I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

“Kim-kun, your body’s amazing. What kind of training do you usually do? No matter how much I work out, I can’t seem to build much muscle.”

Hattori, sitting next to me, chirped like a sparrow.
Given her looks and the fact that we had just exchanged names, it wouldn’t have been strange if she were shy, but she didn’t care at all.
“Come to think of it, you’re from Osaka, right? But you barely use any dialect.”

Karen, who was eating udon across from us, asked that, and Hattori waved her hand.
“Ehh~ Not everyone from Osaka talks in dialect. Maybe just a bit of intonation difference. Besides, the internet’s everywhere these days, you know.”
“True, that makes sense.”

Karen nodded, picking up a piece of fish cake from her udon.
Then Hattori asked a question back.
“But what’s the relationship between you four?”

“Huh?”
“I mean, how should I put it, the gender ratio of this group seems off.”
Usually, it’s half and half, or girls hang out with girls and boys with boys, right?
The one who answered was Sasha, who had been silent until now.

“We’re rivals.”
“Eh? Rivals?”
“Everyone’s after the position of Kim Yu-seong’s girlfriend.”

“W-what?!”
“Wait a sec! Sasha-chan!”
The other two stared wide-eyed, but Sasha, who had just dropped the bomb, simply tilted her head and asked, “Is there a problem?”

In truth, the most difficult person to respond in this situation was me.
No matter what I said, it didn’t feel like it would end well.
At the very least, it was certain that things would sour between the three.

So as I froze with a stiff expression, my chopsticks pausing mid-air, Hattori’s eyes sparkled.
“So it’s like one of those messy love quadrangles from dramas! I love that kind of stuff!”
“……”

I was at a loss for words.
What the hell does being a social butterfly even mean?
At least, it’s definitely not a kind of person I can understand.

***
Lunch ended in an awkward atmosphere.
After spending that time not knowing if I was eating with my mouth or through my nose, we returned to class.
I knew very well that this vague situation had to end eventually.

If I kept dragging things out, it would definitely not end well.
I always cursed the dense romcom protagonists for not realizing the heroines’ feelings, but now that I was in that position, I couldn’t laugh.
A happy ending for everyone—does that even exist in reality?

“Alright~ I know you’re all sleepy after lunch, but it’s the first day of the new semester, so let’s do our best! Everyone, massage the shoulders of the person in front of you!”
“Yu-seong, please be gentle.”
The question thrown at me once again was just me searching for a method I could accept myself.

“Ah! Aaagh! Tap! Tap!”
“Ah, sorry.”
I quickly removed my hands from Satoru’s shoulders, apologizing as he looked like he was dying from pain.

I must’ve gotten distracted and accidentally put too much strength into it.
***
「I’m back.」

Saya, who hadn’t shown herself for a while, finally returned to my side just as I was heading home after classes.
“You don’t look too good.”
「I had my reasons.」

Saya brushed it off vaguely, but her expression was clearly troubled.
She looked genuinely dejected, so I spoke gently.
“Don’t be like that. Just tell me. I’ll listen and help.”
Saya hesitated, chewing on her lip, but after some thought, she spoke.

「…Ryuji seems to be doing really well.」
“Well, I’d expect that.”
I might not know the full details, but since I’ve been resolving some of the original plot events, he should be enjoying a much calmer life now.

Not to mention, Maiya ended up as the true heroine in the original story.
「I thought I’d be fine even if Ryuji didn’t remember me. But, apparently not. Seeing him happily eating lunch with Maiya made me feel this sudden pang. Normally, the one sitting next to him should’ve been me.」
“It’s only natural to feel jealous when someone you like is with someone else.”

I might not have been in a proper relationship, but I’d had my fair share of painful crushes.
Back in my first year of university, I once saw a girl I liked a bit walking out of a motel with some guy. Honestly, it crushed me.
“By the way, when did you first meet Ryuji?”

「When we were kids. We lived next door.」
So they’re childhood friends too.
“Oh? Then you knew Maiya too?”

「Not at first. Later, Ryuji introduced us at the playground, and we became friends.」
Ah… damn.
I could picture it perfectly.

