I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

Monday, July 24th, 2017.
Normally, I would’ve left the house early in the morning, but today, I could sit at the table and eat breakfast at a leisurely pace.

And for good reason—summer break had finally begun.
The hectic pace of second year’s first semester felt like a lie as the first morning of summer vacation passed in silence.
Aside from a beach trip with the Forest School Group D members in early August, I didn’t have any plans yet.

If it went the same way as last year, it would likely turn into a lazy, unproductive stretch—but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
During the semester, life was always one long chase against a tight schedule.
“Thanks for the meal.”

As I said that and stood up with my empty bowl, my mother, Im I-ja, asked,
“Hey, you’re not planning to hole up in your room and just work out all break, are you?”
“…Only a little.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. Go out and have some fun too. If you need money, just say so—I’ll give you some allowance.”
“Okay.”
Dodging what was only halfway a nag, I slipped back into my room.

“Phew.”
Somehow, just looking at all the exercise equipment packed into my room made me feel calm.
I hadn’t had much time for training lately due to all sorts of things, but today, I could finally take my time and enjoy it.

First, I sat on the bench and started with dumbbell curls.
I warmed up with three sets of 10 reps at 50kg, then immediately followed with the main sets—three sets of 10 reps at 60kg.
Normally, once your muscle mass reaches a certain limit, growth slows dramatically.

But Kim Yu-seong’s body showed no regard for such common knowledge. It kept growing endlessly.
Almost like I’d been dosed with anabolic steroids.
I used to think it was just romcom-style comic muscle logic, but thanks to Fuma-senpai, I’d learned the real cause was my Polar Yang Body.
From a lifter’s perspective, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a gift from heaven.

“Huff, huff, huff, huff.”
After finishing curls, I moved straight into dumbbell flys, dumbbell presses, and side lateral raises, wrapping up my morning workout in about an hour.
Personally, I like to mix dumbbells and barbells evenly when training.

Barbells can stimulate muscles that dumbbells can’t, and vice versa.
I opened the window to ventilate the sweltering room, but the murderous summer heat made little difference whether it was open or not.
And in my room, all I had was a fan.

“……”
It was hot—insanely hot.
I already had a naturally high body temperature, and the current heat was downright inhuman.

I quickly shut the window again and headed to the bathroom to wash off the sweat.
***
Flop—

“Ahhh~”
After showering in cold water, I turned on the air conditioner in the living room and sank into the sofa. Pure bliss.
All I needed now was a fresh slice of watermelon in season and a glass of chilled barley tea from the fridge—game over.

Staring at the ceiling in a daze, I bit into the watermelon and turned on the TV.
The cool juice that filled my mouth conjured up scenes of a perfect summer.
Just then, a rerun of the final episode of The Blue: Academy Youth Apocalypse, which had recently ended, was playing on TV.

[Sensei! I like you!]
On screen, the character played by Minato—who had been insanely busy since the drama’s success—was confessing to her homeroom teacher, Agito.
A student-teacher romance? That’s kinda risky, I thought, but she was holding a diploma, so it must’ve been at graduation.

Agito, who had initially asked for time to think, unable to answer on the spot, later accepted Minato’s confession three months later, after she’d officially turned an adult.
Guess the writer was aiming for a happy ending in their own way.
I’d only caught about 30 minutes from the middle, but it was entertaining enough that I figured I should binge-watch it later—and that’s when I checked the new message that had just come in.

[Senpai, what are you doing?]
Speak of the devil—Minato, who I hadn’t seen around much lately.
Seems like she’s still meeting her attendance requirements somehow, but since we’re in different grades, we rarely cross paths.

[Nothing in particular.]
[Perfect. Would you like to go to the festival with me this Saturday?]
[Festival?]

I paused the messenger and glanced at the calendar in the living room.
Come to think of it, it was about time for the Natsumatsuri to be held.
[I’m fine with it, but are you sure? You’re a celebrity—you’re probably busy.]

[I cleared that evening in advance, so I’m good. It’s not like I work 365 days a year, you know.]
[Well, that’s good, I guess…]
As we exchanged messages, I suddenly realized something odd.

[But are we really close enough to go to a festival just the two of us?]
We’ve barely met a few times—aren’t things moving a bit fast?
[Is it weird for an underclassman and upperclassman to go to a festival together?]

