— — — — — —
"WHAT? That was really fast, thanks." Oikawa finished the call and hung up, delighted.
As for why he was happy, it was because the rights to use Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 had been approved. That was the piece Kousei performed at the competition while Kaori was undergoing surgery.
"Now… it's a masterpiece."
Oikawa quickly uploaded it, along with illustrations he had already prepared, and posted it—highly recommending people listen to it while reading Kousei's final performance.
...
..
Meanwhile, not far from Sobu High School, inside an apartment building—
[Welcome home, beautiful girl Shizuka Hiratsuka.]
As the smart door unlocked, welcoming her, Shizuka kicked off her shoes and collapsed lifelessly onto the sofa.
"Damn it… that was really hard to get."
"I had to run around three or four bookstores just to find it. And it's been getting trashed online so badly—who the hell is still buying this thing?"
After lying there for a while and regaining a bit of energy, she lit a cigarette and placed the second volume of Your Lie in April in front of her.
She exhaled a long stream of smoke, her expression no longer hesitant.
Then she opened the book.
On the title page, it read: {"Kousei, this April was the happiest April of my life!"}
"Shit!"
Shizuka clenched her teeth and cursed loudly.
If she hadn't known beforehand that Your Lie in April was a tragedy, she might've smiled sweetly at those words.
A thirty-year-old single woman… how could she not long for a sweet romance?
But now that she knew the truth, all she wanted was for school to start again so she could confront Oikawa Toru properly.
"Listen here, you little brat. Just you wait! You dare not pick up my calls? But you dare make me treat you to dinner?"
Grinding her teeth in frustration, she imagined the sofa pillow was Oikawa and unleashed a furious flurry of punches on it.
Then she turned the page. And began reading the first section.
The question that had once troubled her for so long—whether Arima Kousei overcame his trauma, and how—was finally answered.
As Shizuka slowly turned the pages, her expression grew heavier with sorrow.
...
Because I didn't play the way Mom told me to, she got angry. That's why her health got worse. It's definitely my fault. It's because of me. So I have to get first place. Then… Mom will feel better…
The entrance on the left side of the audience… that's the only place I can clearly see. That's Mom's special seat. To make Mom feel better… to make her happy again when she wakes up… I'll give her my best performance as a gift.
Arima Kousei seemed to be submerged in an ocean of music. At eleven years old, he poured out his talent without restraint, believing his mother would be happy. But what he received instead was a slap—and a scolding.
"What kind of performance was that? Didn't I tell you to follow the sheet music?" In the hospital, in front of everyone, Arima Saki struck Kousei mercilessly with a baton.
"I just wanted to make you happy. Even when I wanted to play with Tsubaki and Watari… even when you hit me… I endured it. I kept enduring it and kept practicing."
"All I wanted was for you to get better… All I wanted was for you to be happy… And yet…"
"..."
"I WISH YOU WOULD JUST DIE."
That was their last conversation. Not long after, Arima Saki passed away as her illness worsened.
Before dying, she said to her friend Hiroko Seto, trembling violently, "Hiroko… please… take care of Kousei."
"At least now… he won't miss me so much anymore."
Her smile was both happy and unbearably sad.
...
Tears kept streaming down Shizuka's face.
She couldn't even remember the last time she had cried like this—maybe since university?
But this time, she was crying uncontrollably. No matter how she tried, the tears wouldn't stop.
"M… damn it… why would you… write something this painful… you bastard!"
Shizuka made up her mind.
She would make Oikawa pay back this sorrow—double.
After calming down, she continued reading. After all, she had only finished the first section.
...
..
"It's selling that well? I was planning to go pet cats at the pet shop, but it looks like I don't have time for that anymore. I waited three hours just for it." Yukino Yukinoshita took off her coat.
After changing into pajamas, she sat down at her desk and opened the newly purchased second volume of Your Lie in April.
"Oh, so the reason the first volume felt so strange… was because it's a tragedy?"
But... Whether a book was healing or heartbreaking didn't matter to her. What she cared about was the writing style and the ideas the author wanted to convey.
As for people who said books could make them cry, Yukino only found that confusing.
Why would anyone cry over a book? No matter how touching it was, it was still fiction.
After opening the second volume, she quickly reached the "mother" section.
She sniffed slightly, but showed no strong reaction.
Then she reached Kousei's final performance and remembered the new post that had been uploaded an hour earlier, so she opened the music attached to it.
The sound of piano and violin filled her ears as she turned to the final chapter.
The music gradually reached its climax.
Yukino read each line with increasing focus.
