Life In The Reverse World

Dinner at the Hoshikawa household was curry again, still Japanese-style, but this time with beef brisket instead of chicken breast, and using the mildly spicy roux. Having it once or twice was fine, but if curry kept showing up on the table every night, Harutaki felt he’d end up nauseous at the mere sight of it.

Still, his little sister Ayaka already had her hands full with school every day. Expecting her to come home and prepare four different dinners with variety on top of that seemed too cruel.

Guess I’ll have to start taking over dinner duty myself…

With that thought in mind, he changed into pajamas and lay back on his bed, phone raised above his face. He unlocked the screen and began scrolling through his social apps to check for unread messages.

It was a habit carried over from his previous life; every night before going to sleep, he had to make sure no messages were left unanswered. Only after sending the proper, polite replies could he rest easy.

Thankfully, unlike before, he wasn’t drowning in notifications from class group chats, hobby groups, or study groups. Back then, he’d had to juggle countless relationships, never ignoring girls who liked him, but also never letting things get close enough to cause misunderstandings.

Now, it was blissfully simple; just seven lonely chat threads sat quietly on his list.

The first was from Ren.

[Sorry, Hoshikawa-kun, I couldn’t help you out today… 🙏] — Read

[I went to Asama-sensei for advice on my own. I hope that didn’t cause trouble.] — Read

[If something’s bothering you, you can talk to me about it.] — Read

He had sent them in the evening, but Harutaki hadn’t seen them until now. He’d been busy. First came the “date” with Shihou-san at Starbucks, then that talk with Shirasagi-senpai.

After thinking for a bit, he replied with gratitude, assuring him he understood his reasons and didn’t mind his silence or consulting the homeroom teacher. Then, to break the stiff mood, he closed the conversation with a joke:

[Then can you help me out? I just fell for Shihou-san earlier today, and this evening I fell for a third-year, Shirasagi-senpai. What do I do? 😂]

The moment he sent it, it was marked “read.” Whether from guilt or responsibility, Murai clearly still cared about him.

[Give me one of them!!] — Read

The second chat was from Miho, who had only recently added him.

[If you go straight out the school gate, left turn, second intersection, there’s a dessert shop. Their chocolate banana parfait is sooo good! 🤩] — Read

[Photo] — Read

[Whenever I’m feeling down 😞, stopping by there perks me right back up 💖!] — Read

Her replies were full of emojis, and the selfies she’d taken with the parfait looked straight out of an influencer’s feed. He couldn’t deny they cheered him up.

[🐱💖🐱🍴🐱💥]

He picked a few silly cat stickers in her style and sent them back before moving on.

Next up was Haruto, much more heated.

[You seriously went on a date with Shihou-san without telling me?!?] — Read

[Photo] — Read

Attached was a screenshot from the anonymous school forum: “#3 on the Ideal Girlfriend Ranking, Shihou-san, falls prey to Scumbag’s clutches!”

[Huh? Honestly, I expected rumors about me dating the third-year, Shirasagi-senpai, instead.]

Chouko herself had sent something simple and proper, just as he’d imagined from the class goody-two-shoes.

[Please take care of me from now on, Hoshikawa-kun.] — Read

[Same here. Good night, Shihou-san.]

So ordinary it was difficult to reply, but he settled for a polite one.

The rest of his chats belonged to his sisters. Aside from Chiaki, neither Ayaka nor Fuyuno had messaged him.

[Photo] — Read

[A little thank-you gift…] — Read

Chiaki had sent a simple mirror selfie as thanks for keeping their little “promise.”

Nothing strange at first glance, just her in casual home clothes, flashing a peace sign. But the faint blush on her cheeks stood out… and when he zoomed in, he noticed her dark circles. Ayaka had mentioned that Chiaki had been staying up late on the computer.

[Good night. Don’t stay up too late.]

As for Ayaka and Fuyuno, he sent them each a “good night.”

Fuyuno read it almost instantly, but her reply came nearly half a minute later. Probably caught off guard by her aloof brother suddenly messaging her?

Her reply made him rub his temples.

[If you’re using Ayaka-onee-chan’s underwear to… you know, at night, at least send me a picture for reference! ❤] — Read

[Let me see yours.]

Ayaka, on the other hand, only sent back a single confused question mark, then copied him with a delayed “good night.” He could picture her typing, deleting, typing again before finally sending it.

Then there were the Twitter DMs…

Wait.

A special follow message?

He opened it immediately.

[Photo]

[Tsunako_JK2@alt: Harutaro-kun, rules are rules. Your turn to send one back ♥]