Life In The Reverse World

“When we went to Korakuen this morning, he even told dirty jokes to me, his own sister…”

“Eh?”

Korakuen?

Chouko froze for a moment.

Ayaka had gone to Korakuen with Harutaki this morning?

“Shihou-senpai, you should scold him too.”

“Ah… okay…”

Coming back to her senses, Chouko shot Harutaki a resentful glance, leaving him completely baffled.

“…Hoshikawa, telling dirty jokes to your little sister is inexcusable.”

As she scolded him, her thoughts drifted to what rides they might have gone on at the amusement park.

She had never been to one in her entire life.

Not once.

Disneyland, Fuji-Q, Universal Studios. She could only watch vlog videos online, imagining a future where someone might someday accompany her to an amusement park.

“Shihou-senpai, that scolding was way too light. My brother won’t reflect on himself at all.”

“Hoshikawa, he… aside from saying inappropriate things, he’s actually pretty good in every other way, so…”

“Senpai, if you spoil him that much, you might as well just date him.”

Seeing Chouko hesitate and defend Harutaki, Ayaka seized the chance to push the two of them together.

“I… I need to think about it seriously…”

“Mmm, don’t think about it for too long~”

While Chouko wasn’t paying attention, Ayaka winked at her brother Harutaki, who had been quietly waiting nearby.

Compared to the hesitant refusal on the first morning of the holiday, she was surprised and delighted to find that Shihou-senpai was now using the word “think.”

It still carried a hint of rejection, but it also revealed hesitation.

“Um, Ayaka, what did you and Hoshikawa play at Korakuen?”

Trying to dodge the serious topic of dating, and driven by curiosity, Chouko asked about their morning.

Realizing the question sounded a bit abrupt, she hurriedly added, “I heard from a friend that the place near Tokyo Dome is pretty fun.”

“It can’t really compare to places like Disney,” Ayaka said, holding up three fingers as she started listing the attractions.

“…Anyway, the most interesting one was the haunted house.”

“Aniki was shaking like crazy. I had to drag him out.”

“Eh?”

Hearing that, Chouko looked at Harutaki. Seeing his helpless expression, she immediately knew Ayaka was exaggerating.

“Someone was clinging to me like a koala. I won’t say who.”

Harutaki chimed in at just the right moment, mercilessly exposing Ayaka’s bragging.

“I-I wasn’t a koala!”

“Pfft… hahaha. It sounds really fun.”

Watching the siblings banter back and forth, Chouko couldn’t help laughing out loud.

As expected, she thought, being with Harutaki was never boring.

“Shihou, even if you cover your mouth, I can still smell the pork fat from your breath, you know~”

Seeing how happy she was laughing, Harutaki decided to drag her into it too.

If people were going to laugh, everyone could laugh together.

Why should only he and Ayaka be the butt of the joke?

“Eh?!”

Chouko hurriedly cupped her hands and breathed into them, her cute nose twitching as she tried to sniff for any scent.

But she knew it was pointless.

Even if she smelled it, so what?

Could she rewind time to before Harutaki noticed?

She’d clearly rinsed her mouth several times after eating noodles. Why was there still a smell? Feeling wronged, she thought about how she’d finally gone out with Onii, and then miraculously run into Harutaki when she’d been missing him. Two joys combined, yet now she felt miserable.

Why did he have to bring it up now?

Just as she was wondering how to explain herself, a small green package suddenly appeared in her field of view.

“Here. Mint and lemon flavor.”

Harutaki had only meant to tease her a little. He had no intention of actually cornering her.

“H-Hoshikawa, why do you…”

Why would a guy even carry breath mints with him?!

Chouko stared at him in disbelief. Even when he took her hand and placed the candy into her palm, she didn’t react.

“When I go out, I usually bring wet wipes, tissues, and breath mints.”

As he explained, Harutaki reached into his pocket and pulled out two thin individually wrapped wet wipes and a small pack of square tissues.

He didn’t know whether this counted as a good habit or not, but the wet wipes and tissues he carried around did come in handy quite often.

As for breath mints, when you go out on dates with girls, isn’t mouthwash or mints a must?

