Encore for the Ghostwriter

encore for the ghostwriter

Tsuzuri Hiiragi is supposed to be dead.

Thirteen months ago, the brilliant songwriter behind the mysterious music persona KANAE disappeared in what the public believes was a tragic death. Her songs became national treasures, her fans built a mythology around her, and Aurora Kiss Entertainment turned her death into one of the most profitable legends in Japanese music.

But Tsuzuri is alive.

Living under the stolen identity of Ririka Sonoda, she returns to the very company that profited from her supposed death. Her mission is simple: audit KANAE's supposedly enormous archive and secretly create nine new songs so the final album can be completed without anyone discovering that KANAE never died.

Then she encounters Otoha Sazanami—the superstar whose voice made KANAE famous.

Otoha and Tsuzuri share a secret neither can openly acknowledge: years ago, before fame, contracts, and betrayal, they were teenage songwriting partners and secretly fell in love. Tsuzuri became the hidden songwriter behind Otoha's career, while Otoha was forced to become the public face of their music.

Now Otoha begins leaving messages for KANAE in the margins of lyric sheets, testing melodies and musical variations to determine whether the mysterious songwriter is still alive. Tsuzuri answers through the same secret channel, unable to resist communicating with the woman she never stopped loving.

But the company's ruthless president, Kotone Amagai, is already suspicious. She recognizes the handwriting, understands the impossible coincidences surrounding the new songs, and knows far more about Tsuzuri's supposed death than she should.

As the final album approaches, Tsuzuri must decide how long she can remain a ghost. To protect Otoha, her identity, and the music they created together, she may have to disappear again—or finally step out of the shadows and reclaim her name.