182. A Hidden Melody (1)
Once Haruna had left amidst her nervousness, Reiji returned to the study and opened the account page on Scrollz.
His eyes flickered when he saw that there were 20 views already.
Which obviously wasn't much, but that's not what he was focusing on.
He opened up the uploaded video and noticed that there were two new comments, and he clicked to read them.
***
terimakiiii: you have really nice eyes!
gotchanow: damn, this is as good as the original! please show your face!
***
Reiji's mouth twitched with amusement at the first comment, but the second one was what caught his attention, since it mentioned both the quality of the song as well as the mystery of her identity.
There wasn't much to go off of, but this was a good start, since the video had only been up for 15 minutes.
'Hmm...Should I still do that?'
He scratched his chin while in deep thought, considering his next step very carefully.
At first glance, this seemed like a decent start, with maybe even a small possibility of going semi-viral because of how confident he was with the overall quality of the song.
However, he knew how unpredictable the algorithms on these apps were.
He had no idea how Scrollz fared in comparison to the app from his previous life, but he knew that there were some occasions where great videos didn't get the love they deserved simply because they weren't pushed out to the fyp for many people.
This could either be because of a small following at the time of posting, or something else completely out of their control.
'....Nah, I'm not gonna risk that.'
He took out his phone once he made a decision and dialed a number from his contact list.
*BEEEEP.....BEEEEP.....BEEEEP*
After four rings, the person on the other end finally picked up.
"Hello? To whom am I gracing my presence with?"
Reiji pursed his lips to hold back a laugh and replied. ".....Did you not save my number?"
"Eh? Who is this?"
"Yagami Reiji," he groaned with exasperation.
"....Oh, right, I forgot to name you. Give me a second, I'll do it right now while I remember. Uh huh, one sec.....Done! 'Delinquent Yakuza Kid', what can I do for you? If it's about that accountant embezzlement job, I'll get to it a little later. I'm busy with something else at the moment."
Reiji ignored the not-so-subtle jab from Arata and got straight to the point.
"No, I need you to do something else for me. It shouldn't take long with your skills."
"Another job? Is it fun?" Arata asked suspiciously.
"Depends on whether or not you think it'll be fun to help with the rise of a future superstar," Reiji shrugged, reeling him in with some bait.
"....What?"
"I know someone who uploaded a music cover on Scrollz, and I need you to influence the algorithm to push it to more people's fyp. Or will that be difficult for you, considering their high security?"
Arata didn't reply for a few seconds, but Reiji could hear him breathing into the microphone.
"....I thought I was someone who just did whatever they wanted, but it seems like I need to learn some things from you. Just a few days ago, you wanted to find a corrupt teacher who bribed someone into spreading malicious rumors, and now you're helping someone with their music career? What the actual fuck is going on in your life?"
Reiji paused for a moment because he hadn't thought about it in that direction.
'Huh.....I really am doing all sorts of weird stuff, aren't I?'
"That's not important. Just tell me if you're in or not? It'll be a great mark in your secret resume!" he finally responded.
"It does sound intriguing...But that depends on whether this person is even good or not. Send me the link to the account, and I'll be the judge. If the video is dogshit, I'll charge you 1 million yen. But if it's actually good, I'll give you a discount. Deal?"
"Deal!"
Reiji agreed without hesitation.
'I should ask for a big discount!'
While still on the phone, Reiji sent Arata the link to Haruna's account, waiting for his judgment.
He could hear some shuffling from the other end, which might be Arata putting on some headphones.
There was silence for two minutes, during which neither party said a word.
Though he still felt Haruna didn't necessarily need this boost, he didn't want to play around with something that could very well be her livelihood, especially if his interference may have affected her negatively in any way.
This wasn't an honorable choice, but he placated himself by making sure that the only thing he did was make the video reach more people, without artificially inflating the likes or comments.
Of course, ads did the same thing, but who would listen to an ad without skipping instantly?
'...If people can simply see the video, the other stuff will fall into place.'
Reiji bit his nails in anticipation and eventually heard some movement.
"Are you there?" Arata's voice asked.
"Yep. So what's it gonna be?"
".....I'll do it for free."
***
A few cities away, inside a small apartment building in Japan, a man entered his house wearily.
