Life In The Reverse World

“Chouko, want some popcorn?”

“Um… I-I’ll pass…”

After waving off the popcorn bucket Sato handed her, Chouko looked at the white manicure on her fingers and sighed quietly to herself.

Leaving aside whether popcorn was suitable for a romance movie, with her nails it was inconvenient to eat with her hands, and she did not want sticky caramel syrup all over them.

She guessed Onii would not be as thoughtful as Harutaki, carrying wet wipes around.

Even though the theater had restrooms, going in and out during the screening was extremely rude. Compared to enduring over two hours of sticky hands, she definitely could not accept it, especially since she was not that interested in popcorn to begin with.

As for drinks…

Gulp.

After taking a sip of cola that was already almost flat, Chouko found herself even more speechless.

Out of sight, out of mind. Thinking that, she fixed her gaze straight on the massive screen, watching the production logos roll in with the animated film’s opening, no longer thinking about anything else. Even the sound of the soundproof doors opening and closing nearby failed to distract her.

She had already heard plenty about the animated movie His Name. After all, it had been out for a week now, and given how popular it was, Chouko had seen friends and classmates discussing it in several LINE groups.

Still, she thought that with Onii’s introverted personality, no one would really chat with him about movies anyway.

That upperclassman probably just mentioned it in passing. If he had explained the plot in detail, her brother would likely have chosen some Masked Sky Rider movie next door instead of His Name.

His Name was indeed a romance movie, and a one hundred percent pure love story, but the content was… somewhat…

Subtle.

That was the only word Chouko could think of to describe it.

As the gentle opening music played, a star-filled night sky appeared on screen, one brilliant point of light standing out in particular.

“According to predictions by astronomers from multiple countries, this once-in-a-millennium comet is highly likely to visit Earth during this cycle. It is currently estimated to enter the atmosphere in two weeks, and is expected to land in the western Pacific Ocean. This is a very safe astronomical phenomenon, so please enjoy the beautiful sight of the meteor.”

In a town called Itomori, the female protagonist Miyamizu Mitsuha listened to the radio broadcast as she climbed out of bed on her tatami floor. Stretching and yawning, she headed downstairs at her younger sister Yotsuha’s call, beginning another ordinary day as a rural high school girl.

Walking along her route to school, pushing her bicycle, Mitsuha looked up at the comet soon to visit Earth and silently made a wish in her heart.

“In my next life, please let me be a handsome guy in Tokyo!”

Hearing that line, Chouko could not help but smile, and suddenly thought of Harutaki.

That guy was basically the textbook definition of a handsome Tokyo boy, wasn’t he?

Just from this alone, she already felt a certain sense of identification with the movie’s heroine.

Did she not also want to become someone like Harutaki?

Handsome, gentle, free-spirited, and unrestrained…

After learning more about the Miyamizu family’s standing in the town, Chouko had already begun to see the heroine as a mirror image of herself.

A powerful family in a small town, a background others envied.

Strict parents, and a great-grandmother who taught etiquette with a stern face.

And… an ordinary, insecure childhood friend.

The heroine had deliberately worn an extra red hair accessory on the first day of school, yet when the childhood friend was asked what was different, his answer was, “Did you get a pimple on your face?”

Chouko wanted to laugh, but could not. In her mind, he was exactly the same kind of blockhead as Onii.

After glossing over the mundane rhythm of school life, the real story began.

When the heroine woke up the next morning, she suddenly found herself in an utterly unfamiliar room. Sensing that something was wrong with her body, she rushed to the mirror in a panic, only to see a tall, handsome young man staring back at her.

Through various observations and experiments, she soon realized that her half-joking wish from the day before had come true.

She had become a handsome guy in Tokyo.

This much-discussed setup and development barely stirred any emotion in Chouko. She had already heard most of the major plot points from her classmates and knew that it was not a transformation, but a day-by-day body swap.

As the story progressed, the heroine gradually adapted to life as the Tokyo boy after waking up on the fourth day and seeing the notes left on the desk. Still, due to her lack of competence, she caused all sorts of trouble and mishaps. In contrast, on the other side, the male lead skillfully resolved the heroine’s isolation, even stealing the spotlight and becoming something of a school celebrity.

On the fifth day, because the heroine could not cook, the male lead prepared breakfast the night before, tailoring it to her usual tastes. That quiet, thoughtful kindness made her heart flutter.

