Chapter Text
1. Sweet Bluffing (甘いハッタリ) I
…
“Nnnghh…. Haa… Please… Stop this…”
Her eyes were covered. Her wrists are bound behind her. Her legs already feel wobbly after standing for hours, trying to withstand what seemed like endless waves of pain and pleasure.
She could barely even remember the events that lead to this.
…
SPLA5H 7th Single Center Online Poll Results
- Nilou (WINNER)
- Furina de Fontaine
- Barbara Pegg
- Kokomi Sangonomiya
- Mona Megistus
“Wow! For the first time Nilou won against Furina?”
“Well, Nilou’s fanbase has been increasing since she was also revealed to be Zubayr Theater’s Masked Dancer.”
“And the percentage was really close too!”
Furina sighs as she walks outside the recording studio, walking back and forth in the hallways as she remembered what she heard earlier from the other fans waiting outside the event area. Online poll rankings aren’t really that accurate, she was actually supposed to be the center again, but she decided not to. She was tired, she wanted to rest. Oftentimes during meet and greets, the other members are already taking their breaks in the tents, but she and Nilou would still be in their booths, shaking hands and taking photos with fans.
Furina loves her fans, only if they are hygienic. If not, they could go fuck themselves as she says . Unhygienic fans are what she hates the most, she hates it when they talk with their saliva raining down towards her, their bad breath, and body odor filling her meet and greet booth with unbearable tremendous smell.
Truth be told, she can always take a break and tell her producer/manager that she doesn’t want to participate or pretend to be sick for that day, and purposely torture Nilou, who was often the 2nd favorite of most her fans. She just chooses not to because she didn’t want to feel bad about her members.
Their recording session had just ended. And far from the fashionable clothes they wore earlier that day, they were wearing more common and regular clothes that still shone as they wore them.
“Furina, come join us. We’re going to celebrate the announcements tonight.” Nilou invited as she walked out of the recording studio along with the other members.
“Yeah, you rarely join our celebrations!” Barbara said, giggling as she jumped and hugged Furina from behind as she got out from the studio’s other door.
“It’s going to be fun, Mr. Neuvillette isn’t coming as well, he said something about production work I think.” Kokomi chimed in as she closed the door behind her after Mona walked ahead of her.
“In short, no restrictions on what we could do.” Mona smirked as she closed the small hardcover book she was reading and hid it in her tote bag.
…
Furina couldn’t say no.
Flashing lights and loud pop music filled the whole place, there were different people talking and dancing in the huge space in the middle, and some sat in front of the bar, it was either celebrities, members of known political families, or people involved in big businesses.
“At times like these, King’s Game is the answer.” Kokomi initiated, holding out five chopsticks, four of the chopsticks had numbers 1 - 4 on its edge, and one had a red tape wrapped around its edge. All of them knew how the game worked.
Kokomi was the one holding the sticks, hiding the marks as the members each held a chopstick.
“And…!” Her hand freed the sticks.
Nilou got the one with the red mark. She’s the King.
“Oooh! I’m first!” Nilou excitedly clapped her hands as she thought of an order to give one of the members. Then she saw the commotion from afar, people were gathering over a part in the bar and despite the music being so loud, they could hear a woman shouting.
“Oh god it’s Nilou.” Kokomi sighed in disappointment as she began to scroll through her bank app, trying to see if she could spend for the next month already. Oh fuck, I hope my number doesn’t get picked.
“Then… Number three! Go and dance for whoever that woman is screaming at! Make it spicier!” What number did she say? Furina looked at the number on her chopstick. Fuck I’m number 3?! She froze when she realized she’s the one who has to do it.
“Remember! The King’s orders are absolute! Disobey or pay for the drinks tonight!” Nilou added, laughing as she once again clapped her hands, waiting for the one who got the number to stand up.
Furina stood up and showed her chopstick, the other three laughed as well. “I got it, I got it.” She walked towards the crowd, followed by her co-members.
