Chapter 183 – “Him”

[TL Note: The song is not mine!]

“Whiskey in a Glass” — a Yutube creator with over a million subscribers, self-proclaimed professional film critic.

As an independent media personality, his specialty was riding the wave of trending topics, producing sharply critical videos that earned him plenty of attention.

Naturally, there was no way he’d miss out on the recent, red-hot controversy: The KL Animation Short Film Incident.

Truth be told, after he started looking into Kessoku Band and learning more about this mysterious “Suki-san,” he’d grown rather fond of these high schoolers.

Most of the time, if asked to pick a side, he’d refuse to stand against them without hesitation.

But…

This time was different.

In truth, “Whiskey in a Glass” shared the same skepticism as most of the internet.

Suki-san might be a genius, might be an incredibly skilled musician — but no matter how you put it, at the end of the day, he was still just a high schooler.

How could someone like that possibly create a song perfectly matching KL’s short film, especially when the theme was “A Reminder to Keep on Living”?

With his life experience a spotless, smooth journey through youth perhaps something like Loser, a song that might outwardly seem self-deprecating yet oozes confidence inside and out, would suit him better.

So, if you asked “Whiskey in a Glass” which side he leaned toward this time… he’d admit he was starting to believe the narrative that Kessoku Band’s rise was the result of capital choosing to back them.

Still…

Unlocking his phone, he opened Yutube, searched for KL’s official channel.

Thinking too much about all this was pointless right now. Better to watch the short film first, then form an opinion.

On the channel’s homepage, he found their latest upload a surprisingly long short animation titled simply: “Him.”

The title struck him as odd, but without hesitation, he tapped to play.

The video began — but no music played.

The first scene was simple: a plain text introduction.

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[The boy was an orphan from birth, growing up in an orphanage where even food was scarce.]

[At the age of thirteen, a couple adopted him.]

[They treated him well, caring for him tenderly despite their busy jobs.]

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The art style so far was bright, carrying a faint sense of vitality.

“Whiskey in a Glass” frowned slightly.

‘A story about an orphan being adopted — can that really persuade someone on the edge to keep living?’

But that question didn’t linger for long.

The short film shifted to its second act.

Still no music.

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[The boy has a nightmare — he is swallowed by darkness, unable to see anything.]

[He wakes with a start to the sound of his alarm clock. Outside, it has begun to rain.]

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The visuals began to dim.

He gets out of bed and sees a note on the table from his parents.

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“Breakfast is in the microwave. Help yourself.”

The boy smiles as he reads it, but for some reason, feels a strange unease.

After eating alone, he heads to school.

All day, he’s listless, weighed down by that unshakable feeling.

After school, he returns home — still no sign of his foster parents.

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“Whiskey in a Glass” leaned closer to the screen.

From the sudden tonal shift to the darkening colors, the film was screaming at him: Something’s about to happen.

With the instincts of a veteran critic, he could already guess the general direction.

The art was excellent, the voice acting compelling — so far, the short film was doing exceptionally well.

If only the music didn’t let it down…

Three years ago, KL’s previous short film had been ruined by a poor soundtrack.

And now, they’d made the risky choice of entrusting it to a high school band with limited life experience…

With a twinge of regret, he refocused on the screen.

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[From morning until nightfall, the boy waits — still, his parents do not come home.]

[Around nine o’clock, the phone finally rings.]

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The sound of the ringtone echoed unnervingly in the empty room.

The boy answers. On the other end, the warm voices of his foster parents:

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“Sorry~! We’ve been so busy tonight!”

“Did you like breakfast this morning?”

“We let you go hungry, didn’t we? We’ll hurry back to make you dinner!”

“How about sukiyaki for tonight?”

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And then—

The foster mother’s voice cuts off abruptly.

Followed, a moment later, by a sharp, jarring crash — so loud it made even “Whiskey in a Glass” flinch.

“Whiskey in the Glass” held his breath.

