Next Door - Closed Circle Chapter 1
Aug. 20th, 2020 01:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shivalriesSeason: Summer
---
[NewDi Office]
(A few minutes later)
Natsume: What's going on so late at night? I was just about to go to bed.
Sir Knight's explanation was way too abstract to understand. So what happened with our "glasses guy"...?
Leo: Ohh, the father's here! Congratulations! Such a beautiful baby—looks just like you both! ☆
Natsume: Don't say such unpleasant things, not even as a joke. Knights are the breadwinners of our agency; placing a death curse on you would be to our disadvantage as well.
Leo: Eep! You're freaking me out! How am I supposed to sleep at night?!
Natsume: Heh. You've also disturbed my sleep. This is payback. ♪
Tsumugi: Ahaha. Seems like you two are getting along just fine. ♪
Natsume: We're not getting along...
Anyway, what is it? What happened, Senpai? Why are you lying on Sir Knight's lap? If this gets out in one of the weekly magazines, it'll bring about strange rumors, you know?
Leo: Oh sorry, this is your job, huh, Nacchan? Wanna switch?
Natsume: Don't call me Nacchan. The only one allowed to call me such is Kanata-niisan.
Besides, there's no need for your concern. I wouldn't want his hairball poking into my legs, anyway.
Tsumugi: Ngh... This has been on my mind for a while, but I don't think it's very nice to talk about people's physical traits like that, including their hair!
Who do you think I'm growing it out for, anyway?
Leo: Oh, that was for Nacchan? Wow, that's the first time I hear of this! Veeery interesting. ♪
Natsume: (ignoring him) ...Mm~, so I guess you collapsed from overworking yet again, Senpai? How many times do I have to warn you about it?
I'll put on some hot water. I thought this would be the case, so I brought some very effective Chinese medicine with me.
Leo: Ahaha. You seem really used to this~ You two are getting pretty domestic lately, huh?
Natsume: Hmph. All of Yumenosaki's units are like that, no? We have deep bonds from spending a very eventful year together. To put it badly, we've formed our own closed circles.
Leo: Ah... Then I might've come in a little late. I spent about half of last year skipping work, holed up in my room.
Natsume: It's not the length of time that matters, it's the potency.
Medicine is the same, so open your mouth, Glasses Guy. I'll give you a special bitter recipe passed down directly from my Mommy. Say "ah"~ ♪
Tsumugi: Mghh~! No, thank you! Your medicine is way too bitter!
Natsume: Good medicine is always bitter. Plus, it's your punishment for always worrying us.
When are our words ever going to stick in your head...?
You're often so late to realize when your body's wearing down; when any normal person would start thinking they should put on the brakes, you take off running.
If you keep up that absurd pace, you'll die, no joke. You're not young anymore.
Tsumugi: Ngh... But I still feel young in spirit.
Leo: But you are young, no? You're the same age as me, and we're not even in our 20's yet!
Tsumugi: Yeah, you're right~ But when I'm surrounded by all these youngsters at work, I start feeling so old...
I really understand how Rei-kun feels now.
Natsume: Ahaha. It's true that compared to the other agencies, NewDi's idols and staff are on the young side.
We have a lot of aspiring idols at our training school as well, so it all feels like we're playing house or running a kindergarten—that sort of atmosphere.
It's nice that we can grow more quickly without being surrounded by nosy old geezers, but it is perhaps annoying that having many young people means we're often looked down upon.
Tsumugi: Yeah, that's true... People often say we're dead last among the rankings of all four agencies.
I can't deny it because it's the truth, but if that negative image turns into our brand, then it would be bad for business.
The parents would say they don't want to leave their precious children in the hands of such a weak and unstable place...
And transfer their idol hopefuls over to another agency.
Our training school is one of the main pillars of our business, so if it wavers, the whole thing will topple.
Right now, we're still hanging on somehow thanks to Knights supporting us.
Natsume: Hmph. Ah yes, our wonderful, gracious veteran Knights.
Tsumugi: Yes... It's a real blessing that they're working with us. They're the final hope for our agency.
The rest is crawling along slowly... Or more like rolling down a hill, I guess.
If that other part of our business becomes more publicly visible, our stock value will decrease, and fewer people will want to invest in our agency.
Then we'll be low on management funds, which will lead to a negative chain reaction and send our finances right into dire straits.
Our president, who's currently overseas, calls us nearly every day to cry about how much trouble financing is.
Like... even though they wanted so badly to get into the idol business and established an agency—our castle—they're stuck calculating profitability instead of performing onstage. Things like that.
Leo: Well, we just can't help that part.
I'm sure both Tenshi and Keito wanna stand onstage more too, but they're doing their best with paperwork and meetings and all that other boring stuff.
They want not only themselves, but everybody, to taste the greatest joy of performing... so they're doing the muscle work behind the scenes.
All for the countless other idols who have no idea that you can't get anywhere just spouting out ideals.
Actually, folks like Trickstar are kinda like that, and I was also like that in the past.
Nothing's gonna happen if you just go on and on about how you love and adore idols, y'know? It costs money to make your dreams come true.
Tsumugi: It's a tough world out there, huh~... It'd be so easy if we could just say "Abra Kadabra" and solve everything in an instant.
