“We can negotiate the terms. Let me know your answer by Tuesday and we can set up a meeting.”
“Alright. I will have my assistant send you a message. I don’t like using this number to talk about business.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be waiting.”
With that the conversation between the two men ended and the only thing left was the beeping sound coming from the other side of the phone.
Normally, this kind of phone call shouldn’t have come as a big shock. However, for Kota Subaru, Chief Editor at Suzumori publishing, it was a huge surprise.
That morning the Director of Nozomu Financial, Asakura Ryuu, called him on his personal number in order to discuss an important business matter. It was about the rights for a certain book written by author Masato Keita. This rather overbearing Director expressed his interest in investing in a future movie adaptation of that book. He stated that his company was willing to negotiate the terms and conditions with the publisher if the author agreed to several conditions.
That in itself wouldn’t have been anything too surprising. Things like these happened very often in this industry, especially with well-received books. But what made Kota Subaru hesitate momentarily, was Director Asakura’s explicit interest in working closely with the writer. He even wanted to have Masato Keita join the initial planning team. Who on earth has heard of something like this before?! Never, in all his years in this industry, has Kota ever met with such a strange demand from an investor. In fact, most of the financial big shots wanted the initial authors to have nothing to do with the production of the movie.
Nevertheless, things went according to Asakura Ryuu’s plan and Masato Keita agreed to all his conditions. Thus, Kota and Asakura had a face-to-face meeting to discuss the details of their new business partnership.
The two hit it off immediately and afterwards became very close friends. Kota even supported Asakura in regards to his personal interest, which was winning Masato Keita’s heart.
Unfortunately, though, the result was a total defeat. Instead of the dashing, handsome and powerful Director Asakura Ryuu, Masato Keita chose Kurosawa Rintarou, his editor. This outcome dealt a huge blow to Asakura’s previously undefeated ego. And who did he reach out to afterwards? Of course, it was his friend and business partner, Kota Subaru.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
That evening they were meeting at a bar for a drink.
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“How are you faring, my friend?” Kota asked, leaning forward slightly and adding in a teasing whisper. “Still heartbroken after Keita-chan’s cruel rejection?”
“Of course. My heart is bleeding, my mind is in shambles and I am in desperate need of comfort.” Asakura replied seriously. A second later his lips curved into a mischievous grin. “Therefore, I’ll be keeping you to drink with me the entire night.”
“Haa? No, no, iIt shouldn’t be this way.” Kota said hastily, waving his hands and leaning back quickly as if he was bitten by something. “You should be fine by now. After all, you’re a grown man. Who keeps mopping after their first love like this? Aren’t you ashamed to be called a man?!”
“It’s precisely because I am a man that I cannot forget so easily. Besides, Keita is one of a kind. I doubt I will meet someone who can fascinate me like he does.”
“Well then… I wish you happy moping. But, I’m warning you that I’ll head home at midnight.” Kota stated firmly.
“Eh?! What are you, Cinderella?!”
“No, I’m a grown-up man who has a job tomorrow. As well as a superior who will grind me alive if I am late for the morning meeting.” Kota replied with a weary sigh.
“Don’t try to fool me. I know your father won’t say a thing about you missing that meeting. Isn’t it about boring reports regarding monthly sales?” Asakura countered, sipping casually from his glass.
“Asakura-san, I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while now. Are you perhaps a spy? How come you know more about what is going on in Suzumori publishing than even I do?” Kota asked with a strange, hesitant smile plastered on his face. “My father clearly said it was going to be a very important conference. One I shouldn’t miss.”
“Hmmm, maybe he was afraid you’d play hooky if you knew it would be boring.” Asakura replied with a simple shrug.
“Agh, enough about this! I’m getting all annoyed here.”
“Alright.”
Asakura nodded his head. He gave Kota a small smile, then both of them continued to drink in silence for a while. With time, the chattering around them dwindled until only soft whispers and occasional laughter remained.
“How is Kurosawa doing?” Asakura asked suddenly, looking straight ahead and avoiding Kota’s surprised eyes.
“Oh? Asking about him? Why not ask about Keita-chan instead? Isn’t he the one you’re interested in?”
“No. It’s too painful to talk about Keita.”
“Then is it easier to ask about your rival instead?” Kota inquired, raising an eyebrow and shooting Asakura a strange look, as if he was looking at an alien. “Are you normal in the head, Ryuu?”
“Perhaps I’m not.” The other man replied, smiling dejectedly while playing with his glass. His eyes were staring fixedly at the amber-colored liquid. “Just tell me, Subaru. Is he…”
Asakura stopped speaking suddenly, seeming unable to continue his sentence. Nevertheless, with his keen intuition, Kota understood what his friend was trying to ask about. He leaned back slightly and looked at his own glass, a smile forming on his lips.
“Well, you know him. He’s just about the same. Treating Keita-chan like a dragon treats his treasure.” Kota finished pointedly.
“Hmm, is that so?”
Asakura spoke in a low voice, looking almost absentminded. But his downcast eyes betrayed his emotions. A look of pain and regret settled on his handsome face, giving him a rather gloomy air.
“Yes, and it’s getting rather annoying too. Just the other day I got told off by him for pushing Keita-chan to finish his new book by the end of the month. He acted all righteous when accusing me of pressuring the author and that I should mind my own business and leave the Editor’s job to him.” Kota finished his tirade with an annoyed huff, taking a big gulp from his glass.
Asakura was immediately pulled back from his unhappy thoughts by Kota’s rant. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
“It must be difficult, feeling like a parent who just got scolded by his daughter’s husband.” Asakura snickered. “You know, I really admire that fellow. If we hadn’t been rivals, I would have wanted to make friends with him. A transparent personality such as his isn’t easy to find nowadays. After all, who else dares to treat their boss like that and even feel justified to do so by giving proper arguments.”
“It’s not too late, you know. You can still be friends with him… With both of them.” Kota stated seriously, glancing sideways at Asakura’s profile.
“I can’t, Subaru. It’s too early for that.” Asakura shook his head slowly, taking another sip of whiskey. “Just let me drink my own sorrows for a little while longer.”
“Alright, alright. Suit yourself!” Kota sighed, raising his own glass and clicking it against Asakura’s half empty one. “I guess I can accompany you for a little while longer then.”
I’m so happy to see a spin off plus stand alone story about Asakura
Knowing that makes me very happy that I wrote this 🤭 I really hope you will enjoy Asakura’s story! ❤
I wasn’t gonna add this to my list because I am reading way too many novels right now..
BUT then I realized this was a spinoff of Whispers and how could I not read it?!
I am glad I signed up!
thanks for the chapter <3
I am very happy to see you here! Welcome and I hope you will enjoy it <333
The fact that you took the time to add and read it despite the long list you already have makes me happy beyond words. Thanks so much! ❤
Previously, I didn’t like Asakura Ryuu much but now I’m happy I get to see him as the MC in his own story. I hope he can get a HE.
Thank you for the chapter (◍•ᴗ•◍)💜
😅 Yes, my poor baby Asakura wasn’t a very well-liked character but I am very happy to give him another chance to show his true character. He is a sweetheart underneath all that silliness and harshness 😄
Thank you for reading! 💜
Thank you for the chapter 🥰
🥰🥰🥰