Chapter 36: Realization

REALIZATION struck me all at once, which made my brain go haywire.

I found my head throb and eyes blur. This was ultimate reason why Daniella was okay with us joining Little Starlight. This was why she was willing to put aside her anger and differences with Clara. I knew she had a soft heart. No matter how put up she was with Clara, there was no way she would let her die.

Lumi's dream of being a superstar was more than only our dream. It was becoming a shared one.

"Is Lumi your last bet? All eggs in her basket?"

It was faint, but I caught it from the corner of my eyes. Casper's brows had furrowed. "It's disappointing, but yes. Our artists with the greatest potential asked for contract loans to UBI and others. They're on tours right now with the big music labels, so it's safe to say they're not coming back."

I was taken aback. I never saw a glimpse of anything like that in my research.

"Poached?"

Casper shook his head. "No. We have resources, but I couldn't see that superstar potential. I was hesitant in developing them, so they were willing to leave. Does that answer your question?"

He locked eyes with me. I held his gaze and did not flinch.

"Are you so sure Lumi has that potential? A superstar in three months is almost unheard of in this industry. Wouldn't a failure be more harmful to Clara's health?"

Casper grinned. "She smells of money."

"... pardon me?"

"I was in finance before I met Clara. Then I quit my job to become her manager. The songs she sang in her albums. The dresses she wore in her performances. The advertisements and sponsors she took. They all went past me first. I have a nose for opportunity and Lumi has that same scent of success. No, even greater because of her age."

I could not stand the proud smirk on his face and turned away in disgust. "You're like a snake. That first contract was a slave contract, wasn't it? To exploit every last cent from her."

Casper gave a series of hearty chuckles. "You're the first to call me that. A viper, eh? I kind of like it. I'm more certain of my choice now to dedicate Little Starlight Entertainment to Lumi. Besides, you expected that I would, anyways. You knew she would become a superstar. That's why you're here."

I did not hide it. "I'm not familiar in the entertainment industry. We have no standing or connections. The big labels would bury us for the slightest dissatisfaction. Lumi's potential wouldn't matter."

"You're a smart man," Casper acknowledged, offering a hand. "So, take this conversation as we acquiescing to you. You can relax your heart. Little Starlight will become your Lumi's little backyard, all according to your plan. How about it?"

In other words, Casper was saying he would let me take advantage of Little Starlight. Well, in a way. We knew both of each other's intentions, for the same common goal. I wanted Lumi to become superstar because it was our shared dream. He wanted Lumi to become a superstar because it was him and Clara's shared dream.

He was successful in winning me over. But I knew he did not do this without purpose. "Then let's get talking to the real conversation. What's the plan for Lumi?" I asked whilst accepting his hand. "How are we going to get started?"

Casper broke apart the handshake and leaned back on his chair. "Yeah, about that. I called you here because I don't know yet. Don't get wary. I need more information about Lumi first."

I got wary. My eyes narrowed and my voice deepened. "What kind of information?"

"You know, personal information. The more detailed the better. Her personality, her interests and the likes."

I stared towards him, not hiding my suspicion.

All the sudden the door creaked open. Daniella stepped inside, carrying a tray full of steaming hot coffees. She passed two cups to us, raising an eyebrow at the silence and somewhat tense atmosphere I had made.

"Oh, was I disturbing something?"

"No," I answered, taking a sip, trying to calm myself. "Thanks for the drink."

Daniella shot a meaningful look towards me, then towards Casper, before she exited. "I'll see what Clara and Lumi are up to, then."

Her fading back towards where the recording studio situated remined me of something. I took another sip of the coffee before I sighed in Casper's direction. Daniella and I had talked about my possessiveness and overprotectiveness of Lumi earlier. Was she right? Was I overthinking things when trying to tie her by my side?

I recognized I had heart-to-heart with Casper only now. It would not look up if remained suspicious of his intentions. I was reluctant but did open my mouth. I could not help it. Worrying was a father's thing; it was hard to describe.

"Well... for her personality, she's shy. A little timid around strangers. She's still learning how to open up to them. She's very mature, too. She understands adult matters. She's sensitive towards our emotions and our way of thinking. She probably has an opinion on you," I said, adding that last part in.

"Hmm... anything else? Her interests?"

"It's all singing, nothing interests her more than that. I guess learning, too? Daniella has been teaching her a few notes on the piano. She's been using big vocabulary, too. You can ask her complex questions; she'll give you a concise answer. You don't have to baby talk."

I watched Casper scratch the bottom of his chin for a long while. It made me sort of anxious. I did not want to hear that Lumi's personality was unsuitable to be a star or anything of the sorts. That was because I omitted a lot of details. I did not want to explain her past with her traumas, at least not yet.

"She's a generational talent, but there's much more than singing for her to debut," Casper began. "Clara's taking a look at how good her singing is of songs in different genres right now. Depending on that, we'll have to find and organize a songwriting team for her. So, an album is out of the question right now."

"Oh," I mumbled.

"Besides, I want to grow her popularity and presence in the music scene first before she debuts. But her personality isn't suited for music shows and variety shows," he continued. "She would have a hard time. If things go south, it would be a bad look on her."

"We could enter a singing competition too, but that's too restricted by her age. Big, prestigious competitions that can build a fanbase and are for children to enter? They won't be happening anytime soon."

Casper must've noticed that my expression was turning grimmer and grimmer. "Let me finish first. It's not that dark yet. We can't rush things. You had the right idea already uploading her performances on MeTube."

"Won't covers will become saturated fast? We went viral because it was something novel, unexpected. Repeated videos will lose its charm. It can grow exposure, but not a large fanbase," I said, biting my lips, realizing the difficulty of the situation at hand.

Casper looked taken aback. He raised an eyebrow. "You know more than I expected. Well, that makes my life easier. I didn't mean to continue uploading covers to MeTube. I want Lumi to do covers in live broadcasts."

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