Chapter 243: A Long Time Has Passed
"And that person is none other than me."
"Huh...!?"
"What's going on? Why!!? Tsukaki's sales shouldn't have been low enough for elimination."
As Tsukaki, who revealed herself as the eliminee, spoke, the concert-goers enjoying the show were thrown into chaos.
Indeed, among the four heroines, Tsukaki's title had approached nearly half a million copies in single sales, an unexpected feat.
Her title's success, nearly reaching half a million among the four heroines, was unexpected, especially considering her abrupt hospitalization and lack of interaction with fans.
However, upon reflection, Tsukaki's songs had a unique concept that set them apart from others.
If you were to ask whether her weak, frail voice surpassing high notes was the reason, it wasn't.
Even her innocent appearance, triggering protective instincts, couldn't solely justify the immense popularity she garnered.
The reason she captivated fans more than any other character was... in the poignant lyrics of her songs.
Both "Please Hold Me" and "What If" were love songs sung from the perspective of a 'woman.'
"Please Hold Me," expressing the desire to be forever with a loved one, and conversely, "What If," portraying the sorrow of loving someone but ultimately having to part ways, had transcended the gaming category, ranking as the number one favorite songs among women.
The live broadcast from the hospital on TV had boosted Tsukaki's popularity to soaring heights.
Now, she was bidding farewell to the fans who had showered her with love.
"Our Virtual Idol group... is a project team conceived by Pentagon Soft. Director Kang Junhyuk of Pentagon, as many already know, was a game developer I admired even before I took on the challenge of becoming a Virtual Idol."
"."
"Whenever I played the games he created, sometimes I'd get angry, sometimes frustrated at the unexpected endings before I finally cleared them. But after each game, I'd just have to admit, 'Ah~' and move on."
Three voice actors suddenly joined Tsukaki on stage, standing alongside her.
Tsukaki turned her head slightly to look at her colleagues before calmly continuing her speech.
"I, too, as a fan of Pentagon along with everyone here, participated in the auditions for Virtual Idol. However, I kept one fact hidden from the judges in charge of the auditions."
"A secret?"
"What...?"
"This feels ominous..."
Amid murmurs from the crowd, Tsukaki glanced at me from the stage, and for a moment, our eyes met.
I watched her for a while and then nodded subtly.
In response, Tsukaki nodded back, acknowledging my signal, and turned her gaze toward the audience.
"I am suffering from a somewhat peculiar illness. It's a condition that modern medicine hasn't yet been able to identify the cause or a cure for. Until I graduated from high school, I was just an ordinary girl you could find in any school. I was a fairly decent student, opting for track and field as my extracurricular activity, so I was quite athletic. However, one day, after graduating from high school and focusing on job hunting, I began to feel a bit dizzy. And because of that, I found myself stumbling a few times unknowingly on the streets."
"At first, I thought it might be just anemia, but one day, when I regained consciousness, I found myself admitted to the hospital."
"The doctors gradually gave hope for improvement, but contrary to everyone's expectations, I felt my condition worsening, albeit slowly. Amidst this, I heard about an audition recruiting voice actors to voice characters in the game, Virtual Idol. Since I enjoyed singing, I auditioned, hiding the truth about my illness. I passed..."
"At first, I was overjoyed, but as time passed, I became somewhat frightened. What if they heard about my illness and rescinded the acceptance? Even if I were to get the role of a voice actor, would I be able to see it through to the end?"
As the audience listened to her story, they began to grasp the underlying meaning.
"No way... Tsukaki-san..."
"No... That can't be true..."
"Don't say that..."
In response to the audience's reactions, Tsukaki spoke with a calmer expression than ever before, almost smiling.
"Yes... I am currently living a life with an expiration date."
As Tsukaki officially revealed her illness to her fans, her expression seemed remarkably relieved.
However, contrary to her demeanor, the audience looked at her as if they'd been struck on the head by a massive hammer, staring blankly.
"And this is one of the reasons why I'm eliminated in this first season of Virtual Idol."
"Ah..."
"After passing the audition, when I came from Hokkaido to Tokyo, I first visited the Pentagon headquarters to meet Kang Junhyuk, the director of Virtual Idol. Upon hearing about my illness, although Junhyuk had his doubts, due to my earnest request, he entrusted me with the role of Sawano Tsukaki's character. And then, something truly amazing happened."
"As I recorded the character's lines or sang, I could forget about my illness momentarily. I was able to joyfully immerse myself in the work. It made me wonder if somehow my illness was improving on its own. Thus, I received training for character acting, and the time spent recording their songs was the most enjoyable time in my life until now. Though there were tough moments, what kept me going..."
Tsukaki held Kanna's hand beside her tightly and continued speaking.
