A month after Sato woke up he returned to the company. But under Asakura’s threats, Kyota didn’t assign him any actual work.
In truth, Kyota sometimes felt that Asakura’s possessiveness was a bit too much. But, at the same time, he could somehow understand the man’s feelings.
Seeing your lover taking a bullet for you, his life almost slipping away from your fingers, must have been quite a traumatizing experience.
Therefore, Kyota silently agreed with Asakura’s request and even gave Sato an extra month of vacation.
One week before the end of this extension, Asakura once again called Kyota to let him know of his plans to take Sato away for a few days. Since their previous vacation ended up in failure, Asakura was quite determined to have it this time.
“Just make sure he gets back in one piece.” Kyota grumbled.
At first, he wanted to oppose it. But, in the end, Kyota knew just how set Asakura was with having this vacation. Nothing he said could deter the man from his plans.
So, despite his initial reluctance, Kyota merely let out a deep sigh and finished wearily.
“Sato might have a photoshoot at the beginning of next week. I will send him the details as soon as the contract is signed.”
“Alright, I understand.” Asakura immediately responded.
Kyota was just about to hang up the phone, when suddenly Asakura stopped him.
“Have you thought about the other thing I mentioned? Can you help me with that as soon as possible?”
“Do I have a chance to say no?” Kyota snapped grudgingly.
“Not unless you don’t want me to brandish my HoshiAkari Entertainment stocks in front of your eyes. Or would you rather have KIKAI Entertainment step in and steal your beloved artist? To be honest, I wouldn’t mind. That way I can have Sato all to myself if I want to.”
Asakura’s gloating tone made Kyota almost cuss out loud. He could almost see the other man’s satisfied expression.
‘I bet you are now grinning like an idiot, so proud of yourself because you, once again, get one up on me.’
After a short moment of hesitation, Kyota finally couldn’t hold back and bit out a harsh retort.
“I guess it’s true what they say, that a leopard never changes its spots. Once a gangster, always a gangster, isn’t that right… Boss Asakura Ryuu?”
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.
“Hey, my own money has always been clean, so don’t go and lump me in with those other lame bosses.” Asakura huffed in faked indignation.
“Qtja jybea sbeg yibbv, Crjxegj? Aera tbk mifjc lr atja, P kbcvfg.” Bsbaj rjlv, erlcu jc lcrlvlber abcf.
“Gbc’a ub atfgf, Bsbaj.” Crjxegj revvfcis kjgcfv lc j ibk abcf. “P’nf jikjsr ilxfv sbeg yerlcfrrilxf jaalaevf jcv, rlcmf sbe jgf jirb Vjab’r Dbrr, P jw kliilcu ab qijs clmf klat sbe. Vb, vbc’a rafq bc ws ajli jcv kf mjc yf oglfcvr.”
After this, silence fell between the two men. Neither one wanted to be the first to speak, for fear of saying something nasty.
Kyota sighed morosely. A bitter taste rose in his mouth as he realized that he both liked and hated the other man.
They weren’t friends, but they weren’t actual enemies either. Besides, one was Sato’s current boss, as well as one of his closest people, while the other was Sato’s lover. That made them both very important in Sato’s life, which also meant that, if they wanted their dear Sato to be happy, they had to get along… or at least try to.
Just when the atmosphere was becoming rather tense, Asakura snapped back to his usual casual demeanor. Putting away the frostiness of his voice, he continued to speak slowly.
“Kyota, you know how important this is. So, I trust you with this matter. Also, for now, I already told you everything you need to know. If later you need any further information, just call me.”
Hearing Asakura’s words, Kyota found himself withering under the pressure. How could he deny this person anything? Especially when the man’s request was something meant to keep Sato safe from future dangers.
Not only that, but there was another reason why Kyota was feeling wary around Asakura.
After what happened to Sato almost a month ago, Asakura’s uncle, Ikemoto Shibata, came out and made some shocking declarations. The man let everyone in the industry know that Asakura Ryuu was under the protection of the Ikemoto family and, if anything happened to him or his people, the Ikemotos won’t stand by and do nothing.
His words served like both a warning and a vow. It let the enemies know that Shibata’s protective umbrella was now spread over Asakura and Sato’s heads, as well as promising his nephew and his partner a home to return to.
As a consequence to this statement, not only those from the underworld, but those from the entertainment industry as well immediately began fawning over Asakura. Almost overnight, the young businessman became like an untapped treasure for the higher-ups in the entertainment companies.
