Life In The Reverse World

“Phew—!”

Sae stepped out of Hyogotei first, stretching like a middle-aged man again.

“I’m so full~”

Flick.

“Hey, Izumi! Why’d you flick my forehead?!”

“Act a bit more like a girl.”

Izumi sighed, then turned to Chouko.

“It’s already past six. We’re all heading in different directions, so let’s split up here.”

“Mm, see you tomorrow~”

“See you tomorrow~”

“I still wanna go to Izumi’s place for an after-party! Drinks! All-nighter! Woohoo!”

“Who’s this drunk middle-aged guy? Stay away from me.”

From afar, Sae who had lunged toward Izumi was pushed back by her hand pressing on her forehead. Seeing that, Chouko couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Ahh… how nice.”

She wished to etch moments like this into her memory—like a buried treasure chest from childhood, filled with once-precious “gems.” Hoping that, someday in the future when she digs it up again, the people who buried it alongside her would still be by her side, opening it together.

Half an hour later, Chouko, now dressed in comfortable loungewear, lay on her bed and replied to messages one by one while holding her phone.

[Harutaki: You home yet? Did you properly brag about my greatness to Nogami and the others? [cat hands on hips]]—read

[Chouko: Izumi said she’s looking forward to trying it out~]—read

[Harutaki: For real?]—read

[Chouko: You’re pretty excited, huh?]—read

After waiting a while without a reply from Harutaki, Chouko couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile.

What a cowardly idiot.

She sent him a goodnight message, then exited the chat and checked her other contacts.

Sae had sent her a selfie—towel around her neck, standing on a treadmill.

Chouko replied with a “cat cheering” sticker, and couldn’t help but wonder if she should also start exercising more.

Otherwise, it would be bad if the weight ended up in all the wrong places.

Minako sent a photo of the handkerchief she had received and carefully kept, thanking her and saying she really liked it.

[Chouko: [cat thumbs up]!]—read

Replying to everyone important basically meant telling them she had made it home safely. That was something she had to do.

However, the moment she saw Izumi’s message, her heart skipped a beat.

[Izumi: By the way, what should I get as a return gift for that Hoshikawa guy?]—read

Yeah…

She silently thought to herself. Even if she had done that kind of thing with Harutaki, she still couldn’t stop Izumi from liking him.

Just as Harutaki had once said—

“I like you. I don’t need your permission for that, right?”

On one side was her best friend. On the other was the boy she liked most. How was she supposed to choose?

[Chouko: Just tie yourself up with a ribbon and deliver yourself to his bed [cat grin]]—read

[Izumi: There’s no such thing as gifting yourself. I might as well tie you up and send you to his bed instead~]—read

[Izumi: Anyway, he’s the type who’ll accept any cute girl without hesitation.]—read

After joking around a bit longer, Izumi decided she’d go to the mall sometime to pick out a gift for Harutaki.

Chouko took a deep breath, reminding herself it was just a normal return gift—nothing to think too deeply about—and lightly typed out a goodnight message, ending their conversation.

And finally…

[Chouko: I’m back in Tokyo.]—unread

After a short while, the unread mark turned to read.

[Onii: Hoshikawa-kun is really something…]—read

[Onii: Now that you’re free, I can’t stay stuck in place either as your big brother. I’m going to focus completely on my studies from now on—cramming for Todai! [grinning emoji]]—read

[Chouko: Do your best! [cat nod]]—read

[Onii: Also…]—read

[Onii: Be happy, Chouko. That’s my one and only wish as your brother.]—read

[Chouko: Yeah! [cat Super Saiyan power-up]]—read

After sending a goodnight message, Chouko casually tossed her iPhone onto the bed. She stepped barefoot onto the balcony and lifted her gaze toward the bright full moon hanging in the night sky.

Izumi had begun to try and convey her feelings to Harutaki.

Onii had also let go of his past burdens and decided to aim for the University of Tokyo.

Everyone was moving forward.

She—Shihou Chouko—couldn’t afford to fall behind either.

Thank you, Izumi… you gave me the motivation to move forward.

Thank you, Onii… you made me realize the feeling of loving someone.

That first meeting outside the restroom—she had thought he was just another victim swallowed by the night. But what appeared before her eyes was something that shattered the darkness: dawn.

A radiant, warm, rising sun—brilliant and gentle.

Harutaki-kun… I want to live as cool and free as you, to overcome obstacles with that same mature, passionate spirit, and move toward the future.

The early summer breeze brushed against her cheeks, like Harutaki’s gentle hand, lightly teasing her hair.

It was already past eight.

Was Harutaki, at this very moment, also looking up at this same moon?

