Pop Rock Love (14 page)

They entered the hospital
premises without any difficulty although Mimi’s heart was beating wildly
throughout the entire time. Holding on to the bento box, Mimi tried to walk as
naturally, as any nurse would, in a hospital with two elderly patients by her
side. Probably because it was the graveyard shift, but the whole hospital was
rather sparse. Walking over to the lift, Mimi pressed the “7” button. Yamada
and Maki couldn’t hide their excitement. “I want to take a picture with him, do
you think he remembers me?” squealed Maki, losing that no-nonsense demeanour
she had in the car.

“I’m so excited. I hope he is
okay though,” remarked Yamada. The lift was making its way to the seventh floor
and Mimi suddenly became scared. “Erm, you know what, why don’t you ladies go
first, I will come in later...” she mumbled. The two senior citizens didn’t
seem to hear her though, because as soon as the lift doors opened, they started
scampering towards room 707.

“Hey both of you, what are you
doing here?” shouted a man in a suit, pointing at the two elderly ladies.

“Ah, it’s Jun, the manager, we
need to get away from him,” panted Maki, sprinting off in a different
direction, with the Fire Boys’ manager following after them. Mimi stared and
gaped at the scenario in front of her. Now what? Looking around, there was no
one else in the corridor and she was still holding on to the bento box. Maybe
she should just pass it to Yuki. At least their efforts won’t be in vain. He
shouldn’t recognise me with my mask on anyway, she thought, trying to reassure
herself.

“Mimi, is that you?” a small
voice asked. She turned around to see Jiro standing behind her. Wearing a black
hoodie and jeans, he looked at her curiously. “You got a job as a nurse?”

Mimi took off her mask and
smiled sheepishly. “Erm... Not exactly,” she muttered, finding it hard to
explain the situation.

“Are you here to see Yuki?”

“I guess so. How is he?” she
asked.

“He will be alright. He just
fainted from exhaustion. He took some medication and is sleeping now. Yuki has
been working like crazy these past few months. He doesn’t even sleep anymore.
We are all really worried.” Mimi could see him getting teary-eyed. “I’m sorry to
hear that, Jiro.”

“Mimi, I don’t know if I should
say this... But Yuki told me something last week,” he said, with a soft sigh.
It was the first time Mimi saw the brown-haired boy looking so solemn, and it
worried her even more.

“Jiro, what is it?”

“He told me that he regretted
letting you go.”

Mimi opened the door to room
707 and tiptoed inside, careful not to make a single sound. Jiro was helping
her stand guard outside, in case their manager decided to return. It was a
private room, like the one she stayed in before and Yuki was on the bed,
sleeping soundly. He had an IV drip attached to his arm but it didn’t look like
he was in any pain. Placing the wrapped bento box carefully on a table, Mimi
sat down on a chair beside his bed.

How long has it been since she
last saw him in person? Eight or nine months? Since then, Mimi had been trying
to lose herself in her own music, running towards a dream she never thought was
possible. She reached out and gently brushed his curly locks away from his
face. He looked so frail and it looked like he had lost weight. I miss you, but
I can only support you this way now, like a fan, she thought. She stood up and
turned to leave.

“Mimi...” he whispered. Her
eyes widened in alarm. Has he woken up? She turned slowly back, but Yuki’s eyes
were still shut and he was still asleep. “Mimi... Don’t go...” he mumbled in
his sleep. Mimi felt her heart break all over again and she didn’t know what to
do. Her eyes started to glisten with tears again. Jiro suddenly entered the room,
“Mimi, you need to go, Jun is coming,” he cried in a frantic whisper. Mimi
nodded and quickly followed Jiro out.

“Are you okay?” Jiro asked,
passing her a tissue. They were both at the ground floor and Mimi couldn’t stop
her tears from flowing.

“I will be,” she replied with a
sniff, taking the tissue from him. Her mobile phone rang. She received a call
from the two hardcore fans who were sounding panic-stricken at the other end.

“Mimi, help us! We are at the
mental ward, and they won’t let us go unless someone comes and gets us,” cried
Yamada, frantically.

