Minami met up with her group of friends at their favorite café. It was their normal hangout spot since it was in a convenient location for all of them to meet up at.
The interior was small and comfortable with peach-colored couches in the corner, and marbled looking tables made out of plastic paired with cute wooden chairs were scattered about the rest of the floor.
Various plants in matching peach pots line the large windows so just enough sunlight came in while also providing it's patrons privacy from the outside.
Saki, Juri, Akina and Naoto all sat around their usual table.
Juri had her flaky and buttery croissant, Saki had her signature orange juice, Akina's strawberry short cake had about two bites taken out of it, Naoto's sandwich was halfway to his mouth, and a lone lemonade sat at an empty seat ready for Minami which Akina had ordered for her.
"How'd it go?!" Akina jumped up from the table as soon as she saw Minami enter through the big glass doors, her mid-length red hair waving around as she quickly pulled out the lone seat for her.
Minami's bottom lip quivered and tears filled her eyes, "I…. didn't pass…" She bit the inside of her cheek and blinked rapidly while focusing on a spot on the table as she sat down, trying to keep it all in.
"WHAT?! How could you not pass?! You worked so hard…Saki told me how much you practiced…" Akina slumped back down in her seat and looked just as dejected as Minami did.
Naoto silently chewed on his sandwich while glancing over at Minami.
"They said…" Minami went on to mimic the voice of one of the judges, "'You're very cute but, we're looking for a cool character for our group, not someone so…well….cute.'" her voice cracked on the 'cool character' part and her chin started to wrinkle up as she almost lost it again.
She sucked in her lips hoping to suck the emotion back in as well and picked up her drink, frantically taking sips to push her emotions down.
Naoto went to speak but Saki beat him to it.
"Yeah, they rejected me too when I auditioned." Saki spoke up as she leaned back in her chair, grabbing her orange juice and taking a sip in annoyance, keeping her eyes lowered.
Naoto and Akina's heads whipped over to face Saki, while Minami's head shot up to look across at her. "What? You auditioned too?"
Juri sat in silence, taking small bites of her croissant while glancing around the table.
"Yeah! They gave me the same critique the other day!" Saki put her drink down and sat up straight in her chair, clenching her fists.
"When was…the other day? When did you audition?" Minami tilted her head, surprised that Saki had not mentioned it all.
Juri shrugged her shoulders and continued eating while Naoto rubbed his chin in intrigue. Akina nervously looked back and forth between the two, putting her fork down and waiting for the tension in the air to ease up.
"Oh, I sent in the form for the private audition months ago," Saki complained, "I guess I should be glad I even got a private audition anyways, they're much better to do if you can get one. I guess it sends a better message to the agency."
Minami stared in shock, a calculating look appeared on her face for a few moments, "Then why did you….tell me to play up the cuteness when you knew that that's not what they wanted? You knew they wanted a cool character, but you specifically told me to act cute?"
Certainly, there was a plausible explanation for this, right? Saki wouldn't knowingly lead her astray right?
Akina raised her eyebrows in surprise at the sudden reveal of information. Naoto sat back in his chin and crossed his arms, watching both Minami and Saki with interest.
Saki suddenly waved her hands in the air, "No, no! I thought you do cute SO well that it would be impossible for YOU to get rejected. How could they say no to you when you're so adorable? I didn't think YOU'D get rejected! Honestly, I thought you'd have a better chance!"
Juri cleared her throat and sucked in her cheeks awkwardly.
A puff of air escaped Minami's lips as her eyes reddened with tears. She went to speak but was interrupted by Juri.
"You wouldn't have gotten it anyways. You couldn't pull off the cool character at all. You're too…" Juri motioned towards Minami's body and face, "whatever this is. Saki was giving you some solid friendly advice and it's kind of annoying me that you're trying to act like she betrayed you, and DON'T act like that's not what you're getting at."
She flipped her long golden locks over her shoulder and casually continued to eat her croissant again.
Naoto rubbed Minami's arm and smiled, "I think Juri's right, you wouldn't have gotten it anyways. Just think of it as a learning experience. Now you know how the audition process goes a little bit better, yeah?"
Akina shot him a look and gently put a hand on Minami's other arm, "I think it's just natural to feel that Saki betrayed you in that situation. Saki gave Minami advice that seemed like it was disingenuine, but if Saki says that it really was good, then….I guess everything is okay right? Besides, there's loads more auditions for you to attend!"
In a comforting attempt, she lightly squeezed Minami's arm.
Minami shrugged, her head hung low, partially feeling attacked by everyone, "I guess…."
"All that matters in the end, is that you both failed, so just move on." Juri stated, rather matter of fact, and shot a smile to both Saki and Minami.
They all sat in silence for a while as they sipped their drinks or took nibbles of their snacks. That is until…
"Oh! I have an idea! Why don't we just make our own group! The four of us!" Minami excitedly checked all of their faces, trying to gauge their thoughts.
Naoto snorted, "I'm assuming that you're leaving me out."
Minami gently shoved his arm, "No! You don't want to be an idol, so I just didn't ask. Did you want to join?"
Juri clenched her jaw.
Naoto laughed and rubbed the top of Minami's head, "No I don't. I'm just picking on you."
"I'm in! I want to do it!" Saki exclaimed, her brunette pigtails bouncing around as she bopped her head back and forth in excitement.
"If Saki's doing it, I'll do it too." Juri said with no particular emotion behind her words.
"I would love to! But….I can't. I'm too busy right now. If you have room later on and you're willing to have me, I'll join, but otherwise I'll just be your first fan." Akina smile brightly and motioned her hand for an autograph, "You'll sign for me though right?"
Minami giggled and nodded, "I'll give you as many autographs as you want!"
Naoto tapped on her shoulder, responding once she turned around. "I want the same deal. I'll also be your fan, even if you can't sing, Mina-chan."
She smiled and nodded, "You have yourself a deal then!"
"Okay, then let's decide on a name." Juri sat forward, crossing her arms against the table.
"Hmmm…" Saki tapped her chin and looked up towards the ceiling, "What about Miriki? It sounds like Milky, but Mi for Minami, Ri for Juri and Ki for me! Milk is cute!" Saki smiled awaiting the judgement on her name.
Akina scrunched her nose and shook her head while Naoto sighed awkwardly.
"I don't really like it…" Minami said delicately.
"What about…Kissiks? It's like Kiss and then another Kiss backwards. So, it would be like a love of the future and a love of the past, we are the present. The S at the ends stands for multiple kisses, multiple loves. Our fans are our loves, but we can do a lot of different kinds of love song. We can have a love-y concept. What do you think?" Minami offered up the idea and bit her lip as she awaited their verdict.
"I like it too! I don't mind being Kissiks! Besides it has a lot of Ki, just like Saki and S's too, just like Saki, so it has me all over it!" Saki giggled and looked to Juri for the final opinion.
"I LOVE that! That's so good! I like the behind it too, that's so clever!" Akina exclaimed as she clapped and laughed with joy, "I'm Kissik's first fan!"
"I guess that makes me their second then!" Naoto chuckled.
Juri's lip twitched in annoyance, "I like Miriki better, but if everyone else thinks Kissiks is good, we can be Kissiks for now until we find something better." Juri's eyes refused to meet with anyone else's at the table.
Everyone seemed to not notice Juri's change in mood and continued on with the conversation as usual.
"Okay! Then, we'll have to meet up again and plan everything out! I'm so excited!" Minami smiled, her eyes twinkling with enthusiasm.