[After the busy period.]
[You talk on the phone every day.]
[No matter how long you speak, you cannot feel satisfied.]
[Half a year passes like this.]
[The feelings that had been warming between you seem to have cooled a little.]
This is not good.
At this rate, you will probably break up.
There are so many pretty peers around Toru, there is no need for him to cling to an almost thirty-year-old older sister.
[Sometimes Toru uses the pretext of visiting family to come to your workplace. At those times you hide from others and spend a long while entwined together.]
[The band members are a bit lost recently, and the reason is simple. A few months ago you handed your songs over to the company. Under mature commercial operation, your output speed became astonishing, but with it the quality declined sharply.]
[Your core fans, who have followed you all the way, began to post sharp critiques, accusing you of forgetting your original intent.]
[A user named sekai no Yamada even said bluntly that a band without a distinct style which blindly chases commercial interests will not go far.]
That username sounds familiar.
A blue-haired woman pops into Seika's mind, yes, Yamada Ryo.
[Her prediction was accurate. Your band slowly sank into a quagmire.]
[After one celebratory party, the bassist who writes songs said his inspiration had dried up, that he could no longer return to the state he had in university.]
[The drummer Risa took a sip of her drink and recollected your past life, when you had a clear goal and everything in your sight sparkled.]
[The usually cheerful vocalist wore a bitter expression and drank deeply.]
[You took it all in.]
[Perhaps you had long since forgotten your original intention, forgotten why you chased this dream.]
[In the following year, you appeared on the Fuji Rock stage. The cheers from the crowd revived you a little, and your confusion eased for a time.]
[The next year.]
[You held a live at the Budokan, and your fans nearly filled the arena.]
[That year you turned thirty, you were much more mature. As a musician, you were undoubtedly successful. You did not know how far the band could go, but for today you were very happy.]
[You had achieved the goal set three years ago.]
[Where should the next goal be set? Tokyo Dome? Rock in Japan? Summer Sonic?]
[Things always take a sudden turn in the midst of good fortune.]
["I'm sorry, I want to quit. I've been really tired these past two years. Yesterday on the train platform I had the thought of jumping a few times." At the celebration banquet, the bassist covered his face and tearfully confessed his true feelings.]
[His high school girlfriend, whom he had dated until now, had last month run off with another guy because they had lost contact over the years. The news of the breakup had been delayed, and only a few days ago did she tell him.]
["Takuno, if you leave, what will we do?" the vocalist pleaded, but he too had thoughts of giving up.]
[His throat had gone hoarse several months earlier because of the intense live tours.]
["…How about we disband. After these years the money we earned should cover the company's penalty fees." The drummer sounded the retreat.]
[The three finished speaking and looked at you, waiting for your voice.]
[In that moment.]
[You knew in your heart that no matter what you said, whether you agreed or not, the band's dissolution was merely a matter of time.]
[When people's hearts scatter, even if you glue them back together, how long will they hold?]
[So giving up became the best choice.]
["Then we should disband."]
[You spoke, and your partners breathed out in relief.]
[After the celebration,]
[Back at the rented room, you stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.]
[You wanted to go to a bigger stage, but now things had changed and it was no longer possible.]
[That night you hid under the covers and cried for a long time.]
[The past fifteen years of effort had been poured down the drain.]
[You had lost your dream and did not know what to do with your future.]
[The next month.]
[The band disbanded smoothly and caused quite a stir online.]
[Because of the penalty fees, most of the money you had earned over the years went to the agency, leaving little behind.]
[You no longer had a goal, and the world in front of you was pitch black.]
[You fell off the cliff, from the mountain peak to the valley floor.]
[In this dark period, the confused you picked up bad habits, and you began to drown in alcohol. It helped you forget your troubles for a while.]
[Toru, seeing you so desolate, temporarily set aside his university studies and came to care for you day and night.]
[He did not scorn you.]
[He soothed you with soft words and sheltered everything about you in his heart.]
[No dream was fine, he could support you for life.]
[Giving up was fine too. No matter what you became, he would always love you.]
[But Toru's gentleness did not improve your condition.]
[You grew more and more insecure. You believed you did not deserve him. Toru had a bright future, while you were an aging, faded failure. What reason did you have to stay by his side?]
[He could find someone younger, someone more attractive.]
[Yet you could not let him go. You greedily enjoyed his warmth, like a death row prisoner savoring his last meal.]
[After spring,]
[Summer came.]
[During one outing to clear your head, Toru proposed. Now twenty years old, at the age when he could legally marry, he wanted to build a family with you.]
[After thinking,]
[You politely refused.]
Huh?
Why?
Seika was stunned.
Say yes.
[You believed you did not deserve him.]
[He deserved a better woman, not you.]
[Toru's face showed visible disappointment, but he still gave you the engagement ring. He said your future was long and that he had been the one hasty.]
The first crack appeared in the mirror.
The countdown to the end of this relationship had begun.
Seika felt pessimistic.
[That same year.]
[Winter.]
[Three days before Christmas, Toru invited you to dinner. This day was the anniversary of when you first met.]
[Over the years Toru had always celebrated it grandly.]
[You enjoyed a candlelit dinner at an upscale restaurant. Just before heading home, you looked at his handsome profile and the feeling of inferiority wrapped around you like quicksand.]
[You decide: ]
[1. Spend the night with him, and give him the most precious thing.]
[2. Go back to Shimokitazawa together, and celebrate the upcoming Christmas with your family.]
[3. Run the simulation yourself.]
[Please note, the current choice will severely affect the story's trajectory!!! Choose carefully!]
Choose option 1.
Seika thinks that advancing the relationship should calm Toru.
Prevent being abandoned by him.