“Oh my, I will be right there,
as soon as I change out of my uniform,” Mimi answered. She felt so sorry for
the two senior citizens who didn’t even get to see their idol.

“Who called?” Jiro asked. Mimi
looked at the boy band member and an idea suddenly struck her.

“Jiro, could you do me a
favour? There are two ladies upstairs who are big fans of the Fire Boys. Would
it be possible to meet them and take a picture together?”

“Of course, why not?” he asked,
beaming.

Upon seeing Jiro, all the
trials that Yamada and Maki had just gone through (being chased around the
hospital and almost getting admitted to the mental ward) vanished in an
instant. It looked as if Christmas came early, the way the elderly pair
squealed and giggled. Using their camera phones, Mimi helped the two fans snap
a picture with their beloved idol. Their enthusiasm was contagious and she
couldn’t help but smile too.

“Thank you, Jiro, and please
take care of Yuki,” Yamada and Maki chirped in unison, waving goodbye. Mimi
waved goodbye too, but her smile was a sad one when she remembered Yuki.

I can only watch you from afar
now.

Track #11

The day of her performance was
creeping closer and closer and soon, there was only one more day left and Mimi
was freaking out. She had been practising non-stop with her band for weeks and
her live debut on a Tokyo stage was tomorrow. “Sato won’t be there tomorrow?”
asked Kamaki, looking at her. The band was taking a break and some of them had
left the building to grab a bite, but Mimi and her keyboardist had stayed
behind in the studio to rehearse a little longer.

“I doubt it, he’s still in
Osaka,” she answered, with a shrug. She had yet to speak a word to Sato and had
not seen him since the sound check. Just like what Yamada said, he was suddenly
called to go to another city for an urgent meeting and may not even be back for
her debut performance. Needless to say, Mimi never received an apology from
him. Not that it mattered at this point. Though Mimi did think that it would
have been nice to have him there, although that would just leave him room to
insult her performance. She walked towards the mic and turning to Kamaki, said,
“Come on, let’s run through ‘Farewell’ again.”
  

The next day eventually came
and despite only getting a few hours of sleep, Mimi arrived at the rehearsal
studio early. The butterflies in her stomach were having a field day and she
couldn’t have a proper night’s sleep, even if she’d wanted to. Ayaka, who had taken
on the role of make-up artist slash wardrobe coordinator slash overall
assistant, entered the room with a huge flat white box. “Hey, someone left a
package for you with the Niji Building receptionist,” she said. “You already
have fans?”

“That’s not possible,” Mimi
said, staring at the box. There was no card attached to it and no clue as to
who it was from. Mimi opened it and gasped. Inside it was a Betsy Johnson hot
pink, strapless, taffeta and tulle dress.

“It’s beautiful!” exclaimed
Ayaka, “You should wear it tonight. It’ll really suit you.”

Mimi looked at the dress. The
top was shaped like a well-fitted corset top while the lower portion was flared
with black tulle at the bottom. “I’ve always wanted this dress. I searched for
it everywhere,” she said, touching the taffeta material.

“Who do you think it was from?”
asked Ayaka. Mimi didn’t have a clue. The only person who knew that she wanted
this dress was probably Roy. But a student like him probably couldn’t afford
this dress, nor would know where to find it.

“Anyway, just wear it for
tonight. Try it on now,” Ayaka instructed.

That night, Shibuya O-Nest was
packed as Filth fans filled the floor. From backstage, Mimi could hear them
chattering among themselves. The crowd was made up of mostly teenage girls
donned like the members of Filth in their music videos. Mimi was clad in her
hot pink dress, which fitted her perfectly. Ayaka had pulled out all the stops
for Mimi’s make-up. She had on thick black eyeliner with long false eyelashes
made up of feathers and blood red lip gloss. Mimi thought she looked like a
tragic, sad doll and the feathered falsies were preventing her from seeing
clearly. Her band stepped up on stage first to warm up the crowd.

“Where’s Kamaki?” Mimi asked
her manager as she looked around backstage.

