[Gaku hasn't been concerned about much lately, considering he's practically been in mourning, but a chance encounter with a rather forceful gaggle of fans that brought out the worst in him made him wise up quickly. He has to keep his head in the game in this business. He can't get distracted or overwhelmed, no matter how much the dull ache doesn't leave him.
Work is a blessing, not the weirdly cursed moonblessings, but something true and tangible he can use to put off thinking about reality. On camera, he's more dazzling than ever, sex appeal oozing from every pore. In magazines, he's lively and faux-candid, faker than even back home. On the radio, as he is today, he's spirited and engaging.
Still, he's relieved when the On Air sign turns off, and he can take a moment to breathe. The staff congratulates him on his upcoming single, he makes his polite thanks and excuses, then heads out into the studio foyer.
Where he almost runs flat into a suited man he'd forgotten about entirely.]
Shit.
[...Not very idol-like, Gaku.]
Sorry. The staff wanted to talk. Thanks for coming.
[ Smoking where he isn’t supposed to be, Jyuto frowns around his cigarette, stepping aside gracefully when Gaku comes into near collision. ]
Ah. [ The talent the idol agency had held concern for today, right. This isn’t the kind of work Jyuto is used to anymore. Grunt work feels a long time away, but it isn’t as if Jyuto’s so big-headed he isn’t humble enough to remember how he climbed higher in Yokohama. A stepping ladder he can recall. The two of them best get along. ]
It’s no problem at all. The broadcast is finished, I presume? Or are you on break? [ He moves to grind his cigarette out against the lid of a trash can, dropping the butt inside once its out. ] Pardon the smell, I lost track of time.
[ A flock of women have accumulated just out front the glass door, photographing Gaku through it with their smart devices. Jyuto smiles at them, and then angles himself to blockade the idol from sight, cucking them of any worthy shots; an inconvenient policeman body there and now hated. ]
[Gaku blinks blankly at the man smoking in the studio, but stranger things have happened in the world. It's just part of life, so he blinks away his surprise and tries a faint, businesslike smile.]
Don't worry about it. I appreciate you coming out, even though it was pretty short notice.
[His eyes flick to the gaggle of fans, and Gaku is glad when Jyuto steps in the way. He dons sunglasses and a hat, retrieved from his bag, and settles himself for the trip home.]
Yeah, we're done. I have an interview at a TV station later, but for now I can head home. Or elsewhere, I guess.
[A small frown.]
The fans are really aggressive lately.
[He's not going to talk about the weird letters he's been getting at the agency, directed toward himself rather than the overall enterprise. It's not like it's abnormal to have too-enthusiastic fans, after all.]
The TV program is at what time, again? [ Jyuto ignores the whining fans he can hear outside of the door, eyes following both the hat and the sunglasses when Gaku decorates himself with accessories in attempt to be less recognizable on the streets. ] I'm scheduled to basically be an escort for today, so unless there's something in particular you need to do at home, I imagine it'd be easier for us to kill time together some place quiet in the city.
[ He rubs his chin in after thought, studying Gaku and wondering how he has the patience to deal with constant ogling. Jyuto knows for fact he'd have strangled someone long before now, had it been himself in his shoes. ]
This must be troublesome for you. Do you sleep at night? It must be getting bad if your agency felt they should have me here to tag along and insure everyone's safety.
The taping is at 6. I'll get there a little early for makeup and wardrobe.
[Gaku ducks his head slightly for a moment as they pass the fans, annoyed that he has to do so. Back home was different, somehow. Still, he lets the officer run interference for him, and gives a charming wave back once they're safely away from the studio.
Rather than heading for home, Gaku heads toward the TV studio, hoping to find a cafe nearby.]
I'm actually the one who requested you. I run the agency. It's been complicated for a little while. I didn't think success would come without drawbacks, because it never does, but people being this aggressive again is the worst.
So you’re your own boss? [ His coworkers had failed to mention, they’d only sent him on his own. It seems like a lot of work for one person, impressive in its own right, but Gaku doesn’t seem as satisfied or pleased with it as Jyuto would expect from someone who’s built himself up from the ground all over again. Getting famous again… it can’t really be that easy, can it? ]
You say again. Does that mean your fans were out of control in your own world, too? [ A beat. He’s almost certain, but he asks the next question anyway, ] Do you happen to be Japanese? I’m Japanese myself, and I always wondered how idols could handle such a life. [ Even division representatives deal with a certain amount of recognition, but the Jyuto feels it more similar to the reputation of a wrestler than that of an ideal man. Rap battles are the new age of violence, after all. Idols live in a completely different world. ]
Kind of. Co-owner, really. Anyway, it's what my old man did back home, so I felt like it might be a good fit.
[He's a proud but genuine man, and it's not his fault his looks are so distinctive. He hates dodging the fans, but lately certain things have gotten out of hand. He listens attentively as they walk, then looks at him in surprise.]
That's surprising... you, too? Japanese, I mean. I keep seeing people I think might be, but then they're from somewhere else entirely. [Gesturing up, Gaku indicates a billboard with his own half-naked visage on it. He smiles, but as Jyuto has reasoned out, he doesn't seem satisfied. Something's hollow about it all.]
There was some weird stuff going on back home, for a while. Kidnappings. Espionage. Some bad rumors. We almost lost our careers entirely because of one guy's grudge. But we came back from it, and even if it cost us some time and some pride, we felt like kings again for a minute there. Then I came here. Tenn and Ryuu work harder than anybody I know here, and we're still climbing. [He shakes his head.] I feel like people feel more entitled to us, here. Less like they love us, more like they just want us for weird stuff.