"I believe it's because of the colleagues who have run with me up to this moment. Virtual Idols aren't just characters on the screen. Each of their voices contains the efforts and sweat of me and my colleagues on this stage. That's why I hope you'll also show a lot of love to the new colleagues who are about to debut early next year. Though I haven't officially become a singer, I think we've created many wonderful memories through your support. I wanted to stand before you a little earlier, but..."
As she continued speaking, her voice faltered, and even I, watching her, felt a pang in my chest.
For a brief moment, Tsukaki stopped speaking on stage, and then, with an effort to maintain a bright expression, she spoke again.
"I suppose today might not be the last time I stand before all of you."
With her farewell, the speakers on the stage began to play the prelude of her debut song, "Please Hold Me."
The serene piano melody on this cold winter night began to resonate, slowly spreading across the beach park on the breeze.
A little later, having moved away from the stage, I climbed onto the pedestrian bridge and lit a cigarette.
As the red-hot tip of the cigarette emitted a thin trail of smoke that dissipated into the night sky...
"Oh, snow...? Mom, it's snowing."
A little child watching Tsukaki's performance from the bridge exclaimed in amazement.
The snowflakes, dancing around the stage in response to her voice flowing from the speakers, seemed like little fairies swirling around her.
"Wow... She's so pretty... It's like the white snow is dancing around her..."
The mother beside the child, who was listening to Tsubaki's song, gently stroked the child's head and spoke softly.
"Really? But that big sister is feeling very unwell right now."
"Really? If she's unwell, she should get an injection quickly..."
At the child's warm words melting the cold of the harsh winter, I smiled faintly and spoke to the child.
"Thank you... Mister knows her well, your words mean a lot. I'll make sure to pass them on to her later."
"Yeah. Thank you, Mister."
&
That day, Tsubaki's stage became a huge topic not only in the gaming industry but also in the entertainment world at large.
Though there had been some buzz before, appearing on various variety shows, it was after the Tokyo Game Show concert that Tsubaki and other virtual idols became a nationwide sensation.
To the extent that even Japan's top music program, Hongbaek Gayo, extended an offer for an appearance...
However, fate didn't grant her a second chance.
Right after completing all schedules with her colleagues after the concert, Tsubaki collapsed and lost consciousness, needing immediate transportation to the hospital.
When she woke up the next day after narrowly overcoming another dangerous situation, Kan'na and her colleagues, who had stayed by her side all night, couldn't help but cry upon hearing about her worsened condition.
The illness had taken away from her the one thing she treasured the most: her voice.
Scratch... scratch...
The sound echoed in the quiet hospital room...
Later, as I gazed blankly at Tsubaki, she showed me a sketchbook with a message she had written.
"Please don't speak in the past tense like that."
"How was... that day for me?"
"It was amazing. Absolutely..."
"Really?"
"Yeah..."
"I'm glad..."
As Tsubaki momentarily put down the sketchbook and stared blankly out the window, tears welled up in her eyes. The drops, which had been hanging on her eyelashes, rolled down her cheeks.
"I want to get back on stage again, but it seems so difficult now..."
"This isn't like you. Stay strong."
At that moment, a nurse entered the room.
"Miss Tsubaki, it's time for your injection. I'm sorry, but visiting hours will be ending shortly."
"Oh, okay. I'll go then. I'll come with Yuki tomorrow..."
In a rush, Tsubaki quickly wrote something in the sketchbook.
"Just a moment."
"Yeah...?"
A little later, Tsubaki handed me a cassette tape she had hidden under the pillow.
"Are you giving this to me?"
With a warm smile on her lips, Tsubaki raised her head up and down, showing the first page of the sketchbook.
"Listen to it when you're alone."
"Yeah, sure... I'll do that."
On the way home from the hospital...
As I put Tsubaki's tape into the car's audio system, her voice echoed in the car, breaking the silence.
"Ah~ Ahh~ Is it recording like this?"
Her voice through the speakers felt like it had been ages.
"They said it records when the red light comes on, right? Ah~!! It's on~!!"
Her adorable confusion about how to use the recorder inadvertently brought a smile to my lips.
"Can you hear me well? Ah~ Even if I say this, I won't know... Haha... I'll assume it's recording properly. Today is two days before the Tokyo Game Show. Just now, after coming back from the event with Yuki, I'm leaving a short message for Junhyuk.
Um~ I'm not sure if I can convey this properly. That's also worrying. The doctor this morning suggested canceling my concert appearance. Given my current condition, it could be a very risky choice. Even if I survive the ordeal, if the concert strains my vocal cords, I might lose my voice even when I wake up... Just in case something like that happens, I'm leaving this message for you."
>
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