Game Market 1983
Chapter 187: Singer-Songwriter

"Would you consider signing with me and becoming an idol?"

"Huh?"

At my question, she seemed bewildered, and I couldn't help but smile at her wide-eyed expression. Did I rush things and throw her off?

Yet, her voice had this captivating power.

Even if it wasn't with me, with her talent, someday, there would've been an offer from management.

"Um... I have to finish today's performance first..."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll wait until the performance ends."

I slightly nodded, apologizing to her, then decided to watch her performance from a distance.

Leaning on a small chair, she sipped warm tea from a thermos, then started singing with a different tone from earlier, captivating the audience.

Though each passing day flies by,

I always feel our hearts are close by,

Saying it's fine if we're not together,

Trying to act strong, but it's just mixed sighs.

Jewels left within passing seasons,

Lost precious pieces of an incomplete puzzle...

Like the way snow blankets the streets so white,

May this album be filled with memories~

With a microphone near her lips and eyes closed, she shone beautifully under the streetlight.

Her ballad for the upcoming winter seemed to embrace us warmly like fresh snow.

As another song ended, people cheered and applauded, showing their support. Then, she confidently smiled at the crowd before sharing more of her self-composed songs.

"Thank you. Thank you, everyone."

Her enchanting voice had gathered quite a crowd around her.

Inside her guitar case, there was a considerable amount of money, even if just a single coin, yen being a hefty currency...

As she arranged her folding chair and I approached, she stood up, looking at me.

"Oh... You're still here?"

"It's not an empty statement. I know I was all over the place earlier, but to formally introduce myself..."

"No, I just wanted to sing. I never aimed to become a singer."

Huh? She cut my words sharply, hastily arranging her guitar case on the floor.

"No, that's..."

"Sorryyyy!"

She dashed away without looking back, leaving me just staring blankly.

"What... did I do wrong?"

&

"Hmm? So, she ran away?"

"Yeah. I felt like I became some terrible person..."

After dinner, I accepted the coffee Yuki handed over, wrapping my hands around the warm mug. She sat on the opposite sofa, stirring the ice cream visible on the cup lid.

"Maybe it was a sudden proposal that caught her off guard?"

"Nyaaw~"

"Akoo~ We're here for you~"

Yuki hugged Haru, the cat comfortably nestled between her legs.

The little rascal, who never dared to scratch Yuki, struck a perfect 'bread loaf pose' on her thigh.

As I gently stroked near the tail with thin fingers, the swaying tail tickled her nose.

"Haha, tickles~"

Taking a sip of the warm coffee, I asked her,

"Even though it's a pet, isn't it risky for a pregnant woman?"

"I asked the doctor, and it's not particularly risky. Still, during Junhyuk's business trip, Haru's been so affectionate, making me laugh all day long."

Haru, now lying on her lap, was a cat she brought home one day after visiting her parents.

Kijyoji, where Yuki's hometown was, was known for its abundance of stray cats.

The locals regarded these cats as part of their daily lives, occasionally leaving food on the walls for them.

Yuki's mother always had a bowl of cat food in their small yard. One day, a kitten seemed to have separated from its mother and lingered in their garden for a while.

Unable to leave the thoroughly soaked kitten in the pouring rain, her mother brought it inside, cleaned it up, and placed it in the sun the next day. But the kitten's mother never showed up.

How beautiful did that little white kitten look in Yuki's eyes then?

Working overtime at that time, feeling lonely even on weekends in the empty house, Yuki immediately brought the cat home.

That evening, coming home from work, I was greeted by a never-before-seen white kitten, gazing up at me.

"Who are you...?"

"Oh, Junhyuk. This is Haru the cat. I brought her from my parents' place today."

"Oh? Did your mom keep cats?"

"No, it's a stray from Kijyoji. Seems like the mother abandoned her, so she's wandering around the garden alone..."

"Hmm... So, without a word, you just brought her here?"

"Can't we keep her?"

"Well, there's nothing we can't do, but... hmm..."

As I kneeled down, facing the kitten, a chubby paw flew towards me.

"Kyaaah!"

"Yikes!! Haru!!"

From the very first meeting, the guy who punched my face with a cat-like expression was, as expected, "Suneom"...

Even after that, Yuki seemed cool towards me, just as much as to others, but the one who was particularly icy towards me was none other than Haru, the cat.

