I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

After finishing my workout and coming back home, I took a quick shower and sat at my desk to go over the plans I’d made for this summer break.

First off—
The earliest event was a 2-day, 1-night beach trip with the members of Forest School Group D.
Our destination was Onjuku Beach, near Chiba, where we’d be staying the night at a guesthouse run by one of Yaguchi’s relatives.
The date was set for August 8th, the peak of vacation season, so we’d chosen to avoid the weekend.

And second—
The student council retreat.
I was invited to this the day before break began, when I stopped by the student council room. Someone had suggested that we take a trip to an island together this summer.
Since the president is a third-year and would be graduating next year, she looked at me with pleading eyes and said she wanted to make some final memories.

Obviously, I couldn’t say no to that kind of request, so I told her I’d go.
The date was set for August 16th, mid-month.
The third promise was one I made earlier today—to go to the festival with my underclassman, Minato Naoya.

The festival was already coming up this Saturday, and judging by the fact that she proposed it first, she must’ve been preparing for it well in advance.
There’s no way she could’ve cleared her schedule so precisely otherwise.
She’s a famous celebrity, so I do worry a bit about whether it’s okay for her to walk around a festival with me… but this is a romcom world, so I guess it’ll probably be fine.

And the final promise was to visit Fuma-senpai’s hometown.
From what I’ve heard, it’s pretty far from Tokyo—nearly a 10-hour drive.
Last time, Fuma-senpai told me that to be granted the transmission of the assassination art , a secret technique of the Fuma legacy, I’d need permission from the village elders.

Unlike the other plans, she said the timing didn’t matter for her, so just to let her know whenever I was free.
Unless something came up, she said she’d probably just be working a part-time job.
So I haven’t set a date for that one yet, but I’m thinking of scheduling it so it doesn’t overlap with anything else.

“…There’s practically something every week.”
To someone like me, who had been living a loner’s life up until just last year, it all felt strangely unfamiliar.
Is this what it means to live like a normie?
…No way, right?

Letting out a quiet laugh, I put down the calendar I’d been holding and decided to get ready for bed after a bit of web surfing on my phone.
***
Summer break is practically poison for students who had been living a structured lifestyle.

Unlike the school year, where everything is set by a fixed schedule, going into unstructured, planless living inevitably makes people slack off.
Knowing that all too well, I refused to allow myself to get lazy.
Even if I only took one day off, the moment I tasted that sweet rest, I drew up a daily routine the very next day and taped it beside my desk.

“Mhm. Perfect.”
A flawless daily schedule, meticulously crafted to promote gradual muscle growth.
At this rate, I was confident I could reach my goal of a 1100-pound total in the big three lifts before summer ended.

It wasn’t just that I hadn’t had much time for training lately—after that fight with Ivan, I’d realized how badly I needed more strength.
And the best way to build that strength was, of course, training.
“Yu-seong! Come eat!”

“Okay!”
Pleased with myself as I admired my schedule, I bolted out of my room the moment I heard my mom call.
***

Lunchtime.
“Ryuu-chan! Hii~!”
“Huh?”

I was helping out at my parents’ restaurant during a break between workouts when a familiar face suddenly pulled aside the noren curtain and stepped in, making me blink in surprise.
It was none other than ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Rika—and her mother, Maria.
“Long time no see, Yu-seong-kun?”

“Hello.”
I bowed my head to Maria-san, who greeted me with a cheerful wave, then guided them to a table.
“What brings you here today?”

At that, Maria-san covered her mouth with a hand and chuckled softly.
“What do you mean? It’s a restaurant—we came to eat, of course. Rika told me the cheonggukjang here is good, so I thought I’d come try it.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise when I heard that.

“You’re British, but… you eat cheonggukjang?”
Maria-san nodded.
“There was a time when I was really into Korean dramas. Back then, I’d hunt down Korean restaurants every other day. Now I only eat it every once in a while.”

