The afternoon passed and the sun was about to hide on the horizon. It was a beautiful view, to say the least. Sadly, we needed to leave soon.

I stood up from the sand to tell everyone that it was time to go, but I got distracted by the fact that Aya and Umi were nowhere to be seen. It didn't take long to find them in the distance, sitting on a rock near the woods that split the private beaches.

We need to leave soon, but I don't want to meddle.

Out of nowhere, Aki tapped my arm and signaled me to follow her. Sanae stood next to her.

"Are you serious?" I questioned.

Aki replied, "What? Are you going to tell me you aren't curious?"

I sighed. "We're going to get murdered."

As stealthily as possible, we stepped into the trees and hid behind a bush that was close enough to be able to hear Aya and Umi. Luckily, they were staring at the ocean.

They sat together on the rock. Only the soothing waves could be heard for a while. Aki, Sanae, and I had no idea what was going on until Aya finally asked.

"Do you like me?"

Even the three of us were shocked by the blunt question, but Umi didn't sound surprised at all.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I just don't want to assume things. Can I ask why you didn't tell me before?"

"Why? I can't be scared to tell you about my feelings because I'm always acting tough?"

Aya stayed silent.

"I'm sorry, I always resort to being rude when I feel cornered," apologized Umi. "I didn't tell you because I was afraid of this moment."

"Why?"

"Because you're going to reject me."

"How do you…?"

"It's not hard to read the mood. Spit it out already. Hearing it from you might help me accept reality."

Aya took a moment to talk again.

"First, I should clarify that I'm not attracted to women, but more importantly, our age difference is too great. It isn't wrong, but we're in very different stages of our lives. You have a long and successful career ahead of you, while I'm already thinking of slowing down."

Umi asked, "Couldn't we make it work?"

"Even if we could…"

"You're not attracted to me."

"…No, I'm not attracted to you. I'm sorry, I don't know how else to say it."

"Don't be. Just… leave me alone."

The sun had already hidden when Aya stood up. Aki, Sanae, and I sat on the patch of grass to avoid being seen. Once Aya walked past, we kneeled to see Umi again.

She hugged her knees and buried her face between them. It was a shame because she missed the shooting stars that beamed past the starry sky in front of her.

I know I'm a scumbag for thinking this at such a moment, but... this will only make the creative block worse!

Suddenly, Aya surprised us from behind. Somehow, we all managed to keep the screams inside.

"Spying, are we?"

Sanae stuttered, "Aya! We were just…"

Aya shushed. "Save it. Let's leave her alone for now."

I replied, "As much as I'd like to do that, we need to leave in five minutes."

Aya sighed. "Give her two, then."

"Fine."

We stood up quietly and followed Aya back to the beach with everyone else.

Once the girls changed back into their clothes, I went to tell Umi it was time to leave. She merely swept her tears away and stood up to walk to the beach without saying a word. She grabbed her backpack and stepped into a changing room.

We ran to the lobby as soon as she was ready, returned the clothes we had rented, and checked out with only seconds to spare. We then called two taxis and returned home.

My assumption turned out to be incorrect over the next several days. Umi arrived at HQ with a new song almost every day, but they were even sadder than usual. They were good songs, but they didn't sound right for the next album or for Blostars in general. Still, we didn't discard them.

Time was running out. We were being sabotaged from one side and we were being too demanding on the other. Despite the girls posting stuff on their social media accounts, sales and streams weren't growing anymore. Ceruty was doing a magnificent job, but she wouldn't be able to carry an entire company on her shoulders.

If nothing was done, we would have no choice but to conform with something we weren't confident in. So, it was time to use the only trick up my sleeve.

As soon as I decided to do so, I wasted no time putting the plan into action, even if it was midnight. I sat up on the edge of the bed and looked for a person in my contact list on my glasses.

Aki moved behind me and grabbed my arm.

"Kaito? Did something happen?" she asked with a raspy voice.

"Nothing bad."

"What do you mean?"

"I think it's finally time."

She slapped my arm.

"Stop the secrecy, it's midnight. What are you planning?"

"Calling the only contact I have on another planet."

She sat up with a jump.

"Are you serious?"

Before I could answer, my contact answered the call.

"If it ain't Kaito Mr. Miyahara! It's been a long while since I last heard from you."

"Yeah, sorry about that," I replied nervously. "How have you been?"

He took a moment to answer.

"Miyahara, I have been in the business for twenty-eight years and you are calling at midnight on Earth. I know you aren't interested in how I've been doing."

"I was just trying to be polite."

"Let's leave the boring cordiality aside and get straight to business, shall we? Tell me, what favor do you need?"

I sighed, but before I could answer, he continued talking.

"Actually, let me guess. You need a place for your band to perform."

His guess pierced through my brain.

"How did you…?"

"I keep an eye on everyone I think will be worth my attention in the future, Miyahara. That's one of the secrets to my success and I'm giving it to you for free. So, am I right?"

"Yes, but… why was I worth your attention? I didn't do anything special back in the day. I did the complete opposite, to be honest."

"That I won't give for free, but I'll give you a hint. I saw the fire in your eyes ever since we met. I knew you were going to come up with something worth my attention, I just didn't know if it was going to be worth my time and my money, or even if you were going to survive, but you passed!"

"Thanks, I guess?"

He laughed. "Enough about that. Tell me exactly what you need and I'll get it done for you. With one condition, that is."

Obviously, I didn't call expecting it to be free. I just hoped he wouldn't ask for too much.

"What condition?" I asked.

"I'll do it for free this time."

"Wait, seriously?"

He quickly remarked, "But you'll hire me if your company ever needs an intergalactic business manager."

"I mean, I've respected the way you work ever since I knew about you, so I don't have a problem with that, but can you really afford the bills with promises?"

He remained silent for a long time.

"If my way of doing work worries you, give me two hundred thousand terras, then."

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" I stuttered. "I… accept the first offer."

"Well said."

We spent the next hour talking about the details, and he assured me he would have something set up by the following day.

Aki wasn't able to hear the entire conversation, so she asked about the details. I didn't want to tell her, so all of GIMA could find out at the same time. Instead, I made her promise not to mention any of it until the official meeting. Let's say she didn't like that much.

Just as my contact had assured me, he convinced the owner of a small bar to let a different species from another planet do something they knew nothing about. The fact that the bar was most frequented by the humans living there or that were on vacation also made it more plausible for us to succeed on the planet.

Even though my contact was going to keep looking for more places, we already had a reason to go to another planet, and I didn't arrive at HQ empty-handed.

I called for a meeting two hours before the workday ended. Everyone that entered the meeting room was noticeably curious about what was going to be announced, so I didn't waste any time and began.

"It's great seeing that the entire company can fit in this room. Thank you for being on time, because I have news you don't want to miss."

I purposely made a pause to increase the anticipation. Then, I dropped the bomb.

"Blostars is going to perform on Furenoora."