Extra in the Student Council
25. At least you guys are united
"W, Wa, Wait! Bocchi-chan!!" When she was about to introduce herself, her friend, the drummer girl, quickly interrupted her. She quickly pulled her back far from Shuu's reach. Then she stood in front of Shuu.
Even if Shuu was interrupted, it's fine. Shuu already had some information from that conversation alone. It was especially easy to get information from the girl who wore her heart on her face.
"Hi…" Shuu made the first move and greeted her with a warm smile. "You are all doing great on the stage," he praised. "Ah, if you are wondering what I talked about with your friend, Gotoh-san, I'm just asking her if she's interested in going professional and becoming 'Popular' all around the world." Shuu specially pushed that word to catch Bocchi's interest. "After all, you all have a great talent inside of you! Ahh, Just remembering the performance just now gave me a chill! I can't wait for the next performance."
"Um, etto, mm... ah! Onee-chan, help me!!" The drummer girl was half embarrassed by the praise and half didn't know what to do;,she could only call for her last and strongest support.
The woman who had a lazy face all this time was quick to take the reins and face Shuu. It was obvious that she cared for them. As she had heard their conversation all this time, Shuu didn't explain it anymore, and she also didn't need to.
"Katsuragi-san, was it? For what reason are you offering this offer? What's the catch? I know it's hard for them to hear, but even though they had their own uniqueness, it was clear they were all still far from a good band. They couldn't even be called third-rate at this point." She frankly said it might hurt the girls, but she thought it was necessary to dig out Shuu's intention. She had her fair share of struggles in the music world, and she knew it was far from easy. and for an offer to come just after their first performance was like seeing a huge amount of money fall from the sky.
She was expecting something awful behind the scenes, especially with the appearance of the girls. He seemed harmless and a handsome, lawful person, but no one knew what the core of a person was. If there was a need, she would use everything she had to protect these girls.
"Um…"
"Ijichi Seika." She realized what Shuu was trying to ask.
"Ijichi Seika-san, I think we had a misunderstanding here," Shuu explained, which made her immediately confused.
"But you just clearly say..."
"Yes," Shuu cut it. "I did say I'm offering a chance to debut, but that's for the guitarist, Gotoh Hitori-san, alone."
"""Eh?"" They were all shocked by his words. Actually, Shuu didn't feel it was strange for them to misunderstand. He knew and deliberately made them think like that.
"I saw her in her street performance. I thought and could see that she would become successful in the future, that's why I offered her a chance. also to make the first move before the other rival companies knew about her existence."
"As for the others... you had said it yourself," Shuu said with a cold voice. "At least in this moment of time, they're just not good enough for my standard," he stated mercilessly. "This is also a business; it was stupid to invest in something that would give nothing in return."
The manager, Ijichi Seika, was lost for words; the Kessoku band's members were also the same. They were all speechless, unable to refute Then Shuu took a glance at Bocchi, he saw her preparing for something all this time, so he waited.
"I want…. to stay in this band." Her voice, which was loud, quickly lowered as she spoke. "So!" she said with a loud voice again, to which Shuu turned her attention to her. "So, so... please forgive my arrogance!"
Seeing Bocchi like this makes Shuu rethink his idea (well, they're not that bad anyway, just unpolished for now).
*Clap
He clapped his hand to catch their attention. Because there was still someone performing, only those in his vicinity heard it.
"Then let's scrap all the talk we had just now. And start it over." Shuu looked at the four girls and let out a warm smile, like the kindest person in the world. "Do you guys want to debut?"
(((This guy…. Shameless!!!))) For the first time, Bocchi's mind wave matched the others.
"Hitori Gotoh-san, Bocchi-san, right?" Bocchi gave a slight nod. "I'll tell you the advantage first. If it's just you, I'll give you all support, which means I'll handle everything from finding a good teacher to improve to finding what works for you."
"But now, if you're all in it together, I can only give you all limited support," Shuu said.
"What do you mean by limited support?" The bassist girl asked.
"And who do I speak with?" Shuu replied.
"Yamada Ryo"
"Alright, Yamada-san, what I mean is that I will sponsor all the finance for your activities and marketing, but you will have to do the rest, like finding a place to train or finding a teacher or inspiration if you need to; other than marketing and finance, I'll put my hands off that," Shuu explained.
"Even a new instrument?" Ryo's eyes instantly turned dollar-shaped.
"Yes, you just need to request it from me if it's related to the band, and IF only if you guys could explain to me why you feel it necessary. I'll gladly open my pocket," Shuu said with a smile, but the other unexpectedly took a step back. "But well, if you guys are popular enough to make huge bucks, my pocket will also become looser, so it will be up to you guys," Shuu added, which lit up the hope in her eyes.
"You said this is the advantage; what's the disadvantage?" The drummer girl asked.
"And you are…?"
"Ichiji Nijika"
Shuu took a glance at Ichiji Seika for a moment after he heard that name and nodded to himself. He only did this to make them think he only realized their blood relationship just now, but actually Shuu already knew it from the start. He just needs to carefully observe them to know that.
"I think this one is obvious, but you all can't just sell your own song to other rival companies. If you want to sell or market, everything will go through my company, and if you guys perform, the profit will be divided 65% to me and the rest to you guys. We can negotiate that later on, it's just the default of our company. And lastly, this all could only happen if I felt your guys were good enough to meet my standard."
"Eh? What do you mean?" This time the vocalist girl who asked, without Shuu, needed to ask, "It's Kita." She introduced
Shuu grinned at her. "Not only are you cute, but you're also sharp. I like girls like you."
"Eh?!" Kita blushed in an instant.
"To answer your question, just like I said before, for now you guys are not good enough." Shuu said bluntly, "I know it's hard to hear, but that's the truth." When Ryo tried to refute, "I'm not talking about your skill individually but as a band," Shuu added it before she could say anything.
"That's why, if you guys are interested in the offer, I'll give you a preparation period," Shuu explained.
"""Preparation period?""" the three asked.
Shuu smirked, "At least you guys are united."
"Yes, I'll support you financially for your training, but you guys had to decide for yourselves when and where you will perform on a stage and invite me there. I'll decide if you guys are good enough to be marketed by my company."
"Just that? No time limit?" Seika asked with one brow turned upward, no matter how bad he made it sound from her points of view and experience, this offer was too good to be true, Who the heck would make an offer like that!? The risk is too great!
Shuu smiled "Yes, but if you guys took too long, my interest might fade in the future. Even I didn't know when it would happen." Shuu could see they still didn't understand the reason he chose this way, so he explained more
"For example, if I were to say the limit is two months and in those two months I suddenly lose interest in you guys, then I still have myself accountable until those two months end, no? Which also means I had an obligation, a pressure on my side." They nodded, answering him.
"But if I said there's no time limit, I could drop it whenever I want, and the pressure will fall on you guys, who don't know when and how long I will last." Shuu let out the most beautiful smile he ever did today. While the other could only see a devil lord smiling at them, which gave them a chill all over their bodies.
"Are there any questions left?" Shuu asked, and no one responded, "Then just call me if you guys are interested in my offer and enter the preparation period. I'm sure you all have many things to discuss. However, don't make me wait too long. Who knows, maybe I'll find another group in the meantime." Shuu gave them one last polite smile. "Have a good evening," then left them alone.
"He's so handsome." The only one who didn't say anything, the one who was unrelated to them, the bassist from another group, SICK HACK, let out her impression after Shuu had left. The others turned to her in an instant, but they couldn't deny what she said either because they also felt the same.