Chapter 83: Nobody Does Anything Off The Goodness Of Their Heart

The beat was still running.

Jenna stood at the edge of the stage without starting. She glanced toward the viewing section, a small smile appearing when she found Adrian.

He smiled back before he could think about whether he should.

Under the stage lights, she looked more settled than she usually did. Like this was one place where she didn’t have to wonder what to do with herself.

Then she shifted into position, and his attention returned to what she was actually here to do.

She waited another second before raising a hand toward them.

"If either of you has anything to say before I start, now would be the time."

Rose’s hand went up immediately.

Adrian glanced at her. Hmm, that was quick.

Jenna paused and looked at Rose like she’d just interrupted her before she’d even started.

Which, technically, she had. Rose didn’t look remotely bothered, rather she pointed toward the jukebox, not saying anything yet and clearly thrilled she was keeping Jenna in suspense.

Jenna’s expression tightened.

She held it for another second before letting out a long, suffering sigh and walking over to the jukebox.

She switched it off, then waved Rose on.

"Okay... Rose." Jenna sighed as she raised her hands as though that’d deliver the question better. "What’s the problem?"

Rose cleared her throat.

"Well, for starters... I don’t have an idea what we’re actually supposed to judge."

Jenna blinked. "What?"

"The question speaks for itself." Rose replied which earned a frown on Jenna’s face. Rose continued. "But if you need a better explanation, what I meant was that we can judge your voice. That’s easy enough." Rose glanced at Adrian. "But what about everything else?"

"Everything else?..." Jenna looked at her as she shook her head as though she was waiting for Rose to finish the sentence. "Like what?"

"Movement. Expression. Eye contact. How much of the stage you use. Surely there has to be extra criteria’s we’re to expect from an idol." Rose shrugged. "How are we supposed to know what’s good if neither of us really knows what we’re looking for?"

She looked at Adrian again.

"Or do you know what you’re looking for?"

Adrian opened his mouth. Stopped. Damn it. He hadn’t.

He’d watched Oshi no Ko, sure, but that wasn’t exactly training material.

Rose continued before he could answer.

"So we can help with the judging, but we need more information first."

Mm. Fair point.

Singing was only one part of it. The other part of the criteria’s were something he’d never bother to think of.

He ran a hand along the back of his neck as he looked at Jenna

"Yeah," he said. "She’s got a point."

Jenna stared at both of them. For a few seconds, she said nothing, which immediately had him wandering what the hell she was thinking.

Then her expression changed, something he couldn’t exactly read as a good or bad thing.

"Hold up." She snapped her fingers. "I think I’ve got it."

Before either of them could ask what she meant, Jenna hurried to her bag, pulled out her phone, and started typing with far more enthusiasm than the situation seemed to deserve.

When she came back, she was wearing the kind of smile that usually meant trouble, then she held the phone out to Adrian.

Hm. Adrian paused for a moment and then leaned forward and squinted at the screen.

The title at the top read:

Yuki Kamado: Private Performance.

He looked at Jenna. She looked back like the name should have meant something.

Rose frowned at the screen.

"Who’s Yuki Kamado?"

Good. At least he wasn’t the only one.

Jenna looked between them for a moment, searching for something, and judging by her expression she didn’t find it. "You guys seriously don’t know who Yuki is?"

Apparently, they were supposed to. Adrian didn’t answer, he turned to the phone.

Yuki appeared in a black top and loose trousers.

Then she started singing.

Twenty seconds in, Adrian understood why Jenna had picked the video. Her voice was good.

But that wasn’t the part that kept catching his attention.

She moved before he even realized she was going to move, never looking uncertain about where she was supposed to be.

Her expressions changed with the song without becoming exaggerated. Every so often, her eyes found the camera and stayed there.

And she actually used the space. Adrian hadn’t known that was something he’d notice. Now he did.

She was also pretty. Very pretty, actually.

