PVC Records' "Original Rock Band Project" wasn't structured like most typical music competitions.
From June to July, bands—regardless of popularity—were invited to submit entries over a two-month period.
The deadline was August 1st.
After submissions closed, PVC would open up voting on its official website, where any entry that passed their internal review would be available for public voting.
Votes were split between the public and the judges at a 3:7 ratio.
The online voting lasted two days.
Once it wrapped up, the top ten bands—chosen by both the audience and judges—would be invited to perform live at a designated venue.
This final round would be judged on-site to determine the ultimate rankings.
Anyone who bought a ticket could attend.
The format of this contest made it clear: bands with larger fanbases had a distinct advantage.
Because of this, promoting your band and rallying votes became an essential part of the game.
Even though the judges' opinions carried more weight, Aoki couldn't afford to ignore the "3" in the 3:7 ratio.
So, instead of heading to STARRY that afternoon, Aoki stayed in his apartment, brainstorming how to attract more votes.
Eventually, he decided to post a video on his "suki-san" channel.
In the video, he briefly introduced Kessoku Band's participation in PVC's project and featured a short clip of their performance of "Loser."
He ended it by kindly asking fans to vote for them on the website in a few days.
Without a computer, video editing on his phone was an exhausting task.
Between recording and editing, the entire process took four hours.
By around 8 PM, the video—his third upload to Youtube—was finally live.
Lately, between rehearsals and recording sessions, Aoki had been staying up late almost every night.
While he got a bit more sleep than when he used to work part-time jobs, the mental exhaustion was far worse.
Now that the promotional video was finally done, he decided to relax.
He skipped dinner, took a quick shower, laid out his futon, and went straight to sleep.
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The next morning—Monday.
He woke up early.
Skipping dinner the night before had left him ravenous, but eating before his morning run wasn't a good idea.
So he powered through the hunger and jogged two laps around the park before heading to a breakfast shop.
On the way back, he bought a morning paper out of habit and read it until 7:30.
After packing his bag, he boarded a train and headed to Shuchiin Private High School.
Classes that morning went as usual.
At lunch, he didn't go teach Kita guitar like he usually did.
With "Loser" already recorded, they had agreed to take a short break.
He had the whole lunch period to himself.
For the first time in a while, he stayed in the classroom and quietly worked on some math problems until the afternoon lessons resumed.
Eventually, the school day ended with the final bell.
Skipping club activities, Aoki followed the usual flow of "go-home club" students out of the school gate and caught the train to Shimokitazawa, headed for STARRY.
While on the train, he decided to check the comments on his latest Youtube video.
But unlike the positive feedback his previous two videos had received, the new video's comment section told a different story.
The train was a bit crowded.
Standing in a corner, he scrolled through the comments one by one.
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"Hmm… I listened to the preview. The song's great, but... the vocals don't quite measure up to suki-san's level. Still, I'll vote. Good luck!"
"Even if the song's just okay, I'm voting just to see suki-san shred live on stage!"
"This band… lol, it kinda feels like everyone aside from suki-san is just… meh."
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A number of commenters were criticizing the band's overall skill, especially the vocals.
Aoki's expression darkened as he read.
Then he sorted the comments by popularity—and saw the top one:
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[NEW·world Band]: "Suki-san, our entire band has admired your music from the start—whether it was 'Lemon' or 'So I Gave Up on Music'.
We've always hoped to invite you to join us, but never found the right timing.
Now, seeing your new video, we realize you've already joined a band.
It's a little disappointing, but we all wish you and your band huge success.
That said… no matter what happens, there will always be a place for you in NEW·world."
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NEW·world was a relatively popular band that had been gaining steady momentum in recent years.
Below that comment, many users chimed in, suggesting Aoki might want to consider joining a more "established" band.
Aoki stared silently for a moment, then sighed and put his phone away.
To be honest, the girls in Kessoku Band weren't lacking in skill.
Not at all.
The real problem was that his previous two uploads as "suki-san" had set such a high bar.
Fans naturally compared the new song with his solo work, which led to "Loser"—sung by Kita—being unfairly judged.
If the girls saw those comments, it might weigh heavily on them.
Aoki felt a twinge of worry and thought about what he could do—but in the end, all he could hope was that the girls hadn't seen the comments yet.
The train jolted as it reached Shimokitazawa.
He got off and walked the rest of the way to the live house.
He paused at the door to STARRY and took a quiet breath before pushing it open.
Inside, the girls had arrived earlier than him.
They were sitting together—not chatting, not rehearsing. Just silent.
The air was heavy.
Aoki immediately understood.
They'd seen the comments.
The atmosphere inside STARRY was tense. And even he didn't quite know how to break the silence.
Kita, the vocalist for "Loser," sat there looking especially troubled.
She had definitely seen the comments on the video.
And she knew, deep down, that her singing couldn't compare to Aoki-senpai's.
She also understood why he'd chosen her as the vocalist in the first place.
Aoki was kind.
'He probably thought being a rhythm guitarist was too low-profile. He didn't want me to feel like I wasn't contributing.'
'That's why he gave me a more visible role—to show that I was part of the team.'
But maybe because of that kindness, she didn't know how to turn it down.
She didn't know how to tell Aoki that…
'For this song… I'd rather hear you sing it.'
After standing at the entrance for a moment, Aoki finally broke the silence with a small cough.
He decided not to bring up the video or the backlash.
Looking at the girls of Kessoku Band, he simply said:
"I think with 'Loser' we've got a real shot at making the top ten. So… should we start preparing for the live performance? Maybe run through it again?"
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