The studio lights dimmed as Mitsunari clicked through the final edit of the "Shadowlight" music video. Onscreen there
was shadows dancing across the empty city streets that were flickering in time with the beat. The city was alive but lonely, just like him.
It had been over three weeks since he'd last seen Mizuha in person. EKO's debut had launched them into a whirlwind tour across Asia with fan meetings, encore performances and even last-minute TV show appearances.
Every time Mitsunari reached for his phone to message her, he'd stop himself. What could he say that didn't sound selfish or desperate?
She was living her dream. He couldn't ask her to pause that for him.
Still, the distance between them stretched longer with every passing day. The late-night calls had slowed to once every few days. Sometimes, they'd just exchange a few sentences before one of them fell asleep mid-conversation. Her voice that was once a comfort, now echoed like a fading melody in his mind.
Tonight though he didn't let himself think about the silence as he had a deadline.
Tao had just completed his own comeback and it was Mitsunari's turn next. Shadowlight had taken shape beautifully as a vulnerable, moody track that bled honesty from the first line to the last. However the music video was the final piece, and it needed to be perfect.
Jun leaned over his shoulder, sipping from a bottle of iced coffee. "You sure you want to open the video with that voicemail line?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mitsunari nodded without looking away from the screen. "Yeah. It's the last one she left before they left for Osaka. She doesn't know I kept it."
Jun was quiet for a moment. "That's… brave."
"I'm not trying to be brave," Mitsunari said. "I just want it to be real."
The voicemail played softly through the studio monitors. "I wish I could stay longer….Just one more night….But I promise I'll call when I land, okay?" The sound faded into the ambient city noise, then transitioned to the pulsing beat of Shadowlight.
He hadn't altered her voice. No effects, no filters it's just her as she was.
Jun nodded, "It's raw and vulnerable so I think people are going to feel this."
"I hope she does," Mitsunari said under his breath.
The video moved on with shots of him walking alone through Hongdae at night, clips of rooftop skylines, hands grazing empty seats next to him. At the two-minute mark, he stood in the middle of a crosswalk at midnight, surrounded by passing cars, but the world felt frozen around him.
There was no performance in this MV. No choreography, No polished studio shots as it's just Mitsunari who was showing vulnerability.
When the final edit rendered, he leaned back and sighed as Jun patted his shoulder. "I'll handle the teaser rollout, you go sleep."
However Mitsunari didn't sleep so Instead he wandered back into the city with his camera in hand.
He sat on a bench by the Han River, where the glow of the street lamps met the gentle lapping of the water. It was quiet there and cold like the kind of cold that sank into your skin then refused to let go. The kind that reminded you that you were still alive.
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through their last few messages. The last one from Mizuha was short: "Sorry I missed your call. I'll try again tomorrow."
Tomorrow hadn't come yet.
He started typing a reply. "Don't worry about it…I know you're busy." Then deleted it.
Instead, he opened his notes app and began writing lyrics again. Not for Shadowlight but for something new.
I see your name, not your face.
Your voice, not your breath.
You're here, but not with me.
He saved it and closed the app as It wasn't time for the next song yet.
Back at the Stax building, the teaser for Shadowlight went live the next morning.
A single shot with Mitsunari alone in the center of an empty subway car as his eyes closed and his head leaning against the window.
Text across the screen.
MITSUNARI "SHADOWLIGHT" COMING SOON.
The comments exploded within minutes. Fans speculated about the meaning of the teaser. Others talked about how different it looked compared to his usual style. Theories swirled around the use of shadows, urban landscapes, and a woman's voice heard faintly in the background.
Mizuha didn't message him about the teaser. Maybe she hadn't seen it yet or maybe she didn't know what to say.
Later that evening, EKO had a showcase in Sapporo. He watched a fan-recorded video of them performing Bring It on a rooftop. Mizuha smiled through the chorus, her energy unshakable.
But there was a moment with just a split second when she looked to the side, just past the camera, as if she was searching for something or someone.
He paused the video there. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but that single frame made him feel something. Maybe longing, maybe guilt, or maybe both.
A week passed as Tao's release topped the charts, as expected. Mitsunari's PR team prepared for the full Shadowlight MV to drop in another two weeks. Interviews were booked and performance schedules were arranged.
And yet, none of that felt real without her voice to share it with
"I miss you."
That was the only thing Mitsunari finally sent one night, after another long day of silence. No response came that night but he didn't regret sending it.
Because even if the world saw him smiling in interviews, confident on stage, and strong in his music, only one person knew what the shadow behind it all looked like.
She was the one who helped him find the light in it.