Pop Rock Love by Raine Koh, Lorraine Koh Read Free Book Online

and
muttered under her breath, “Idiot.”

 
    “What did you say?”

 
    “Nothing,
I’ll get going now,” she said, reaching for her crutches.

 
    “Wait, you like this band,
don’t you?” he asked, waving the file.

 
    “How do you know?”

 
    “You have their song as your
mobile phone’s ringtone.”

 
    “Ah...” she nodded. Mimi had
Filth’s latest single “Grim Beauty” as her call alert tone.

 
    “Come with me to the studio.
They are recording their new album.”

 
    “Really?” Mimi’s heart skipped
a beat.

 
    “Yes, but if anyone asks,
you’re my sister.”

 
    “Thank you!” Mimi said and
without thinking, jumped up in joy. “Ow!” she shouted as she landed on her bad
ankle and slipped. Sato quickly grabbed on to her. “I think you’re the real
idiot,” he said, holding on to Mimi tightly.

 
    They both stood in the elevator
in silence. “Yes,” said Sato suddenly. “I realise you’re like a strawberry
glazed donut.”

 
    “What?”

 
    “You look frosty on the outside
but the truth is you’re actually soft on the inside.”

 
    “That is ridiculous. But why
strawberry?”

 
    “You’re always in pink,” Sato
pointed out.

 
    “Idiot.”

 
    “And the way you call me
‘idiot’ is very rude for a little sister.”

 
    “I don’t think you can lecture
me about manners.”

 
    “Of course I can, I am your
beloved older brother,” said Sato giving her a little smile that didn’t reach
his eyes.

 
    “If my ankle didn’t hurt, I
would have kicked you.”

 
    They arrived at the basement.
Mimi stepped out and looked around in awe. “Wow,” she gasped, looking at the
recording studios. Mimi didn’t know anything about music production but
everything looked shiny and state-of-the-art. They walked into the biggest
studio. The studio was divided into two smaller sections. One, where she was currently
standing, was the control room. It was the area where the producers and music
composers stayed during a recording and was filled with various equipment such
as mixing consoles and monitor speakers. The other section of the studio was
the recording booth where the artistes recorded their music.

 
    Mimi drew in a sharp breath
when she saw Filth in the recording booth. They all seemed busy and were
meddling with their instruments except Shuji. He was standing by the
microphone, peering at Mimi and she felt as if he was scrutinizing her. Wearing
a large Rolling Stones Forty Licks T-Shirt that highlighted his bony frame,
Shuji’s chin-length brown hair was tied in a low ponytail and he had thick
black eyeliner on. Mimi thought he looked better in person than in their music
videos.

 
    “Sato, who is that cute girl
beside you?” he asked, speaking through the microphone. Everyone in the two
sections could hear him and they all turned to look at Mimi. She really wanted
to hide somewhere at that moment. Sato answered back calmly. “My sister. She
wanted to see where I worked.”

 
    “Oh, I see. I’m sure she’s the
good-looking one in the family,” answered Shuji and he gave her a quick wink.
Mimi just looked back at him, open-mouthed, too surprised to react.

 
    “Let’s start. Instrumentals
record first, Shuji comes in later,” instructed Sato.   The raw growl of the bass guitar rang
through the studio. Mimi could feel the energy of the music run through her
veins. She shut her eyes and listened intently. Filth was a four-piece band
– guitar, bass, drums and vocals. They officially made their debut with
Niji Music about three years ago. Despite playing loud rock music, which
included some heavy metal and industrial rock influences, the members had a
large female fan base due to its good-looking members. But no one could deny
that Filth had talent. It was like putting four gifted musicians together in a
band. Their music was strong, loud and seductive. The vocalist Shuji was in
charge of the lyrics while the other