Chapter 1: I’ve Become a Side Character!?
I wake up as usual, eat breakfast, go to school, attend classes, and then return home.
I spend my time playing games, reading books, watching movies, and anime, before going to sleep.
That was my daily routine and my everyday life.
My student life isn’t as glamorous as it’s depicted in manga or anime, but I still liked my ordinary days and had no complaints. In fact, it’s peaceful without any unnecessary troubles, and I’m not caught up in any school drama.
Living an ordinary life without troubles. That’s my motto and what I seek.
Today, like any other day, ended without any issues, and I dived into my bed and closed my eyes.
I quickly succumbed to sleepiness, and my consciousness sank into the distance.
At that moment, I thought that tomorrow would be the same as usual.
I woke up to an alarm sound that was different from usual. When did I set such an alarm?
My vision was blurry, perhaps because my mind was still groggy from sleep.
I reached out to stop the alarm and closed my eyes, thinking I’d snooze just a little longer.
Ah, this time is blissful, a comfortable moment.
Another five minutes… no, maybe ten minutes of sleep should be fine.
…
…
Wait. Isn’t there school today?
Crap! If I keep sleeping, I’ll be late!
I sprang up with the intention to change into my uniform when I noticed something felt off.
“Huh…? This is my room, right?”
I furrowed my brows as I realized the source of the discomfort.
The room I remembered should have been much messier, but the room in my view was neatly organized.
The ceiling, walls, interior, the bed and pillows, smartphone and uniform, even the bookshelf—everything was not as I knew it from my own room.
I might still be in a dream, but there’s no point in zoning out in my room forever, and I don’t want to be late for school.
I opened the window, but the unfamiliar scenery spread out before me.
Yeah, it’s definitely different. I don’t recognize any of it. There are many things I want to question, but first, I should wash my face.
As soon as I left the room, there were stairs, and as I went down, I saw an entrance that seemed both familiar and not. When I opened the door to what seemed like the living room,
“Oh my. It’s rare for you to wake up so early, Chihaya.”
A woman in her forties called me Chihaya while looking at me. Huh? The name Chihaya… I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere… And that face, I’m sure―
It wasn’t just a feeling of recognition; a certain hypothesis was beginning to form in my mind.
“Um…”
“Hurry up and eat your breakfast. Mom is busy too.”
That’s right. This must be a dream! A bad, bad dream!
I pinch my cheek and slap myself hard, trying to say goodbye to this bad dream!
But no matter how much I slap or pinch, it only hurts, and instead, my mind wakes up and my thoughts become clear.
This woman. She’s Saki Tachibana.
She’s the mother of Chihaya Tachibana, a friend of the protagonist Hiroto Takahashi, from the famous romantic comedy manga “I Can’t Stop Loving You!”
I read it because a friend recommended it, but it wasn’t really to my taste, so I only read the first volume, though I know it’s a popular work.
There were scenes where Takahashi would go to Tachibana’s house to play, and Tachibana’s mother appeared quite often.
I see. She certainly looks younger than her age, and compared to the ill-tempered Tachibana, she has a kinder face.
Tachibana Chihaya must resemble his father. I see, I see. Hmm… does that mean I’m…?
“Hey? Chihaya?”
I immediately headed to the bathroom. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it until I looked in the mirror, but once I did, I’d probably regret it.
Arriving at the bathroom, I cautiously raised my face. Reflected in the mirror was none other than Chihaya Tachibana himself. His eyes still had that sharp look, but his features weren’t bad.
Maybe it was because I’d just woken up, but my hair was a mess, and there were sleep crusts in my eyes.
I washed my face with cold water and stared at my reflection again.
The face before me belonged to Chihaya Tachibana, a side character from the manga “I Can’t Stop Loving You!”
It seems I’ve somehow become a character from a famous romantic comedy manga.
And let me tell you, this character, Chihaya Tachibana, isn’t particularly well-liked.
He’s a bit of a cynic and often says snarky things to other characters.
As far as I know, he has quite a few anti-fans, and his popularity ranking isn’t high.
To top it off, his appearances in the anime have been significantly reduced, which has left some original fans feeling lonely, but overall, it’s been well-received.
No wonder I’m in an unfamiliar room, and my mother has become the beautiful and famous Saki Tachibana.
By the way, in the original work, Saki Tachibana’s popularity is incredible, and she even has more figures made of her than other heroines.
What’s with that? A mother character surpassing the heroines in popularity…
How popular is she!
And what’s with the age group…? It’s supposed to be serialized in a manga aimed towards young males.
Well, the details don’t matter.
It seems there’s no mistake that I’ve become one of the residents of the world of “I Can’t Stop Loving You!”
Assuming this isn’t a dream, that is.
Sigh… I don’t get it. At least make me the protagonist!
The protagonist, Hiroto Takahashi, is a handsome guy who’s popular with many girls and is said to be a really good person. He’s also a saint who treats everyone equally and is a character without malice.
Why would such a saintly person be friends with such a cynical character?
And why am I even in the world of such a romantic comedy manga!?
Is it like those recent trends where you become a character in the world of manga, anime, or games?
"Is that so, is that so… how can I accept this!”
No, wait. If that’s the case, it’s the worst.
I hate the fact that I’ve somehow ended up in this unknown world and have become a disliked character.
What if, like Chihaya Tachibana, not acting accordingly causes some anomaly in the world, leading to its collapse and death… that might be possible.
The more I think about it, the more I feel like fainting. Oh no, it’s scary…
Argh!
If only I had read the manga properly!
I regret that I got bored after the first volume and stopped reading.
“Chihaya? What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Saki, my mother, came to the bathroom worried.
I tried to act naturally so as not to arouse suspicion.
“Ah, no. I just seem to be a bit groggy.”
“Really? You gave me a scare first thing in the morning. Come on, let’s eat breakfast.”
“Ah, yes.”
For now, I have to play the role of Chihaya Tachibana.
But what kind of person is Chihaya Tachibana?
This is why I hate side characters. There’s too little description, so I have to use my imagination to fill in the blanks.
Sigh… What’s going thappen to me?
By the way, the breakfast was very delicious!
No wonder she’s popular. She’s supposed to be my mother, but I think I might start to like her.
Bang the mom.
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