Chapter 19: Gratitude and Hope

Gratitude and Hope

After Kisaragi-kun and Mizuki-san left, I remained behind, losing myself in solitary play while listening to the entrusted piece.

The interwoven sounds stimulated my hearing, and the sensations at my fingertips merged into a blissful ecstasy within my mind.

As the chorus peaked, I released the accumulated pleasure all at once.

In the sealed room, only my voice echoed.

Only then was I finally able to quell my excitement.

That was how astonishingly brilliant the song YOUKNOW created was—far beyond my imagination. It once again revealed glimpses of the madness YOUKNOW had in the early days.

Truthfully, I wanted Yuito-san to hear it immediately. But ruining something I had worked so hard to achieve on a fleeting impulse would be foolish. It would make me no different from those unfaithful women who let emotions sweep them into betrayal.

As I scorned such fickle women, I realized that I, too, was dangerously close to being swayed by my emotions.

That was precisely why I needed an element to further enhance the best song I sought—to attain the eternal love I longed for.

First, I selected a filmmaker available for booking. Ideally, someone skilled in psychological depiction.

Of course, I would also subtly weave in hidden cues to influence perception.

By appealing to both hearing and sight, I could complete the piece with my final touch.

A natural smile formed on my lips as I silently thanked Yuna-chan for playing such a crucial role in this plan.

By chance or fate, things had unfolded exactly as I had hoped, all thanks to her.

Who would have thought that an ordinary girl, slightly pretty at best, would be connected to YOUKNOW?

While investigating the girls around Yuito-san, she caught my attention as a junior in his club.

Unlike the other girls, she showed no infatuation toward Yuito-san—a rare case.

Yet, she often hummed YOUKNOW’s songs.

At first, I thought she was just another YOUKNOW fan like me.

Since Yuito-san also liked YOUKNOW, I considered the possibility of a connection and assigned an investigator to her.

However, despite being in the same club, she barely interacted with Yuito-san and led a completely ordinary high school life with her childhood friend.

It was around this time last year that I noticed something unusual about the supposedly ordinary Yuna-chan.

She frequently hummed YOUKNOW’s songs—but then, she started humming a song I didn’t recognize.

I only realized it was a YOUKNOW song when it was later released in a stream.

That meant she had known about YOUKNOW’s new song before the public did.

That alone was enough to make me suspect that Yuna-chan had a direct connection to YOUKNOW.

So, I had her investigated thoroughly.

I had already planted students under the influence of the Tendouji Group in the drama club to monitor Yuito-san.

Using them efficiently, I gathered information, but the results remained unremarkable.

If anything stood out, it was how attached she was to her childhood friend. Nothing else was worth noting.

As another approach, I used the information I had gathered to befriend her on social media.

Superficially, we became closer little by little, but our conversations were nothing more than the trivial topics typical of high school girls—daily life, romance, and our shared interest in drama.

However, whenever I brought up YOUKNOW, her responses became notably dry. Despite her natural habit of humming YOUKNOW’s songs, she pretended to be indifferent around me.

From my perspective, her feigned ignorance was blatantly obvious. Her intentions were transparent.

Of course, she had no idea she was under surveillance. It was almost comical, yet also endearing, to see her desperately trying to hide it.

That led me to suspect her childhood friend instead.

However, even after assigning an investigator to him, barely any information surfaced.

According to the private investigator’s report, he had connections with others, but none were particularly deep. The impression that emerged was one of a person who avoided drawing attention.

Moreover, there were signs that someone was deliberately obstructing our investigation. Looking back now, it was likely Mizuki-san’s doing.

That led to the conclusion that the person who knew the most about him was Yuna-chan herself.

From their interactions, it was clear they were dating, so I casually brought up the topic of boyfriends with Yuna-chan.

At first, she was bashful, but as I expressed envy and complimented her boyfriend, she grew eager to boast, gradually sharing more about their relationship.

When I mentioned that I also had a childhood friend I liked, she seemed to feel a sense of camaraderie on her own. Our conversations naturally shifted to romance, and alongside her lovestruck stories, she began to share little wishes—things like, “It would be even better if he did this”—not quite complaints, but small desires.

As I steadily built trust, she started confiding in me about minor concerns, and that was when I gained near-certain information.

“My boyfriend does music, and once he starts composing, we barely spend time together. It makes me lonely.”

For Yuna-chan, this was a casual remark born from the assumption that no one would suspect her boyfriend was YOUKNOW.

But for me, already suspicious, this was nearly a confirmation.

YOUKNOW was special to Yuito-san as well. I sensed that by leveraging this connection with Yuna-chan, I could pave the way to my ideal future.

To deepen my relationship with Yuna-chan, I comforted her and fed her the words she wanted to hear.

From my perspective, Yuna-chan’s situation was completely clear since I had her under surveillance. That’s why I knew exactly what she wanted at any given moment and could give her the advice she was hoping to hear.

If it worked, she would believe my advice had helped her relationship, increasing my influence over her.

What made things easier was that Yuna-chan, for better or worse, was someone who didn’t doubt others, making her easy to manipulate.

The only miscalculation was that, in distancing her from her childhood friend Kisaragi-kun, she got too close to Yuito-san and ended up sleeping with him.

She had gushed so much about Kisaragi-kun, yet she succumbed so easily—I was disappointed in her.

Even if she had unknowingly consumed a🬀cohol during their date and lost her judgment…

Dating another man while having a boyfriend was already unacceptable. Even if it was illegal now, similar situations could arise once she became an adult.

That was no excuse.

It was the moment I realized an ordinary girl could never attain eternal love.

And as for Yuito-san, his womanizing was practically an illness.

He felt no guilt, instead justifying himself while indulging in the act.

Still, that didn’t change how I felt.

If he had fallen, I just had to save him.

In the end, Kisaragi-kun delivered the key to correcting everything—a Pandora’s box.

All thanks to Yuna-chan’s fickle heart.

I despised that she had given herself to Yuito-san, but in terms of gratitude, she deserves my highest thanks.

If possible, I wanted to repay her. But if Kisaragi-kun deemed it unnecessary, then it was no longer my concern.

So, as I was told, I devote myself entirely to what lies before me.

To ensure I don’t let this chance slip away, I wait with unwavering anticipation.

For the day my perfect vision would be complete…