“He said he had something
urgent to attend to. He’ll be in any minute now,” said Kenta, glancing at his
watch. He looked worried and Mimi wondered if she should be too. It was soon
her cue to perform and Mimi came on stage and strapped on her pink electric
guitar. Upon seeing her, the crowd fell silent. Mimi walked over to the
microphone and said, “Good evening everyone. My name is Mimi. Nice to meet all
of you. Before Filth comes on, I’ll be singing two songs of mine, ‘Maybe’ and
‘Farewell’. These songs are about losing someone close to you. I hope you like
them.” She started to play the introduction to the mid-tempo rock song “Maybe”.
Mimi peered through the crowd and saw her brother and Shina cheering at the
front. Shina winked back at her. Mimi took a deep breath and sang her heart
out. Yuki was her muse for this song and as she sang “Maybe”, Mimi started to
miss him and her heart started to ache all over again. But she had to do
justice to the music and carried on singing and playing the best that she
could. Her final note was nearly overlapped by tumultuous applause. Mimi smiled
and bowed, amazed at the response.

“Thank you all. Now for my
second song, ‘Farewell’ is written by someone whom I owe everything to. I don’t
think he’s here today, but I want to thank him with this song.” She turned
around and realised something had gone terribly wrong. The keyboard was behind
but Kamaki was not there. Mimi spotted Kenta by the side of the stage and he
looked panic-stricken. “Baby...” he mouthed the words and did some
hand-cradling actions. Mimi furrowed her brows in confusion while the band
members had already left the stage. The audience was waiting in anticipation
and then, Mimi heard some hushed whisperings among them. They were all looking
and pointing at one side of the platform. Someone was walking up the stage. It
was Sato. With his hands in his pocket, he slowly walked towards Mimi. Standing
beside Mimi, he leaned towards her and whispered, “You owe me.” She stood there
frozen as he went over to the keyboard and sat down. With deft fingers, he
started to play the introduction to “Farewell”. Mimi quickly gathered her
senses and started to sing. The whole hall was silent except for her voice and
the soft tinkling of the keyboard. In that split second, Mimi thought that this
was one of the most beautiful moments in her life.

The applause after that song
was even more deafening than the first.

After the whole concert was
over, Shina and Roy went backstage to look for Mimi and found her surrounded by
press and some newly-found groupies who wanted her autograph. As soon as Mimi
spotted the both of them, she quickly walked over, smiling from ear to ear.

“Mimi, your first performance
was a huge success!” cried Shina, giving her friend a tight hug. Roy had his
hands full with a huge bouquet of champagne-coloured roses and handed them to
her, “Sis, you were awesome!”

“Thanks Shina and thanks Roy
for flying all the way here. I really appreciate it,” said Mimi, taking the
roses from her brother.

“How are you feeling?” asked
Shina.

“Like I’m
on top of the world!” she said. Her manager came by and told Mimi that they
needed to leave soon for press interviews.

“Does this mean that you will
be busy over the next few days?” Roy asked.

“I guess so. I have to finalise
some more tracks for the new album and then shoot a music video in two days.
I’m so exhausted! Shina, can you take care of Roy for me?”

“I’m not a kid, you don’t have
to trouble Shina,” said Roy, stepping forward.

“Sure, it’s no problem,” Shina
replied, putting her arm around Roy. “So the new single will be out next month?
I’ll write about it in the magazine.”

“Yeah, and the album will be
out three months later. Thanks Shina!”

After another hug with Mimi,
both Shina and Roy left Shibuya O-Nest.

“Hey Roy, are you hungry? Let’s
have dinner,” said Shina. “I’m starving!” he replied.

They made their way to a
shabu-shabu
(a Japanese variant of hotpot) restaurant, which, judging from the press
clippings and photographs that adorned its walls, had earned the thumbs-up from
various celebrities and food critics.

Roy stared at the pot of
bubbling hot soup in front of him and said, “You know, my sister looks the
happiest whenever she is on stage. I kinda envy her.”

“Didn’t you tell me that you
used to belong to the youth orchestra back home? You gave stage performances
back then, right?” asked Shina.

“Yeah, I did, about two years
ago.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,
why did you stop playing the violin?”