He began to look forward to what would happen next, silently praying in his heart: Please, please, let there be no problems with the song.

And then—

The very moment that thought settled in his mind, the background music in the short animation, which had been completely silent since the very first scene, finally began to play.

The sounds of cars colliding, the clatter of a phone hitting the ground—every single sound in the animation fell silent in that instant.

Whether intentional or not, the moment the song began, “Whiskey in the Glass” instinctively shifted all his attention toward it.

A gentle guitar intro played.

Just a few seconds later, the first line of lyrics reached his ears.

It was Suki-san’s familiar voice—soft, pure, carrying that distinct touch of huskiness, yet so very warm.

But the lyrics themselves were cold and cutting:

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“I once thought about ending it all.”

[僕が死のうと思ったのは]

“Because I saw the black-tailed gulls crying at the pier.”

[ウミネコが桟橋で鳴いたから]

“Appeared and disappeared drifting on the waves…”

[波の随意に浮かんで消える]

“Flying away and picking my past as they go.”

[過去も啄ばんで飛んでいけ]

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The instant those words reached him, all of the worries in “Whiskey in the Glass”’s heart melted away.

This was… a song perfectly matched to the short film.

This was—nothing short of a masterpiece!

The story unfolded: school bullies torment a boy, pushing him into depression.

One day while cooking, he burns himself, and his eyes fall on the spoon his mother often used.

The weight of despair spreads and spreads—until, on the eve of taking his own life, the boy stumbles upon a note left behind by his mother:

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[Sorry, I was busy with work today.]

[If we don’t make it back in time, just follow the recipe in the cupboard—it’s really easy to make sukiyaki~]

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At that exact moment, the music swelled toward its final line:

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“The reason why I only consider dying”

[死ぬことばかり考えてしまうのは]

“Is because I am way too serious to live on…”

[きっと生きる事に真面目すぎるから]

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About ten minutes later, with his eyes slightly red, “Whiskey in the Glass” closed the video.

Having watched it from start to finish, he was utterly moved.

Without a doubt, Once, I Too Thought About Ending It All was the perfect partner to KL Studio’s short film.

If that first lyric had made him realize the song was extraordinary, then the ending—when every bit of foreshadowing unraveled and the boy, just before ending his life, found the ingredients and his parents’ note in the fridge shattered his defenses completely.

Reading those simple, loving words, followed by the lyrics shifting from pain to encouragement… “Whiskey in the Glass” had given his tears willingly.

So…

He opened Twitter, logged into his account.

Wiping his eyes and sniffing lightly, he began to type without hesitation.

A few minutes later, a short recommendation appeared on his feed:

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[Whiskey in the Glass]: I’m really curious—what kind of state of mind was Suki-sensei in when writing this song?

It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect for KL Studio’s latest short film.

Honestly, I cried without hesitation while watching.

“Live on.” “Keep living.” “Even if you once thought about ending it all, please don’t give up.”

To convey such emotions so vividly through music, without having personally experienced them… Suki-sensei, you really are a genius.

Everyone—go watch KL Studio’s short film!

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Once the post was live, he exited the editing screen, took a deep breath, and blinked his still-reddened eyes.

Staring at his phone screen, he closed his profile and instinctively refreshed Twitter again.

‘Maybe… just maybe, there’ll be some new posts about Suki-san’, he thought, scrolling down.

Then his gaze stopped on a headline that filled his screen:

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Because of my job as a law enforcement officer and because of the song “Once, I Too Thought About Ending It All” I got curious and looked up some information about Suki-sensei…

And… in a certain sense, this song might have been something Suki-sensei wrote for himself.

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The tweet had an extremely high number of likes and retweets.

“Whiskey in the Glass” frowned.

Even without clicking, he could already guess what this “public servant” had done with the privileges of their position.

At the same time, a trace of curiosity stirred in his heart.

‘Suki-sensei… wrote this song for himself?’

And before he realized it, that curiosity made him tap into the post.