October 9th.
With no more ensemble practice or anxious waiting for Fireworks to hit theaters, and after taking a full day off on the 8th, Aoki's life noticeably lightened up.
Sure, things might get busy again soon, but at least for now, he was free from the strict triangle of "practice, sleep, repeat."
The weather was clear.
Rather than gradually cooling, the temperature had suddenly dropped by several degrees one night.
Nothing extreme—just your typical autumn chill, but noticeably different from summer.
He'd stayed up late last night—past 1 a.m. and with no pressing plans this morning, he skipped his usual jog and slept in until 9.
After getting up and washing up, Aoki spent some time fixing his hair more carefully than usual, knowing he had to go out later.
It was probably time for a haircut, he mused while brushing his teeth. But as always, he couldn't settle on a time to actually go do it.
He didn't have anything urgent on his schedule today, but he did need to head out.
First, there was the reward for that PVC project from earlier.
The prize money for first place was 600,000 yen, which he had to pick up at the PVC office.
Aoki also planned to use the opportunity to talk to the project lead about record label matters.
That shouldn't take long.
He didn't need to go all the way to PVC's Kyoto headquarters—the Tokyo branch handled prize distribution.
And the discussion about the record label could also be done there.
So, all in all, maybe an hour tops.
The second thing was about Kessoku Band's official social media accounts.
Creating a network presence had been delayed long enough, and with fans now actively asking for it—and their first solo live show just days away this was the perfect chance to gain more exposure.
Aoki planned to finalize things this afternoon.
Speaking of the solo live show…
There were three days left before the holiday ended, and only two days until their first official concert.
The venue had already been decided—a decent-sized sports gymnasium in Shinjuku—and the show would start at 6 PM.
Since the Fireworks production team was fully funding the concert, the main purpose was obvious: promote the film.
Naturally, that meant their performance needed to highlight Uchiage Hanabi as the centerpiece.
That stuff would all be organized officially tomorrow, so Aoki didn't need to think too hard about it today.
While mulling over all this during his morning routine, Aoki finished cleaning his apartment a little, grabbed the trash, and headed out.
Picking up the prize money wasn't particularly troublesome, but it wasn't exactly effortless either.
After riding the train to the PVC Tokyo branch, he explained his purpose at the reception desk and waited until the staff in charge came to meet him.
Once Aoki provided ID and signed the paperwork, the process was complete.
The money would be wired to his bank account within three business days—unfortunately, not something he could walk out with in cash.
Once that was done, he stayed a little longer to bring up the record label matter, and they were able to confirm a few deadlines.
By the time he left the building, it was already 11:40 AM.
He grabbed lunch nearby and, on his way back to his apartment, messaged the Kessoku Band group chat to arrange a meeting that afternoon at the live house to talk about setting up their official Twitter account.
They settled on the usual time: 2 PM.
After a short rest at home, Aoki arrived at STARRY right on time.
The others had arrived earlier and were already chatting around the table.
The manager wasn't around today—off somewhere dealing with who-knows-what again.
Maybe out buying new gear? The sound system and mood lighting had both acted up recently.
Aoki didn't think much of it.
He greeted the group, walked over, sat down, and got straight to the point.
"So, any progress? Did you decide anything yet?"
He was referring to the Twitter account discussion.
Kita lit up immediately, clearly excited about the topic.
She responded eagerly, "Kei-senpai! Are we making both YouTube and Twitter accounts? Should we post some pictures on Twitter too?"
Aoki paused for a moment—still not entirely used to being called "Kei-senpai"—but quickly snapped back to the conversation and replied:
"Since we're doing this, might as well make both at the same time. As for the photos… I don't see a problem with it."
However, the others—Nijika, Ryo, and Bocchi didn't react right away.
Bocchi just blinked in slight confusion, then seemed to realize Kita was addressing Kei.
Ryo glanced between Kita and Aoki with a raised eyebrow, clearly puzzled.
As for Nijika— After a short pause, she spoke up, her tone slightly uncertain:
"Kei… senpai?"
She seemed more curious than anything—wondering why Kita suddenly changed how she addressed Kei.
It wasn't a huge deal, but still...
Saying it out loud like that—"Kei-senpai"—made the atmosphere go a little awkward.
The room went quiet for a second.
Before things could get too tense, Aoki stepped in quickly.
"Call me however you want—it doesn't really matter. Let's just focus on the social media accounts first."
With that, he smoothly steered the topic back on track.
"Setting up a YouTube and Twitter account is pretty much the same process. As long as we provide ID and some credentials, we can apply for official verification.
It might take a while to go through, but until then, I can use my 'Suki-san' account to promote the band's official pages."
Aoki had already thought a lot about the YouTube side of things.
Unlike before, he wasn't a solo act anymore.
As a member of Kessoku Band, with more ensemble work and upcoming album plans, he'd decided most future songs would be released under the band's account.
As the band's composer, guitarist, and keyboardist, he'd take a more official role.
For now, the Suki-san identity would be put on pause.
But not completely abandoned.
That account still had value—like when he posted that public response refusing to apologize.
For statements that didn't suit the band's image, or more personal commentary, Suki-san was the perfect outlet.
And if he ever composed songs that didn't fit Kessoku Band's style...
Well, that was something to deal with later.
Right now, they needed to focus on setting up their official presence.
He continued, turning to the group,
"As for Kita's suggestion about posting pictures on Twitter—I'm good either way. Do you all have any thoughts?"
After Kita called him "Kei-senpai" and he redirected the topic, the girls once again fell into a brief silence.
———————————————————————
Daily Uploads!
Unlock bonus chapters by reaching specific milestones with [300 Power Stone] votes!
Go to p-atreon.com/InsomniaTL to access more than 100+ advanced chapters and other works.