Aoki hadn't paid any attention to the discussions going on online.
Even if he had seen them, he probably wouldn't have cared.
There were no personal attacks—just simple doubts.
He couldn't be bothered to take them to heart.
The time spent worrying about such things would be better spent practicing.
———————————————————————
November 7, Sunday.
It had been six days since the day Kita had said those words.
Aoki could still feel his thoughts tangled and restless.
To force himself not to dwell on them, he tried to immerse himself completely in practice.
Kita, on the other hand, didn't seem affected at all—
She still came over to chat from time to time, whether it was at STARRY or later at night over LINE after returning home.
They talked about everything—from funny incidents in class to music theory questions she didn't quite understand.
Keeping things the way they were… might not be so bad.
Sometimes Aoki thought so too. But deep down, he knew—no matter what, their relationship couldn't stay like this forever.
So he decided to simply pour all his focus into practice.
At nine in the morning, STARRY hadn't opened yet.
Nijika was probably still upstairs, and Manager Seika most likely hadn't even gotten out of bed.
He had borrowed the shop key from her before, and lately, it had come in handy.
Carrying his bag, he arrived alone at STARRY, slipped into the recording room, sat down for a moment, and then began his keyboard and vocal practice.
Whenever he tried to read, his mind wandered.
Watching videos or playing games? Same thing.
Only when he was practicing music could he keep all those stray thoughts away, and that was… a relief.
The recording room echoed with the plain, unadorned sound of the keyboard—but Aoki's voice softened that monotony.
After one round, he felt the familiar touch of the keys return to his fingers.
He took a small breath and jumped straight into the second.
Then the third. Then the fourth…
Practicing like this would eventually leave his throat feeling scratchy, and if he kept going, it might even affect the afternoon session.
At first, he solved that by stopping around ten o'clock, but in the past two days, after buying throat syrup, he no longer bothered to hold back.
Maybe it was a small thing, maybe not—but it was still better than doing nothing at all.
After all, if he practiced recklessly like before, he might actually damage his throat to the point where he couldn't sing again.
The chances were slim, but it was worth being careful.
People are always like this—
They only start regretting and clinging to what they had after they've lost it through their own fault.
When he paused to rest, those kinds of thoughts crept back in again.
He shook his head hard, trying to fling them out of his mind, and started yet another round of practice.
But just as his fingers touched the keys—
Click—the sound of the door opening reached his ears.
He looked up to see a girl poking half her body through the doorway.
It was Gotoh Hitori.
Blinking, Aoki froze with his fingers still on the keys, a faint look of puzzlement in his eyes.
Why was Bocchi-chan here at this hour?
Without explicitly asking Manager Seika, Bocchi-chan probably wouldn't have the shop key. And she knew STARRY wasn't open at this time…
So how had she gotten in, and why was she here in the recording room?
Feeling curious, Aoki spoke up immediately.
"Bocchi-chan? What are you doing here so early?"
"Ah… um, that's…"
Her voice stumbled.
She had been about to answer, but then realized she was still half-peeking in from the doorway.
That wasn't exactly polite. So she quickly pushed the door all the way open, stepped inside, and finally spoke again.
"S-sorry to bother you, Aoki-senpai…"
Her voice was quiet at first, then she explained—
"B-because a few days ago I noticed your voice was a little hoarse… and then I saw you drinking throat syrup these past few days… I guessed you'd been practicing by yourself. I just happened to be out this morning, so I thought I'd drop by and check in…"
Aoki blinked, then gave a small nod.
Bocchi-chan might be shy and socially anxious, but when it came to her friends, she was always attentive.
After hearing her explanation, Aoki nodded again, then asked:
"So you're just here to check in? I was planning to keep practicing for a while—want to join me?"
"Ah… mm…"
She hesitated for a moment before answering,
"I'm done with what I needed to do, so… y-yeah, let's practice together…"
Since she hadn't brought her own guitar, Bocchi-chan used one that Aoki kept at the shop.
After a quick tune-up, they began.
Aoki didn't slow his pace just because they were playing together.
Bocchi-chan's guitar skills weren't bad—she could keep up with him just fine.
Apart from her ensemble coordination being a little rough, there was no problem.
With a simple "Let's start," he led the practice with the keyboard, and the guitar followed.
One round.
A short pause, then straight into the second.
Bocchi-chan looked briefly startled, but quickly caught on and followed the keyboard's lead.
Then the third round.
By the end of the third, she let out a quiet breath, her gaze flicking toward Aoki with a hint of worry in her eyes.
Ever since she'd noticed his hoarse voice a few days ago, that concern had been growing.
And now, watching him practice non-stop without even a pause…
Bocchi-chan didn't know what had happened to him.
To her, Aoki-senpai was someone with excellent grades, incredible musical skill, strict self-discipline, and the ability to ignore what others thought.
What kind of situation could possibly shake him like this?
Looking at his current expression, she hesitated. But she knew—she had to say something.
So—
"Um… Aoki-senpai… is… is this really okay?"
Her voice stammered, but her eyes were serious.
"…?"
Hearing her question, Aoki drew in a slow breath, his fingers stopping on the keys.
Then, he lifted his gaze slightly.