Watching this, Chouko gently bit her lower lip. The sense of familiarity was too strong.

Later, when the Tokyo boy’s excellence and gentle consideration were set against the clumsiness and ordinariness of the rural childhood friend, the heroine’s affection for the male lead steadily grew, as did her longing for the big city.

However, when the two agreed to meet at a café in Tokyo, they discovered that they were living in different points in time. The heroine also learned that Itomori would be destroyed by the comet, leaving no survivors.

She told those around her about the comet, but neither her parents nor her childhood friend believed her.

The childhood friend even asked why she had improved for a while, only to go back to being unreliable again.

That reaction completely crushed the heroine’s remaining feelings for him.

At this part, Chouko quietly turned her head to look at Onii on the right, only to find him happily stuffing popcorn into his mouth.

“…Sigh.”

She let out a soft breath, not particularly surprised.

Honestly, she complained inwardly, could Onii not reflect on himself just a little?

The childhood friend’s behavior afterward made Chouko grind her teeth in frustration.

He was busy with club activities, completely ignoring the heroine when she was isolated again. After being hurt by her family’s disbelief, she hid alone in a corner and cried.

Only the male lead, upon waking up the next day and noticing the redness around his eyes, made a special trip into Tokyo, snuck into his own house, stole his allowance from two years ago, and bought her delicious sweets she had never tasted before.

Scumbag.

Too cunning.

If someone did that to her, even she would not be able to…

Was the resemblance to Harutaki too strong or what?!

Then, just as the heroine was ready to accept her fate and enjoy her remaining time, she noticed that the male lead had been using his limited time to gather information, and on the second-to-last day before the comet’s fall, he completed a rescue plan.

If they cut the power supply to the festival that everyone would attend on the night the comet fell, the town would activate its emergency procedures, and the residents would be evacuated to a safe area beyond the comet’s reach.

However, on the tenth day, the body swap did not occur. Everything would have to be done by the heroine herself.

“I’ll come find you.”

The male lead swore that he would reach the ruins of Itomori before nightfall on the tenth day and attempt the special ritual mentioned by the heroine’s grandmother. Encouraged by his words, the heroine gathered her courage and decided to change the version of herself who had always avoided facing hardship.

Later, watching the male lead’s motorcycle break down halfway, forcing him to run desperately toward the ruins, and watching the heroine being chased by power plant guards, scraping her arms and hands when she fell yet refusing to give up…

Even knowing the ending would be a happy one, Chouko could not help but pray for them in her heart.

As the pitch-black night gradually replaced the blood-red dusk, seeing both of them fighting with everything they had, her heart hanging in her throat, she suddenly wished someone would comfort her.

She subconsciously turned to Onii. In the flash of light from the screen, she saw the glossy syrup on his fingers, and his complete immersion in the movie, utterly indifferent to her feelings.

The perspective shifted to the male lead performing the ritual taught by Miyamizu’s grandmother, slipping and tumbling down a small slope, gritting through the pain as he forced himself to keep running.

Chouko clenched her hands tightly around the armrests.

Watching the heroine’s despair unfold on screen, she felt as if she had returned to that day in the karaoke room when she had drunk the drugged drink. In that moment, when she closed her eyes, she too had felt this desperate, this eager for “him” to save her.

And he, Harutaki, had truly pulled her, Shihou Chouko, back from hell.

Please make it to Mitsuha…

At last, effort was rewarded. The male lead crossed time itself and reached Miyamizu Mitsuha just as she was about to give up. He extended both hands toward the girl who had collapsed to the ground.

“Just like we promised, I found you, Mitsuha.”

“Just like we promised, I found you, Chouko.”

Huh? Why did it feel like someone was holding her hand too?

Sensing the warmth and strength around her fingers, Chouko froze.

Was this what they called a 4D movie?

Yeah, right.

Of course she knew where this feeling came from. She just did not want to face it.

No… Onii is right next to me…

She tried to struggle, but scenes from the movie and reality overlapped rapidly in her mind, draining all strength from her body.

“Didn’t I tell you? When you run, swing your arms properly and keep your eyes forward…”

“I’ve told you several times, don’t eat or drink anything strangers give you…”

Stop it. Stop it.