Even though they had only been apart for less than a day… was he thinking of her?

“Harutaki…”

She wanted to become the moon in his sky—one that, after receiving the light and warmth of the sun, could still shine in her own right.

An elegant, beautiful moon. Even if it only borrowed light, it could still illuminate the path of those walking through the darkness.

Unlike her past self, who blindly followed Onii’s expectations and impulses…

—At this point, this feeling, this emotion, could only be called love.

She suddenly recalled the last words she had said before breaking free from the cage that had bound her for so long, before stepping out of the “walls” of Suisōen.

“I have someone I need to see. There’s something I must pursue. I can’t stop here.”

She clenched her fist, the corners of her mouth rising uncontrollably.

Her smile right now must be full of hope and courage.

This unstoppable, overwhelming feeling—this must be love!

“Izumi, even if you’re my best friend, I won’t just casually share the person I like with you!”

She wasn’t a good girl who always stayed in place—someone who had run away from home twice wouldn’t just stand still and wait for a man to be delivered to her doorstep!

In the past month or so, both Onii and Harutaki had taught her—

Don’t get lost in your own world, assuming things on your own.

Don’t project your expectations and ideals onto others without permission.

And over the past two years, she had also learned something herself—

Don’t let your selfishness hurt the people you care about.

So…

Let’s carry all these expectations and ideals, and move forward together with everyone!

“Do your best, Shihou Chouko!”

She swung her fist toward the sky with force, fingers spread wide as if trying to grasp the moon—then clenched them tightly.

(Author's Note)

Volume 2 Epilogue Summary

Volume 2 is finally complete—

That was roughly what I was thinking when uploading the previous chapter.

Maybe because the original draft was too hard to read, I ended up overdoing it in this second volume, pushing it too far into a pure romance direction. Combined with the slow pacing, the reading experience became somewhat dragging, and Harutaki’s one-sided efforts and “hijacking” didn’t come out as satisfying as intended. Since this is my first time writing, my lack of control is definitely a problem—thank you, and sorry to everyone who has supported me this far.

However, as mentioned earlier in the story, what looks like giving in love is actually a form of seeking greater return. In a sense, this also serves as groundwork for the future harem route.

From the beginning, Chouko went from rejecting Harutaki, to becoming interested in him after their conversations at the café and dessert shop. Later, after being rescued by him from karaoke, she gained a sense of safety through his respect and restraint, and stopped rejecting contact with him. From there, she gradually began to fall—wavering between Sato (her childhood friend) and Harutaki, eventually becoming completely disillusioned with Sato.

As the title of Volume 2 suggests, “Expectations and Admiration,” Harutaki is someone who, due to his past, tries to respond to everyone’s expectations and admiration. Sato and Chouko’s relationship is also deeply tied to those same expectations and admiration.

Sato wanted Chouko to understand him, to wait for him a little longer—he imposed his own expectations onto her, believing that she would understand his feelings despite being a “good girl,” an “old friend,” and a stubborn, somewhat outdated and self-deprecating yet prideful childhood friend with a Showa-era masculine mindset.

Chouko, on the other hand, wanted someone who could treat her “normally”—to interact with her like an ordinary friend. She projected that desire onto Sato, and when she realized he couldn’t meet it, she broke down and fell into self-destruction.

Unfulfilled expectations and admiration can be said to be a road leading straight to hell.

But…

The theme of this story is still positivity—everyone moving forward toward the future together.

Chouko learns independence and realizes she must fulfill her own expectations and aspirations with her own hands. Though there is still a long road ahead.

Nogami is gradually exploring emotions, trying to pursue something “real” like Chouko.

Sato came to terms with reality and his own feelings, realizing that what he truly wanted was to protect the happiness of his childhood sweetheart, who was like a sister to him---just as he had thought in the original story: to guard her with his own two hands. (Though he utterly failed to do so.) He wanted to correct Chouko's unpleasant personality, her stubbornness, and her mischievous ways, constantly reminding her not to do bad things or make mistakes. In essence, compared to romantic love, his feelings were clearly more like the care of an older brother for his younger sister.

Harutaki, after Minako exposed his true feelings in Volume 2, finally acknowledges that he cannot let go of any girl he desires, and resolves to pursue a harem route.

Next is Volume 3, which will likely focus on Miyabi-senpai first, followed by Minako.

Since this is my first time writing, I’ve been adjusting things continuously as I go. For example, I originally planned for Nogami and Chouko’s arcs to develop in parallel in Volume 1, but later split it into 1.5 tracks—Nogami 0.5, Chouko 1.

The sister route is still woven into daily life scenes.