The café was empty except for them.
“That song,” he said, voice dry as autumn leaves, “was about a woman who left. Never came back. Ironic, isn’t it? The singer stayed. The audience left.”
His stage name. His past.
A young woman sat at the counter. She pointed at the poster. “You’re Reona, aren’t you?”
Shōetsu didn’t answer.
He set down the glass. For the first time in a decade, Shōetsu Otomo – Reona – walked to the small upright piano.
Behind him, on the wall, a faded poster: Shoetsu Otomo Reona 44
However, there is no widely known public figure, celebrity, or historical person directly named or with that exact combination of names in major databases (Japanese entertainment, history, literature, or sports).