Summer vacation had passed in the blink of an eye.
Even though I hadn’t worn it for only a month, putting on my school uniform again felt strangely nostalgic.
Camping, the beach, summer festivals, fireworks displays—I had done everything I’d dreamed of for summer vacation, and together with Mashiro, we’d made enough memories to fill both hands. I had fully enjoyed those fun-filled days, engraving in my heart a piece of the finest youth shared with the people most precious to me.
In my previous life, such a perfect summer could never have existed. As I savored it with all five senses, the opening ceremony for the new semester awaited. That long-yet-short summer vacation was finally, truly, coming to an end.
Perhaps the reason I felt a tinge of loneliness was because the time I’d spent with Mashiro had been irreplaceable.
But starting tomorrow, a new semester would begin.
Our story was far from over.
So, with the shining memories of summer in my heart, I turned my thoughts toward the second term—
—when suddenly,
“Achoo!”
A sneeze exploded beneath my mask.
Right at the start, when I’d planned to make fun new memories this semester, I was already stumbling out of the gate.
It seemed that the fatigue from the fun had hit me all at once at the end of summer. Unfortunately, I’d come down with a summer cold just as the new term began.
Thankfully, I only felt sluggish and had a slight irritation in my throat, no fever. I could still make it to school, but I wasn’t feeling great.
I’d spent summer vacation having an amazing time with Mashiro, enjoying every single day—
but as soon as the new semester started, this was how it turned out. I couldn’t afford to skip class due to attendance requirements, so I needed to recover quickly.
Bringing a mask and some cold medicine with me, I took my seat and blew my nose with a tissue while quietly observing the familiar classroom.
In the far corner by the window, the radiance of youth shone as brightly as ever— the protagonist and his heroines were displaying their affectionate bond in full view.
“We had so much fun this summer, didn’t we? Raito-kun, you’ve got a tan now! Your skin was so fair before, and now it’s all sun-kissed.”
“Ha ha, well, we were all running around outside the whole time. But Yuna, you’re still as pale as ever. Smooth, soft, and truly beautiful, as always.”
“M-Mou… Raito-kun, honestly…”
“Heh, you’re so cute when your face turns red like that.”
“Raito-san, I truly feel blessed to have made so many memories with you this summer.”
“Miyuki-senpai… Thank you for making up with me. I was the one who said selfish things and made you angry, but you still treated me like before. I’m really grateful.”
“I wasn’t very mature back then either. I’m sorry.”
“No, please don’t apologize. I’m just glad things worked out. It’s only because you wanted to reconcile, Miyuki-senpai, that things are like this now.”
The protagonist, Fusegawa Raito, had reconciled with the heroines Hanasaki Yuna and Sakuramiya Miyuki, and was now spreading his happy aura while flirting more than ever.
It was like a scene straight out of the hugely popular romcom “Fusekoi.”
Together with the memories of summer vacation, the protagonist Fusegawa Raito was engraving a new, dazzling page of youth with his heroines.
Just watching them was enough to give me heartburn—but at the same time, I felt something slightly off about the scene.
Normally, Himeno Karen—who sat in front of them—would turn around and join in their conversation.
But today, she seemed… a little different.
“Hey, Karen, want to see who got more tanned?”
“Raito, I can already tell I’ll lose that just by looking at us…”
“Ha ha, you never know till you try!”
Fusegawa Raito was trying to engage even his childhood friend, Himeno Karen.
But her reaction was oddly lukewarm—
there was a faint distance in the way she responded to him.
Usually, she’d roll up her sleeves and respond with her usual energy and physical closeness,
but today, Karen wore a slightly awkward smile.
Seeing that, Raito tried to keep smiling,
though he looked a bit panicked as he continued to talk to her.
“T-Then let’s compete in something else! Uh, let me think…”
“Sorry, Raito. I’ll pass for today. I just… don’t have much energy right now.”
Karen smiled wryly and turned back toward the blackboard.
Her behavior was different from usual,
and as I recalled the scenes from the original story, I noticed something didn’t match my memory.
The protagonist Fusegawa Raito had quarreled with the student council president, Sakuramiya Miyuki. Then he also clashed with his childhood friend, Himeno Karen, during a beach volleyball tournament.