He watched for another second before remembering Rose was sitting beside him.

He looked back at the screen. The video ended.

Rose stared at Jenna for a moment.

"So that’s what you’re aiming for?"

Jenna shot a glance at Rose like the statement had offended her.

"Why’d you say it like that?" Jenna folded her arms. "I’ll have you know I’m pretty close to her level."

Close was a bold thing to say. Rose’s mouth curved slightly.

Jenna seemed satisfied that they’d finally understood what she wanted them to judge.

Adrian couldn’t argue with that. At least now they had something to work from.

Jenna returned to the stage.

This time, Adrian knew what to watch for. She stopped at the jukebox, slipped in a few quarters and started it again.

The beat returned.

Jenna stood beneath the lights, looking through the dim viewing area until she found him.

She smiled. Again.

Before, he’d wondered if it meant anything.

After seeing that number beside her name, he had a pretty good idea.

He wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to smile back.

He did anyway.

Then Jenna started singing.

The first note caught him harder than he’d expected.

He’d expected good.

This was better.

Her voice filled the room cleanly. Nothing about it sounded strained.

By the middle of the first verse, he’d stopped wondering whether she’d hit the notes.

She had. Then the song reached the part where her voice lifted.

She leaned into it.

For a few seconds, Adrian forgot he was supposed to be evaluating her.

He was just listening. Then the music cut out.

Adrian blinked.

Jenna did too. Slowly, both of them turned toward the jukebox. Rose had switched it off again.

Jenna frowned.

"What are you doing?"

Rose held up two fingers. "You’ve got two problems."

Jenna stared at her. "Excuse me?"

"Sorry... hehe." Rose winced. "That came out wrong."

"A little."

"I meant your eyes were closed," Rose said. "And you weren’t moving."

Jenna blinked.

"My eyes were closed?"

Rose nodded. Adrian frowned.

Then he remembered the video. She was right.

Yuki had barely stopped moving. Her eyes had been part of the performance. Jenna had spent most of hers looking like she was somewhere else entirely.

The singing had been good.

But now that he thought about it, she’d barely moved.

Compared to the video, the difference was obvious.

Jenna went quiet.

Not dramatically.

She just looked back at the stage for a moment.

"Was it that noticeable?"

She turned toward Rose.

"Just be honest. How bad did it look?"

Rose hesitated.

"Bad isn’t really the word."

"Then what is?"

"Your voice was good. You just stood there." Rose gestured vaguely toward the stage. "I mean, after showing us that video, I expected something more."

Jenna’s face tightened.

"So I just need to learn how to move?"

Not exactly.

Adrian looked at the stage. It wasn’t just movement. It was everything around the singing.

But a choreographer would cost money too.

Jenna had already mentioned how difficult it was to book these rooms.

Adding another expense probably wasn’t going to help.

That was the whole reason he’d come.

Figure out whether Jenna was worth putting money into.

She clearly had something.

Whether that something was enough to justify spending more money was the part he still needed to figure out.

Rose had been clear about one thing.

No investment.

If he was going to spend more money on Jenna, he needed an actual reason.

A choreographer might be one.

But first, he needed to know whether Jenna could actually make use of the help.

"How about I help you out?" Rose said.

Adrian straightened.

Jenna looked just as surprised.

"You... want to help me?"

Rose nodded.

"I’m an artist. I can’t teach you how to sing, but I can help with presentation. Poses. Movement. How to make what you’re doing actually look intentional." She said so calmly. "And the best part is. It’s all for free.

It made sense. But that last part definitely didn’t. Which was probably why Adrian didn’t trust it yet.

Rose didn’t offer things for free without a reason, and offering to Jenna right now was too convenient. There had to be something else involved, or was he just overthinking it?

"But there’s a catch." There it was. Rose smiled.

"I want to know what secret you had planned for Adrian."

Adrian’s eyes widened. No fucking way.

He glanced at Jenna. She looked equally shocked as well.