---
< Prologue || Masterlist || Closed Circle Chapter 2 >
---
[NewDi Office]
(A few minutes later)
Natsume: What's going on so late at night? I was just about to go to bed.
Sir Knight's explanation was way too abstract to understand. So what happened with our "glasses guy"...?
Leo: Ohh, the father's here! Congratulations! Such a beautiful baby—looks just like you both! ☆
Natsume: Don't say such unpleasant things, not even as a joke. Knights are the breadwinners of our agency; placing a death curse on you would be to our disadvantage as well.
Leo: Eep! You're freaking me out! How am I supposed to sleep at night?!
Natsume: Heh. You've also disturbed my sleep. This is payback. ♪
Tsumugi: Ahaha. Seems like you two are getting along just fine. ♪
Natsume: We're not getting along...
Anyway, what is it? What happened, Senpai? Why are you lying on Sir Knight's lap? If this gets out in one of the weekly magazines, it'll bring about strange rumors, you know?
Leo: Oh sorry, this is your job, huh, Nacchan? Wanna switch?
Natsume: Don't call me Nacchan. The only one allowed to call me such is Kanata-niisan.
Besides, there's no need for your concern. I wouldn't want his hairball poking into my legs, anyway.
Tsumugi: Ngh... This has been on my mind for a while, but I don't think it's very nice to talk about people's physical traits like that, including their hair!
Who do you think I'm growing it out for, anyway?
Leo: Oh, that was for Nacchan? Wow, that's the first time I hear of this! Veeery interesting. ♪
Natsume: (ignoring him) ...Mm~, so I guess you collapsed from overworking yet again, Senpai? How many times do I have to warn you about it?
I'll put on some hot water. I thought this would be the case, so I brought some very effective Chinese medicine with me.
Leo: Ahaha. You seem really used to this~ You two are getting pretty domestic lately, huh?
Natsume: Hmph. All of Yumenosaki's units are like that, no? We have deep bonds from spending a very eventful year together. To put it badly, we've formed our own closed circles.
Leo: Ah... Then I might've come in a little late. I spent about half of last year skipping work, holed up in my room.
Natsume: It's not the length of time that matters, it's the potency.
Medicine is the same, so open your mouth, Glasses Guy. I'll give you a special bitter recipe passed down directly from my Mommy. Say "ah"~ ♪
Tsumugi: Mghh~! No, thank you! Your medicine is way too bitter!
Natsume: Good medicine is always bitter. Plus, it's your punishment for always worrying us.
When are our words ever going to stick in your head...?
You're often so late to realize when your body's wearing down; when any normal person would start thinking they should put on the brakes, you take off running.
If you keep up that absurd pace, you'll die, no joke. You're not young anymore.
Tsumugi: Ngh... But I still feel young in spirit.
Leo: But you are young, no? You're the same age as me, and we're not even in our 20's yet!
Tsumugi: Yeah, you're right~ But when I'm surrounded by all these youngsters at work, I start feeling so old...
I really understand how Rei-kun feels now.
Natsume: Ahaha. It's true that compared to the other agencies, NewDi's idols and staff are on the young side.
We have a lot of aspiring idols at our training school as well, so it all feels like we're playing house or running a kindergarten—that sort of atmosphere.
It's nice that we can grow more quickly without being surrounded by nosy old geezers, but it is perhaps annoying that having many young people means we're often looked down upon.
Tsumugi: Yeah, that's true... People often say we're dead last among the rankings of all four agencies.
I can't deny it because it's the truth, but if that negative image turns into our brand, then it would be bad for business.
The parents would say they don't want to leave their precious children in the hands of such a weak and unstable place...
And transfer their idol hopefuls over to another agency.
Our training school is one of the main pillars of our business, so if it wavers, the whole thing will topple.
Right now, we're still hanging on somehow thanks to Knights supporting us.
Natsume: Hmph. Ah yes, our wonderful, gracious veteran Knights.
Tsumugi: Yes... It's a real blessing that they're working with us. They're the final hope for our agency.
The rest is crawling along slowly... Or more like rolling down a hill, I guess.
If that other part of our business becomes more publicly visible, our stock value will decrease, and fewer people will want to invest in our agency.
Then we'll be low on management funds, which will lead to a negative chain reaction and send our finances right into dire straits.
Our president, who's currently overseas, calls us nearly every day to cry about how much trouble financing is.
Like... even though they wanted so badly to get into the idol business and established an agency—our castle—they're stuck calculating profitability instead of performing onstage. Things like that.
Leo: Well, we just can't help that part.
I'm sure both Tenshi and Keito wanna stand onstage more too, but they're doing their best with paperwork and meetings and all that other boring stuff.
They want not only themselves, but everybody, to taste the greatest joy of performing... so they're doing the muscle work behind the scenes.
All for the countless other idols who have no idea that you can't get anywhere just spouting out ideals.
Actually, folks like Trickstar are kinda like that, and I was also like that in the past.
Nothing's gonna happen if you just go on and on about how you love and adore idols, y'know? It costs money to make your dreams come true.
Tsumugi: It's a tough world out there, huh~... It'd be so easy if we could just say "Abra Kadabra" and solve everything in an instant.
---
< Prologue || Masterlist || Closed Circle Chapter 2 >
