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Chapter 27 — One Punch from Taki and I’m Dead
🕑 Added 2025-05-05 04:11:06 +0000 UTC[At 20, you enter a prestigious music university. College life means more time for band practice and live performances. The rookie band you once led has now transformed into a seasoned professional group.]
[Under your leadership, you've become someone truly irreplaceable in their hearts.]
[With every successful show, MyGO's name rises higher.]
[Your high-quality original tracks and music videos gain popularity online. Your distinct musical style turns you into a uniquely beloved band.]
[In just one short year, you release your debut album, "Mystic Ripple." The lead track, "Wisteria Bird," becomes a hit—quickly climbing into the top 10 of the famous music magazine MUSICA.]
PIC: Sakiko
[At this moment, MyGO finally stepped onto their dream stage.]
[MyGO's frequent live performances had begun attracting public attention. They were now receiving invitations from well-known venues, perhaps this was the trial that would determine whether they could make it to Budokan.]
[Your keen instincts recognized this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.]
[This time, you'll be performing live in front of thousands.]
[Maybe this show is the cornerstone, the very stone paving the stairway to your dreams. MyGO was no longer that fledgling group. Seasoned and perfectly in sync, you'd become a true band under your leadership.]
Kazami Haru let out a breath of relief as he watched the progress bar steadily advance. It seemed that, this time, joining MyGO had allowed him to truly shine, using his talents to elevate the band to new heights.
Even though he'd failed in confessing to little Tomori… this was a life simulation, there was still time.
Once they stood on the Budokan stage, maybe proposing to her right then and there would work even better.
Everything has their own pace, Haru... Let's not rush it.
[Soon, your live show begins.]
[You're in the best shape you've ever been. Even the chronic tendinitis you developed from intense long-term practice chooses not to bother you today. Your mind is clear, your muscles are sharp, you're at your absolute peak.]
[Your fingers dance over the smooth keyboard. The advanced techniques you've mastered over years of practice resonate like a symphony tugging at the soul. Your perfect keyboard solo wins roaring cheers from the crowd.]
[The performance ends in perfection.]
[After the show, your body's still trembling slightly from excitement. Chihaya Anon throws her arms around you with joy, and even the usually strict Shiina Taki breaks into a rare compliment, tapping your chest with her fist, like always.]
[But not all stories end in perfect harmony.]
[The moment Taki tapped your chest, your already-overworked body reached its breaking point. You couldn't hold out any longer, and collapsed on the spot.]
[Panic gripped the entire band.]
[Takamatsu Tomori stood frozen where she was, eyes wide, watching your body fall.]
Huh—?
Weren't they just about to make it to Budokan? Weren't they playing so joyfully on stage, how did it all fall apart the moment they stepped off? It's just tendonitis from overuse of the fingers and wrists, right? Could that possibly inflame the brain too?
[You were rushed to the hospital for tests. You'd often had inflamed tonsils causing throat pain over the past two years, but you'd never taken these occasional illnesses seriously. Yet this time, the detailed tests revealed something far more troubling.]
[A virus had invaded the carotid artery bifurcation at the deep cervical group, transforming into a malignant tumor spreading in all directions. It was no longer in an early, treatable stage. The virus had completely taken over.]
[You immediately understood upon hearing the diagnosis, because the most typical condition that matches these symptoms is: throat cancer.]
[Doctors believed the cause was a combination of regularly drinking scalding hot coffee, chronic fatigue, and a severely weakened immune system. Your body had already been held together by sheer willpower, now reduced to a wreck. Perhaps, in the end, this was a consequence of your own choices.]
Reading this on the simulator, Kazami Haru went silent. He looked at the half-drunk cappuccino on his desk with a stiff expression.
Maybe from now on… he really should switch to the MAX iced coffee that Dead Fish Eyes recommended.
That earlier illness event and the simulator's options weren't as simple as they had seemed.
It felt like the moment he made the choice to push through back then, the seeds of this ending had already been sown.
Since he had chosen to push through the pain in the simulation, of course his in-simulation self would adopt that same mentality, ignoring anything short of a catastrophic breakdown.
[With no emergency contact listed, the doctors could only inform your bandmates.]
[Everyone was in disbelief. The one who always seemed the coldest, Shiina Taki, reacted most violently, grabbing the doctor's collar and screaming in denial.]
[You were transferred to the ICU for 24-hour observation. Your bandmates came to see you nearly every day, each wearing their warmest smiles.]
[They all said it was just a minor illness, that with proper treatment you'd be discharged in no time. But Anon, usually the best at reading the room and putting on a smile, looked more exhausted than anyone.]
[Of course, you knew the truth. Still, you kept smiling and chatting with them like always.]
[The treatment was harsh. Even with full cooperation, your body weakened by the day. You understood the toll your years of pushing through had taken.]
[You were just one step away from fulfilling your shared dream. Yet you weren't afraid, because you knew that even without you, she could still lead everyone to that stage.]
[You even secretly felt relieved that Tomori had rejected your confession back then.]
[Takamatsu Tomori entered your hospital room.]
