Chapter 267: An Incident in Japan
Chapter 267: An Incident in Japan
After finishing a brief call, Geon Kim left the hotel. He had asked the hotel staff to call a taxi in advance, and the place he arrived at was Akihabara. After getting off in front of the huge building of Yodobashi Akiba, Geon walked past a cell phone store and headed up to a figure store. Astonished by the tremendous prices of the Gundam figures, Geon nodded his head as he looked at the posters of Korean idol stars scattered throughout the store.
"It seems Korean stars are also popular in Japan. Especially the girl groups."
Geon briefly admired the posters of recently debuted Korean girl groups, which were decorated in sparkling pink colors, before moving on. Since he wasn’t interested in girl groups, he didn’t even know who they were. After touring the back alleys of Akihabara, Shinjuku, Ginza, and Roppongi, Geon finally visited Shibuya and even saw the statue of the dog from the movie Hachi before returning to his hotel late at night to sleep.
Having spent two uneventful days touring quietly, Geon received a call from Byungjun and headed to Japan's TBS. As soon as he got out of the taxi, Byungjun rushed over and immediately asked as he opened the car door.
"Did you cause any trouble?"
Geon chuckled and replied.
"No, I just toured around."
"Your identity? You know you shouldn’t be found out, right?"
"Yes, sir. I’ve been careful. I didn’t get caught except for when I had to show my passport at the hotel."
"Good, we have to enter through the back door. Let’s go.""Yes, brother."
As Geon and Byungjun sneakily entered through the back door, Shizuka was making an appearance on a Japanese variety show that had just started. The show, which consisted of two male hosts and five panelists, invited Shizuka as a guest and asked her various questions, including some cheeky ones. One of the comedians, Tadayoshi, announced the opening.
"Hello, viewers! Today, our program has an amazing guest!"
The bald man next to him chimed in.
"That's right, Tadayoshi. Who might that be?"
Tadayoshi looked the bald man up and down and asked.
"Why ask, Taichi? You’re a host just like me!"
As the panelists laughed, Taichi pointed at them and said.
"First, let’s introduce our panelists. Here are three idol group members: Kokomi, Kanna, and Miu."
The three teenage girls stood up simultaneously and greeted.
"Hello! We are B1!"
Tadayoshi exaggeratedly exclaimed.
"Wow, they’re really cute. It's good to see B1 being so active. Next, we have the music critic, Yuma."
A slightly skinny, middle-aged man with glasses bowed slightly.
"Hello, I’m Yuma."
"We look forward to your sharp criticism today."
Taichi pointed at the last woman and said.
"And, the actress who’s dominating Japanese dramas! Lena!"
As the cameras all turned to her, the elegant and beautiful woman smiled gently and said.
"Hello, I’m Lena."
Taichi approached Lena with exaggerated gestures as if examining her closely.
"Wow, you really chose the right career, Lena. To see you this close! Haak!"
Tadayoshi stepped in pretending to restrain Taichi.
"Haak? Haak? This is a regular broadcast, come on, let's move on."
"Let go! Let go! It's Lena! You want to do this too, don’t you?"
"Hey, hey. Someone stop this guy!"
As the uniquely Japanese variety show atmosphere continued, Tadayoshi asked excitedly.
"Hey Taichi. Who’s the hottest person in Japan right now?"
Taichi pretended to think deeply before answering.
"Suzumura Airi?"
Tadayoshi hit Taichi on the head with a cue sheet and said.
"Get that dirty thought out of your head and answer properly!"
"Ouch!! I know, I know! It’s Shizuka Miyawaki!"
"If you know, then why make such a lame joke!"
As Tadayoshi continued to hit Taichi on the head, causing laughter among the panelists, they all eagerly looked towards the round entrance hidden by a curtain at the back of the host's seat. As the atmosphere was set, Tadayoshi clapped his hands and said.
"Let me introduce her! The second angel of Fantagio, Shizuka Miyawaki!!"
Applause erupted as the panelists stood up from their seats and clapped. As Shizuka’s debut song ‘Moonlight Butterfly’ began to play and the curtain fell from top to bottom, Shizuka, dressed in a white dress and black shoes, shyly smiled and stepped forward, receiving even louder applause. The three girls from the idol group screamed excited
ly.
"Mom, she’s really pretty!"
"She looks even prettier and more innocent than in the music video!"
"Right, right! She’s way prettier and cuter!"
As Taichi looked at Shizuka with a dreamy expression, he said.
"I’m going to throw away all my AV CDs when I get home.. My goddess from now on is Shizuka Miyawaki.."
Tadayoshi hit Taichi on the head with the cue sheet again.
"Don’t make such comparisons! Sorry about him, Shizuka. Please, take a seat here."
Shizuka took a seat apart from the panelists, between the hosts and the panelists, and as she grabbed the microphone, Tadayoshi said.
"Could you please greet the viewers, Shizuka?"
Shizuka, appearing shy, slightly twisted her body and said.
"Ah.. Hello.. I’m Shizuka Miyawaki."
"Kyaa so cute!!"
"Seriously so cute!"
