi or fans. Not that any of either were buzzing around SUN MEDIA's headquarters.

Makoto set his cup down on the coffee table and crossed his leg as he leaned against the back of the couch.

"Now, what is so important that blessed the office with your rare presence."

His sentence was formed as a question, yet he had delivered it as a statement rather than something he was awaiting an answer for.

Miki clenched her jaw and motioned to the other members, "We want our song back."

Makoto nodded slowly and puckered his lips, "Your song? My Days? That song? You mean MY song? The song that I wrote and I composed and created and produced and gave to MY artist to debut with? That song?"

"That song was meant for US, not her! Smile Days has a way better ring to it than My Days. My Days just sounds stupid, we all have days. Smile Days are happy moments and fit our concept the best. You made it for US and we want OUR song." Miki demanded.

There was a fire in her eyes and she was shooting daggers towards Makoto as she spoke.

"I think it's really unfair that Minami got our song. She didn't audition or anything...and we were really looking forward to our official debut…" Chisato, the group's youngest member, said.

She was much more soft spoken than the rest of them and quite shy. Even her complaint didn't have much force behind it and she sounded more like she was apologizing rather than complaining.

"I also think it's unfair. She's not an idol. She's just some random staff member!" Ayumi flipped her midnight black hair and scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"We've worked hard for you for so long and we've already built up a fanbase and you've been investing in us with our releases. Now you've gotten a new girl out of the blue and canceled our official debut." Megumi added, her shoulders slumped.

"Are we ever going to get an official release or are you just going to stick us with digital singles for the remainder of our contracts? We're already making you money, what is Minami doing for you so far? We want our song! It's RIGHTFULLY ours!" We've paid our dues already! You should be focusing on promoting us instead of some newbie that no one cares about!" Kairi was shooting daggers just like Miki although on a much lesser level.

Makoto scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Don't worry about Minami. She's not going anywhere. Her debut will tank. Are none of you trusting in me?"

Miki laughed and also rolled her eyes, "She's not going anywhere? Her debut will tank? Takada Makoto, do you really want to bullshit me? What are you doing investing in her if you think she'll fail? Of course I don't trust you, why would I when you would waste financial resources on someone who you already know is going to flop?"

Silence and tension intertwined as neither side spoke for a while.

Makoto leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He broke the silence as he whispered, "Bullshit you? Is that any way for an idol to talk? I better not catch you slipping up and speaking vulgar like that again. Do you understand me?"

Miki glared him in the eyes and she leaned back a bit.

He continued, "She's ugly and she's talentless and all of her fans are only fans of the studio magic that I have provided for her alright? She's never going to be famous. You're a group of beautiful women who are synchronized and professional. How could she compete? Don't worry about the song right now. I will create a much better one for you."

"B-but…I really like that song….please let us debut with it…." Chisato's eyes were closed tight as she mustered up the courage to very quietly express her 'demands'.

"Trust me, you'll have a better song and a much better debut." Makoto leaned back against the couch again, this time folding his arms with a smirk on his face.

"Then give THAT song to that stupid bi-…flop! We want Smile Days back." Miki flashed a smug smile, "Or should I tell my father?"

"Ah. Tell your father what exactly? That I'm creating you a song that will launch you into stardom and grab hold of an even larger, more dedicated fanbase? Is that what you'll tell him?" Makoto laughed.

Miki looked like she was at a loss for words and the other members also cowered behind her.

"I'm telling you not to worry. There's a much better song for you that's yet to be made. Or do you not want to be famous? Are you not serious about being idols? I have much more experience in this industry than you do. Yet you're questioning me? Why would you not want a better song? This is why you should leave this kind of thing to the professionals. You don't know what you're doing."

"I'm sorry," Ayumi cleared her throat, "I just fail to understand, sir. Please clarify and explain to us nonprofessionals. Why are you giving her the song, when it's such a great song if she's not going anywhere? You said yourself that her debut will tank. Why waste it?"

Ayumi's greatest asset was that she was a good talker and well trained in media….when she wanted to be. Miki's explosive anger often clashed with Makoto, so sometimes it was better for Ayumi to suck up and get the answers they needed.

Makoto inhaled deeply, calming his anger a bit thanks to Ayumi's diffusion, and went to speak.

Kairi interrupted, "Yeah! Just give it back to us and drop her! She's going to ruin this company. Like you said, she's ugly and she's talentless and not to mention how stupid she is, she can't even audio mix her own covers, she expects you to do everything for her. What was she doing while she was working under you? Not learning anything?!"

Megumi, Chisato and Miki nodded in agreement, "Yeah!" they shouted in unison.

The veins on Makoto's forehead were starting to bulge.

Ayumi huffed, annoyed that the girls had ruined her efforts to calm him down.

Makoto's body began trembling ever-so-slightly as he glared at each and everyone of them.

"This is why I'm your boss and you idiots do as I say. Not a single one of you has any brain cells to figure this out. We have a legally binding contract, it's not easy to just drop her at the beat of a drum. Do you understand? Are you staying with me?"

He paused, giving them an opportunity to agree with him. They all quietly nodded their heads.

"She's doing well online, building a solid fanbase. We've already recorded and invested in her debut. If she continues to build her fanbase at the rate she's going, we'll make some sort of money off that song. Are you still with me?"

The girls nodded again.

"After that, we'll just send her out for events and release a few photobooks. All that income will go towards all of you, not be put back into her. Then, you can release your version: Smile Days. No matter how well the song does with Minami's release of it, it'll be free marketing for you. People will either say you did it better, or they'll like hers so much that they'll be drawn to check out yours too. Now do you understand?"

Ayumi, Kairi, Megumi and Chisato all nodded slowly, their heads hanging low, "Yes sir…."

"I don't care," Miki spoke up, "I want that song and I want Minami gone. I expect you to figure it out as the professional." She smiled and batted her eyelashes in an elegant manner as she grabbed her things and stood up.

"Come on girls, let's go take some pictures for our blog and leave Takada-san to figure things out."

The rest of the Smile Days member slowly rose to their feets and shuffled tightly behind Minami as the exited out the door.

As soon as they left, Makoto stood up and walked over to his desk.

"I HATE THOSE DAMN USELESS BITCHES!" he screamed as he kicked over the trash can.