"Huh? Since when did I know I had depression?"
Dressed in pajamas and carrying two cups of coffee from the kitchen, Aragaki Miyahito stared blankly at his manager.
Rushing over to someone's house first thing in the morning, loudly demanding, "Do you have depression or what?"
Only because it was his manager did he hold back. If it were anyone less familiar, Miyahito would've seriously considered calling the cops to have them taken to a psych ward.
"Maki-nee, enough with the jokes."
Sporting thick dark circles under his eyes, his face screaming "I'm so sleepy, let me sleep," Miyahito placed one of the coffees in front of Maki.
"If there's nothing else, hurry back to the agency. I still need to work on composing."
"Miyahito, this is serious!"
Seeing his utterly dismissive attitude, Maki couldn't help but grow anxious.
Initially, like Miyahito, she hadn't taken the rumors about "Miyani possibly having depression" seriously.
But after listening to the new track Hated by Life Itself that the sound mixing team sent her, Maki finally couldn't sit still.
The entire song was filled with melancholic lyrics about "living" and "hatred," not to mention Miyahito performed it with a struggling, heart-wrenching vocal delivery.
Sure, Miyahito had composed songs like The Reason I Wanted to Die, which sounded deeply sorrowful at first listen.
But at least that song revolved around the theme of "unyielding hope."
"Miyahito, you're still so young."
As images of genius composers who died young from getting too lost in their art flashed through her mind, Maki inevitably began overlaying those tragic figures onto the young man in front of her.
"If something's wrong, you can always tell me. If it gets really bad, I'll find you the best psychiatrist."
"Stop, stop, Maki-nee."
Feeling the conversation taking a deeply weird turn, Miyahito interrupted, sweatdrops practically forming on his head.
"I'm completely fine! My mental health is perfectly sound!"
Unfortunately, having already convinced herself that Miyahito was struggling psychologically, Maki didn't stop.
"How about this: I'll go back to the agency and have the President officially excuse you from school on the agency's behalf?"
"Yeah! Take a full month off to recuperate."
"Oh, and I heard the hot spring inns in Kyoto are nice. We can go there for therapy."
"Wakō City has beautiful scenery too. Yeah, we could plan a trip there as well..."
Listening to Maki rattle off one mental health retreat after another, complete with detailed recuperation itineraries,
Miyahito's face turned completely pale.
He quickly grabbed Maki, who was already preparing to head back to the agency to organize these "therapy trips," and shouted:
"Listen to me! I really, truly have absolutely nothing wrong with me!!!"
As his voice echoed, the entire living room fell dead silent.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Do I look like someone who's unwell to you?"
Shooting an exasperated glance at the overly cautious Maki, and having barely slept all night only to be ambushed like this at dawn, Miyahito sighed with renewed exhaustion.
"Sigh..."
Gulping down a large mouthful of coffee to perk himself up slightly, Miyahito decided it was time to officially end the "Does he have depression?" debate.
"I'll say this one last time: I'm completely fine."
"Besides, if I really had depression, do you think Ayase wouldn't notice? My mom and dad would've already dragged me back to Chiba by now."
Hearing this, Maki lowered her head and thought it over.
That's true. Even though she interacted with him more often and knew he was an absolutely top-tier older brother...
...recently, as Ayase's modeling manager, their interactions had shown her just how severely the girl idolized her brother.
"Of course my brother is better than all those guys!"
"My brother sings better than any professional singer!"
"My brother's cooking is the best!"
"My brother..."
No matter the topic, Ayase would always pivot to "My brother is like this, my brother does that..."
It was as if her brother was omnipotent, capable of overcoming any obstacle.
Therefore, if Miyahito truly were depressed, putting everything else aside...
Ayase would've been the first to know.
Realizing this, Maki felt significantly more at ease.
But just to be safe, she still asked about the background of the new track, Hated by Life Itself.
Miyahito thought for a moment before answering.
"That song... how should I put it?"
"I guess you could say it was inspired by recent events."
Inspired by events?
Catching the confusion in Maki's eyes, Miyahito stood up, pulled a magazine from a nearby bookshelf, flipped through it briefly, and showed her a specific page.
"Recent investigations show a rising trend in suicide cases linked to depression in society."
The first thing Maki saw was that sentence, highlighted in red.
I see.
No wonder his vocal delivery carried that particular tone.
Finally understanding the meaning behind the title and the desperate, struggling vocal style, Maki set the magazine down, looked up at the yawning, eye-rubbing Miyahito, and asked:
"I understand. So, regarding this track, do you have any plans, Miyani?"
"Nope. Release it as usual, and handle the royalties the standard way."
Lowering his hands from his eyes, his voice growing increasingly drowsy, Miyahito added:
"Um... if possible, please take forty percent of my share and anonymously donate it to a suicide prevention charity."
After hearing this, Maki didn't respond immediately. Instead, she fell into a rare, prolonged silence.
When she finally looked up again, she saw Miyahito sitting cross-legged on the living room rug, his head bowed, already fast asleep.
"Mou, and he just fell asleep like that."
Smiling indulgently, Maki stood up, gently guided him to lie down on the plush carpet,
then turned to a cabinet beside the TV, pulling out a pillow and a light blanket.
She tucked the pillow under his snoring head, draped the blanket over him, and quietly prepared to leave.
Just as the living room door clicked shut, Maki glanced back at the deeply sleeping Miyahito.
The corners of her eyes softening, she whispered:
"Good night, Miyani-sensei."
Then, she gently closed the door.
After his manager left, unaware of what pleasant dreams he was having, the corners of Miyahito's mouth unconsciously curled upward.
"Utaha... Senpai..."
A soft, murmured dream phrase slipped out unexpectedly.
Then, in the silent embrace of his dream, it faded into a bubble known to no one.
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