“I won’t stop following you around until you get back with me!”
“Suit yourself, Ms. Caspar. Sure, continue making me uncomfortable and I’ll never really get back with you.” The woman gently placed the empty glass of whiskey back at the table, waiting for the bartender to fill it up for her once more. The blonde’s screams behind her would just go from one ear to another.
“Arlecchino!” And she doesn’t really care. For Arlecchino, the moment she throws you away, just means that she doesn’t want you anymore. It doesn’t really matter whether Navia acts nice or not, Arlecchino never gets back with her exes.
“Hey miss, don’t you think you’re getting too emotional? This is a bar, a place of fun. Isn’t it, Arlecchino?” Oh, she really remembers my name. No, actually Furina got it from Navia when she shouted her name.
“Yes, it is. Miss Furina.” Oh, she knows me! I’m really popular! Furina placed her hands on top of Arlecchino’s left thigh as she turned to look at her.
“DJ play Sweet Crazy Love by OEC!” Barbara signaled at the DJ, who just gave her a nod.
Such a peculiar pair of eyes, Furina thought to herself, and Arlecchino thought the same as their eyes met. The idol started to dance seductively, her fingers playing around on the woman’s thighs that sat before her.
Arlecchino then slid down the bar stool she was sitting on, and as she stood straight, Furina wrapped her arms around her neck, her other hand moving to her cheeks, and to respond to this action, Arlecchino placed her hands around the idol’s hips as she grinded against her body.
“Holy shit, Furina’s doing it!”
“You go girl! Shake that ass!”
“Yoooo girl Furina’s ass!”
Arlecchino and Furina noticed the blonde turning her back then leaving the scene. Furina stopped dancing as the girl left, but she noticed that Arlecchino’s hands stayed on her hips.
“Uh… I… I have to go.” Furina, flustered, lightly pushed her away and walked back to the booths they were sitting at. While Arlecchino just watched her walk away, her lips curving into an amused smile.
…
Another event. Furina de Fontaine already wants to go home, the lines were especially longer today because it was their group’s anniversary. There were the lines filled with greasy old men once again, unhygienic, and doesn’t even bother to hide that they have no life outside being a fan.
Fucking disgusting. Furina thought to herself as she shook their hands as they entered and left her booth one by one. She was obviously faking enthusiasm and smiles, and was cursing their producer, Neuvillette, at the back of her mind as the event continued.
“Miss Furina, I know I said the previous one was the last fan for the handshake today and we’ll move to the two-shots, but there was a last minute who punched their ticket.”
Furina sighed upon hearing it from the staff, she then put on a big smile. “Let them in! I can’t say no to a fan who took their time to come here. It’s our anniversary event after all.” They might be gross but they’re the reason why I’m standing at a higher ground. I know they won’t leave me. I just wished they’d be more hygienic.
“Ma’am, please come in.” Furina raised a brow as she heard the staff outside speak.
The booth’s curtains slid open and revealed a familiar woman wearing rather plain clothes, a white polo shirt with thin stripes on its sleeves tucked in on her dark brown cropped trousers locked by a leather belt, and on her feet was a pair of white sneakers.
At least she’s pleasant looking… and actually smells good.
“I’m sorry, I came from a lunch meeting before this. If I knew I’d end up late, I should’ve canceled my appointment.” The woman grabbed a handkerchief from her trouser’s left pocket, “Oh, I’m sorry. My hands are a bit sweaty. Let me wipe my hands for a bit. I kinda ran through the streets to make it in time.” Yeah, typical excuses to look cute in front of your favorite idol, I know it already. Furina, behind her smiling façade, was already nodding like a bored listener on the back of her head.
“I mean, I can rarely even come to your events, it’ll be too much if I can’t even keep myself presentable and clean before my favorite idol.” Whatever she was saying would just pass from one ear to another. Furina just felt lucky that it wasn’t another unhygienic fan. She wanted to get over it already. But she’d like to shake hands with fans like her more than those who pay the most .
