Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [141]

For Togawa Sakiko, today’s workday ended much later than usual.

Of course, part of it was because she had arrived over an hour late, but getting home late to a place she didn’t even want to return to wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

By the time she stepped through the door, it was already close to 8 PM. Because of work, she had only managed to nibble on a couple of pieces of bread during breaks to stave off her hunger. Now, she needed a proper dinner.

However, when she opened the door and called out, “I’m home,” there was no sign of her father.

The dimly lit, cramped apartment greeted her with its usual mess. A single men’s dress shoe was missing from the entryway, as if proving that a certain drunkard had once again stumbled out, mismatching his shoes in his intoxicated stupor.

"Unbelievable..."

Sakiko clenched her fists, glaring at the disorganized shoe cabinet—left half-open—and at the living room coffee table, already visible from the entrance, cluttered with plastic bags and trash.

If it weren’t for the fact that this man was her father—the man she had once looked up to as reliable—she would never have tolerated this.

But the state of the apartment made it clear: that man was definitely wandering the streets drunk again. Or worse, maybe he had passed out somewhere, or gotten himself into trouble and was already in police custody.

Not that this was the first or second time.

Most of the time, he managed to stumble home on his own. If the police didn’t call, Sakiko didn’t have the energy to care where her disgrace of a father had gone.

She shook her head and stepped into the kitchen, microwaving a store-bought bento from the supermarket. While she had more money now than before, her busy schedule left her with no desire to cook.

Ready-made meals were simply the best choice.

After dinner, she needed to clean up the messy living room. But as she worked, her mind inevitably drifted to things unrelated to housework.

Tonight, her thoughts kept returning to the girl she and Mutsumi had run into at Hazawa Coffee—Nagasaki Soyo, looking utterly lost and dejected.

She had specifically told Mutsumi not to mention that Taki had already formed a band, but thinking back… Did Soyo really not know?

Or rather, was there ever a reason Taki wouldn’t include Soyo in the band?

After all, that day at Sunkei, when Taki was accusing her, she had used Soyo as an example.

Which meant… Soyo must have refused at the start.

There wasn’t much to question there. Mutsumi wouldn’t lie, and she had said that Soyo had only brought up the idea of forming a band again this afternoon, after school. That alone already spoke volumes.

Perhaps, at first, Soyo had intended to let everything go… But now that she was about to leave Tokyo—leave the country altogether—she was hesitating, wavering, reminiscing about that rainy night that never got its resolution.

"But… isn’t it meaningless now?"

Sakiko shook her head.

She could understand Soyo’s feelings all too well. If she were in her position, she might not have been able to give up either.

But wasn’t reviving a band that was doomed to fail just deception and pain for everyone involved?

Besides, with the way things were now, there was no way they could play together the way they once did—sharing in Tomori’s voice, Tomori’s feelings.

Togawa Sakiko no longer had such lofty dreams.

She just wanted to make money.

She and Soyo, Taki, and Tomori—they all saw things completely differently now.

She, Togawa Sakiko, had gone from a privileged young lady who never had to worry about food or shelter… to a struggling student with no time or energy to waste on youthful indulgences.

That was why she had accepted Chihiro’s invitation to join the commercial music project Benishouga, wasn’t it?

"Oh, right—the lyrics..."

Finishing up her chores, Sakiko made a quick trip to the bathroom to wash her face before stepping into her bedroom and shutting the door. She opened her laptop—the most valuable thing she owned at this point.

When she left the Togawa estate, all she had packed in her suitcase were some clothes, her mother’s keepsakes… and this personal computer.

Sakiko would sometimes write things on it, but most of the time, she would give up halfway.

Because at this stage, she herself didn’t even know why she was writing these songs.

So eventually, she would just find it ridiculous and stop.

In the end, there weren’t many pieces she could truly call “finished works.”

Just then, her phone vibrated.

[Chihiro]: Sakiko, make a new LINE account, and I’ll add you to the group.

Without thinking too much about it, Sakiko started setting up a new account while simultaneously considering what kind of song she should write.

For the username, she chose a Latin word meaning “oblivion”—one she had jotted down in her inspiration notebook some time ago.

But the moment she joined the group chat, something felt… off.

There were five people in the chat, including herself, and it seemed like everyone was using an alias. She couldn’t even tell which one was Chihiro.

Aside from her, two usernames seemed to follow a pattern: beni and shouga.

"Ah… those must be the original Benishouga members. Makes sense, considering the group’s name is literally ‘Beni-Shouga.’"

However, the other two usernames were baffling.

One was “I Have Three Cats.”

The other… “Wagahai”?

Which one was Chihiro?

Somehow, Wagahai didn’t fit Chihiro’s personality at all. But cats—such cute creatures—felt more in line with her vibe.

So this “I Have Three Cats” was probably Chihiro.

[Oblivionis]: Hello, everyone. I’m Oblivionis.

After sending her formal introduction, Sakiko set her phone aside and focused on her laptop screen. Time to get to work.

Music was something she could never truly let go of.

Even if now… she was only using it as a tool.

Just from the fact that she and Soyo were walking two completely different paths, it was clear that CRYCHIC was already a thing of the past. A chapter that needed to be cut away, no matter who it was.

To sever these faded emotions—
Trace the etched lines with trembling fingertips—
Like a tear-streaked release, let it unfold—
Don’t overthink it. Just tear it apart.

Ideas flowed freely in Sakiko’s mind, her fingers typing furiously as if the keyboard were her piano keys.

She wrote the entire song in one go, pausing only three times to tweak the wording.

And when she finally finished, she realized…

She had just turned all the things she wished she could say to Soyo—things she also wished Soyo would say to her—into a song.

And the title?

"Cutting Line."

Grabbing her phone again, Sakiko glanced at the chat. Aside from four simple welcome messages, the group had been silent after her introduction.

Not bad. She actually liked this clean, no-nonsense work environment.

[Oblivionis]: @I Have Three Cats I’ve finished the lyrics. I’ll send them over now.

There was no proof this was Chihiro. But Sakiko was sure of it.

What she hadn’t expected, though, was for the moment she sent the message… the quiet group chat to erupt.

[I Have Three Cats]: Mhm, thanks for the hard work.
[beni]: Wait, that fast?! Are you hacking or what?!
[beni]: “Cutting Line,” huh? The lyrics… seem pretty good.
[shouga]: Looks like the lyrics are all set.
[Wagahai]: That’s amazing…
[Wagahai]: Wait, hold on, why is my ID this?!
[Wagahai]: @I Have Three Cats YOU DID THIS ON PURPOSE, DIDN’T YOU?!!

And that was it.

Just those few lines left Sakiko utterly confused.

"This ‘Wagahai’ person… seems to have a few screws loose."

Either way, if they dared to yell at Chihiro in the chat, they were guilty.

---

T/N: hehehe its because she has soyo wagahai and raana hehe 3 cats

This is a fan translation of 素世同学，恭喜你被我优化了 by 杰克喵. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!