Chapter 208 – It’ll All Come Out Eventually

No matter how you looked at it, there was no way Aoki Kei could agree to Yamada Ryo’s outrageous suggestion of “let’s sleep in the same room.”

But her other request—going to Hokkaido to see the snow, that one he hadn’t turned down.

And so, their first night together under the same roof came to an end.

Despite a few chaotic moments, it was… manageable.

Mid-December rolled in, with Christmas drawing ever closer.

During this time, Aoki had already caved to two of Ryo’s requests.

The first was their shopping trip.

That wasn’t a big deal—Aoki himself had a list of things to buy anyway, so he could just take care of everything in one go.

The second, though…

Aoki had never been to Hokkaido.

But if the point was simply “seeing snow,” then honestly—what was so special about that?

After all, back in his childhood at the orphanage in Tottori Prefecture—one of western Japan’s heaviest snowfall regions—snow was something he saw every winter.

He still remembered vividly: his third year of middle school, trudging through snow up to his waist to fetch his acceptance letter from Tokyo High out of the orphanage’s mailbox.

The pounding excitement in his chest, the freezing sting of the snow—both were etched into him.

So really, he couldn’t understand: what’s so amazing about snow?

No one had answered that question for him yet. And with that unanswered thought lingering in his mind, the days passed quietly.

Until December 16th.

By then, band practice was going smoothly. Kessoku Band had already mastered “Hikoutei” inside and out.

Outside of practice, though, a few things had happened over the past few days—

First: Ryo, who had originally planned to stay at Aoki’s place for only a week, ended up extending her stay when her parents’ business trip dragged on.

For now, no one had discovered it—not even the girls in Kessoku Band.

It wasn’t exactly something worth hiding, but since Ryo never mentioned it, Aoki hadn’t either.

And so after a week had passed, Ryo was still freeloading at Aoki’s place, pestering him daily without fail.

Second: On a recent radio show, Aoki had hinted at a new song. But afterwards, not a shred of information about the band’s new release had leaked.

As a result, Kessoku Band’s fans—after waiting several days were now buzzing with impatience.

The band’s Twitter was filling up with comments urging them to hurry.

Of course, along with supporters, there were also plenty of haters.

Fueled by NH Music, rumors like “they’ve run out of ideas” and “the lyrics aren’t even written by them” were spreading everywhere.

Aoki couldn’t care less.

He’d heard this sort of slander a million times before—at least hundreds of thousands, anyway.

Even when he got accepted into Tokyo High, people sneered: “He just got lucky, right?”

It didn’t matter.

What did matter was NH Music’s latest move.

Aoki was keeping a close watch.

On December 14th, around 3 PM—both NH Music and the famous singer Takeuchi Yuto simultaneously dropped an announcement on Twitter:

———————————————————————

“NH Music, in collaboration with Takeuchi Yuto, will be releasing a brand-new track on December 19th! Stay tuned, everyone!”

———————————————————————

The composer? One of the most renowned in the entire industry.

Add in a flashy poster, relentless promotion, and within hours the whole thing was trending everywhere.

Even people who weren’t fans found themselves intrigued.

Hashtags like “Long-awaited return after years” and “Superstar collab: composer Shoji Koike × singer Takeuchi Yuto” shot straight to the top of trending charts.

There was no doubt about it—this was a strike aimed directly at Kessoku Band.

The timing of the release, just one day before their solo concert, was no coincidence.

If their performance faltered even slightly, the media would gleefully compare the two, dragging Kessoku Band through the mud.

And even if their performance was stellar? Reporters would still find some angle to attack, fabricating flaws to pit them against Takeuchi.

The rumors about “ghostwritten lyrics” would only resurface louder.

If Aoki didn’t prepare properly, NH Music and Justice Entertainment would use this chance to corner them.

———————————————————————

By December 16th, snow had started falling again in Tokyo.

Light, delicate flakes that took days to accumulate into a thin layer on the streets.

Aoki’s short break from school had ended two days earlier. Returning to class, he had no trouble keeping up—he hadn’t missed any key lessons.

But his focus was no longer on academics.

Between negotiations with KL for partnerships, countering NH Music’s moves, rehearsing new songs, planning collaborations, and scouting music platforms… Aoki was exhausted.

He could hardly believe it himself—he, who once hated trouble more than anything, was now running himself ragged for Kessoku Band.

People really do change.

And of course, it wasn’t just stress.

One evening after practice, as they wound down with idle chatter, the girls brought up Christmas gifts. Naturally, the topic drifted toward birthdays.

Which meant, inevitably—Aoki became the target.

“Senpai!” Nijika rolled up a sheet of music like a microphone and pointed it at him. “Tell us—when’s your birthday?”

For once, Aoki thought back.

As an orphan, he didn’t know his true birthday. But legally…

After a moment’s thought, under the expectant gazes of the girls, Aoki finally answered:

“I think… December 26th.” His tone carried a hint of hesitation.

The girls, however, didn’t notice.

“Eh?! The day after Christmas?!”

“That’s like… only ten days away!”

“Wait, that means we’ll have to prepare two gifts—Christmas and your birthday!”

“Hey, Suki-san, what do you want for your birthday?”

“Ryo, that’s cheating! Birthday gifts are supposed to come from our own ideas!”

The girls chirped and teased, crowding around him with questions.

Aoki tuned them out, half-listening, half-thinking.

December 26th… that would mark his eighteenth birthday.

Adulthood.

From then on, life would get a little easier.

For example—

“Ryo, didn’t you say we’d go to Hokkaido after Christmas to see the snow?” Aoki suddenly spoke up, cutting into the conversation.

“What if we push it back? After Christmas, after my birthday—once I turn eighteen. I’ll get my driver’s license. Then, we can drive ourselves to Hokkaido.”

“W–Wait, what?!” Nijika stared at him in shock. “Get your license and then… drive all the way to Hokkaido?!”

She looked at Aoki.

Then at Ryo. And suddenly, something clicked—

“Eh? No, wait! Hold on a second!”

She puffed her cheeks and shot Ryo a look full of suspicion.

“Ryo! Since when were you making plans with Senpai to go to Hokkaido?!”