This World Was a Romantic Comedy
The opening day of third year.
Riya and I met in the morning and arrived at school together.
We'd been in different classes sophomore year, but this year we were in the same one — so we walked all the way to the classroom side by side.
Riya normally woke up and left for school earlier than I did, so I'd gotten up a little sooner than usual and felt the weariness of it.
It's the opening ceremony, so it should wrap up early.
We weren't first-years anymore. The ceremony would last a period at most, and our school always let us out early on that day.
Probably dismissed before lunch, right after fourth period.
I'd eat with Riya.
"Sihyun. Let's sit here."
"Okay."
The two of us claimed a decent pair of seats toward the back.
We'd arrived earlier than expected, so the room was still sparse — we got first pick of the seats.
Of course they'd be reshuffled at random later. I hoped I'd end up next to Riya anyway.
Hoyeon tends to show up late.
He was in the same class too, so I'd see him soon enough.
He always cut it so close to being late that he'd probably stroll in a little later.
The fact that he'd never actually been late, operating like that, was almost impressive.
More importantly — what do I do after this.
There wouldn't be real classes today anyway. What to do once it was over.
Being opening day, I might even be able to skip kendo practice if I played it right.
"Riya, is there anything you want to do after school?"
"...Today. Art academy."
"You have it starting from opening day?"
"Yeah...."
Riya had been going to art academy since the first year of middle school.
She had talent. More of it than you'd expect, actually. That gift I'd glimpsed back in kindergarten hadn't been a fluke.
Of course it meant less time together — but that couldn't be helped.
Which meant hanging out with Riya after school today was probably off the table.
Maybe I should head to the Kendo Dojo.
It wasn't my scheduled day, but they'd usually give me a spot to practice if I showed up.
I'd have to help out with other people's lessons here and there, though.
"Hmm...?"
I was still turning over what to do after school when something caught my eye.
A male student, wedged into a corner of the classroom, staring intently at the phone in his hand.
Messy black hair that covered his eyes, and pale skin that suggested he didn't go outside much.
Someone I'd never seen before.
And yet... something about him felt familiar. Like I'd seen him somewhere.
What is this?
I racked my memory, but I had no recollection of this guy. My social circle wasn't that wide to begin with.
Even so, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen him somewhere before.
Nah. No way.
I thought about it for a while, then decided it was just my imagination and turned my attention to a book I'd brought from home.
It bothered me, sure — but what was I supposed to do about something I didn't know?
"Sihyun, you're early."
"Came with Riya."
"Hey there, sister-in-law."
"Si-sister-in-law...?"
"Don't say weird stuff. Get lost."
Somewhere in there Hoyeon had wandered over and started spouting nonsense. I waved him off, and he burst out laughing as he went and claimed a seat far away.
I considered getting up to smack him one, but standing was too much effort, so I just sat there a little longer.
Before long the classroom filled up with students taking their seats.
"Hey, is that the couple...?"
Some of them were talking about Riya and me, but Riya didn't care in the first place, and I didn't pay it much mind either.
It had been a little awkward at first, but I was pretty used to it by now.
Denying the "couple" talk was pointless anyway. The rumors always bloomed again before long.
Anyway, while friends chatted among themselves, the front door opened and the teacher walked in.
"All right, settle down and take your seats."
The noisy classroom went quiet the moment the teacher entered.
I knew this one. Not particularly popular, but not disliked either — that kind of teacher.
Not bad. As long as they were better than last year's, I was fine.
Last year's homeroom teacher had been the worst I'd ever had, past life included.
"Homeroom until second period. Today is a four-period day."
Being the third-year opening ceremony, there really wasn't much to do.
Even "homeroom" was just a brief rundown, some well-wishes, and self-introductions.
And this second period was self-introduction time.
As third-years, there wasn't much to introduce. Name, likes, hobbies, and finally career aspirations.
"My name is Baek Sihyun. I like kendo. Hobbies are kendo and reading. My career goal is to become a kendo athlete."
Saying it like that made it sound like my whole life was nothing but kendo — but it couldn't be helped.
Aside from Riya, that was genuinely true.
I couldn't exactly say I liked Riya up here either.
Even I had to admit that my life, from the outside, didn't look particularly interesting.
Anyone I know?
I kept listening to the names of my classmates, but other than Hoyeon, I didn't recognize a single one.