Chouko pressed her free right hand to her face, trying to hide her mortified expression from him. Yet she could not bear to miss the movie’s climax, so she spread her fingers and peeked at the screen through the gaps.

“Hold my hand. Let’s cross over despair together.”

The male lead said.

“Hold my hand…”

“If you keep reciting the lines, I’m going to feel secondhand embarrassment for you, Hoshikawa…”

Using the glow from the screen, Chouko turned her head. In the dim theater, she saw that familiar handsome face, wearing the same mischievous smile as earlier on the train.

“Chouko? Did you say something just now?”

“Ah… n-no, nothing. I just unconsciously repeated the line…”

Having drawn Onii’s attention because she had not controlled her volume, she quickly shook her head.

“Huh, same here. Super hyped… ah, I shouldn’t get distracted. I almost missed the best part…”

“…Yeah.”

Idiot Onii…

Chouko shot him a glance, then turned away, no longer paying attention to Onii staring straight at the screen.

“So why are you here too?”

“Why can’t I be?”

Breath carrying a mint-lemon scent brushed against his ear, making Harutaki shiver slightly. He imitated her, turning his head and whispering into her ear.

Guh…

That did it. Chouko felt a tingling sensation run through her whole body, shuddering despite herself.

“W-watch the movie properly…”

“Whatever you say.”

Harutaki understood the principle of knowing when to stop. He did not need to look to know that her face was probably burning red already. He had felt that same tremor in the hand holding his just now.

And besides, she had not pulled her left hand away from him.

Left hand holding his sister Ayaka, right hand holding Shihou, he leaned back in his seat and waited calmly for the next opening.

Even though he had never seen this movie, based on the buildup so far, there was definitely another emotional peak coming for the ending.

Sure enough, after destroying the power plant and evacuating the townspeople to safety, the male and female leads climbed with all their strength to a cliff beyond the comet’s reach. Watching the brilliant comet crash into the ground in the distance, they embraced tightly at the instant the blinding light erupted.

“Hoshikawa… w-wait…”

“Just for a little while.”

Harutaki whispered reassurance as he naturally wrapped an arm around Chouko’s shoulders, letting her rest her head against his chest, just like the heroine in the movie.

He thought to himself that although she said wait, she was not using any strength at all.

If she truly resisted, he would never force her. But this was clearly not resistance.

“Just a little while…”

Chouko muttered in reminder, her voice so soft she could barely hear it herself.

This was really too much. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but the familiar scent mixed with his presence flooded her nose. Instead of calming down, her heart raced even faster, forcing her to abandon the idea of deep breathing altogether.

“Chouko…”

As the camera pulled back, the leads still embracing while gazing at the comet-scarred ruins, Sato suddenly spoke, making both Harutaki and Chouko jump.

“W-want some popcorn?”

“Um… ah, I said I don’t like things that are too sweet… thanks, Onii.”

Sorry, Onii…

“Chouko… next time, if there’s something you like or dislike, make sure to say it earlier, okay?”

“Mm.”

I’m sorry… but Harutaki’s embrace is really warm…

“It’s fine. If anyone finds out, just say I forced you.”

Harutaki raised his right hand, which he had just pulled back, and gently rubbed her head along the direction of her hair.

“…”

So comforting…

Chouko realized that her body, which had been trembling from tension, finally relaxed and stilled.

Even if they were discovered, she did not want to blame Harutaki. This was the result of her own lack of resistance. It was her fault. All her fault. She had failed to hold her ground.

Even if Harutaki was almost exactly like the male lead in the movie, that was not an excuse she could use for herself.

“Do you like your Tokyo handsome boy?”

Harutaki’s voice suddenly whispered by her ear.

Here it was again. Harutaki’s pointless jokes.

“Want to swap bodies?”

“Pfft…”

Chouko could not help laughing softly, covering her mouth with her right hand to keep the sound from leaking out.

At this moment, she no longer had room for self-reproach. Her head was filled with imagined scenes of swapping bodies with Harutaki.

“Sure. Want to hand your body over to me? I understand girls really well. I’ll use Hoshikawa’s body to work hard and make money in Kabukicho. Anything you want to buy? I’ll give you twenty percent of the earnings.”

“A Kyoto young lady really is a Kyoto young lady. Born into a landowning family and all. Taking eighty percent of the profits. Even capitalists aren’t that ruthless.”

