I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

Leaving behind Mei Ling’s departure — who had come like the wind and vanished just as swiftly — the long-awaited day finally arrived.

August 8th.
The day when, after the start of summer vacation, I would finally see my school friends again, whom I hadn’t seen for a while.
***

We had coordinated the schedule through messenger in advance, and planned to meet early in the morning on the day of the trip.
The meeting spot was the express bus terminal, and we’d be taking a bus to our destination in Chiba.
Since I’d packed the night before, I followed my usual routine of going for a morning jog, returned home, took a quick shower, and while eating breakfast, told my mom:

"It’s just one night, so if I leave this morning, I’ll be back by tomorrow evening."
"Okay. Travel safe. Watch out for cars."
"Yeah. Got it."

If someone else had said that, maybe I wouldn’t have thought twice, but hearing it from Mom made me feel a bit strange.
After all, the reason I ended up in Kim Yu-seong’s body was because the original Kim Yu-seong had been in a serious car accident and fell into a coma.
I reassured her not to worry and held out my empty rice bowl.

"Want more? It’s still breakfast."
"Well, I won’t be able to eat your cooking for a whole day. Gotta eat up while I can."
"Look at you, getting older and all smooth with the flattery."

Still, she didn’t seem to mind my words one bit.
Mom took the bowl I held out and scooped me a mountain of rice before handing it back to me.
"Eat lots, play lots. School memories are priceless, you know."

"Yes, ma’am!"
I answered energetically and took the bowl she passed over.
***
8:20 a.m.

I headed for the express bus terminal in Shinjuku right on time.
Though the agreed meeting time was 9:00, I left home 30 minutes early, factoring in travel time.
All the cooking gear, clothes, and ingredients I’d brought from home were packed into a travel backpack, which looked pretty bulky from the outside.

To anyone looking, I must’ve seemed like some hick excited for his first trip.
Which wasn’t entirely wrong, to be honest.
My family didn’t travel much—not even domestically, let alone abroad.

This was due to my parents’ personal beliefs. Even digging through Kim Yu-seong’s old memories, I found that unless there was a special reason, the shop was open nearly every day.
We had a lot of regulars who came specifically for Mom’s cooking instead of making meals at home, so even one day of closing made my parents worry they’d miss a meal.
Well, with that kind of work ethic, no wonder they managed to own property in Tokyo, where land prices are sky-high.

By now, I was totally used to Tokyo’s subway system. I got off at Shinjuku Station, and even though it was blazing hot mid-summer, the streets were still packed with people out and about.
This place is always so chaotic, no matter when you look.
I climbed above ground, avoiding the rush of people pouring out of the subway.

All that was left now was to get to the bus terminal—but I wondered if I had arrived too early.
I was just stepping off the escalator with that thought when—
"Huh?"

I ran into Ryuji, the original protagonist of Scramble Love, and his childhood friend Yaguchi right outside the station.
***
"Yo! Long time no see."

It had been about two weeks since I visited his house on the last day of school, and Ryuji waved his hand excitedly like he was genuinely happy to see me.
I walked over to the two of them and greeted them.
"Long time no see, Ryuji. And Yaguchi, thanks again for letting us borrow the place last week."

"No problem. I actually got to meet Li Mei Ling and even got her autograph, so I should be thanking you."
Ryuji tilted his head, confused.
"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, last week, Kim came with the world-famous female fighter Li Mei Ling and sparred with her. They used our dojo for a bit."
"Hoh? A sparring match, huh?"
Behind Ryuji, a ghostly foreigner stared at me with intrigued eyes.

I had no idea what was going through her head, but whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t good.
"Some stuff happened. That’s all."
"Too bad. I would’ve liked to see you fight at least once."

We chatted casually as we walked toward the express bus terminal.
Naturally, the conversation topic was Mei Ling. Apparently, Yaguchi was a hardcore fan of hers, and unlike his usual calm demeanor, he explained everything with great passion.
Thanks to him, Ryuji, who had no clue who Li Mei Ling was, quickly caught up.