Therefore, Kyota had previously been instructed by the board of directors to treat this person nicely. The old men thought that if they kept Asakura happy and pleased, the young master would make sure to keep investing in their company.
Hence, Kyota’s arms and legs were somehow tied due to his superiors’ business interests. Otherwise, he would have probably cursed Asakura to heaven and earth by now.
“Alright, I get it.” Kyota finally relented. But, in one final struggle, he added a few more words. “However, you have to tell Sato about this yourself. Assigning him two people so suddenly might put him on the spot. I hope you understand that.”
Despite taking a step back on this matter and allowing Asakura to do as he pleased, Kyota still hadn’t entirely given up on trying to make things difficult for Asakura.
Little did he know that Asakura would begin laughing charmingly the moment he heard those words.
“No problem. I’ll talk to him tonight.”
As soon as those words fell, Kyota became speechless.
The way Asakura spoke just now sounded like the most tender tone of voice Kyota had ever heard before. Coming from this man, it caused his skin to crawl with goosebumps.
In his daze, Kyota blinked several times. He slowly pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at the name displayed on the screen with a dumbstruck expression.
After a moment, he placed the phone back and asked slowly.
“Asakura, are you really serious about Sato? Because if you aren’t then I suggest you stay away from him. He’s been through one failed relationship already. I’m afraid his heart won’t be able to withstand it if you mess around with him.”
He knew his words might have sounded too standoffish, but he didn’t care. If it was for the sake of protecting Sato’s interests, he was willing to offend anyone.
To Kyota’s astonishment, though, instead of becoming angry, Asakura started laughing heartily.
“Kyota, if you were anybody else, I might have been tempted to give you a good beating. But, since I know you only worry about Sato’s well-being and wish for him to be happy, I will give you a break this time.”
“Oh, how very generous of you.” Kyota mumbled, his tone dripping with displeasure.
“Mn, I feel very generous lately. Perhaps it’s the power of love making me see the world with different eyes.” Asakura chuckled playfully.
Hearing those extremely cheesy words, Kyota had a hard time refraining from gagging.
“Alright.” Kyota’s defeated voice came from the phone. “Tell me, how do you want me to assign those two people?”
“Better put Muro as his bodyguard and driver. The man has more muscles than brain, so he should do well in that position. Shun is more well-organized and temperate, so he can be Sato’s personal Manager.”
“Based on how you speak of them, I suspect you know these two people well?” Kyota couldn’t help but ask, although he already guessed the answer.
“Very well. In fact, there is no one else who knows them better than I do. So, you don’t have to worry. Those two fear me to death, so they will be careful not to cause any trouble to the agency. Just consider them good workers and pay them as you would any other person. No need for favoritism.”
“Heh! Of course not. Rest assured, I wasn’t planning on giving them special treatment just because they are your people.” Kyota scoffed sarcastically.
“Good.” Asakura chuckled. “Now that we took this out of the way…”
“Oh, one more thing.” Kyota suddenly interrupted the other man. “You did a sloppy job back then. Some of the magazines escaped your purge.”
“Hm, why do you say that? Did someone see your pictures and recognized you?” Asakura arched an eyebrow, looking amused.
Kyota clicked his tongue.
“Something like that.”
“That must have been fun.” Asakura snickered.
“I don’t know what to say about that. The person who saw them was Sato’s cousin, Kyosuke-kun, back when he was in school.”
“Damn. That must have had a huge impact on his young mind.”
“Mh.” Kyota replied distractedly.
He just remembered what Sato had told him before, about how Kyosuke found the pictures and kept the magazine like they were some sort of treasure.
Kyota let out a deep sigh, his mood slowly becoming complicated.
Just then, Asakura’s deep voice travelled from the other end of the phone.
“Stop hesitating, Kyota. He’s a good lad and you clearly like him very much. Both of you deserve to be happy, so what’s the point in circling around your own tail like this? Don’t think about anything stupid and just go for it.”
“Ha! Look who’s giving me love advice.” Kyota snorted coldly.
He pushed the glasses up his nose with one finger and quickly brushed Asakura off with one sentence.
“Just worry about yourself!”
After that, the sound of the call ending rang in Asakura’s ear.
He took the phone away and glanced at the screen. The other man’s name flickered for a second before disappearing.
As soon as the screen became completely dark, Asakura let out a low chuckle.
“Kyota Rikatsu… You’re still as nasty tempered as always.”
aw friends! they seem similar, so friendship can work
thanks for the chapter <3
Yes, I actually think they make a great pair as business partners as well 😊
<333
Thank you for the chapter 💜
❤️❤️❤️