I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

The place I finally chose after much thought was the playground where the two of them had first played together in the past.
Aside from the symbolic meaning, the park itself had become run-down and deserted, making it a secluded spot where no one visited anymore.
Right after arriving at school, I approached him as he dozed off at his usual window seat.

“Ryuji.”
“…Huh? What’s up?”
“Do you have time after school?”

Ryuji yawned as he answered, looking tired.
“Well, time’s the one thing I’ve got plenty of. I don’t have any club activities anyway.”
“Good. Then come with me somewhere.”

“Where to?”
“There’s someone who wants to see you.”
Strictly speaking, a ghost.
I glanced at Saya, who was anxiously waiting for his response, then looked Ryuji straight in the eye.

He seemed to realize I was serious because he nodded readily.
“Sure. If it’s you asking, it’s probably nothing weird.”
“Thanks. Really.”

I bowed slightly, then returned to my seat.
‘That’s everything prepared.’
The operation would start after school.

From now on, it was all up to the people involved.
「What do I do, I’m so nervous.」
Saya looked like she could barely contain her excitement, which, strangely enough, made me feel uneasy.

Still, I decided to trust the conversational skills of this romcom world’s protagonist, Sakamoto Ryuji.
***
After school.

Today’s trip home was a little different.
Normally, I would’ve been riding the subway with just Rika, but today Ryuji was with us too.
Including the ghosts Saya and Mahes, we were already five in total.

“Well then, we’ll be going now.”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow at school!”
I waved to Rika, who smiled as brightly as ever, and we got off at Chitose-Funabashi Station.
As we walked toward the park, Ryuji, who was walking beside me, finally asked,

“So, Yu-seong, isn’t it about time you told me who wants to see me?”
“Ah, right.”
I scratched my cheek, looking away.

“It’s someone you know. Someone who’ll be really happy to see you.”
“???”
Ryuji’s confusion deepened.

Not that I couldn’t understand him. We’d only known each other for less than six months, and now I was suddenly saying something like this.
“Well, seeing is believing. It’ll be faster to show you.”
I brushed off his question and quickened my pace slightly.

We soon arrived at ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) a local public park near my house.
“This place…”
Ryuji looked around, recognizing it immediately.

“Wow, it’s been forever. I can’t believe this place is still here.”
He approached the old slide, running his hand over it with a nostalgic smile.
“I used to come here all the time when I was in elementary school. So, the person you mentioned… is it one of my old playground friends?”

“Yeah.”
I nodded, checking my phone.
[Arrived nearby.]

It was a message from Sasha.
Lifting my head, I saw her walking toward us from a distance.
Following my gaze, Ryuji turned and frowned in confusion.
“That’s Sasha.”

“Yeah.”
“Sasha’s someone I knew as a kid? Did I forget or something?”
I shook my head.

“It’s not like that. Sasha’s just here to help.”
“Help?”
By then, Sasha had reached us, raising her hand slightly.

“Yo, Kim Yu-seong.”
“Thanks for coming today, Sasha.”
“No problem. It’s a rare favor from a friend.”

She said that, glancing at Saya, who was floating next to me, and greeted her with a subtle nod.
Now everyone was here.
I turned to Ryuji, who still looked puzzled.

“Ryuji, do you believe in ghosts?”
He tilted his head at the sudden question but answered.
“I didn’t before, but now I do. I mean, I’ve got Mahes.”

“That’s good. Because the person who wants to meet you today is also a ghost.”
When I said that, I looked at Saya. She nodded, then slipped into Sasha’s body.
Snap!

At that moment, I felt the invisible connection between us snap.
At the same time, Sasha’s originally blue hair began to slowly turn white.
Ryuji stared, unable to close his mouth at the supernatural phenomenon before him.

For a normal person, this was a lot to take in, but there was no helping it. Without possession, Saya wouldn’t be able to talk to him.
Finally—
With the appearance of a white snow spirit, Sasha’s—no, Saya’s—mouth opened.

