Inside the Tokyo CTSD Recording Studio

"Scars guide the way forward..."

As the girl sang the final line, the sound engineer behind the glass raised his hand and gave an OK sign.

Seeing the signal, Akari Hojo let out a quiet sigh of relief. A gentle smile spread across her face as she stepped out of the recording booth.

However, the moment she exited, she noticed something unusual.

The staff members were standing still, staring at her in silence.

Several of them wore deep frowns, their expressions difficult to put into words.

Hojo was momentarily caught off guard.

Normally, by now, everyone would be exchanging polite bows.

Voices of "Thank you for your hard work," and "Please take good care of her," would echo through the room.

But the strange silence made Hojo hesitate. She pressed her lips together and quietly walked over to her manager.

"Um... Miss Kaguya, is something wrong?"

Before she could finish speaking, she noticed tears shimmering in Kaguya’s eyes.

"No."

Kaguya shook her head, wiped her eyes, then took a deep breath, trying to steady her tangled emotions.

"Then... what’s going on?"

Following Hojo’s gaze toward the staff, Fukada smiled softly and explained.

"It’s because your singing was simply too good, Miss Akari. Not just me—everyone here was moved by your voice."

"This song is incredibly powerful. I was deeply inspired."

"It feels like it was tailor-made for you. If only A-sensei—"

At those words, Hojo felt her chest tighten. Her delicate brows knit together slightly.

Noticing the change in her expression, Kaguya immediately stopped, embarrassment flashing across her face.

She knew about Hojo’s breakup with Alan.

In the past, Alan was always present during Hojo’s recordings, so Kaguya never had to console her personally.

Even after half a year, Kaguya still wasn’t used to his absence—let alone Hojo herself.

Realizing she had touched on a painful subject, Kaguya lowered her head quickly.

"I’m really sorry..."

Before she could finish, Hojo waved her hand gently, smiling.

"It’s alright. I’ve gotten used to it."

With that, Hojo turned to the staff and bowed deeply at a full ninety degrees.

"Thank you all for your hard work and for taking such good care of me."

The moment her voice rang out, the heavy silence shattered.

"Thank you, Miss Akari."

"I was truly moved. It reminded me of my grandmother."

"Hearing Miss Akari sing gives me the strength to work overtime today."

"Then Yamabuki-san, once her new song is released, you can listen to it every day while working overtime."

"Hahaha—"

Laughter and cheerful voices swept away the tearful atmosphere from just moments before.

Even the usually stern sound engineer cracked a smile.

Sato stepped out of the booth and praised her openly.

"One take and done, Miss Akari. That was incredible. This song has the potential to become a hit."

Hojo hurriedly bowed.

"You flatter me, Mr. Sato." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Sato waved his hand seriously.

"I’m not flattering you. I’m just being honest. If I remember correctly, you have a concert next month, right?"

"Yes, in Kanagawa..."

"With that concert and these two songs, if everything goes well, you’ll firmly establish your place in the music scene."

Before Hojo could respond with polite words, he added,

"By the way... has A-sensei really retired?"

At that, Hojo lowered her gaze and replied softly.

"Yes. I believe so. I don’t know the details either."

"What a pity... such a genius," Sato sighed.

But he wasn’t one to linger in sorrow. After greeting a few staff members, he left.

***

When everything was finished, Hojo sat in the car on the way back, pulling out the lyrics she had read countless times from her handbag.

Her eyes lingered on the lines:

"Sorrow transforms into my wings."

"Scars guide the way forward."

Alan... is this what you wanted to tell me?

Crack.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, clutching the paper tightly in her pale hand as a dull ache spread through her chest.

I got so used to having you by my side.

Without your wings... do you really think I can still keep moving forward?

Isn’t that just wishful thinking?

The more you believe that... the less I’ll let you have your way.

Bzzzzzt.

Her phone suddenly vibrated inside her handbag. Hojo snapped back to reality and took it out.

Several messages appeared on the screen.

Nozomi Sakura.

Seeing the name, Hojo frowned in mild confusion. Her finger hovered over the screen before she tapped it open.

The moment she saw the photo that had been sent, her brows relaxed, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

She replied with a single character.

"?"

The message was read almost instantly.

Above it appeared: The other party is typing...

"Who is this person?"

"They’re wrapped up so tightly and wearing protective gear. I don’t exactly have x-ray vision."

Reading that, Nozomi Sakura—sitting inside the dojo—bit the corner of her lip and typed an explanation.

"One of them is Alan. The other is a girl who practices kendo. You know who she is, right?"

The smile on Hojo’s face widened, satisfaction glinting in her eyes.

In truth, she had recognized Alan the moment she saw the photo.

How could she not?

His height. His back. His shoulders.

Whether he was wearing protective gear or not—she remembered him perfectly.

He had long since been engraved into her heart.

As for the girl clinging to him, there was no need to think.

It could only be Nino Kitagawa.

Ever since she had chatted with that fool on the way back to Kyoto and confirmed when Nino returned to Tokyo, she had been counting the days.

She had even called her the day before yesterday and told her everything—about Alan dating Nozomi Sakura at school.

Just because she could endure it didn’t mean Nino Kitagawa could.

I really want to see it, Alan.

I wanna see, do you truly have a heart of stone?

You think I’ll be fine without you. That my career will move smoothly.

But what about that fool?

She’s so stupid.

Can you really abandon her so easily?

Biting her lip hard, Hojo typed a reply.

"If it’s a girl who does kendo and is very close to Alan, then it can only be her..."

"Who?"

"If I’m not mistaken... her name is Nino Kitagawa."

"...His first love."