I am the Entertainment Tycoon

Chapter 670: Dance of Silent Hearts

 Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The night was electric as the two of them strolled hand in hand through the bustling Yukihime Club Festival. Twinkling lights and colorfully decorated student campus seemed to reverberate all around. Music and laughter resounded from every corner, while the air held the succulent smell of street food. It was just the right scenario for their second date-both of them still lost their ways in the uncharted waters of their blossoming relationship.

To Kazuki, a young man in his early twenties, the image of Yukihime High School represented something special. This was his alma mater, the place hosting so much of his formative teenage memories. As he saw the ads for the festival around the city, the nostalgia gave way to a flood, and suddenly, he knew exactly whom to invite: Mei, the girl he had been familiarizing with. He had felt an undeniable connection with her since their first date, and he hoped that tonight would bring them even closer.

Mei was a pretty outgoing and bubbly girl who moved to the city a few years ago from a small town in the state. Though fast-beat city life excited her, at the same time it made her appreciate the simple moments of sincerity, something she sensed in Kazuki. Outgoing as she was, she would be surprised at how nervous she felt around him, blushing when usually confident. Probably because she liked him more than she wanted to admit.

They meandered through the festival, talking light and easy with all the usual filler-how their week had been, funny things they'd seen on social media, and how much they both loved this city's food. Still, beneath the banter, both of them were keyed in to the unsaid emotions that hung between them like a tension, at once thrilling and nerve-wracking.

They finally arrived in the area where the Silent Disco was going on. Sure enough, Dance Club had transformed a swatch of campus into an outdoor dance floor, ringed with trees strung with fairy lights and neon signs pointing the way, while a crowd of students and festival attendees surged in, each of them donning wireless headphones glowing softly in the dark. The scene lit up in Mei's eyes. "This looks like so much fun!" she exclaimed, momentarily forgotten in her nerves. "I've never done a silent disco before."

Kazuki smiled, relieved to see her enthusiasm. "Neither have I, but it does sound really cool. You get to choose your music channel, so we could be dancing to totally different songs and still be together.

"That sounds like us," she teased, nudging him playfully. "Always on different wavelengths." Kazuki chuckled, appreciating how this playfulness on Haruka's part set him at ease. "Maybe tonight we'll find the same frequency."

They went to the entrance, where members of the Dance Club were handing out the wireless headphones. After a quick explanation of how to change the music in the channels, they were good to go on the dance floor. Kazuki wavered for a second, unsure about starting this next step. He loved dancing, but it was something else altogether to dance with Haruka-with all those unsaid feelings.

Feeling his hesitation, Haruka took matters into her own hands. "Come on," she said, beaming brightly and tugging him out onto the dance floor by the hand. "Let's see what they're playing."

Everything around them hushed into silence as they put on their headphones, replaced by the rhythmic beats of the music in their ears. The headphones had a few different channels playing different genres of music. Haruka switched through them and stopped at one that played some really catchy pop, very upbeat.

"This one's perfect," she said, starting to sway. Kazuki quickly changed to the same channel, and soon they were dancing, their awkwardness melting away like a thin layer of ice under a sunbeam with each beat.

First, their movements were tentative; both were still a little self-conscious. Then the music enveloped them, and they started to let go, losing themselves in the rhythm. Even now, Haruka's natural grace and confidence as a dancer shone through, which sustained Kazuki's enthrallment with her movements. Her energy was infectious, and soon Kazuki matched her steps, his own inhibitions falling away.

Around them, the dance floor was alive with other festival-goers dancing to their own beats, but it did feel like they were in a little world of their own. It's bizarre doing the silent disco- there's something very peculiar about seeing everyone else move in time and hearing just the music in your own ears. It creates a sense of intimacy as if they were alone in the world.

As they started to dance, the first movements were awkward, a testament to how nervous both of them were. Kazuki was extremely conscious of each step in expectation of Mei's reaction, while Mei was trying to come up with a rhythm and find her comfort level.

It was an upbeat pop number; the rhythm itself seemed to infect them, loosening their inhibitions little by little. Kazuki found himself taken in by Mei's gracefulness, and as their bodies moved together, his shyness slowly started to dissipate. The cadence of the music bridged the gulf between them, unsaid words surging forward.

Her earlier shyness began to dissolve as Mei moved with more and more confidence; her laughter bubbled out. Kazuki couldn't help smiling back at her. The growing warmth he felt with their fluid movements made the Silent Disco magical, in a way, since it created a world of their own where they were fully themselves.

As the night wore on, they were lost in the music, and their dance steps began to fit together with ease. That tension was gone, replaced by an almost palpable growing ease and comfort. They are now quite closed off, synchronized, at one with each other in the dancing- everything else slowly melts off the dance floor.

Kazuki turned slightly to glance at Mei. Her eyes sparkled with joy, and he could see that she was actually having a really good time. He suddenly got rushed with feelings for her then. Very special and sort of intimate, the Silent Disco became a setup to share an experience that drew them closer.

They laughed and joked more and more, the deeper Kazuki felt his contentment. Though only audible through their headphones, the music seemed to reverberate with the feelings growing inside of them. Mei's gaze met his; the connection could feel palpable between the two, as Kazuki realized he was falling for her.

As the music changed into a slow, love song, Kazuki and Mei moved closer to each other, the steps becoming gentler and more deliberate. The atmosphere was tender, serene, totally at one with the soft-glowing scene from the lights of the disco.

Kazuki gazed at Mei's eyes, feeling overwhelming affection. "I'm really glad we did this," he

said softly.

Mei smiled warmly, genuinely. "Me too. This has been amazing."

The moment was so perfect that the universe could have conspired to bring them closer. They kept dancing in their small world, oblivious to anything else, as the music and the atmosphere combined for a magical experience. Moving with her, Kazuki felt his heart swell with emotion in a way he knew this was a night they would both remember fondly.

For the two lovebirds, this could be enough to call a night and gaze into each other's eyes, with their hearts connected in a mute dance of mutual affection. The world faded as the soft rhythm of the music teamed up with the Silent Disco lights to baptize this moment of profound intimacy.