"Wait! Please don't go!"
"Come argue with me again! Steal my macarons again! Call me just to kill time again!"
"I don't care if I'm Friend A! Please don't go... Don't go!"
"I'm begging you… don't, please don't leave me!"
Kaori seemed to hear Arima Kousei's cry. She turned back, one eye brimming with tears.
And in the next instant, she turned into April cherry blossoms, scattering right before Kousei's eyes.
The audience seats echoed with Arima Kousei's name, calling out to him again and again, but his tears wouldn't stop falling.
At the same time— In the hospital, the doctor stepped out and bowed deeply to Kaori's parents.
"I'm sorry… we couldn't save her."
A heartbreaking cry broke out immediately afterward, tearing through the air.
BANG!
Yukino stood up abruptly and slammed her fist onto the desk.
Tears kept dropping onto the surface, but she didn't even seem aware of it.
She only said, furious, "A bastard… it could've been a happy ending! Why didn't you save Kaori?!"
"Whoever the author is… I curse you."
"Dammit... Why didn't you save her? Why did you have to write a bad ending like this? You idiot!!!"
Her anger had nowhere to go.
The music still played from her phone, but something inside her chest felt tightly clogged, like it had nowhere to escape.
All she wanted was to scream.
To shout at the top of her lungs, "Damn author, just go die!"
...
..
FULL-DRIVE — Editorial Office
Chris Yamada stared at the copy of Your Lie in April in front of him, unable to calm his emotions for a long time.
To most people, it was just a simple tragic romance novel.
But he had confidently promised the chief editor that giving "Oikawa-sensei" a 12% royalty rate was absolutely worth it. And he still believed he hadn't been wrong.
Writers only grow sharper with age. If a 17-year-old already had this level of writing skill, a few minor flaws meant nothing. This was a bet worth taking.
It was only a 12% royalty rate anyway. If sales were weak, the publishing house might take a small loss—but once it crossed 100,000 copies, they would already be in profit.
And 100,000 copies? He didn't think that would be difficult at all for Oikawa.
The long lines outside bookstores today were proof enough.
That only strengthened his conviction. They had to secure Oikawa as a core author of FULL-DRIVE Bunko.
Right now, what the company lacked most was a true top-tier writer—someone worthy of being called a literary figure. And in his eyes, Oikawa had that potential.
Shaking off his thoughts, Chris opened the book with genuine respect.
An hour later, he let out a long breath.
Leaning back, he stared at the ceiling for a moment before finally calming down.
"…Oikawa-sensei really is Oikawa-sensei."
"An absolutely flawless light novel. This is easily a work that can surpass 500,000 copies. And the aftertaste lingers… it won't fade for months."
If full score was 100, then in his eyes this book deserved at least 96.
"No… I have to meet Oikawa-sensei as soon as possible. The other publishers aren't idiots. They'll definitely notice his potential. I cannot miss him again."
He had already made up his mind. No matter the cost, he would secure a partnership between Oikawa-sensei and FULL-DRIVE Bunko.
He had a feeling this decision might determine whether FULL-DRIVE Bunko could rise to the very top of the industry.
Just like the Bulls couldn't lose Jordan, just like a team couldn't lose its ace, FULL-DRIVE Bunko could not afford to lose Oikawa-sensei.
...
..
Usuda Kensuke. A very proud man.
On the surface, Kensuke got along with almost everyone—but in reality, he looked down on most people.
And he had every right to.
A graduate of the University of Tokyo, he had immediately joined one of Japan's largest law firms and was already considered a rising star in the legal world.
Writing novels? That was just a hobby for him—something to pass the time.
Yet his first light novel had already won the "Gold Prize" at the Dengeki Novel Awards.
That alone was something to be proud of.
Until he read Oikawa's work. A seventeen-year-old still in high school.
At first, Kensuke felt unconvinced.
But after reading Your Lie in April, a sharp, burning jealousy filled his chest.
Fools might sabotage others out of jealousy. But he only wanted to surpass and defeat them.
After closing his eyes and collecting himself, he entered his best condition and opened the second volume of Your Lie in April on his desk.
Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never lose.
...The room was silent, except for the faint sound of pages turning.
After a long while, he exhaled deeply. A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"Damn it… this is ridiculously good. Now I'm even more jealous."
"How can someone write like this? It's like the words directly hit my emotions…"
"…It's honestly despairing."
He considered himself best at writing style.
But Oikawa was on an entirely different level—let alone character building or plot design.
"Seriously… I'm so damn jealous."
Kensuke muttered the line again under his breath.