After experiencing a kiss that tasted entirely like food once, he’d never forgotten to bring them again, even though most restaurants provided free mints.

“Th-thank you…”

Chouko absentmindedly popped the candy into her mouth. The cool mint and sharp lemon tang jolted her senses, and only then did she realize what was happening. With the candy still in her mouth, she thanked him softly, her words a little slurred.

Beside them, Ayaka seized the moment to fan the flames.

“When I go out with my brother, I feel like he takes care of me so much I’m turning into a noble lady.”

“Hoshikawa, he… he really is considerate and attentive…”

Chouko nodded in agreement, but when she noticed the slight upward curve of Harutaki’s lips, she immediately turned her head away, burying it like an ostrich to avoid his gaze.

At least her breath shouldn’t be a problem anymore.

Just as she let out a sigh of relief, Harutaki spoke again.

“Shihou, you don’t usually eat food with flavors like that, right? Did that Sato-senpai take you there? Was it the guy standing in front of you in line just now?”

H-Harutaki saw Onii?!

Chouko froze on the spot, not knowing what to say.

What should she do?

What should she do?!

What should she do?!

Before, when she was alone with Harutaki, she often felt uneasy. But now, with him bringing up her brother, she suddenly felt like she’d betrayed him.

“Ah, I’m jealous. Super jealous. I really want to go on a date with you, Shihou.”

Seeing the timing was right, Harutaki proactively offered her a way out.

“Pfft…”

His completely flat, deadpan delivery instantly made Chouko burst into laughter, tossing aside all her earlier anxiety.

“I just went out to play with Onii. It wasn’t a date at all…”

“I don’t care. I want to go on a date with you too~”

“Ugh, don’t copy the way I talk… Fine, I’ll go on a date with you, okay?”

It wasn’t the first time anyway, Chouko comforted herself. Going on a date with Harutaki was just eating together or shopping around.

Just a simple date.

“Pinkie swear?”

“Pinkie swear.”

With a helpless sigh, she hooked her little finger around the one Harutaki had extended. It felt like she was looking into a mirror.

He was not only copying her dialect and speech patterns, he was even copying the way she acted cute.

Harutaki was seriously gross.

Next time they went out, she was absolutely making him buy her pretty clothes and take her somewhere fun.

“Alright then, it’s time to pay for the breath mints.”

Urged on by Ayaka’s exaggerated winks from the side, Harutaki pressed the attack, continuing to “threaten” Chouko.

“Huh?”

The smile that had just appeared on Chouko’s face froze instantly.

Breath mints cost money too?

“Until we get off at Shinjuku Station, you pay me back with hugs. How about that?”

Harutaki finally revealed his real intention.

The reason he had not handed over the breath mints at the very beginning was simple.

First, bringing up bad breath right away would obviously make things awkward. Even if he tried to soften it with jokes, the atmosphere would never fully return to normal.

Second, chatting while eating candy was not exactly appropriate. He had been scolded by his mother countless times about the etiquette of not talking while eating, and he trusted that Shihou, who had received strict manners training herself, would not chat with him while chewing candy either.

Breath mints took quite a while to fully dissolve. That meant during that time, he would either chat with Ayaka while leaving Chouko hanging, or all three of them would sit there in awkward silence, staring at one another.

Harutaki glanced up at the real-time route map above the carriage. Only when the train was three stops away from Shinjuku did he make his proposal to Chouko.

“But…”

“Then how about this. You only hug me when the train starts or stops. We’ll say it’s to keep from falling over.”

Just a hug.

Just a hug to keep from falling…

After hesitating for a moment, Chouko reached out and agreed to Harutaki’s request.

“You have to let go when we arrive, okay?”

“I want in too!”

Unable to hold back, Ayaka joined in as well. When the train arrived at and departed from stations, she and Chouko claimed one arm each, flanking Harutaki from both sides.

When there were two stops left before Shinjuku, Chouko was a little slow to pull away from his arms.

When there was only one stop left, she simply stayed pressed against him until the announcement for Shinjuku Station played, only then reluctantly slipping out of his embrace.

