At that very moment, Aoki was still unaware of the full consequences that awaited Ges Band.
But as he looked over the now completely reversed public opinion online, the anxiety that had weighed on him for more than half a month finally lifted.
With things as they were now, the girls of Kessoku Band probably wouldn't have to be affected by all that drama anymore.
Aoki knew all too well how much "Fireworks" meant to them—it was the band's first truly important release.
Before the song had even gone public, the girls had all been incredibly nervous.
Especially Kita, their vocalist.
She'd once been shaken up badly after "Loser", and now, singing lead on "Fireworks", the pressure she was under must have been enormous.
But now, at last—it was over.
Ges Band's fans had backed off.
Public reaction was overwhelmingly positive.
And the praise wasn't just for suki-san anymore.
There were now tons of people curious about Kessoku Band themselves—commenting on how far the girls had come, how much their skills had improved, and especially how beautiful Kita's voice sounded.
A whole month of hard work had paid off.
Aoki opened the backend of his personal YouTube account and smiled.
Not a single angry comment from Ges fans. His mood was noticeably lighter.
And it helped that today was the official release day of Fireworks.
Feeling cheerful, and having kept a close eye on the online discourse all morning, he decided to treat himself.
Around noon, he went out alone and had lunch at a slightly upscale restaurant to celebrate.
On his way back to the apartment, he suddenly remembered that he'd been meaning to buy a new book, so he made a detour to the bookstore.
He browsed for a while but ended up buying only one thing: a French edition of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
Foreign-language books were good for self-study, and in Aoki's mind, it never hurt to keep learning new skills.
He didn't mind reading a little outside his comfort zone.
Book in hand and still in a great mood, Aoki returned to his apartment.
He'd originally planned to set Cooking++ aside for a bit and focus on reading The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, but before he could even open the book, his phone rang.
It was Niijima Yusuke.
On the call, Niijima started with an enthusiastic round of congratulations—for Aoki, for Kessoku Band, and for the successful release.
After some polite small talk, he got down to business.
Fireworks was now in theaters. And although word of mouth was already turning sour just half a day in, that didn't mean they could skip the promotions.
Niijima's first request was for Kessoku Band to set up an official Twitter account and YouTube channel.
Not just to promote Fireworks, but also to post their own content, like music videos, under their own brand.
Then, he brought up some upcoming performances.
There was one show scheduled in four days, and another one two days after that.
They'd discuss payment and logistics in person later—but since the Fireworks production team was involved, the budget likely wouldn't be too low.
That said… Aoki couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
The thought had crossed his mind a few days ago—if the girls, and he himself, were to perform on stage… they'd be stepping completely into the public eye.
With the buzz around them right now… would that really be okay?
Still, this was something they'd have to get used to eventually.
As those thoughts swirled around, Niijima brought up another topic: a radio show.
And this one had more details.
In about a week and a half, they'd be recording an episode of the program "Who Did Yuu-chan Invite This Time?".
The episode would then be broadcast a week later—at midnight, right in the prime time slot.
Niijima gave Aoki a brief rundown of the structure:
A fan letter Q&A segment
A music showcase
A casual chat corner
And possibly an impromptu challenge segment
Aoki wasn't too worried.
It was a pre-recorded show, not a live broadcast.
After confirming that Kessoku Band had no scheduling conflicts, Niijima finally ended the call.
The entire conversation had taken about thirty minutes.
Once it ended, Aoki unwrapped his new book and started reading The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
With all the important things out of the way, he passed the time quietly until about six in the evening.
He had plans that evening—and with about half an hour left before he needed to leave, he tidied himself up a bit and even took extra care to fix his hair.
He boarded a train, and about ten minutes later, arrived at the movie theater where they had agreed to meet.
He was twenty minutes early.
The girls hadn't arrived yet, so he waited outside the theater for a little while.
Eventually, as the clock neared 6:30, the others began showing up one after another.
It had already been over two months since Aoki joined Kessoku Band, but today was the very first time he went out together with the girls.
The atmosphere felt... just a little awkward.
Squeezed between the girls at the entrance of the cinema—one of the busiest spots in the city—Aoki could definitely feel the curious stares from passersby.
While he was used to ignoring public attention, being so obviously stared at wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.
Especially for Bocchi-chan.
Already shy and socially anxious to begin with, now she was surrounded by strangers and in the spotlight for a number of reasons.
The poor girl looked like she was about to completely shut down.
She instinctively fell half a step behind the group, hiding herself behind Aoki as much as she could.
But the others were well-accustomed to Bocchi's quirks by now, and Aoki didn't mind it either.
Only Nijika gave a lighthearted sigh and teased her a little.
Since the movie wouldn't start for a while, none of them rushed into the theater right away.
The girls all seemed to be in good spirits—probably because they'd seen the recent turnaround in public opinion online—but no one brought up the topic directly.
So Aoki didn't either.
Instead, they went to buy cold drinks and popcorn to kill some time.
On the way back, the girls—everyone except Aoki started speculating about the plot of Fireworks.
Ryo, keeping a totally straight face, offered a theory that the movie was secretly a horror film.
Somehow, she managed to convince Nijika enough that the latter genuinely started wondering whether she should even go through with watching it.
Aoki didn't say much.
When Ryo shot him a look that clearly meant "Back me up so we can keep teasing her", he gave a lazy nod of agreement.
He was a little more concerned, though, with how Bocchi kept gradually drifting closer to him while walking—until she eventually bumped into his side.
Gently, he leaned away and quietly told her not to cling so close.
As the girls chatted, he was already thinking ahead: where should they go for dinner afterward?
That was how they passed the time, in a soft blur of casual banter and teasing, until 6:50 rolled around.
They had their tickets checked and headed into the theater.
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