…
“Miss Furina can we make a heart sign together?”
“Sure!”
“Furicchan, can we make a heart together?”
“Of course!”
It’s the same request over and over. It was once in a while that she’d get a different request. Furina was exhausted, as well as her hand making a heart sign. The next fan arrived, and Furina wasn’t able to stop herself from saying stuff.
“Is it another heart sign? Give me a break, how about we do a—” she froze when she saw that it was the same fan from the hand shake booths earlier. She was smiling at her.
“Ah yeah, I’m sorry.” Furina smiled and offered her to take a seat on the chair opposite to hers on the other side of the table between them. The woman gladly sat and faced her.
“What I want isn’t a heart sign.” The woman giggled as she crossed her fingers, looking at her with much enthusiasm.
“Hmm? Then what pose would you like to do?” Furina excitedly asked, her cheeks resting on both her palms as she cutely looked back at the woman.
“Just a shot of us looking at each other’s eyes.” Huh? She finally remembered, though it was rare, this fan was always nice to her. Whenever she comes to events, she never does those common and ridiculous requests from the other fans.
She finally remembered the fan’s name.
Arlecchino.
It took her a while to remember because she hasn’t been present during the past few events. So she actually has a life. That’s nice.
…
Furina laid on her bed, her eyes fixated on the cream colored ceiling. She was thinking of her current life.
Is this really the life I want?
She’s actually been thinking about it. She often tells Neuvillette that she loves being an idol yet she hates the majority of her fans. Despite hating the same greasy unhygienic old men that are the majority of her followers, she hates it when they end up leaving her fanbase and become a fan of another member in the same group.
I hate them but it pisses me off whenever another member takes them away.
Furina grabbed her phone and began to scroll down her dummy social media account. She searched for her name.
At first she was happy to see the messages and the photos the other fans took with her. But then as she scrolled down more, she saw the amount of people changing from being her fan to being another member’s fan.
@no1furinaoshi: i think i’ll be nilou’s fan, fucking god when she substituted for Furina’s position on last week’s show performance she was sooo good!
@furifurismile: yeah, me too. Furina’s been kinda meh when it comes to socializing with her fans lately. Sometimes it kinda feels like she thinks we’re disgusting during meet and greets.
@tksk_u: lol no joke she probs think we’re disgusting old men
“Why are you doing this… I’ve been trying to be perfect for all of you despite you people being so dirty and disgusting…” I’m through this. Do you think I won’t know that you jacked yourself before coming to my line?! Your hands feel clammy and smell weird!
@crispy_furitter: maybe if y’all actually be hygienic for once instead of being disgusting no lifers then she wouldn’t look at you like that. :rolls eyes:
Furina exited the app after leaving a reply with a dummy account, she went to sleep afterwards.
…
It was during the surprise performance of their 7th single, something they usually do to rile up the fans to pre-ordering more copies. The live performance had just ended, and Furina was in one of the conference rooms waiting for the guest that their Producer and Manager, Neuvillette, wanted to introduce to her.
“Neuvillette, can I leave?” Furina asked with her brows furrowed, her arms crossed after putting down her phone that was nearly on the end of its battery. “My phone’s running out of batt, I still have to update—”
“Oh, here she is.” The sliding door opened before Neuvillette could even walk up to open it. He instead greeted the woman as she walked inside the room. She was wearing a suit, compared to the more casual ones she often wore during events.
“Furina, allow me to introduce you to—”
“A-Arlecchino?!” Furina stood up from her chair, surprised, pointing her right forefinger towards the beautiful and mysterious suited woman before her.
“Oh, looks like she remembers me contrary to what you were saying over the phone call, Mr. Neuvillette.” Arlecchino giggled as she sat on the chair beside Furina’s. “This meeting should be quick, I think we should start to not waste our time.” She said as she ordered one of her assistants to place the brown briefcase on the modern rectangular table in front of them.
