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Aoki looked a little surprised and stared at Yuujin more calmly before responding.
"Writing for the band? You didn't seem interested at all until you heard that song," Aoki commented, and Yuujin let out a small sigh.
"Well, I really wasn't… but after hearing you sing it, I came to two conclusions. First, you write songs terribly," Yuujin said, while Aoki frowned.
"Excuse me, you heartless polar bear!!! And why haven't you let me go yet?!" Aoki struggled, trying to free himself while Yuujin kept him restrained.
"And second, you sing well, so maybe that helps a little!" Yuujin started letting Aoki go slowly.
"Do you know how to compliment people? That's a first," Aoki said as Yuujin released him, and he fell to the floor awkwardly. "You're annoying," he muttered softly while getting up and dusting himself off.
"Stop being dramatic. Are you going to accept my offer or not?" Yuujin crossed his arms, and Aoki felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Why don't you just accept it?" Taylor asked, seeing Aoki sigh lightly.
"You really expect me to just accept some random guy we met yesterday into our band that took months to form?" Aoki said calmly but with a hint of irritation.
"Fine, then give him a mission or something to prove he's worthy of joining the band," Taylor said again, letting go of Aoki's shoulder.
"I'll give him a chance if he writes a decent lyric by the end of this month," Aoki turned to Yuujin, who raised an eyebrow.
"By the end of this month? Deal. That means I can officially join the band," he said, approaching Aoki, but not too close.
"I'll think about it. For now, that's all I ask of you," Aoki sighed, and Tara caught everyone's attention.
"Wouldn't it be great if he started hanging out with us every day? That way we can get used to him," she said, lightly tapping her drum.
"Hm… I can approve that, I see no problem," Aoki shrugged, and Tara smiled a little.
"Is that okay with you, white-haired kid?" Taylor smiled at him, asking.
"Don't you even remember my name?" Yuujin said, slightly annoyed.
"I can't even remember if I had lunch yesterday, let alone your name," Taylor replied, laughing with the other band members.
"At least we're on the same page. Don't even think about failing us, polar bear," Aoki lightly punched Yuujin in the chest and moved away to grab a notebook and hand it to him. "You'll write in here. Is that okay?" Aoki said, as their hands met while taking the notebook.
"Okay, I won't chicken out," Yuujin said, satisfied.
"Do you think he'll manage?" Tara whispered to Taylor.
"No idea, I don't even know what series this guy's from," Taylor whispered back.
"What are you whispering about?" Max appeared behind them.
"Just wondering if this guy can write lyrics better than Aoki," Taylor said.
"Not that that's hard… I might even write better than him," Tara challenged.
"I'd believe that if I didn't know you," Max laughed, and Tara gave him a small tug on the ear.
"We'll see. By the end of the month, we'll watch him and see how he acts. He seems weird, but Aoki seems okay with it," Tara, Taylor, and Max turned to watch the two, who were still arguing. "Well… not so much," she let go of Max's ear, and the three simply watched their little duel.
"At least I won't write like a college nerd!" Yuujin shot back at Aoki.
"How dare you call my lyrics nerdy? Yours probably talk about boring stuff, like cucumbers!" Aoki shouted.
"What does that even have to do with anything?!" Yuujin yelled back, and their shouting continued while the other three commented among themselves.
"Cucumbers?" Tara asked, confused.
"Aoki doesn't like cucumbers, he thinks they're… boring? Don't ask me why, I have no idea," Max scratched his head.
"Who wouldn't think that, right?" Tara said.
"I would! We shouldn't waste food!" Taylor shouted at Tara.
"It's just a cucumber, you caramel head!" she yelled back.
"Just a cucumber?! Have you thought about how many people only wanted a cucumber?!" Taylor approached her.
"They must have terrible taste!" she yelled again.
"Stop this nonsense!" Max stepped between them.
"Don't interfere, Max!" the two yelled at him.
Yuujin and Aoki paused their argument to watch the cucumber fight.
Max stepped back slowly and went near Yuujin and Aoki, observing the verbal battle.
"Ah, and I'm the weird one," Yuujin muttered.
"Not that you're not… Who's ashamed to ask to go to the bathroom?" Aoki rolled his eyes.
"The type that isn't an enemy of shyness, like you," Yuujin said calmly.
"At least that means I have courage," Aoki crossed his arms and continued watching Taylor and Tara.
"It just means you're kinda annoying," Yuujin replied, and they continued observing the verbal fight until the break ended.
After the required hours at school passed, Yuujin met up with Misaki.
"So, how was today, little brother? Did you loosen up a bit?" Misaki laughed, noticing Yuujin was more thoughtful. "Ignoring me like this? Did something happen?" she asked, but he didn't respond immediately.
"When you write something important, do you use your feelings or just random stuff?" Yuujin looked at Misaki, unsure.
"You don't even explain things well, but I get what you mean. What are you thinking of writing?" she asked, picking up her phone and getting a little distracted.
"A song lyric…" he replied, and she didn't answer right away. "Are you ignoring me?" he asked.
"You did the same to me, you big banana!" she shouted, and he just refocused on his notebook. "But hey, if you want to write a song lyric, try listening to your heart. Find the right words and put them together in a way that represents you," she said, still half-absorbed in her phone.
"The song of my heart? Hm… not a bad idea," he said. Back at home, he began writing some lyrics, but nothing seemed good. "Freezing night" didn't rhyme well with anything. He tore another page out of the notebook and tossed it in the trash, tapping the pen on the desk.
He decided to take a break and got up to drink some water in the kitchen.
As he poured water into a glass, he started reflecting.
"What would the song of my heart be? Maybe a softer lyric? Or something more metal? Ugh, this is complicated. I only have four weeks to finish it… I can't fail now. And I'll have to live with them… not that I mind. But Aoki is so annoying. I wish I knew what makes him such a jerk." Yuujin thought, hearing a noise as his sister entered the kitchen.
"You could switch places with the fridge—you're as cold as it and just stand there like a penguin," Misaki laughed, seeing him calm and unfazed. "Still thinking about the song lyric?" She grabbed some milk and moved to the other side of the table.
"How do you know?" he asked.
"Because you told me this morning, remember?" she sipped her milk, watching him fall silent again. "I may not be the best example, but you need to take it slow," she said.
"Take it slow?" he raised his head to look at her.
"Exactly. You're clearly trying to finish the lyrics too quickly, when you know deep down it needs time," she said, stepping away and washing her hands at the sink.
"But I only have four weeks to finish it," Yuujin said, following her gaze.
"Then focus on what you want, listen closely to your heart, and observe your surroundings—maybe it'll inspire you, just like it inspires your drawings," she said, leaving the kitchen.
"Yeah… maybe you're right… BUT ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO LEAVE THE MILK ON THE TABLE LIKE THAT?!" he shouted after her, and she laughed as she left. "Ah, even in these moments, she can't be less annoying. Well, at least she helped me," Yuujin muttered as he finished his water, putting the milk and water away, and went to his room.
"I can write little by little… I can start today, continue tomorrow, and keep this pace until it's done. Four weeks isn't that hard… I hope…", he thought, sitting at his desk, opening the notebook, gripping the pen, trembling slightly as he finally started to write the first lyrics…
"Its name will be… A Farewell."
To be continued...
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