Well, since they’d come as customers, I couldn’t exactly turn them away. I led them to an inside table.
“Two customers coming in!”
I called out loudly enough for my parents in the kitchen to hear, then brought out barley tea and hand towels before asking,

“What would you like to order?”
Maria-san, scanning the menu on the wall with curiosity, turned to me.
“What’s your osusume menu here?”

I’d worked here plenty of times before, so I answered smoothly.
“Most customers order the yakiniku. We get our meat fresh daily from a butcher who slaughters the pigs themselves. Other popular dishes are gimbap, bibimbap, yukgaejang, and kimchi stew.”
“Hmm~ I see.”

Since our place offers pretty much all the classic Korean dishes, it wasn’t unusual for people to take their time deciding.
I smiled wryly and told them to let me know once they’d decided, then brought over the standard side dishes.
Unlike most restaurants, our place serves sides like seasoned vegetables, stir-fried fish cake, and kimchi, which earned us a good reputation among locals in the shopping district and residential areas nearby.

Even with Tokyo’s high cost of living, my parents always tried to serve a little extra for every customer, just like in Korea, even if we couldn’t stack the table with banchan.
“Wow! This fish cake’s so good!”
Rika, clearly starving, immediately took a bite and let out a string of delighted exclamations as soon as the sides arrived.

Looking at how dressed up they both were, I asked,
“Are you coming back from somewhere?”
Still chewing on japchae, Rika replied,

“It’s summer break, so I went shopping with Mom for the first time in forever. We were gonna eat there, but I remembered the cheonggukjang we had before and brought her to your place.”
I see. So that’s how it was.
I nodded and turned my gaze to Maria-san, who was still studying the menu.

Her golden hair, draping over her ear, glowed softly in the restaurant’s light.
Honestly, who would believe she had a 17-year-old daughter?
They say Westerners age quickly, but Maria-san looked like time had completely passed her by—she’d kept her youthful appearance effortlessly.

Anyone who didn’t know would easily mistake them for sisters.
“Alright, I’ve decided.”
Maria-san looked up at me directly.

“Can I place the order?”
“Ah, yes.”
I took out my notepad and pen from my apron.

“Let’s see… One cheonggukjang, two rolls of gimbap, one yukgaejang, and one assorted jeon, please.”
I scribbled down her order and asked,
“That’s quite a lot. Will it be okay for just the two of you?”

Maria-san confidently patted her stomach.
“Yu-seong-kun, believe it or not, I eat a lot~”
Spoken with that slim figure, it wasn’t very convincing.

Well, if there’s leftovers, they can just take it to go.
I scratched my head with the pen and asked,
“What would you like to drink?”

“Oolong highball!”
At that, Rika flared up beside her.
“Mom! We drove here!”

Maria-san grumbled about how stingy she was, then changed her order to oolong tea.
“Yes. I’ve got your order.”
I bowed politely and passed the ticket to my parents in the kitchen.

With that, my job in the hall was done.
All that was left was for the kitchen to handle the cooking.
Thanks to the two of them showing up just past the lunch rush, the restaurant was fairly quiet.

Of course, the TV was still on in the background, but for me, it was basically white noise by now.
I’d gotten so used to it, it didn’t even count as a distraction anymore.
With nothing better to do while standing around, I started doing a few light stretches—when Maria-san, still smiling at me even after placing her order, beckoned me over.

Wondering what she wanted, I walked over, and Maria-san rested her chin on one hand as she asked,
“Yu-seong-kun, are you by any chance interested in Comiket?”
“Eh? Comiket?”

I blinked blankly at the word, thrown off by how sudden it was.
Well, no wonder—it was Japan’s biggest subculture festival.
Held only twice a year, in summer and winter. A dream convention.

Of course, I’d never actually gone.
I just knew the name.
“This year, I want to do a team cosplay. And I happened to find the perfect role for you.”

Maria-san gave me a dazzling smile.
“How about it? Want to do team cosplay with me? I’ll take care of all the costumes. I promise it’ll be a fun memory.”
And just like that, I was left completely stunned by Maria-san’s sudden proposal.

“She wants me… to cosplay?”
Looks like I underestimated this world a little too much.