Chapter 209 – Aoki’s Doubt

Getting a driver’s license—this new idea was now officially on Aoki’s schedule.

But it was pushed back until after Christmas.

First, there was the upcoming live show and the new song release to prepare for.

Second, he wasn’t even eighteen yet. Talking about it now felt a bit premature.

Still… he could at least start studying for the exam ahead of time.

In the end, it became one of those things that might be important—or might not—that quietly planted itself into Aoki’s current life.

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On the 17th and 18th, Yamada Ryo was still living in his apartment.
The fact that she’d been staying there hadn’t been exposed yet.

Aoki had been wavering on whether to tell the rest of the band.

A strange gut feeling told him the longer he hid it, the worse the fallout would be when it inevitably came to light.

But explaining it… that was the real problem.

What was he supposed to say?

“That Ryo has been living at my place for over a week, and by the way, she’s been using my shirts as pajamas”?

Not a chance.

So he delayed again.

Classes, practice, negotiations with other music platforms—aside from these small disruptions, his days returned to a kind of steady rhythm.

A busy kind of steady.

As the 19th drew closer, online chatter about him only grew louder.

Aoki didn’t care.

He didn’t really feel much about it at all.

In fact, when he occasionally glanced at some of the harsher comments, he even thought a few were kind of objective.

But the other girls in the band weren’t so calm.

Kita, for one, had gone out of her way to message him on LINE to complain:

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“These people are way too much! Kei-senpai has clearly been preparing a new song, but they don’t know anything and just keep saying you’re washed up… it’s so cruel!”

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Aoki sighed, wanting to say “They’re just outsiders. Ignore them.”

But Kita shot that down immediately:

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“No way! Just because they’re outsiders doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. It makes me upset to see Kei-senpai being trashed like that! It doesn’t matter who says it!”

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“But what could you even do about those kinds of comments?” he asked.

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“Who says I can’t do anything? I’ll just make a burner Twitter account and fight back! One by one if I have to!”

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To prove her point, she even sent him a Kumamon sticker looking furious.

Their chat ended when the school bell rang, but her words lingered with him.

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And then—

The 19th arrived.

The weather was freezing.

Snow still clung stubbornly to the sidewalks.

That day, after weeks of hype and relentless promotion, NH Music finally released the collaboration single by Shoji Koike and superstar singer Takeyuchi Yūto.

The song, Keep Running.

It went live at noon on NH’s platform, accompanied by a special livestream.

They played the MV, broke down the lyrics, and poured fuel onto the fire of hype.

The theme was clear—uplifting, radiant.

Takeyuchi’s voice carried that undeniable feeling of “Even though I’m not young anymore, I still want to grow, still want to chase my dreams.”

Perfectly polished. Unshakably inspiring.

The chat exploded instantly:

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[Masterpiece! This has Gold Song of the Year written all over it, and easily an O-Chart #1 hit!]

[So good!!]

[Anyone can see Takeyuchi-san is challenging Kessoku Band head-on. And now… we already know the outcome.]

[Don’t pit artists against each other like that.]

[Kessoku Band is great too, you know.]

[Here come the fanboys. Tell me, has Kessoku Band ever made something this bright? Their stuff is all depressing trash. ‘I once thought about ending it all’? Loser music. Cringe.]

[I said stop comparing!]

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Praise for Takeyuchi, hate for Aoki, a few voices trying to keep the peace—
all tangled together in a storm of scrolling text.

Aoki didn’t watch the livestream.

He only listened to the song once, and never opened NH’s app again.

But on Twitter, he couldn’t help but notice some of the aftermath.

Under Kessoku Band’s official account, trolls and NH’s hired shills were already flooding the replies.

His first instinct was to ignore it—out of sight, out of mind.

But then he saw the fans.

Saw them fighting back, standing their ground under the barrage of negativity.

And among them, a familiar username stood out:

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@AmonoRyu: “Singing skill can be compared, sure. But judging songs themselves? That’s all subjective. Declaring one ‘better’ is way too arbitrary.”

@AmonoRyu: “And for anyone saying Aoki-sensei’s compositions are all depressing, maybe listen to I Once Thought of Ending It All. It’s actually a really uplifting song—just expressed in a different way.”

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Aoki stared at these words, unsure what to feel.

He had always believed in ignoring criticism. That was his way of surviving.

But as Kita had said—

For the fans, for the other girls in the band, ignoring wasn’t an option.

It wasn’t something they could just brush off.

Why was that?

As Keep Running spread, more and more Takeyuchi fans, whipped up by the hype, swarmed Kessoku Band’s page.

The few defenses from people like AmonoRyu and other loyal fans—like fragile boats in a stormy sea—were sinking under the weight of endless comments.

Kessoku Band would prove themselves with their music.

That was the truth.

The only truth that mattered.

But still… did they really need to fight these small battles, right here, right now?

His mind said no.

But his gut whispered yes.

And that doubt—lingered.

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It stayed with him until the 20th.

The day of the much-anticipated live show with KL.