“It’s been a while, Ryuji.”
The voice coming from her wasn’t Sasha’s.
Saya must have taken control of her body.

The moment he heard Saya’s voice, Ryuji’s pupils trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
After a long silence, he managed to ask,
“Chiaki… is that you?”

A name I’d never heard before.
But I instantly knew it was Saya’s real name.
Because at the sound of “Chiaki,” Sasha’s possessed body flinched.

As if confirming my suspicion, she murmured to herself,
“That’s right. I remember now. My name is Shirogane (白銀) Chiaki (千明)….”
Then, as if gaining confidence, she stepped forward.

“It’s been a while, Ryu-chan. What, six years?”
Hearing that, Ryuji’s eyes glistened.
“…Yeah. It’s been a while, Chiaki.”

Honestly, I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling.
How do you react when your first love, the one you promised to marry, comes back as a ghost?
Ryuji hesitated before asking,

“What… happened to you?”
Saya—no, Chiaki—gave a faint, bitter smile.
“You know, Ryu-chan. That incurable illness I had since I was little. In the end, I died from it.”

“…Was it because of me? Because I took you outside?”
“No, not really. The doctor said it himself. Even if nothing changed, I wouldn’t have made it to twenty. My condition just worsened during treatment, and I died a bit earlier than expected.”
Though she was talking about her own death, Chiaki sounded strangely calm.

Maybe that’s because she was already dead.
But seeing Ryuji still looking upset, Chiaki gently stroked his cheek.
“But I’m glad. I’m happy I got to see you again like this.”

“Chiaki…”
“I still remember. The promise we made the day I left this town.”
“…That when we grew up, we’d get married?”

“Yeah. That.”
Chiaki nodded softly with a small smile.
“Forget that promise now.”

“……”
Ryuji couldn’t answer immediately.
He probably knew just how important that promise was to Chiaki.

The biggest reason she couldn’t move on to the afterlife was likely that very promise.
Finally, Ryuji spoke.
“Chiaki, can I be selfish just once?”

“…What do you mean?”
“I can’t keep that promise.”
Ryuji smiled confidently as he held her cold hand.

“Honestly, I never once forgot the promise we made when we parted. And I don’t think I ever will, even as an adult.”
Then, after a brief pause, he continued.
“Because, you’re my first love.”

At those words, Chiaki’s face turned bright red.
“W-what are you saying all of a sudden?”
But Ryuji’s confession didn’t stop.

“Even if you’re a ghost now, even if it’s a promise that can never be fulfilled, at least I want to remember you. I want to be the one who remembers that you existed in this world.”
“So,”
“Will you let me remember you forever?”

Chiaki stammered, then lowered her head, speaking in a small, shy voice.
“…I’ll allow it.”
That was where their conversation ended.

A girl who wished to be forgotten and a boy who wished to remember.
Truly a bittersweet story.
If she had lived, Chiaki would’ve undoubtedly been considered the true heroine of Scramble Love.

As I watched the two smiling at each other under the setting sun in that playground, I felt an odd pang of regret.
Then Mahes, who had been quiet, spoke.
「Then why doesn’t this girl just stay with us?」

“Huh?”
I turned my head at the unexpected suggestion.
Normally, in situations like this, the standard would be for the ghost heroine to move on after resolving her regret.

But Ryuji’s eyes widened at Mahes’s completely different proposal.
“Would that really be okay?”
「It depends on the girl’s will. Whether she wants to pass on or stay by your side is her choice.」

Even Chiaki, possessing Sasha’s body, looked stunned by the unexpected suggestion.
“Is that… really allowed?”
「It’s just a matter of whether you reincarnate sooner or later. You’re not turning into an evil spirit, so I can overlook this much with my authority.」

Thanks to Mahes’s confident words, the two looked at each other.
Then Chiaki smiled first.
“Then… I’ll be in your care, Ryu-chan.”

“I’ll be in your care too, Chiaki.”
And with that, they both smiled brilliantly at each other.