[Well… no, I guess not.]
[Then it’s settled. No problem. Decision made.]
Before I could even respond, the matter was closed—I was now going to the festival.

I texted back with half a sigh.
[Fine. Do what you want.]
[Hehe, thank you for putting up with me, Senpai. I wouldn’t call it a trade, but I’ll show you my secret weapon yukata that day.]

Ding!
A message alert popped up, and she sent a photo. Curious, I opened it.
It was a candid shot of Minato in a dressing room, flashing a peace sign with her fingers.

[Bonus.]
Her cuteness practically radiated through the screen, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
‘She’s cute.’

***
I had a late lunch—chicken sausage, fried egg, and brown rice—then decided to finally binge-read the romantic comedies I’d bought ages ago but never got around to reading.
“Fufu…”

What most people don’t know is that the history of romantic comedy manga stretches back nearly forty years.
The first title commonly recognized as a “romcom” came out in the ’80s, and nearly every trope we call cliché today was already established in the ’80s and ’90s.
Romcoms were originally closer to shoujo manga in male form, with lots of love triangles and squares. That trend shifted dramatically in the late ’90s when a harem romcom exploded onto the scene in Shounen Magazine.

Its influence triggered a flood of harem-style romcoms in the 2000s—one protagonist, several competing heroines.
From manga to PC games and novels, the 2000s were packed with legendary titles. But by the 2010s, romantic comedy was a genre in decline.
With plots mostly the same, creators had to rely entirely on character quirks and gimmicks.

Of course, there were rare big hits like Scramble Love, but compared to the genre’s golden age in the ’80s and ’90s, those were just drops in the ocean.
I’m the type who, once I start a series, I follow it to the end—but even so, when it comes to romcoms, there have been many moments where I nearly coughed up blood.
Even if romcoms are supposed to be brain-off entertainment, there are so many developments that defy even basic logic.

“Today’s was fun too…”
Thankfully, there are more high-quality romcoms these days. Back when I didn’t have the tolerance for NTR plots, I seriously wanted to strangle a few authors.
No wonder I prefer Jump-style romcoms.

At least they don’t force weird setups into the story.
After spending about three hours catching up on manga, I figured it was time to head to the gym and punch in my attendance card.
***

The gym tends to be busiest around New Year’s and in the summer season.
Some come to lose weight. Some to look good in a swimsuit.
And most give up within a month and vanish without a word. The cycle repeats.

On the flip side, if you can last a month, you’re likely to stick with it long-term.
Fuma-senpai and Kazu, who’d recently joined our gym, were now showing up almost daily.
While wrapping up my session on the treadmill, I suddenly thought of something and asked,

“By the way, Fuma-senpai, it’s summer break—aren’t you going back home?”
Running beside me on the treadmill, Fuma-senpai replied,
“Not worth the travel fare.”

“…That’s kind of a sad reason not to go.”
“My hometown’s pretty far. Just the transport costs run close to 10,000 yen. That’s thirty bowls of gyudon. Plus, working fewer days is risky.”
The way she converted yen into bowls of gyudon somehow made it ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) even sadder.

Kazu, running on the treadmill beside us, asked curiously,
“But don’t you do a ton of part-time work already? Where does all that money go?”
Fuma-senpai chuckled and answered,

“Never underestimate the murderous cost of living in Tokyo, Goto. Just working four hours a day, even if I do it every day of the week, the monthly rent, public bath fees, basic cosmetics, and food will still wipe out my account. If my family weren’t paying for tuition, I’d have already dropped out and gone back to the countryside.”
Watching her speak seriously about Tokyo’s living costs, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad.
Her face was beautiful, and yet she gave off such an air of poverty.

After finishing the full 30 minutes on the belt, she stepped off and wiped her sweat with a towel.
“Oh right, Kim Yu-seong. Are you free at all this summer?”
“When, exactly?”

“Anytime. I’m the one asking a favor, after all.”
“…A favor?”
Fuma-senpai nodded.

“It’s about what I mentioned earlier—passing down Hayate. The village elders said they want to see you in person before they decide. I’d like you to spare about three days.”
“If that’s all it is…”
I added a new entry to the mental calendar in my head.

Just this morning, my schedule had been completely empty—but in just twelve hours, it had filled up like this.
I guess you really never know what life has in store.