“To make this quick, Furina, this is Miss Arlecchino, the founder of Alocasia Corporation.” Furina has only heard of that company during news interviews, as one of the largest conglomerates in the country. She couldn’t believe that one of her fans is actually a business tycoon.
“Eh… That’s cool. And what business does the founder need with a small-time idol like me?” She knew they were only a small idol group who barely gets by, and is in the risk of disbanding every year. It was one of the reasons why the other members were so carefree about dating and going to different bars every night.
“Small-time idol? Your group may only be popular at a small scale at the moment, but your popularity as an individual is actually surprising.” Arlecchino crossed her fingers as she turned and faced Furina who was then surprised at what she heard from her.
“You’ve been turning down casting offers from different theater troupes and directors, haven’t you?” She smirked as she gazed at her heterochromic eyes, her left hand reaching towards her to caress her cheek.
“Such a shame, I was even looking forward to seeing you act in the new production of Tears of The Goddess .” Arlecchino laughed as she placed her hands back on her lap, leaning against the backrest of the chair. “Anyway, Mr. Neuvillette, please continue.” She added.
“Well, Furina, Miss Arlecchino wants to borrow you for a while. Business purposes. In exchange for funding and promoting the future singles. You will still receive payments—if you’re worried about it.” Neuvillette explained, “Of course, we wouldn’t force you if you don’t want to.” the he assured her.
“Borrow…? What kind of business?” Furina raised a brow.
“Nnghh… Please… not here…”
“Shh. Unless you want the office workers to hear your moans then be my guest.”
“Promotional work, also coming with me to business meetings, assisting— well, we’re thinking of starting an idol group soon. You’ll be certified after as a bonus.”
“Please… this isn’t promotional work… this isn’t what you said during the meeting—ah!”
“I did say you’re coming with me to business meetings, so this is still what we agreed on.
“Well, if it’s just that and I’ll also get something good that I could use after working as an idol, then I’ll join you.” Furina agreed, she stood up and offered her hand to Arlecchino. I don’t even know if I’m making the right decision, but if we get future funding and promotions, then it’s good.
“Then come with us tonight. Let’s celebrate in our place.” One of her assistants—the young man named Lyney as written on his nametag, then invited Furina.
“Lyney, don’t force her. She might have an earlier appointment.” Arlecchino stood up and walked towards the door.
“I don’t have anything after this. So it’s fine.” Furina softly laughed as she looked at Lyney.
“Then it’s settled. Let’s go.” Another one, Lynette, grabbed her bags and walked behind her as she followed Arlecchino and the other assistants.
“Also, you’ll live with us during the time you’ll be borrowed . It’s to prevent scandals about you.” And also to keep your mouth shut. Lynette explained to Furina while the latter just nodded.
…
Furina could see the moon through the tinted windows of the huge bathroom as she laid on her chest, their bodies under the warm and milky water of the huge tub.
Arlecchino’s right hand was on her back, tracing nonexistent lines while her free hand was on her waist.
“The shoot for your group’s next single is next week. I bet you can’t wait to join them even just for a bit.” She bit her left ear as she whispered, making Furina squirm, her grasps on the former’s shoulder tightened a bit.
“Can I not join?” Furina asked, looking up at Arlecchino who just smirked at her.
“As much as I want to, you have to.” She began to leave kisses from her ears down to her neck. “I’ll be there to watch you. Don’t worry.” She smirked between the kisses on the latter’s fair skin, her left hand then scooping one of the floating red roses then placing it on top of Furina’s right ear.
“Put your tongue out.” Arlecchino ordered. Furina nodded as she looked up to her, putting her tongue out as commanded. The former then crashed her lips against hers, her right thumb and forefinger holding her chin in place as they kissed, the echoes of their tongue getting in contact resounding in the bathroom.