…

Since most passengers were headed for Shinjuku, getting off the train was much easier than boarding it. Still, no matter who you were, the moment you stepped out and saw the sight that truly deserved to be called “a sea of people,” your chest would feel tight and uneasy.

This was the most prosperous and lively area in Tokyo, and also the most oppressive and crowded.

After quietly saying goodbye to Harutaki and Ayaka, Chouko headed off to the platform to meet up with her Onii, Sato.

She did not ask Harutaki what he planned to do next, nor did she explain her own schedule.

Harutaki, reading the room, did not ask either.

Even if he did, all she could answer was that she did not know.

After all, Onii had only said they were coming to Shinjuku. Judging by how he looked at the time, he probably had not even decided where in Shinjuku they were going to hang out.

“Chouko, over here!”

Sato pushed through the rushing crowd and hurried to her side, excitedly holding up his phone for her to see.

This time it would definitely work, he thought, brimming with confidence in the last-minute studying he had crammed in during the ride.

“I booked two tickets at Toho Cinemas. It’s the hottest movie right now. There were only five seats left, it was almost sold out.”

[His Name]?

Looking at the movie details on his phone, Chouko recalled the discussions she had seen earlier in her LINE class group chat. Her expression gradually turned a little strange.

“But the movie starts at 15:15, and it’s only 14:21 right now.”

Not wanting to crush Onii’s confidence again, she decided not to tell him what the movie was actually about.

It was a good movie, otherwise it would not be the most popular choice right now. But as for the story…

She let out a soft breath and took the initiative to suggest something.

“How about we wander around a mall first to kill some time?”

“Ah…? Oh… sure.”

Sato nodded repeatedly.

What else could he do but agree?

Just asking his senpai for ideas on what to do when going out, plus clumsily figuring out online ticket booking, had already taken up most of his energy. He had not had any spare time to look for a second option.

Still… “killing time,” he thought. That phrase really was a luxury to him.

Normally, he split one unit of time into three just to improve his grades. He barely even understood the concept of killing time.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

Chouko opened Google Maps on her smartphone, entered Keio Department Store as the destination, and started navigation.

She felt a little relieved that Onii was not the type to dig too deeply. He did not ask why she had decided to go to a mall.

She was not stupid. With her brother’s dense and awkward personality, she had no illusions that shopping with him would be fun.

The main reason she chose the mall was to buy a gift for Harutaki.

It might be a bit inappropriate, but… sorry, Onii.

Chouko thought to herself. It was not like you had any better suggestions anyway, right?

…

“Hey, did you hear that? The 15:15 showing at Toho Cinemas. I was planning to go see a movie with you too, Harutaki, but when I checked, it didn't feel right, so I…”

Noticing her brother’s uncharacteristic silence, Ayaka poked him dissatisfiedly with her elbow.

“…you’re supposed to listen properly when someone’s talking!”

“Mm…”

“When someone talks to you, you should at least look at them. That’s basic manners!”

“Mm…”

“That’s way too halfhearted. Don’t tell me, idiot Harutaki, that after meeting Shihou-senpai, she stole your soul or something?”

“Mm… sorry, Ayaka. If I didn’t hurry up and buy the tickets just now, we probably wouldn’t have gotten them.”

After completing the operation and receiving the confirmation, Harutaki let out a long breath and looked up to apologize to Ayaka.

“Buy tickets?”

“Yeah. I checked. That showing had five connected seats left in a slightly off spot. I bought all three seats near where Shihou and her Onii are.”

As he said this, Harutaki suddenly felt like his personal bottom line had dropped quite a bit further, but…

Just for today, being a little selfish once in a while was fine, right?

And besides, how could Shihou watch a romance movie without him by her side?

“Ugh, that sounds like such a shady, scummy move…”

“Hey, you’re the one who encouraged me to do this.”

Harutaki shamelessly shoved the responsibility onto his sister.

Wasn’t it Ayaka who had pushed him to get closer to Shihou in the first place?

He, Hoshikawa Harutaki, was a decent man. A proper gentleman.

“Terrible…”

“…”

Harutaki lowered his head, looked at the foot that was being stepped on yet again, and let out a shallow sigh.

“…It was all my own idea. I’m a scumbag.”

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