When I glanced at Yaguchi with mild surprise, Ryuji /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ said:
"This guy goes full-on berserk mode whenever it’s about something he likes."
Being childhood friends, I’m sure this wasn’t the first time he’d seen this side of him.

His wry smile carried a wave of emotion.
Anyway, we eventually arrived at the Shinjuku express bus terminal.
And the one who had gotten there before us wasn’t us—it was the class rep.

"You’re early."
The class rep adjusted her round glasses slightly when she spotted us.
We walked over and asked,

"When did you get here?"
She glanced at the wall clock and replied,
"About 20 minutes ago."

That meant she’d arrived at 8:30.
"Why so early?"
"Since I’m kind of acting as the leader, I figured I’d need to organize a few things."

She held up a notebook filled with plans for the trip.
It was clear how much effort she had put into preparing.
"That’s a lot of work."

"This is nothing. Honestly, dealing with class stuff is way harder."
She shrugged and leaned back against the wall with her arms crossed.
We joined her and waited for the other members to arrive.

Eventually—
"Hi there!~"
Rika.

"Am I late?"
Karen.
"Yes! Barely made it!"

Satoru.
"Mmm. The protagonist always enters last."
And Sasha. One by one, everyone arrived.

Once all eight of us were gathered, the class rep looked around at us and spoke with determination.
"It’s only a one-night, two-day trip, but I hope no one gets hurt and we all make it back here safely. Let’s go!"
Following her lead, we all efficiently grabbed our bags and started boarding the pre-booked express bus.

***
The distance from Tokyo to Chiba isn’t that far.
Unlike the detour we took during the last forest school, the express bus only takes about an hour if you go straight.

Of course, arriving in Chiba didn’t mean everything was done. We had to transfer to a regular bus to get to our actual destination: Onjuku Beach.
After about an hour and thirty minutes of travel, we finally arrived at paradise.
"It’s the sea!!"

Satoru yelled the classic romcom line with excitement at the endless blue horizon before us.
Just looking at it made your chest feel wide open and refreshed.
Honestly, I wanted to dive into the water right away and fully enjoy summer—but unfortunately, we still had a few things to take care of.

"My cousin runs a guesthouse this way."
We followed Yaguchi, the Onjuku Beach veteran, as he led us in a line.
As we walked, Satoru couldn’t contain his excitement at seeing girls in swimsuits and seaside stalls.

"When I go to the beach, I’m going hunting for girls first!"
Hearing him boast like that, Ryuji and I—who were walking beside him—responded with sour expressions.
"Uh… good luck with that."

If he’s planning to burn through his summer youth in his own way, we couldn’t exactly stop him.
After walking for about ten minutes, we arrived at the guesthouse near the shore.
It was smaller than expected, but had all the essentials, so there didn’t seem to be anything particularly inconvenient.

Not like we’d be spending much time there outside of sleeping anyway.
"Obviously, we got separate rooms for the guys and girls."
Yaguchi said this while handing the room key to Ryuji.

"What about the girls’ side? What’s your plan? Going straight to the beach?"
The class rep nodded.
"Unless something unexpected comes up, yeah. Same for you guys?"

"Same here. Maybe it’s because we ate a bunch of snacks on the bus, but I’m not really hungry right now."
"Then it’s settled. Let’s unpack a little, and meet out front in 30 minutes."
"Got it."

We split into two groups—guys and girls—and went to our rooms to unpack.
***
Unlike the girls, who needed all kinds of prep to hit the beach, guys finish fast and simple.

Just throw on swim trunks and a T-shirt, slap some sunscreen on your face and arms, and you’re good.
A real man doesn’t wear sunscreen?
I wouldn’t know about that.

I already look scary enough—if I don’t at least take care of my skin, there’s no way I’ll ever make a good impression.
Anyway, we were done prepping for the beach in no time. Since there wasn’t anything to do in the room, we decided to head outside and wait.
The three of us gathered and started chatting about random things—like who we thought would have the best swimsuit.

And then—
"Sorry! Did I keep you waiting?"
A voice called out from behind us.