Pop Rock Love (6 page)

The song ended and Mimi walked
out to find a vending machine but the music still haunted her memory. “It’s
going to be their best song,” she thought aloud.

“Thank you, I think so too.”

Mimi looked behind to see
Shuji, standing just inches away. It took all her strength to stop herself from
screaming like a rabid fan, and asking him for an autograph.

“What is your name?” Shuji
asked.

“Please call me Mimi,” she
said, trying to keep her voice steady.

“Sato’s little sister, eh?” he
said, walking closer to her. He passed his mobile phone to Mimi and said
seriously, “Please call yourself now.”

Despite feeling slightly
confused, she dialed her own number. Filth’s previous single, “Grim Beauty”
started to play from her own mobile phone. She felt her face turn red. Shuji
smiled and said, “I’ll send you our new single once it’s done.”

At this moment, Filth’s manager
Shiba shouted from behind, “Shuji, we need you inside!”

Shuji leaned towards Mimi and
whispered, “I saved my number in your phone. Call me when you feel lonely.” He
left her to stare blankly at the vending machine.

“What the...” she thought
aloud. Her phone started to beep, further startling her. Mimi read the message
with bated breath.

Hi Mimi,
Shina here. Free for a quick lunch?

Mimi sighed in relief and
texted back:

Sure, I’m
at Ginza, at the Niji building.”

Shina replied:

Great!
I’ll pick you up in ten minutes time. Hope your leg is feeling better!

Mimi didn’t really feel like
going back to the studio so she left Sato a text message, informing him that
she had gone off to meet a friend. He didn’t bother replying back.

He probably doesn’t need me
anymore, she thought.

Shina drove up in her sky blue
Volkswagen beetle. “Hi darling!” greeted the fashion editor after getting out
of the car to help Mimi inside. Shina was dressed in a cyan-coloured sheath
dress and flower stockings. Her Japanese friend was exactly how Mimi remembered
her, except her brown bob was now permed and was a light brown shade. She was
all smiles and gave Mimi a tight hug.

“Oh dear, your poor ankle! How
have you been? What are you doing at the Niji Building? Wow, you have so much
to tell me, you need to fill me in with all the details. I still cannot believe
that you’re here!” She was always so easily hyped up.

“Are you hungry? I remembered
you like desserts. Let me bring you to a place that serves up the best cakes!”
said Shina.

“Desserts first?” Mimi asked,
raising an eyebrow.

“Of course! They should make up
the main course as well,” she said. Mimi laughed and remembered why they got
along so well in Hong Kong. Both of them got into the car. “But first I need to
do some work-related matters. I hope you don’t mind coming with me?” Shina
asked as she started the engine.

“Sure, what kind of
work-related matter? You need to pick up some clothes for your shoot?” Mimi
wondered, remembering that Shina was a fashion editor.

The petite girl flashed a
bright smile at Mimi and asked, “Have you ever been to a
goukon
?”

“Isn’t that a group date? How
is that work-related?”

“Well, it’s because our
features editor resigned out of the blue, so I have to help out for this month.
You don’t even have to do anything. Just sit there and look pretty. You don’t
have to talk to anyone if you don’t want to.”

“So we are going to be drinking
in the middle of the day?” Mimi wondered. Her impression of Japanese dating
rituals may be a little fuzzy but she always thought that a group date in Japan
required an equal number of guys and girls getting to know each other in a pub.

“It’s going to be a little
different this time. We’re just having coffee and it won’t take longer than an
hour. It’s the guys’ lunch break. Anyway I apologise, it’s more like a double
date since there’s only the two of us.” Shina parked the car and helped Mimi
out.
 
They walked along a pavement
towards the café. It was a lovely day and nothing seemed out of the ordinary
but Mimi couldn’t shake off a nagging feeling.

“Do you feel like someone is
following us?”

Shina turned around and
narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “I don’t see anyone. It’s probably your
imagination,” Shina said airily, although she kept shooting glares behind her
back. They made their way to what Mimi thought wasn’t exactly a romantic venue
for a blind date – Jonathan’s, a 24-hr family restaurant chain. Mimi
pretended not to care but she was feeling nervous inside. She wasn’t even
looking her best nor was she good at making friends with complete strangers.

“Good afternoon,” said Shina,
waving at a pair of guys. Mimi looked in the direction of her gaze and was
faced with a duo of bespectacled men in their mid-twenties. They looked like
each other, had a bowl-shaped hair cut and wore a checkered shirt in a
different colour. Mimi bowed at them and they both quickly got out of their
seats and pulled a chair for her. “Thank you,” Mimi said, feeling awkward but
appreciating the gesture.

“My name is Takeshi,” said the
man in the red checkered shirt.

“And my name is Takashi,
nice...to...to...to meet you,” stuttered the man in the blue checkered shirt.
He was seated opposite Mimi.

“Nice to meet you, my name is
Mimi,” she said.

“I’m Shina, let’s order!” she
said brightly, picking up the menu. Takashi who was also holding on to a menu
kept sneaking glances at Mimi. She started to squirm in her seat and nudged
Shina. Her friend however seemed engrossed in the process of ordering food.

“Mimi do...you...you... like
manga?” asked Takashi, who had started to twiddle his thumbs nervously.

“I do read some of it,” Mimi
answered, scratching her head.

“Really? Do you have a
favourite series?” Mimi noticed his face brighten and he had lost his stutter.