Loving the sight of a cute woman being shy, which is something the Japanese audience particularly adores, the staff and panelists went wild. After waiting for the commotion to subside, Tadayoshi said.
"Now, let's ask some questions. First, how did you meet Kay? I apologize for starting with a question about someone else, but I’m sure it’s what the viewers are most curious about. Please, answer."
As the story shifted to Geon, the panelists' eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Uh... Kay is a student from the same school. We first met when he was assigned as our band's guitarist for a band score mission. At that time, I was struggling because my piano skills weren’t improving, and he helped me out. That’s how we met."
One of the B1 members, a girl with long hair, eagerly raised her hand, and Tadayoshi gave her the floor.
"Yes, Kanna. Do you have a question? Go ahead."
Kanna took the microphone and asked.
"What kind of person is Kay?"
Taichi leaned on the host's desk and waved his hand.
"Hey, today's guest is Shizuka, you know. Why keep talking about Kay?"
Kanna laughed and waved her hand dismissively.
"Ah, I know. But I’m just so curious about Kay. Ho ho."
Shizuka smiled softly and took the microphone.
"Hmm, he's a bit different from the average person, you could say. He has deep thoughts and can't just pass by someone in distress or in a tight spot without helping. And above all, he's incredibly handsome, haha."
The female panelists, as well as the female staff, all nodded their heads in agreement, prompting Taichi to express his confusion.
"Hey, the staff aren't even on camera, why are you nodding?"
Laughter broke out again among the panelists, and then Miwoo from B1 raised her hand.
"Um... are you close with Kay?"
"Yes, of course. We're close."
"Kyaa! Do you also talk on the phone and stuff?"
"Haha, well, we're friends."
The three girls of B1 hugged each other, making a big fuss.
"Kyaa!! They even talk on the phone!"
"Ahh, I'm so jealous!"
"I want to see Kay too!! Kyaa!"
Tadayoshi smiled at the trio before turning to Lena, who was watching quietly.
"You're quite calm, Ms. Lena, aren't you?"
Lena smiled beautifully and took the microphone.
"I'm also a fan of Kay. Oh, and I apologize, I'm also a fan of Shizuka."
"The grace of an actress never fades, does it? It might be a bit less fun without the fuss, though."
"Haha, is that so?"
"Hmm... How about we try to 'break' Ms. Lena?"
"Excuse me? How so?"
Tadayoshi stepped forward next to Shizuka.
"Ms. Shizuka, would it be possible to call Kay?"
The members of B1 went wild.
"Kyaa!! Really, really?"
"Aaah!!! A video call would be great!"
Shizuka laughed and pulled out her phone.
"Well... it's possible."
"Kyaaaah!!!!!!!! It's a good thing I came here!"
"Aaah!!! Hurry and call!"
While the panelists were making a fuss, Tadayoshi glanced at Lena, who was calmly holding back her excitement, and smiled.
"Then, may I ask for this favor? If it's not too much trouble."
Shizuka nodded, turned on the phone's screen, and connected a microphone handed to her by a staff member before calling Kay. The studio quieted down as the dial tone began, and everyone leaned in to hear Kay's voice. After a brief wait, the call connected.
"Hello? Shizuka?"
"Kyaaaah!!!!!!! It's Kay's voice!!"
"It's real! It's really Kay!"
"Kyaa, I can die happy now!! Mom!!"
The studio erupted into noise from the panelists and staff, and Shizuka, covering one ear, shouted.
"Kay? Sorry, we're in the middle of a broadcast."
"Oh, really? What show is it?"
"It's a Japanese variety show."
"I see. こんにちは 皆さん。Kay です. (Hello everyone, I'm Kay.)"
The studio was in an uproar once again. Tadayoshi, impressed by Kay's fluent Japanese, stepped in.
"Hello, Mr. Kay. I'm Tadayoshi, the host of the program. You speak Japanese very well?"
"Haha, I can just about manage to speak and listen, Mr. Tadayoshi. Nice to meet you."
"Wow! You could be mistaken for a Japanese person! That's amazing!"
"Haha, thank you."
"Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. Now, I'll hand you back to Shizuka."
Tadayoshi gestured for Shizuka to speak, and she hesitantly asked.
"Um... Kay, what are you doing right now?"
"Hm? Just waiting for something."
"Oh.. I see. Are you outside?"
"Yeah, I'm outside."
"Um... ah..."
Shizuka, at a loss for what more to say, noticed Byungjun approaching the main camera towards the PD. Byungjun hurried into the studio to whisper something to the PD, who nodded and began speaking with a bright expression. Realizing it was her cue, Shizuka smiled slightly and asked.
"So, where are you now?"
"I'm in Tokyo."
A moment of silence fell over the studio, followed by a scream of excitement.
"Kyaa!! Kay is in Tokyo!"
"Really? Where can we see him?"
"What's happening in Japan? Is it a trip? You're not appearing on any shows, are you!!?"
The PD, with his arms crossed, waved to the staff behind the stage, and loud music started playing in the studio. Startled by the sudden blast of music, Lena muttered quietly.
"This... it's Kay's song, isn't it?"
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