— — — — — —
"Finally finished!"
Oikawa stretched and flopped backward onto the bed.
On September 3rd, he finally completed the second volume of Your Lie in April.
If they wanted to release it in early October, they'd have to move fast. Illustrations and promotion needed to happen at the same time, and printing had to be scheduled early.
Even a first print run of fifty thousand copies would take several days.
That said, there was no way the first printing for the second volume would only be fifty thousand.
The first volume was already selling 66,000 copies per month, and the number was still climbing fast. The second volume's initial print would have to be at least one hundred thousand.
Normally, weekly sales for a light novel gradually drop.
For example, Your Lie in April volume one sold 15,000 in its second week and only about 12,000 in the third. By the fourth week, it should've struggled to hit 10,000.
But after Dengeki Bunko ran that autograph campaign, sales surged again.
Which meant Your Lie in April still had plenty of momentum.
As long as the editor-in-chief wasn't an idiot, there was no way they'd let go of a cash cow like this.
"I'll check for typos. If everything's fine, I'll send it to Editor Kagurazaka."
That's what Oikawa said, but he didn't get up right away. Instead, he grabbed his phone and opened LINE.
After a moment's thought, he sent Utaha a message. Ever since the haunted house incident, she hadn't spoken to him once. If her messages hadn't switched from unread to read, he might've thought something had happened to her.
"Oi, I found a really fun haunted house recently. Wanna check it out together during winter break?"
The message quickly switched from unread to read.
Then her reply came.
"Don't ever bring up haunted houses again. Ever!"
Oikawa grinned. There was no way he'd let her have it easy. Revenge was revenge, and she couldn't exactly punch him through the screen.
"No can do. Haunted houses hold my fondest memories."
"And these soft lips… they were really sweet. Hard not to keep thinking about them."
Suddenly, he understood the kind of feeling Utaha must've had when she teased him before. It really was hard not to enjoy.
"You're still talking about that!!!"
"It's because you kept laughing at me back then. It's all your fault. You bully!"
That… came from Utaha Kasumigaoka?
Ho ho.
Oikawa realized he might be getting addicted to teasing her.
"No need to worry."
"Falling for my handsome face isn't anything to be embarrassed about."
Her final message came back, "Just you wait. I'll get you back for this someday!"
"Pfff."
"Still stubborn, huh."
Oikawa chuckled. When he sent another message, it stayed unread.
After teasing Utaha, he felt oddly energized. He jumped up from the bed and headed to his computer.
After checking for typos, he organized the document for Your Lie in April volume two and sent it to Kagurazaka's email.
"I'm probably going to get bombarded with calls from Editor Kagurazaka tonight."
He already had a feeling. He could even picture the shocked expression on her face.
"Sigh~"
Next, Oikawa shut down the computer, changed into sportswear, put on his headphones, and headed for the door.
"Today's goal: five kilometers."
Ever since returning from Chiyoda, he'd started a fitness plan. For now, he was still in phase one: a five-kilometer run every day.
The first few days, he felt like dying after just one kilometer.
But after sticking with it for a week, he could now run the full five kilometers in one go.
Some things don't guarantee results no matter how much effort you put in.
But exercising is different. You get back exactly what you put into it.
"I'm heading out!"
Oikawa slipped on his running shoes and stepped outside.
...
..
Chiyoda Ward - Dengeki Bunko Editorial Department
Recently, Ayame Kagurazaka had been losing handfuls of hair.
She was stressed.
Why stressed?
What else could it be? It was all because of the second volume of Your Lie in April.
This book was her first real shot at a million-selling light novel. Oikawa Toru was also the only author under her watch who had the potential to become a top-tier writer.
So why did he have to be so stubborn?
Every day, Kagurazaka called Oikawa, trying to persuade him to reconsider.
It didn't work at all.
That guy was like a turtle. Once he made up his mind, nothing could move him. He was determined to finish the second volume of Your Lie in April as quickly as possible, like someone had a gun to his head.
Unlike other writers. With the publication date looming, they still hadn't even finished half the manuscript.
Some people have too much, others too little.
This was the first time Kagurazaka had ever resented an author for being too diligent.
"Ahhh!"
"How am I supposed to convince Oikawa-kun to change his mind?!"
She frantically ruffled her hair. The editors around her quietly scooted their chairs away.
Terrifying.
Just then, an email notification sounded.
Kagurazaka opened her inbox with a lifeless expression, but she suddenly sat up straight. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
"I'm not seeing things, right? This is really the second volume of Your Lie in April?"
"How many days has it even been? Not even half a month… did Oikawa-kun really write it in that time?"
Still stunned, she clicked open the document.
Before long, she was hooked.
At first, she wore a soft, indulgent smile. Soon, it turned stiff and expressionless. Then tears began slipping down her face without her noticing.
Finally, she broke. "Ahwoo, no, please, no."
She kept pulling tissues.
One after another, until the box was empty. Only then did she snap back to herself.
By that time, the sky outside had already gone dark. The entire editorial department was empty except for her.
She took a shaky breath and looked away from the screen, trying to compose herself. But that lifeless look remained in her eyes, as if all the joy in the world had faded.
"Your Lie in April is simply..."
"A perfect work."
Flawless prose. Incredibly delicate characterization. A plot with no dull moments at all. The pacing was so polished it almost felt unreal.
All of it combined into a perfect score.
This second volume of Your Lie in April was far more brilliant than the first.
Now Kagurazaka finally understood why Oikawa had been so confident. Why he'd insisted he could write the second volume. Why he believed he could write it well.
Geniuses really were different.
Things that were impossible for others… in Oikawa's hands felt effortless.
"But… why does it have to be a tragedy?"
When she reached the end, when Kousei waited outside Kaori's operating room, her chest tightened painfully.
Why? Why did it have to be like this?
Just a few changed words, and Kaori Miyazono could have lived happily ever after.
So why let her die during that surgery?
Kagurazaka couldn't understand.
And yet, she vaguely felt that maybe it was precisely because of that death that the story lingered so painfully. That it became impossible to forget.
"Was it meant to be a tragedy from the start?"
The thought suddenly crossed her mind.
She paused, then quickly opened the folder on her computer and pulled up the first volume of Your Lie in April that Oikawa had originally submitted.
She read it again from the beginning.
Then it clicked.
Those lines she once thought were awkward… weren't mistakes at all. They were just another form of sorrow.
The author had told everyone from the very beginning.
Your Lie in April was always a tragedy.
.
.
.