Roy scratched the back of his
head and looked into the distance, trying to recall. “Maybe it’s because my
parents loved hearing me play, especially my mom. Her smile was what I looked
forward to after every performance. So after my parents died, it was hard
picking up the violin again. Many have tried to convince me to play in memory
of her, but the thought of not seeing her smile after my performance was
unbearable. I love my sister and all, but she doesn’t really appreciate
classical music.” The steam from the hot soup was beginning to fog up his
glasses. He removed them and placed them on the table.

“Can you see without them?”
Shina asked, as she started cooking the raw slices of meat in the soup. “I only
need them when I’m reading. Although I wear them more then I need to. It’s become
some sort of security for me, I guess,” he mumbled, shrugging his shoulders.

Shina thought he looked like a
sad lost puppy. “I used to play the violin too,” she said, “But I was never any
good at it. I love listening to others play though. Hey, if you don’t mind,
come by my apartment for a while? I have something to show you.”

“Sure, why not? You know,
Shina, it’s strange, I’m usually shy in front of people, but I feel as if I’ve
known you forever.” Shina smiled at his comment and replied, “Come let’s eat,
it’s best to eat
shabu-shabu
when it’s hot.”

Roy entered Shina’s apartment
in awe. Besides the funky and bold furniture that stood in her loft, he was
drawn to a photograph of the owner hanging on the wall.
 
It showed a close-up of her face, shot
in black and white, with a soft smile on her face.

“This photo of you is awesome,
who took it?” he asked, pointing at the portrait. Shina looked over and
replied, “You mean that one? It was taken by my ex-husband.”

“Your ex-husband?” he quizzed,
slightly surprised. Turning back at the photograph he asked, “So he’s a
photographer?”

“Yes he is, we met through a
photo shoot a few years ago. But we are divorced now,” said Shina. Roy could
see that her expression had hardened, but he wanted to know more about what
happened.

“Why?” he asked.

“He had a drinking problem, and
he would hit me whenever he felt like it,” she replied, matter-of-factly,
devoid of any emotion.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. We have been
separated for a while now. Here, I‘ve got something to show you.”

Shina took out a black violin
case from her room and carried it to the living room. Roy was immediately drawn
towards it and his eyes widened as he saw the inside of it. “It’s a Jean
Salomon antique violin,” he stated as he gently took it out and examined it.
“It’s probably from the 18th century.”

“You know your stuff well. Play
something for me,” she requested, sitting down on the flower-printed sofa. She
looked at him expectantly.

“Can I?” Roy asked and with her
urging, he placed the violin on his shoulder and started to play the first tune
that came to his mind – the violin rendition of
 
“Vocalise” by Sergei Rachmaninov. It was
a slow, romantic piece and the antique violin ensured that each note exuded a
warm tone. Roy closed his eyes and played. He was reminded of what it was like
to be in love with the violin again. After he finished playing, Shina stood up
and clapped for him. He smiled and bowed. Roy wondered if the beating of his
heart was due to the violin or due to her presence. He thought that right now,
Shina looked more beautiful in real life than in that photograph he admired a
while ago.

*

Mimi was freezing. The sun had
barely risen and disregarding the fact that early winter brought with it cold,
biting winds, she was standing on a cliff overlooking the northern shore of
Okinawa Island, dressed in a flimsy pink baby doll Comme des Garçons dress with
black polka dots. With a full band positioned behind her, Mimi was filming her
first music video. When the director shouted “Action!” she had to sing her
heart out into the standing microphone in front of her while her song, “Maybe”
blared in the background. She had to admit that it was fun to thrash about on a
cliff, but the dropping temperatures were killing her.

Mimi was quite astonished to
discover that she even had models as extras for her music video. She felt
extremely sorry for one particular model who had to be shot walking from the
seashore into the freezing waters, until her whole body was submerged by the
ocean. She found out later that her name was Rika. Rika had platinum blonde
hair and had eyes that resembled a cat. Mimi found her extremely gorgeous and
approached her during one of their break times. “Thank you for your hard work.
The water was really cold, are you okay?” she asked.