I was sitting quietly when a certain boy's turn came around.
The same male student who'd given me that sense of déjà vu earlier.
And the moment I heard his name, I froze.
"My name is Kang Yuwon."
Kang Yuwon.
An unforgettable name.
I was hearing it for the first time in sixteen years, and only now did it click — but I had never forgotten that name.
"I like reading. My hobby is writing."
The more of his introduction I heard, the more certain I became.
His likes and hobbies.
And the moment I heard his career aspiration, I was sure of who he was — and of the source of that déjà vu.
"And... my dream is to become a writer."
Kang Yuwon.
Likes reading. Hobby: writing.
And his dream is to be a writer.
No way... that can't be.
Every instinct I had was screaming a name at me, but I couldn't believe it. It simply didn't make sense.
The protagonist...?
Kang Yuwon.
He was the protagonist of the novel I'd read.
Before I reincarnated — when I was eighteen — there was a work I used to enjoy.
A romantic comedy novel titled My Novel to You.
I was just an ordinary reader of that novel. Reading it steadily on my days off was ordinary enough. Even if it was the only novel I read, or the only work of its kind I followed, that still didn't put me in any special category.
And yet here I was.
Looking at the protagonist of that novel.
Messy black hair. Pale skin untouched by sunlight. A thin frame, constantly staring at something on his phone. On top of that, he looked far too much like the protagonist I'd been following since chapter one.
The story starts in high school, but... he's way too similar.
My Novel to You began with high school, but a mere one-year difference wasn't enough to create major changes in a person. In that sense, this guy was very likely the Kang Yuwon I knew.
Even the dream of being a writer.
No — the truth was, that wasn't his dream anymore. He'd already achieved it and was serializing a work.
The guy who'd been writing since middle school had debuted as-is, and next year he'd become a fairly successful author. And one of the readers who loved that work would become the heroine.
This story was a romantic comedy about what happens when a writer and a reader meet.
The protagonist's novel.
If this guy really was the protagonist, that work should exist too.
During break, I immediately pulled out my phone and searched for the novel the protagonist had written. It didn't take long to find it.
Academy's Super-speed Swordsman
Mass-produced fantasy · High ranking
Pen name: Don't Want to Study
A mass-produced fantasy type of work. But its ranking was high enough that it was easy to find. And the pen name — Don't Want to Study.
Seeing that sealed it.
That guy was the protagonist. And I hadn't just reincarnated in the ordinary sense.
I'd reincarnated into a novel.
"Haha..."
Finding this out sixteen years after being reborn was funny, but it didn't really stir any particular thoughts. Knowing didn't mean I'd become friends with the protagonist or anything. It was just... a little amusing, I guess.
"Sihyun? Are you feeling okay?"
"Ah..."
And as the thought that this world was inside a story settled in, I looked at Riya — and froze all over again.
Abreliya Seina Kairon.
When we'd first met, my mind had been too chaotic to make the connection, but now I could see it. She was a character from this work too.
A supporting character.
Her role wasn't major. In part two of the story, she more or less helped connect the protagonist and the heroine a little. A supporting character who appeared a few times and that was it. After that, just an occasional friend role. No continuing storyline of her own.
And deep down, I was grateful for that fact.
Good thing it wasn't a harem story.
Thinking that for no particular reason, I held out a piece of candy to Riya. The one I'd given her was strawberry-flavored — her favorite.
"What time does academy start?"
"After lunch. Two o'clock."
"Then let's go get food before that."
"...Not enough. Allowance."
"I'll treat you. I just got my allowance recently."
Riya's eyes went wide at my words, then she smiled faintly and suddenly threw her arms around me.
Long, soft silver hair tickling near my neck and face. We were in adjacent seats, so she was just wrapping her arms around mine and burying her face in my shoulder — but that alone was more than enough to draw every eye in the room.
We were sitting in the back. Why on earth were there so many people staring?
I should stop her... right?
Riya had gotten embarrassed recently from too much attention. Of course, she hadn't exactly held back after that either. Still, I should stop her — that was what I thought, and I was about to move when—
"Sihyun's the best."
"...."
The moment I heard those words, I couldn't move.
...It'll be fine.
It'll be fine. She was the one who did it. It'll be fine.
Thinking that, I savored the feeling of Riya leaning her face against my shoulder for a long, long time.