Chapter 181: The Butterfly Effect
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 181: The Butterfly Effect
By the time we met up with Ryuji and Yaguchi again, it was already over.
"What? What in the world happened?"
I asked, completely dumbfounded.
And for good reason. The two of them, who just moments ago seemed to have had a complete falling out when Yaguchi ran off, had suddenly reappeared arm in arm.
As all eyes focused on them, Ryuji scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed look.
"We're dating now."
"Whaaaaaat?!"
At the good news that the two had finally become a couple, the most shocked person in our group was Satoru.
"Ryuji, you bastard, what kind of magic did you use?!"
Yaguchi, who was shyly linking arms with Ryuji, answered for him.
"Ryuji chased after me and confessed first. He asked me to please go out with him."
Normally, something like that would be impossible.
Chasing down a girl who ran away because she was so disappointed in you and then confessing your feelings—that's the kind of thing that only happens in manga.
But it actually happened.
Is this the protagonist's buff?
As if thinking the same thing, Satoru clutched his head and shouted.
"Aaaargh! This damned world where handsome guys get girlfriends no matter what they do!"
Leaving Satoru's scream of indignation behind, the now fully reunited members of Forest School Group D formed a circle around the new couple and gave them a round of applause.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
"Congratulations."
"Congratulations."
"Congratulations."
"Congratulations."
Swept up in the atmosphere where it felt wrong not to clap, I found myself applauding along with them.
Ryuji, the man of the hour, nodded with an embarrassed expression and said.
"Thanks, everyone."
Where have I seen this scene before?
It was definitely my first time experiencing this, but I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
The storm of applause continued for a while before finally dying down when we noticed passersby whispering about us.
"It's already 1:50. We should probably head back to the parking lot."
""Okay~""
Afterwards, we followed the lead of our reliable class president, Satsuki, and left the movie village we'd grown so fond of.
*
It had been a long, eventful day, full of twists and turns.
The original goal was to get Satoru a girlfriend, but when all was said and done, the one who ended up with a girlfriend wasn't Satoru, but Ryuji.
Well, to be honest, it was only a matter of time before those two started dating.
In fact, for someone who knew nothing about their relationship, Hattori's surprised reaction—"You mean you weren't dating until now?"—was probably the more normal one.
The only problem was that it happened too soon.
The original work, Scramble Love, was a long-running manga with over twenty volumes. But the protagonist, Ryuji, gets a girlfriend during the second-semester school trip?
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms terms, it's like they just barely defeated Dong Zhuo, only for Cao Cao to stumble upon the Imperial Seal and become emperor.
When a shonen manga that hasn't been running for long suddenly ends with a rushed development, it's usually for one of two reasons.
Either the author has health problems, or it got canceled by the magazine due to low rankings in the popularity polls.
But as far as I knew, Scramble Love had no such issues.
The trends in romantic comedies may have changed a lot recently, but the basic framework has remained largely the same.
A world where several charming heroines compete for a single protagonist, a ruthless, winner-take-all world where only the last one standing after a fierce battle royale gets everything.
And in most rom-coms, the moment the main heroine is decided at the end, a huge flame war erupts among the core fanbase.
There's a reason authors put off choosing the main heroine until the very last moment.
So, is this a kind of butterfly effect?
With the intervention of 'Kim Yoo-Sung,' a character who wasn't in the original story, it was clear that the original plot had been completely thrown into disarray.
The main heroine, who is usually decided in the very last volume, being chosen during the school trip—roughly the midpoint of the entire story—carried immense significance.
I really have no idea anymore.
I didn't know the original plot of Scramble Love to begin with, but now it's deviated even from the basic formula of a rom-com.
I couldn't even begin to imagine how my already turbulent future had changed now.
Swoooosh!
To clear my head, I poured cold water over it.
The sudden dousing of cold water made my cluttered mind feel a little clearer.
"Satoru, I'm heading out first."
"Huh? Already? You're not going to soak in the hot spring?"