His eyes were a little sunken, and the unshaved stubble on his face was a small clue to how exhausted and busy he was.
He glanced up at the clock mounted on the wall and clicked his tongue.
"Tch.....10 pm? No rest for me again," he sighed.
He flung his briefcase onto the small sofa and walked into the kitchen to get some soju, the only thing that kept him going.
He took a deep swig of the alcohol and exhaled in satisfaction, plopping down on the couch as he loosened his tie.
"If those bastards tell me to do overtime again...."
He clenched his teeth in anger for a second, but deflated almost immediately.
Because he knew he had no choice in the matter.
Just thinking about the work he'd need to do next week made the soju in his hands lose almost all of its taste.
"At least it's the weekend."
He took out his phone from his pocket and opened up Scrollz, propping his legs on the coffee table in front of him.
"Wooo! She's sexy!"
After bookmarking the short video of the dancing girl dressed in skimpy clothes, he scrolled to the next one.
"Hehe, that's a cute dog. If only I could afford one....."
He scrolled one more time.
".....Not bad, I'll give you a like."
The comedy skit was well-acted, earning a few chuckles from the despondent man, who promptly pressed the heart button before moving on.
But he paused once the next video started to play.
He saw a young-looking girl wearing a black mask that covered more than half of her face, as well as a black cap that was lowered to her eyebrows.
The only part of her face that was visible was her deep green eyes, which stared right at the camer-...no, which seemed to stare right at his soul.
The thick microphone in front of her was lowered to her chest, but there were glimpses of black clothing visible behind it.
The cherry on top was the extremely dim lighting, which deepened the overall dark aesthetic they seemed to be going for.
But her green eyes stood out in stark contrast against this setting, almost sparkling through the poor quality of the phone's screen.
While the man was lost in the beauty of her eyes, a thrilling yet uplifting music started playing in the background, making him straighten up almost instinctively.
"...Is this a cover of 'Falling Free'?" he muttered to himself, his voice almost inaudible so as not to overlap with the music.
And then she started to sing.
To sing a song so beautiful that his eyes glazed over as he got lost in the images it depicted.
He thought back to his university days, where he was determined to study hard and get a high-paying job to make a mark in this world.
He thought back to his ambitions of wanting to own his own business someday, once he gained enough experience.
He thought back to the constant berating he received from his incompetent superiors, who only wanted results without understanding the process behind the work.
He thought back to the endless lonely days where he clocked into work like a robot and came back home late at night, with no time for friends, family, or even a girlfriend.
And finally, he thought back to the time he told himself that this was enough, that his life had fulfillment.
But was it?
Of course it wasn't.
The song ended as he was submerged in these images, but he didn't notice.
He simply sat there with the phone in one hand, soju in the other, as he listened to it playback three more times before he finally snapped out of it.
He looked down at his screen and saw those haunting green eyes still staring at him.
But now he could see the hope, excitement, and light in her eyes, none of which he had in his own.
"....What have I been doing?"
He wiped away the small stray tear from the corner of his eye and pressed the like button before bookmarking the video.
Then he opened the comment section to leave one of his own.
***
sojusojusoju: this is even better than the original. thank you for posting this
***
He opened the account page to follow her, his eyes widening when he saw that this was her first video.
"....Hehe, I guess I'm a fan from Day 1."
***
Reiji yawned as he stepped out of the shower, wiping the last traces of sleepiness away with his towel before putting his clothes on.
The wound had scabbed over by now and didn't really hurt anymore.
Unless he pressed on it.
Once he exited his room, he resisted the strong urge to open up his PC to check on the progress the video had made.
'I gotta do it with Haruna and Granny.'
The two of them were coming over in about an hour, so he forced himself to wait until they arrived.
He sat on the couch, his leg bouncing up and down as he stared at the clock on the wall blankly.
'....Nah, fuck that, I'm checking it now!'
He needed to know the result of Arata's boost now so that he'd be prepared for whatever scenario.
If it were good, then that would be best.
But if there wasn't as much traction as he was hoping for, knowing it beforehand would allow him to control his expressions better so that he could encourage them.
He barged into the study and turned his PC on, opening up Scrollz as fast as he could.
"Please tell me it worked..."
Reiji opened Haruna's account.
And then froze.
"....Holy shit!"