Then he picked up his phone, opened the group chat of contemporary authors, and tagged Oikawa.
"Oikawa, your writing is seriously too good. I'm insanely jealous. Sigh… congratulations anyway. This book is really a masterpiece, just like you said."
...
..
Inside the Editorial Office of Dengeki Bunko—
"Where's Kagurazaka?!"
"Someone tell me where Editor Kagurazaka went!"
Kazuma Miki's face was red as he shouted.
"Chief… Kagurazaka said she wasn't feeling well and went to the hospital," someone replied from the side.
Everyone who had made it to editor level wasn't stupid. They all understood exactly what that "feeling unwell" meant at a moment like this.
She was unhappy with the chief editor. Plain and simple. And she was making things difficult on purpose.
"Then what about 'Oikawa-sensei'?! Can anyone contact Oikawa-sensei?!"
Miki scanned the room anxiously.
He had already tried calling Oikawa himself—but found his number had been blocked.
He was already prepared to swallow his pride and apologize to Oikawa properly.
He still didn't understand what had gone wrong—why this was happening. Your Lie in April had been getting trashed online so badly… and yet it was still selling like crazy. Had the world gone crazy?
But even he had to acknowledge one absolute truth… sales numbers don't lie.
Preliminary reports showed several thousand copies sold within just a few hours. Bookstores were already calling to demand restocks.
At this rate, if they pushed promotions now, the novel had real potential to break one million copies.
Even under a contract with a 25% royalty rate, Dengeki Bunko would still profit.
But money wasn't even the key point anymore.
It was fame.
Producing a million-seller "legendary novel" wasn't nearly as easy as people imagined.
"No contact information."
"I can't reach him either. He's in the group chat, but… the atmosphere in there since yesterday…"
Miki frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Well… it's not great. A lot of authors have been mocking Oikawa-sensei. And the things they said were pretty harsh." The editor shrugged helplessly.
Last night, the Dengeki Bunko group chat had basically turned into a pile-on. Everyone was taking shots.
Especially those who had been embarrassed by Oikawa before—they were the most vocal.
"Enough. Stop talking," Miki cut in sharply.
"From now on, anyone who can contact Oikawa-sensei gets a bonus of 100,000 yen this month."
That got everyone's attention.
Several editors visibly reacted, though none looked particularly excited.
After all, after everything that had been said and done…
Trying to win Oikawa-sensei back now, wasn't it already too late?
...
..
Meanwhile, Oikawa Toru's Home—
After bringing Kawasaki back to his place, Oikawa took out the two hidden copies of Your Lie in April volume two.
He casually lied to her, saying Zaimokuza had an emergency and had dropped the books off before leaving.
And luckily, Kawasaki didn't question it much.
The moment she entered, she naturally tied on an apron and headed into the kitchen.
From the fridge, she pulled out some sardines, pan-fried them, then made rolled omelet. For the main dish, she went with udon.
There weren't many ingredients at Oikawa's place, which made her frown slightly. Even the best cook couldn't do much with nothing to work with.
Still, in the end, she improvised and made two bowls of seafood udon.
"Eat," she said.
She removed her apron in front of him and tied her hair up, revealing a clean, youthful neck.
"Hey, Kawasaki," Oikawa said lazily, "you'd make a great wife."
"Think about it again. You wanna marry me someday? A guy as handsome as me isn't easy to find."
"And you won't even have to worry about in-laws. Most importantly—just between us—I'm actually really rich. Like, seriously rich. You can have a 30-day trial period of dating me first. How about that?"
He shamelessly continued selling himself.
"Eat your food. It'll get cold," Kawasaki said, her face slightly red as she shot him a glare and lowered her head to eat.
"Miss this chance and it's gone," Oikawa continued. "This is the second time I've said it. I won't say it a third time."
"Of course, you can just kiss me if you want me to say it a third."
Kawasaki's chopsticks paused.
Her neck turned a faint shade of red, and her voice dropped softer than usual, "If you keep saying that… I'm leaving."
"Hey, don't—! The second volume of Your Lie in April still isn't finished. I was planning to share my thoughts with you after I read it!"
Oikawa immediately backed off and obediently started eating.
A satisfied smile spread across his face.
"Kawasaki… how do you even cook this well?"
"If you don't become a… uh… chef, it'd honestly be a waste of talent. Your dream just doesn't match your… tal—haha. Seriously, your cooking is amazing, Kawasaki."
When he noticed her eyes narrowing, he quickly corrected himself, laughing awkwardly.
.
.
.