Two childhood friends who both liked the same boy. One moved away, leaving the other to naturally take her place at his side.
“So what are you going to do now?”
Saya lowered her head, looking gloomy.

「Honestly, I don’t know. At first, just seeing his face was enough, but now… now I want more.」
“More?”
「If I had lived… if I hadn’t moved away, I could’ve made more memories with Ryuji.」

Her words were heavy with regret.
And the more she spoke, the more a dark aura began to rise around her.
‘This is bad.’

Seeing Saya starting to emit that ominous vibe, I quickly changed the subject.
“Hey, what if we try this?”
「…What?」

“Either I or Sasha could lend you our body. That way, you can talk to Ryuji, even if only for a short while. And you might even get your lost name back.”
This way, even though Ryuji can’t see ghosts, he could talk to Saya.
Saya’s gloomy expression brightened immediately at my suggestion.

「That’s great! Let’s do it right now!」
“No, not right now. We need to get Sasha’s permission first. Just wait until tomorrow.”
「Why not use your body?」

“Imagine a big guy like me talking in a cute girly tone.”
「Uweeeeh.」
“See? Sasha’s better, right?”

「Agreed.」
“You really need to spend less time online at home. What’s with that way of talking?”
She hadn’t been like this before, but ever since she started killing time on the internet, her speech pattern had gotten weird.

Anyway, seeing Saya calm down and stop emitting that dark aura was a relief. I decided I’d ask Sasha for a favor when I got home.
***
The first time I met him was through the window.

Before my father’s business took off, I lived in a two-story house.
‘Hi. I’m Ryuji. What’s your name?’
‘I’m ■■■.’

‘Why are you always lying in bed? Are you sick?’
‘Yeah. The doctor said it’s an unknown illness. My body’s cold by nature, and my pulse is much slower than other people’s.’
‘What game are you playing? Lucky. My mom hardly ever buys me new games.’

‘Wanna play together?’
He always came to talk to me with a smile, even though I couldn’t go outside because of my illness.
Being overprotected by my mother, I had always stayed at home, so he was my first real friend.

The time I spent with him was fun.
Though I didn’t live long, those three years in that house were probably the happiest years of my life.
He left me with so many memories.

When my father’s business started to flourish, and my mother—exhausted from taking care of me—began leaving me with caretakers to go out, he was the only one who stayed by my side.
‘Wanna sneak out to the playground?’
The first time I ever went to a playground.

My mother would’ve been furious if she’d known, but honestly, I didn’t care.
Time with Ryuji was that precious to me.
Ryuji even went out of his way to help me make other friends.

Thanks to him, I managed to get close to kids besides him.
But Ryuji was always the most special.
No—he was the most precious.

On the day we moved away because of my parents, I made a promise to him.
‘When we grow up, will you marry me?’
A childish promise, probably because I secretly wanted him to take me away.

I wanted to escape my suffocating cage.
I wanted to stay with him forever.
When I asked, Ryuji first looked surprised, then smiled confidently and nodded.

‘Okay. When we grow up, I’ll make you my bride!’
Those words probably gave me the most strength.
Even when I was abandoned by my parents, left alone in that mansion deep in the mountains, fighting endless illness, that promise lingered in the back of my mind.

In the end, I died quietly, alone in that mansion where no one ever came.
But it was fine.
At least I had those happy memories to take with me.

At least, that’s what I thought.
***
“……”

I woke up at dawn, rubbing my eyes with an uncomfortable feeling.
“Was that her dream?”
I looked at Saya’s sleeping face beside me.

So this cheerful girl had been holding onto thoughts like that all along.
Honestly, it was a sad story.
To promise marriage as a child, only for one to die first…

If it were me, I’d be so full of regret I wouldn’t be able to pass on either.
As a third party, the only thing I could do for her was comfort her.
In the end, this was something only the people involved could resolve.

I checked the messenger I’d sent to Sasha last night.
Luckily, there was a reply.
[Alright. When do you need me?]

At least I’d secured the most important person for this plan.
Next, I just needed to find a suitable place.