You may not be wrong in feeling that. Because of our ability to produce Chroma, prismals tend to see us moonblessed in a different light. [ Jyuto’s studying the billboard as he speaks, and he blinks once as he tries to digest what may be happening in the climate of Gaku’s fanbase. He’s assumed from context that Tenn and Ryuu are work colleagues. In any case, it seems that Gaku’s become used to a fair share of scandal. Jyuto continues staring at the whites of Gaku’s teeth on the inflated print, quiet before he speaks up. ]
Forgive me. I’m not the most knowledgeable when it comes to pop idols. [ He knows a hand full of others from his own world who might, but. ] I suppose I just assumed that the delusion was, in part, what fuels and keeps the idol business rolling. There’s an ongoing fantasy of knowing or understanding someone that you don’t really know, and the hope of them caring about you in turn as an individual— a statistic impossibility. The number of relationships someone can comfortably maintain is said to be somewhere between 100 and 200.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Early Feb - backdated a bit!
Work is a blessing, not the weirdly cursed moonblessings, but something true and tangible he can use to put off thinking about reality. On camera, he's more dazzling than ever, sex appeal oozing from every pore. In magazines, he's lively and faux-candid, faker than even back home. On the radio, as he is today, he's spirited and engaging.
Still, he's relieved when the On Air sign turns off, and he can take a moment to breathe. The staff congratulates him on his upcoming single, he makes his polite thanks and excuses, then heads out into the studio foyer.
Where he almost runs flat into a suited man he'd forgotten about entirely.]
Shit.
[...Not very idol-like, Gaku.]
Sorry. The staff wanted to talk. Thanks for coming.
no subject
Ah. [ The talent the idol agency had held concern for today, right. This isn’t the kind of work Jyuto is used to anymore. Grunt work feels a long time away, but it isn’t as if Jyuto’s so big-headed he isn’t humble enough to remember how he climbed higher in Yokohama. A stepping ladder he can recall. The two of them best get along. ]
It’s no problem at all. The broadcast is finished, I presume? Or are you on break? [ He moves to grind his cigarette out against the lid of a trash can, dropping the butt inside once its out. ] Pardon the smell, I lost track of time.
[ A flock of women have accumulated just out front the glass door, photographing Gaku through it with their smart devices. Jyuto smiles at them, and then angles himself to blockade the idol from sight, cucking them of any worthy shots; an inconvenient policeman body there and now hated. ]
no subject
Don't worry about it. I appreciate you coming out, even though it was pretty short notice.
[His eyes flick to the gaggle of fans, and Gaku is glad when Jyuto steps in the way. He dons sunglasses and a hat, retrieved from his bag, and settles himself for the trip home.]
Yeah, we're done. I have an interview at a TV station later, but for now I can head home. Or elsewhere, I guess.
[A small frown.]
The fans are really aggressive lately.
[He's not going to talk about the weird letters he's been getting at the agency, directed toward himself rather than the overall enterprise. It's not like it's abnormal to have too-enthusiastic fans, after all.]
no subject
[ He rubs his chin in after thought, studying Gaku and wondering how he has the patience to deal with constant ogling. Jyuto knows for fact he'd have strangled someone long before now, had it been himself in his shoes. ]
This must be troublesome for you. Do you sleep at night? It must be getting bad if your agency felt they should have me here to tag along and insure everyone's safety.
no subject
[Gaku ducks his head slightly for a moment as they pass the fans, annoyed that he has to do so. Back home was different, somehow. Still, he lets the officer run interference for him, and gives a charming wave back once they're safely away from the studio.
Rather than heading for home, Gaku heads toward the TV studio, hoping to find a cafe nearby.]
I'm actually the one who requested you. I run the agency. It's been complicated for a little while. I didn't think success would come without drawbacks, because it never does, but people being this aggressive again is the worst.
no subject
You say again. Does that mean your fans were out of control in your own world, too? [ A beat. He’s almost certain, but he asks the next question anyway, ] Do you happen to be Japanese? I’m Japanese myself, and I always wondered how idols could handle such a life. [ Even division representatives deal with a certain amount of recognition, but the Jyuto feels it more similar to the reputation of a wrestler than that of an ideal man. Rap battles are the new age of violence, after all. Idols live in a completely different world. ]
no subject
[He's a proud but genuine man, and it's not his fault his looks are so distinctive. He hates dodging the fans, but lately certain things have gotten out of hand. He listens attentively as they walk, then looks at him in surprise.]
That's surprising... you, too? Japanese, I mean. I keep seeing people I think might be, but then they're from somewhere else entirely. [Gesturing up, Gaku indicates a billboard with his own half-naked visage on it. He smiles, but as Jyuto has reasoned out, he doesn't seem satisfied. Something's hollow about it all.]
There was some weird stuff going on back home, for a while. Kidnappings. Espionage. Some bad rumors. We almost lost our careers entirely because of one guy's grudge. But we came back from it, and even if it cost us some time and some pride, we felt like kings again for a minute there. Then I came here. Tenn and Ryuu work harder than anybody I know here, and we're still climbing. [He shakes his head.] I feel like people feel more entitled to us, here. Less like they love us, more like they just want us for weird stuff.
no subject
Forgive me. I’m not the most knowledgeable when it comes to pop idols. [ He knows a hand full of others from his own world who might, but. ] I suppose I just assumed that the delusion was, in part, what fuels and keeps the idol business rolling. There’s an ongoing fantasy of knowing or understanding someone that you don’t really know, and the hope of them caring about you in turn as an individual— a statistic impossibility. The number of relationships someone can comfortably maintain is said to be somewhere between 100 and 200.