"Not right now. I'll see how things are later and maybe get in then."
With that, I gave a casual wave and opened the door leading to the changing room.
Just as I was about to change into the fresh yukata I'd brought from the room, the phone in the basket started vibrating.
Bzzzt— Bzzzt—
Wondering who could be calling at this late hour, I checked the caller ID. It was the Vice President.
I glanced around before immediately answering the call.
"Yes, hello."
A moment later, the Vice President's voice came through the receiver.
[Kim Yoo-Sung, your voice is echoing a bit. Where are you?]
"Ah, I'm in the bathhouse changing room. I just finished washing up and was about to leave."
[Don't hang up. Just go to your room for now. Someone might overhear our conversation.]
"Understood."
I put on the top half of the yukata I'd taken off, then stepped out with my phone in one hand and a towel in the other.
On the way to my room, I made some small talk with the Vice President.
"How is the President these days? I feel like it's been a while since I've seen her."
[...As for the young lady, she's lost a lot of weight these past few days. She must be under a great deal of stress from this unwanted engagement.]
"That's... unfortunate."
[I'll say this again, but this matter is a secret between you and me. I haven't even told Minami. This is so I can take full responsibility myself if anything goes wrong.]
"You're really prepared for the worst, aren't you."
[For the young lady's sake, I would throw my life away as if it were nothing.]
"...It's not really my place to say this, but if the President heard what you just said, she would have been sad."
[The young lady?]
"Because the President is truly fond of you two. I can tell just from her usual behavior, even if she doesn't say it."
[......]
The Vice President fell silent after hearing my words.
He seemed to be lost in thought.
"So, what's Minami up to?"
[As for Minami...]
Thump!
"Ah, I'm sorry."
I had bumped into someone while turning a corner in the hallway and apologized reflexively.
"It's fine! It's fine! This is nothing!"
A familiar voice, but an unfamiliar accent.
Though she said she was fine, she must have been quite startled. Hattori, who had fallen on her butt, frantically waved her hands as the Osaka dialect slipped out.
[What just happened?]
"Ah, I just bumped into a classmate in the hall. One moment."
After asking the Vice President to hold on, I offered her my hand.
Hattori took my hand and stood up.
Realizing she'd used her dialect out of surprise, she said with a slight blush.
"Ugh, please pretend you didn't hear that dialect just now."
"Why hide it? I think it's charming."
When I said that with a playful smile, Hattori looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
"Everyone else uses standard Japanese. It's embarrassing if I'm the only one with a dialect."
It seemed she was self-conscious about it.
Well, if that's how she feels, it's not my place to argue.
"Sorry for bumping into you. I was on the phone."
"No, I'm sorry too. I wasn't really watching where I was going."
After smoothly resolving the incident by apologizing to each other, we went our separate ways.
Click!
"I just got to my room."
[Good. Now, open the drawer of the dresser in your room.]
"The dresser?"
Wondering what he meant, I opened the drawer and was startled.
Inside was a suit, a pair of sunglasses, and a key.
[I snuck in and put it there while you were away. There's a dress code for the engagement ceremony tomorrow, so a suit is required.]
"How did you get my measurements? It's hard to find things that fit me."
[There's nothing in this world money can't buy.]
As expected, he thinks on a different level from ordinary people.
I ran my fingers over the surface of the suit, which looked completely custom-made, and asked the Vice President.
"So, what do I need to do tomorrow?"
[You and I will crash the engagement ceremony where the elders of both families are gathered. And if possible, you will rescue the young lady in style. That is all.]
"Simple. I like it."
With that, I carefully packed the suit into my bag.
[What's the schedule for the school trip tomorrow?]
"Day three is free exploration from 9 AM to 6 PM. We can go wherever we want with whomever we want, so I can definitely make time."
[Good. Then come to this address by 10 AM tomorrow. We'll meet up there and move together.]
"Understood."
I checked the address the Vice President sent me.
The meeting point was in front of a shrine in the middle of Kyoto.