Things grew tense between Raito and the heroines, and their relationships broke down—until Raito’s best friend, Kizaki Reo, worked to patch things up.
According to Reo, everything was resolved peacefully. But seeing Karen now, it felt like her relationship with Raito was still strained.
In the original, there had never been such drama during their first year—it was supposed to be a pure story of high schoolers running headlong through their first summer of youth.
But because of the irregular events I had caused as the villain, the story of Fusekoi had begun to change.
And even now, I could feel that change deeply.
“Ryusuke! I came to check on you! Are you okay…?”
A soft pat on my shoulder made me turn around—and there she was, the breathtaking, flawless, ultimate beauty who could steal anyone’s gaze.
Her skin was pale and soft like freshly fallen snow, her straight black hair shimmered under the morning light, and her blue eyes sparkled like precious jewels. Her gentle smile alone was enough to heal your heart.
Her presence alone was enough to blow my cold away. My heart skipped a beat instantly.
She was my childhood friend, Amanatsu Mashiro—a girl so stunning that the entire class stirred the moment she appeared.
Even Fusegawa Raito, the protagonist himself, was completely captivated, ignoring his heroines for her.
“Mashiro, you came? It’s just a cold, nothing to worry about.”
“But are you really okay? Maybe you should’ve stayed home to rest?”
“It’s not that bad. No fever, no sore throat—just some sneezing and a runny nose.”
“Muu… I’m still worried about you, Ryusuke. If you push yourself and it gets worse, that’d be awful.”
Mashiro frowned in concern. She’d been worried about me ever since we came to school together, and even now, just before homeroom, she’d come to check on me.
My precious childhood friend—always so kind and caring.
To reassure her, I gave a firm thumbs-up.
But Mashiro puffed her cheeks slightly, then reached out and gently touched my forehead with her small white hand.
Her touch was soft and cool, sending a pleasant chill across my skin. Just that was enough to make my chest tighten and my body flush with warmth.
“…Your temperature’s definitely higher than this morning. You’re pushing yourself.”
“I’m really fine. The doctor said it’s just a cold. I’m wearing a mask so no one catches it,
and my attendance record’s already on the edge…”
“Even if you’re fine now, it’ll be bad if it gets worse. And you said before that you still had some days to spare, remember? I remember it clearly.”
“I told you, I’m fine. It’s nothing…”
“Baka. You don’t look fine. It’s good to work hard, but… if you really can’t handle it, promise you’ll tell me, okay?”
“…Sorry for making you worry. Thanks, Mashiro.”
“…Good. Since you understand, I’ll forgive you. There, there.”
Mashiro gently patted my head, her clear blue eyes looking straight into mine.
It made me so happy to see how genuinely she cared for me—but all the stares from our classmates were piercing my heart. Mashiro must’ve noticed too, because she quickly pulled her hand back, her cheeks slightly flushed as she averted her gaze.
She cleared her throat softly, then looked at me again, still smiling warmly despite the lingering worry in her eyes.
“Alright, I’ll come check on you again during break. Take care, okay, Ryusuke?”
“Yeah. Thanks, really, Mashiro.”
Her kindness moved me deeply, but I forced myself to stay composed. Even if I wasn’t feeling well, I didn’t want Mashiro to worry any more.
With a gentle wave, Mashiro left the classroom—and even her departure was adorable. That’s my childhood friend for you.
That little romcom-like scene was something that had never existed in the original story—
a new moment woven by the bond between Mashiro and me.
——In my previous life, I died from overwork.
And after that, I was reincarnated into the world of the very romcom I’d been obsessed with:
“Fusekoi”
But the one I reincarnated as… was the infamous villain, Shindou Ryusuke— a character fated to have his misdeeds exposed and meet a tragic end.
Still, as someone who’d only ever been earnest in my previous life, I decided to defy that fate.
Together with my beloved childhood friend, Mashiro, I swore to fight against destiny itself.
By deepening our bond and moving forward hand in hand, the story of this world had already begun to diverge from the original.
Surely, a future beyond anything the original could have imagined awaited us. That’s why I won’t give up. Together with Mashiro, I’ll overturn the doomed fate written in the story— and live a youth even happier than the protagonist’s.
So there’s no way I can let a mere cold defeat me. I straightened my back, filled with renewed determination, ready to face the new semester opening ceremony.