At that moment, after Yuki had finished off an entire ice cream and placed an empty cup on the table, she asked me, "But why do you keep going to indie bands in Harajuku?"

"Well, I had a slightly interesting idea..."

"Are you planning another game?"

In response to Yuki's question, I shifted my mug to my lips, grinning slightly. "No, the project I'm working on this time isn't just about games."

With a somewhat knowing tone in my reply, Yuki, who had been nodding, gently stroked Haru's back and said, "Our boss just got a new exclusive patent, you know."

-

"Singer audition?"

As we finished the presentation for the new project, the employees gathered in the conference room were all looking at me with puzzled expressions. I tucked the laser pointer into my suit and nodded in response to Kawaguchi's question.

"Yes. We'll select representatives for each region, maybe around nine in total...?"

"What!? Nine people?"

The conference room buzzed with excitement at the announcement of an unprecedented nine-member female idol group formation.

"What on earth is Director Kang Junhyuk thinking? I can't grasp it at all now..."

"Yeah, exactly. We're not even a management company; why an audition for a singer?"

Picking up on snippets of conversation amidst the murmurs, I confidently responded with a smile, "Don't worry. Once the auditions are done, we'll dive into full-fledged game development."

"A game?"

Seated among the conference room attendees, Kawaguchi, not quite comprehending my words, asked me, "Of course. We're Pentagon, a game company. However, this project is..."

Before continuing, as I paused momentarily, the room's employees looked at me with impatient expressions.

Bowing slightly, gripping the table with both hands, I continued, "We plan to create a game situated between reality and virtuality. And I firmly believe that with this project, we'll garner tremendous responses from gamers for the next ten years."

My confident declaration left Kawaguchi and the Pentagon employees staring at me with astonished expressions.

But you know... What should I call the genre once this game is made?

Virtual Reality Idol Game?

No, no... It should be something more systematic and compelling...

While the employees were lost in thought, contemplating the genre of the game, I, after a while, exerted more pressure with my hands on the table and smiled.

Right. If I were to label this game, 'Real Idol Development Project' sounds like a good fit.

-

The next evening.

After work, I headed back to Takeshita Street in Harajuku in search of the singer-songwriter I'd met before.

Arriving near the spot where I'd met her two days ago, I hastened my steps upon hearing guitar sounds somewhere. But why did the guitar sound a bit odd?

Hoping against hope, I turned the corner where a bench was placed, almost running, but as soon as I heard the first notes of the song, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"It's not her."

Darn it. Did I come for nothing? Is she not here today...?

Where she had previously sung, an indie band clad in bizarre costumes was belting out a song with tearing voices.

"Murder Mt. Fuji!! Defile Tokyo Tower~!!"

... What on earth is that song? Why kill Mt. Fuji, and why defile Tokyo Tower?

"Whoaaa~!!!!!"

"Yeaaaahhhh~!!!!"

Feeling like staying here any longer might drive me crazy, I swiftly left the place, wondering if she might have been replaced and singing somewhere else.

But no matter how much I looked around, I couldn't spot any singer-songwriter with a similar voice to hers, and eventually, it became pitch dark.

Rumble...

As hunger struck since I'd long passed dinnertime, I stood on the street for a while, scanning the surroundings.

"Where have I ended up? Going back now feels odd, but should I grab something to eat first?"

I called Yuki on my recently activated phone, informing her that I'd have dinner and then head home.

"Ugh... I bought stuff to make something tasty..."

"Sorry. I'll just grab something quick here."

"Got it. Come back not too late."

"Yeah. See you in a bit."

While walking down the street, I spotted a yellow signboard at the end of an alley.

'Kishimori Ramen?'

Normally, a ramen shop that names itself after the owner tends to be above average.

Hungry and in a hurry, I nodded slightly, making my way to the end of the alley with the yellow sign.

Click.

Although the iron door was quite stiff, upon catching a whiff of the savory pork bone aroma, I mentally exclaimed bingo and stepped into the shop, where I was greeted immediately.

"Welcome~~"

The moment I heard the gentle voice of the woman, I halted my steps into the shop.

"Customer...? Is something wrong?"

With an abrupt action, she came closer to me, and as our eyes met, she tightly gripped the tray she was holding to her chest.

"Oh, it's not what you think!"

"Hahaha... Please don't misunderstand. I just came because I was hungry."

>

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