InsomniaWL
patreon
Chapter 117: Aoki Kei, Completely Unaware
🕑 Added 2025-08-26 15:00:15 +0000 UTCAround 8:00 PM.
After hours of buzz and speculation, the Kessoku Band’s official Twitter account had already gathered over 300 comments under its first post.
The post itself was simple—just a few group photos of the Kessoku Band members.
And yet, it was anything but simple.
Before this account existed, there was barely any credible information online about the Kessoku Band—or its mysterious guitarist, suki-san.
No public appearances, no clear photos.
The only clues came from grainy videos or barely recognizable images.
All fans really knew was that suki-san once attended Shirose High School and later transferred to Shuchiin Private Academy.
Even that much was just an educated guess—deduced by fans noticing the subtle difference in school uniforms in his past videos.
But now that the official Twitter account had gone live, everything changed.
First, there was the question of the band’s lineup.
Most fans never expected what they saw.
There had been endless speculation about what suki-san looked like.
Given how he always avoided showing his face, many assumed it was because he was... average-looking at best.
Maybe even intentionally hiding an unremarkable appearance.
The general consensus was: suki-san probably wasn’t very attractive, but he was a genius musician.
Then there was the question of the other members’ identities.
Songs like "Loser" demanded serious skill on drums and bass, while "Fireworks" required both strong vocals and precise guitar harmonies.
The complexity suggested that—aside from the prodigy suki-san—the rest of the band were probably seasoned adult musicians.
But now, opening the band’s first official tweet...
Every single theory was shattered in an instant.
suki-san? Average-looking?
Far from it.
Even with his slightly longish hair, he was clearly the only male in the photos—and undeniably handsome.
And the rest of the band? Adult professionals?
Not even close.
Every other member in the photo was unmistakably a high school girl—a group of real-life JKs.
suki-san hiding that kind of face?
These girls played "Loser" and "Fireworks"?
Fans suddenly remembered the backlash Kessoku Band once faced—people claiming, “Even if the songs sound good, it’s just an ugly band too afraid to show their faces.”
Looking back, that criticism now seemed painfully ironic.
Kessoku Band’s collective appearance utterly outshone the members of Gesu Band, the group that originally sparked the comparisons.
And so...
Fans who were initially drawn in by the music were stunned by the photos.
After their shock wore off, they hit “follow.”
Fans who had fixated only on suki-san now found themselves curious about the rest of the band—and followed.
Even casual observers, people who just stopped by out of curiosity, were pulled in by the group's visual appeal.
They too followed.
In just a few hours, the Kessoku Band’s Twitter account gained 300,000 followers.
And that wasn’t all.
An old video—one that had gone completely unnoticed when it was first uploaded—suddenly began to blow up on Youtube.
It had been posted about two months earlier, when Aoki Kei and Yamada Ryo did a surprise street performance and casually revealed their identities.
A passerby had recorded the scene and uploaded it.
At the time, the video barely cracked 500 views.
It had no algorithm push, no strong evidence to support its bold claims, and only a handful of comments, most of them skeptical:
———————————————————————
“Fake, right?”
“No way that’s real.”
“This seems staged.”
———————————————————————
But now, everything was different.
suki-san’s face was out there. And the girl performing alongside him in the video had now been confirmed as a real Kessoku Band member.
With fans sharing it around, the once-forgotten clip exploded in popularity.
The video didn’t even include a full performance—just a crowd asking suki-san a few questions:
———————————————————————
“When’s your next song coming out?”
“Can I get your autograph?”
“Will you be back tomorrow?”
———————————————————————
Nothing particularly juicy… until one moment.
A fan shouted, “Hey, is the bassist next to you your girlfriend?”
And then—after a short flurry of questions Kessoku Band’s bassist turned to the crowd and said with a completely straight face, “I’m borrowing suki-san for a second,” before grabbing him and jogging away from the crowd.
It was short, barely a few seconds.
But fans loved it.
People have always adored little slices of life from their favorite stars.
And for someone as mysterious as suki-san, even this brief glimpse into his personal world was enough to ignite imaginations.
Soon, a new fanbase began to emerge—not just fans of suki-san, or fans of the band—but…
Shipping fans.
The "suki-san × bassist" shippers.
———————————————————————
Meanwhile…
In a run-down rental apartment, around 8:30 PM…
Completely unaware of the firestorm he had unintentionally ignited online, Aoki Kei was sitting on the floor, deep in thought.
After a long session of self-reflection, he launched into a ten-minute internal monologue, thoroughly criticizing himself for his disgraceful lack of common sense during the recent BBQ.
Seriously—how could he mess up grilling meat that badly? It was beyond embarrassing.
Even worse, he hadn’t made any progress in his cooking skills since then!
So now, fully determined to redeem himself, he reopened the cooking variety show “Cooking++” and committed to studying it properly this time.
Naturally...
He had absolutely no idea what was happening on the internet.
No clue that thousands of new fans were flooding in.
No idea that an old street performance video had gone viral.
And not the faintest awareness that his name was trending alongside hashtags like #suki-san, #KessokuBand, or—most confusing of all—#sukixbassist.
‘Alright, watch a few episodes first,’ he told himself.
‘Then maybe try cooking something simple for practice.’
‘Also, if things go well... I might finally be able to move out of this dump. I’ve actually saved up enough cash recently.’
‘But wait, there’s band rehearsal tomorrow to prep for the showcase performance... better not burn myself cooking again before that.’
And so, lost in his own thoughts and blissfully unaware of his growing online fame...
Aoki Kei resumed his quiet, uneventful evening.
