“All the Things You Are”

Masabumi Kikuchi’s solo piano rendition of “All the Things You Are” gives Kido a rare pause in the solitude of decorating the Christmas tree: instead of reaching for a drink or wishing himself elsewhere, he stays with the music and the lights. Its significance lies in the way listening briefly alters his relation to time and to the room around him.

The song in the room

After finishing the tree, Kido considers having a few drinks, as he had on an earlier night. Then the familiar song comes on, and his desire to be anywhere else disappears. The scene places the music amid ordinary domestic details—the lit tree, the quiet interior, and Kido standing alone—rather than treating it as an escape from them.

Time slowed by listening

Kido experiences the piano’s tempo as if it were slowly dismantling time. Each note seems to fall like a clear droplet, spreading overlapping ripples through the silent room. The passage lingers not only on the sounds themselves but on his anticipation of them and their resonance after they fade; in that interval, he holds his breath and watches the lights repeat their pattern.

A moment interrupted

The music does not resolve Kido’s solitude or carry him beyond the room. His reverie ends when his phone beeps with a Line message from Kaori, asking how the two of them are holding up. The interruption returns the scene from suspended attention to an ongoing personal connection, leaving the song as a temporary still point rather than a final answer to his unease.