OST: Is There Still Anything That Love Can Do?
---
[There is no need to describe the process of the competition.]
[These ordinary pieces no longer posed any difficulty for you, and the judges regarded you with newfound admiration.]
[As you had hoped, you won first place at the Chopin Competition.]
[You gazed upon the resplendent Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, upon the countless musicians who looked at you with envy, and upon the audience across the world who watched your every movement.]
[Your heart was still.]
[The wish that once meant so much to you now felt empty. You had no one to share your joy with, no lover who loved you deeply. You even began to wonder why you had ever made this your dream. What meaning did it have…?]
[No! There was one last, most important meaning.]
[You could finally tell your departed boyfriend that you hadn't betrayed his expectations. When you visited his grave next year to lay flowers, you could place this trophy before his tombstone and tell him about all the hardship you endured. Somewhere in another world, he would surely be proud.]
[At the awards ceremony, you requested to perform one more piece.]
[Perhaps because your heart had opened, you suddenly felt certain that you could finally complete your boyfriend's "will."]
[The judges did not refuse the request of the genius pianist standing before them.]
[Inside the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, the melody you had practiced countless times in private, one you had never managed to follow until now, echoed softly. It sounded both achingly familiar and strangely distant.]
[Your fingertips danced across the keys, black and white rising and falling, a seamless ribbon of sound unfurling into the air…]
[Soon, you understood.]
[So that's what it was...]
[It wasn't a "will." It was a love letter.]
[Toru had completed, before his death, the improvisation he once played under the stars. He had written it out, hidden it at the bottom of the diary, waiting for you to find it.]
[Had you never discovered it, this world-class composition would have remained forever in the dark.]
[Fortunately, you had not let him down.]
[Your fingers stopped. The music broke off abruptly, falling silent halfway through.]
[It was your secret act of selfishness, you didn't want anyone else to hear Toru's confession.]
[It was something that belonged to you alone, a treasure no one else could ever take.]
[After the competition...]
[Perhaps out of pride, or perhaps out of love, you released only half of the score.]
[Later, the piece titled: [The Stars] became a haunting nightmare for pianists around the world. They called it the "Venus de Milo of music": incomplete, yet unspeakably beautiful.]
[That performance was also the last time you ever appeared on a public stage.]
[Your four years of university passed peacefully.]
[After graduation, you used your savings to open a small private piano school, teaching children who loved the instrument.]
[Over the years, you met countless people. Each of them had some faint trace of him, but none could make you forget.]
[Toru had filled your life with brilliance, like fireworks that illuminated a once dull and colorless world.]
[The rest of your life was quiet and gentle.]
[The story of Kita Ikuyo ended in a bright April breeze, just three days apart from Toru's death anniversary.]
[Simulation complete]
"It's over."
Kita lay weakly on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
She held back her tears. If Toru were still alive, he wouldn't want to see her crying.
But...
He was already gone.
[Master, this was only a simulation… Toru has not truly left you.]
Kita rubbed her reddened eyes and tried to pull herself together.
In the real world, Kitahara-kun was still alive. That alone was a relief.
[Please note: settlement will now begin.]
[Mountains and rivers seek a kindred soul. But when that soul is gone, who will listen? The sound fades with the setting sun, there is no music left in this world.]
[Simulation rating - S (Perfect)]
[Drawing friend's ability~]
[Congratulations. You have obtained the skill: Piano Performance LV.5]
[Due to your exceptional performance, you may choose two of the following three rewards: ]
[1. Composition: The Stars (World-class piece, the deceased boyfriend's final work)]
[2. Master-level Violin Performance (a skill that only a few could ever achieve)]
[3. All memories of Toru from this simulation (to be delivered gradually through dreams, without harming your mental state)]
"Option one and three."
Kita shut down the simulator and hugged her pillow tightly.
Within seconds, her fragile heart gave way. Tears welled up again, and the pillow was soon soaked through, damp and warm beneath her face.
———
Late at night.
Toru, having just finished his simulation, was soaking in the bath.
He hadn't started his settlement yet. For now, he just wanted to rest.
Staring at the ceiling heater above, he closed his eyes, recalling his girlfriend's adorable expressions from the simulation, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"I wonder if that will I left her managed to move her…"
It should've worked pretty well, right?
Kitahara thought his carefully crafted "romantic combo" was probably irresistible.
With something like that, Kita wouldn't fall for another man for at least the next decade.
Of course, Kitahara had no real intention of making his 2D girlfriend live out her days alone.
Still, if she were to easily toss aside her first love and run into someone else's arms, it would make him a little irritated.
He was, admittedly, rather possessive.
"The simulator is amazing. You can live out entirely different lives."
He murmured, the warm water lulling him into drowsiness.
In the simulation, illness had tormented him for two years. Returning to reality, the comfort of everything around him felt almost unreal.
"Now then… which girl should I marry in the next simulation? They're all so cute."
The troublesome but adorably awkward Hitori Gotoh?
The quiet, blunt Yamada Ryo?
The gentle, kind Nijika Ijichi?
Or the bright, passionate Kita Ikuyo?
"So hard to choose."
Ah well... he'd decide later.
———
After his bath, Toru grabbed a chilled cola from the fridge, took a few sips, and sprawled on the couch in his living room.
It was his favorite part, the settlement phase.
Every time a simulation ended, the reward draw always made his heart race.
[Game over!]
[Your life burned bright and brief, like a meteor carving light across the night sky. To live as radiantly as summer flowers, and to die as quietly as autumn leaves, no words from Stray Birds could describe you better.]
[Unmoved by collapse, unflinching before chaos, you faced death with courage beyond the reach of ordinary men.]
[Simulation rating - EX (Extreme)]
EX… Extreme?
Was that the highest rating possible?
He wasn't sure what kind of reward such a rating would bring...
But he was looking forward to it.