He'd been confident "Lemon" was a phenomenon in his previous life, but the numbers still shocked him: less than twenty-four hours since posting, views had already hit 320,000.
Even so, the car was packed and jostling. He forced his surprise down.
He put the phone away; he'd dig into the stats back at the apartment.
It wasn't rush hour, but the train was still crowded and stuffy. After a while he squeezed out of the humid car, left the station, and walked back to his rented place.
He tidied up a bit, then woke the screen he'd put to sleep on the train.
During the short trip from Shuchiin to home, views had climbed from 320,000 to 330,000.
Curious, he confirmed he wasn't misreading, then opened the comments.
Most praised the melody; many also noticed he was wearing a high school uniform and marveled at a "genius student musician."
He also saw plenty like: "These lyrics have real depth—I cried after reading the description," and "So that's what the title means—the writer's a genius."
The top comment, pinned with the most likes, was a full-on interpretive review:
"He likens pain to the bitter fragrance of lemon, telling us even in hardship, even in tragedy, don't fear the sourness—look forward to the warmth of life and fight for the future…
'Lemon' really moved me, especially after seeing the description: 'Turn the lemon-sharp sourness life gives you into the sweetness of lemon soda.' I thought of my own life and nearly cried.
'Teacher suki' has inspired me. It's hard to imagine what a high schooler experienced to write this. I'm a fan now…"
The replies were mostly agreement—many wondering what kind of past a teenager had to write a song like this.
So—had Aoki experienced something tragic?
If it was about personal misfortune, then yes:
He'd once had a happy family. Then, after a car crash, he woke in a completely unfamiliar world. He couldn't contact family or friends. Alone in Japan without the language, holding only memories of his loved ones… Yes, that was not a great hand.
But time sands down everything. After seventeen years in Japan, he'd mostly made peace with it. What remained were memories—and the resolve to study hard and change his life.
Still, that past had nothing to do with "Lemon." He knew full well: "Lemon" came from a legendary musician named Kenshi Yonezu.
He liked the comment anyway—it had, by accident, built a public persona for him—and exited the creator tools.
The numbers were great, but they didn't yet put cash in his pocket. It wasn't time to monetize YouTube properly.
If he could really make money with music, though, his tight life would get a lot easier.
After poking around the dashboard, he turned off the screen, pulled out a supplemental problem book from his bag, and got back to studying. [school supplies]
He wasn't betting his life on a late-arriving "system."
You always plan for contingencies. And he'd been grinding toward Todai for years—he wasn't going to abandon school now.
Besides, studying seriously didn't conflict with occasionally taking the system's event options. He just had to think through consequences and avoid dumb trouble.
As for the "Selectable Heroines"…
He admitted he had a soft spot for anime heroines from his past life. Even now he liked them—for both personality and looks.
But reality isn't anime.
Before opening up and becoming friends—or more—he had to prioritize survival.
In short—
He flipped open the workbook and pushed the video from his mind, focusing on self-study.
…
At 3:20 p.m. he left for his convenience store shift, worked a little over an hour, took a short break, then trained to the bar where he usually pulled late hours.
He stayed busy till 1 a.m., when the boss-lady returned to take over.
Dragging a tired but used-to-it body back to his rental, he washed up, pushed the table aside in the tiny space, laid out his bedding, and slept.
-------
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