“Beck?” she answered. Beck was
a Japanese comic book series about a bunch of teenagers who formed a rock band
and it had been adapted into an anime series and live-action movie too. “What
about you?” she asked, rather timidly.

“Gundam Suit Destiny,” he
answered solemnly. Takashi suddenly stood up, and with his hand on his heart
while staring into the distance, he added, “It’s not that I want to fight but I
do want to protect this ship... Because of the people on board.”

To Mimi’s horror, Takeshi also
stood up, and with the same posture as his comrade, continued the rather
stirring yet inappropriate speech, “It’s the same for us all. You won’t find
too many people who fight for no reason at all. We fight, because unless we
fight, we cannot protect at all.”

Mimi blinked twice while her
mouth fell open. She continued nudging Shina, who seemed oblivious to the
standing pair and had buried her face in the menu. Takeshi and Takeshi finally
sat down and started talking excitedly. Takeshi looked at Mimi unblinkingly,
“You remind me of Lacus Clyne.”

“Who?” Mimi asked.

“She is the heroine in Mobile
Suit Gundam Seed. She is the daughter of PLANT Supreme Chairman who becomes the
co-leader of the Clyne Faction,” explained Takashi, not that it made anything
clearer.

“Right...” she mumbled.

“She is also an idol singer. Do
you like to sing, Mimi?” asked Takashi.

“Erm...” If only she didn’t have
a broken ankle. She would have run off to the Ladies or something.

“Mimi, if you don’t mind, would
you like to try on a pink wig?” asked Takeshi, suddenly fishing out a long pink
wig from his backpack.

Someone burst through the
restaurant’s door and shouted, “Shina, I found you! Why are you dating behind
my back?”

Mimi turned to see a tall man
with long wavy hair and a goatee. “Isaki, what do you want?” Shina cried,
finally taking her eyes off the menu, visibly annoyed.

“We have only been apart for a
few months and you’re seeing someone. Are they the reason why we split up?”
Isaki demanded, pointing a finger at the two bowl-shaped haircut guys.

Shina stood up and looked at
the accused duo. “Look, Takeshi, Takashi, I’m sorry but we need to leave now.
Please order whatever you want, I will pay for it.” She continued, turning to
glare at Isaki, “Go away, Isaki. We both know why we split up, so don’t blame
me. I’ll contact you through my lawyers and stop following me!”

“Let’s go Mimi,” she said. Mimi
quickly grabbed on to her crutches and limped out with her fuming friend. “Who
was that?” Mimi asked, in a low voice, although she was kind of glad that they
were able to leave the place before she was forced to try on a pink wig and
sing pop songs. Only after they both got into
 
the Volkswagen Beetle did Shina answer
her, “Isaki. My ex-husband. Although we have yet to sign the papers.”

“I’m sorry, Shina.”
   

“I’m sorry too, but I don’t
really want to talk about that jerk. Lunch was a disaster. Let me make it up to
you,” she said, starting the engine. Shina’s way of atonement was by bringing
Mimi to the Shiseido Parlour – a place renowned for desserts. It had
luxurious burgundy walls and was furnished with dark wooden bookshelves and
counters. Mimi’s face lit up as she caught sight of the decadent-looking cakes
and chocolates. The desserts were displayed lovingly in glass cases – in
the same degree of reverence as jewelry at Tiffany’s – only Mimi thought
the cakes looked better. Maybe it’s because she had been cooped up indoors for
so long, but she was finally starting to like being in Tokyo.

“There’s a seating area
upstairs. Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot about your leg,” said Shina apologetically.

“Don’t worry, I think I can
manage,” Mimi replied.

“I know, let’s buy our cakes
here and I’ll bring you to my house, we’ll eat there!” she suggested.

“Sure!”

So after selecting some Mille
Feuille au Chocolat and strawberry cheesecakes, among other yummy sweet treats,
they made their way to Shina’s place. Shina lived in an apartment called
Comforia Harajuku and her apartment was decorated with Andy Warhol posters, had
pale blue walls and a huge black-and-white self-portrait hung in the living
room. Her furniture was quirky and
 
mostly designed by Marcel Wanders.

“Take a
seat anywhere,” Shina offered. Mimi sat down on the sofa, which had purple
printed flowers and square patterns and looked as if it came from a kimono.
Mimi’s mobile phone started to ring. She saw an unfamiliar number flash on the
display screen.

“Hello?”

“Miss Mimi? This is Yamada!”
chirped the elderly lady.

“Hi Yamada.”

“How is everything? Mr. Sato
told me you were out.”

“I am with my friend. Is
everything alright?” Mimi asked, starting to feel a little worried.

“Actually, I won some tickets for
a television music show tomorrow afternoon. Mr. Sato said I can’t go unless I
bring you with me. Would you like to come?”

“Oh... Okay, sure why not?”
Mimi said, without thinking. She was getting distracted by the desserts Shina
had placed on the coffee table.

“It’s for a popular music show
called
Music Stage
. I will bring you there tomorrow then!” said Yamada,
sounding extremely delighted. Mimi hung up the phone and wondered why people
around her always had so much energy. Shina strolled back to the living room
with some hot green tea.

“So update me on what you have
been up to,” she said, sitting beside Mimi. As they shared the delicious
desserts, Mimi told her about how about how she got involved with Sato, how his
stupid car banged into her, how she ended up living in his house, what an idiot
he is, about meeting Filth and how awesome Shuji is, about how heartless Sato
is...