“Hmph… what, Hoshikawa, not satisfied?”

“Nope. Maybe I should try using your body, Shihou’s, and see what it’s like to pee standing up. I’ve always been curious, you know.”

“Disgusting…”

Chouko instinctively clamped her thighs together, then shot her right hand straight to Harutaki’s unguarded side and pinched hard.

“Sss… I admit defeat.”

“Hehe. So, convinced now?”

Hearing the tremor in Harutaki’s voice, Chouko broke into a mischievous grin.

“I’m convinced…”

Harutaki tried to stop her with his left hand, but when he turned his head, he realized his left arm was firmly hugged to his chest by his little sister, Ayaka, who refused to let go.

Apparently, she had overheard his joke with Shihou as well. The result was an unspoken team-up, the two of them punishing him together until he finally admitted fault, only then letting him off.

“Shihou, you used way too much strength… that seriously hurt.”

Putting on a pained tone, Harutaki seized the opportunity, hidden by the dim lighting, to exaggerate things and fool the girl a little.

“Eh…?”

Was it really that painful?

Chouko froze for a moment. She really might have pinched too hard just now.

Then that meant… that meant…

She suddenly remembered when she was little, after she had fallen and cried her eyes out, and what her mother would do. It was something simple, but in her heart, it was the gentlest thing in the world.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. Pain, pain, fly away…”

Murmuring softly, Chouko gently rubbed the spot she had pinched earlier.

But only a moment later, she snapped back to her senses. Her face burning with embarrassment, she angrily shoved away the arm Harutaki had around her, wriggled free from his embrace, and leaned back against her own seat.

….

Just in case, before the ending music started playing in the theater, Harutaki took his sister Ayaka and left first. Chouko, on the other hand, stayed with Sato, only slowly standing up when the credits appeared on the screen, following the rest of the audience out of the theater.

“Um, Chouko, could you wait here a moment? I need to wash my hands… sorry, the popcorn made them all sticky and it feels awful.”

After throwing away the trash, Sato showed her his palms apologetically, then hurried off toward the restroom, following the hanging signs.

“Sigh…”

Once Onii was gone, Chouko finally let out the unease and frustration she had been bottling up, staring blankly down the corridor he had disappeared into.

Why couldn’t you have realized this a little earlier, Onii?

She lowered her head and looked at her nails, carefully chosen and meticulously applied. Remembering that Harutaki hadn’t noticed them either, a faint sense of disappointment welled up in her chest.

…

Stepping out of the Toho cinema and back into Shinjuku, Chouko looked at the neon lights that were already flickering to life even though night had yet to fully fall. She immediately felt as if she had returned to that noisy, bustling world. Compared to the quiet atmosphere inside the theater earlier, the contrast left her feeling oddly disoriented, as though she had crossed between worlds, her steps unconsciously slowing.

“There’s a restaurant around here I’ve been to before. It’s really good. Want to have dinner together too?”

The movie had run for a full two hours and twenty-five minutes, so by the time they exited, it was already 17:40, right at dinnertime. Following Chouko’s gaze, Sato looked at the many glowing neon signs, hesitated for a moment, then made the suggestion.

“Mm… it’s not another ramen place, is it?”

“Ahahaha…” Sato scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. “Definitely not the same as lunch.”

“Then I’ll look forward to this ‘really good’ place you’ve been to, Onii.”

Chouko secretly let out a breath of relief, thinking that as long as it wasn’t ramen, he probably couldn’t pick anything worse.

With her mind a little more at ease, her steps grew lighter as she followed him toward their dinner destination.

But as they walked, Chouko suddenly thought of Harutaki, who had left earlier.

He’s not going to suddenly show up again, is he?

She abruptly turned her head and scanned her surroundings. Aside from passersby and the ever-present utility poles…

Wait?!

Her eyes met Harutaki’s as he peeked out from behind a utility pole, trying and failing to look inconspicuous. His pale gold eyes curved into crescent moons.

“Pfft…”

Seriously, did he think he was some kind of ninja or secret agent?

He was clearly just a stalker. Harutaki, you idiot. At least try to hide properly!

“Chouko? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing…”

Hearing Onii’s concerned question, Chouko hurriedly covered the lower half of her face with her hand, explaining in a muffled voice.

“My nose was itchy just now. I couldn’t help sneezing.”