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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 11: Our Classmate... Is a Celebrity's Celebrity?
D Note.
Ever since it was named the winner of the Newcomer Award, the series had been turning heads—earning both critical acclaim and mass appeal.
A sensational entry in the world of shounen manga, it blended a bright, energetic style with the brooding tones of dark fantasy.
And now?
It had solidified its place in serialization, climbing to the top of Weekly Shōnen Jump’s reader polls and refuses to budge. Even the collected volumes were selling like wildfire—each print run immediately triggering another, as if the series were flexing its dominance.
Naturally, with a meteoric hit like that, people started speculating—not just about the story, but about the person behind it.
The internet was ablaze with rumors about the mysterious author of D Note.
[Is the Creator of D Note Actually a Foreigner?!]
I know someone who works in the editorial department at Shueisha, and apparently the ‘D Note’ manuscript was submitted from overseas.
Editor was scouting for Newcomer Award entries when they found it.
ㄴThe author’s name is Wakayama Jun though? How's that foreign?
ㄴEver heard of pen names? Could be using a Japanese alias.
ㄴSo what if they’re foreign? Good work is good work.
ㄴ……
[Is the Author of D Note a Man or a Woman?]
[D Note's Creator Is Actually the Editor-in-Chief’s Son?!]
From plausible theories to completely baseless gossip, the internet couldn’t stop spinning tales.
And watching it all unfold, Jung Junhyuk and Matsuda couldn’t help but feel grateful they’d decided to publish under a pen name.
In the early 2000s, anti-Japanese sentiment was still fairly strong in Korea, and Japan’s own internet was crawling with extreme nationalists and political radicals.
Choosing to keep the author's identity hidden was a preemptive move to avoid unnecessary controversy.
That’s why...
The author's nationality, age, or any personal information—must never be leaked.
Absolutely not.
＊ ＊ ＊
"How much… of that did you hear?"
Matsuda set down his coffee cup as he asked, his voice low and deliberate.
Sitting across from him, Hasegawa Kanna lowered her eyes and confessed quietly—
“Um… starting from the part where you said ‘D Note’ was getting another reprint…”
“Tch. Just great. So she heard from the beginning.”
Matsuda clicked his tongue in clear annoyance, his face tightening into a grimace.
His gaze shifted to Jung Junhyuk.
“Hmm…”
Without saying a word, Matsuda was clearly asking—’What do we do about this?’
Junhyuk, catching the unspoken message, paused to think.
“…There’s only one option. We deal with it here and now.”
“Stop. Cleanup would be a pain in the ass.”
Hasegawa Kanna—who, to be fair, ‘had’ been eavesdropping with her ear practically glued to the divider—had accidentally discovered the true identity of D Note's author.
And now, she found herself in mortal (well, figurative) danger… of being ‘eliminated.’
Faced with that grim possibility—
“Hrk…! Hic… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… please don’t kill me…”
She broke down in tears, begging for mercy.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Uh… uh? Hey, kid… what you heard earlier? That was just a joke between me and Jung.”
Startled by the sudden intervention, Matsuda comforted Kanna with a gentle voice.
A little kid already using tears as a weapon—scary future ahead.
But Jung Junhyuk wasn’t about to crumble over some fake tears.
“Matsuda, she’s an actress. That was all just acting.”
“Tch.”
Having already noticed something suspicious, Jung Junhyuk pointed out her odd behavior.
Seeing this, Kanna seemed to give up on pretending and immediately changed her tone.
“Sorry for eavesdropping. I’ll forget everything I just heard here.”
Keeping secrets is nothing new for actors.
Realizing she’d overheard something she wasn’t supposed to, Kanna neatly wrapped it up.
But Jung Junhyuk wasn’t the type to just let things go without proof.
“Hey, girl.”
Crossing his legs, Jung Junhyuk fixed Kanna with a sharp gaze.
Matsuda leaned in and whispered quietly.
“What’s your story this time? I’m no writer, so you’re gonna have to make it simple.”
“A young heir from some organization. Good at fighting but not too sharp. He got pushed out of the succession by his smarter younger brother. But he still loves his brother, who threatens his position—a kind older brother.”
“In that short moment, you came up with all that… you really are a genius writer!”
Matsuda’s genuine praise made Jung Junhyuk shrug his shoulders slightly.
Who hates compliments, after all?
As the two of them bantered, Kanna, feeling left out, shyly raised her hand.
“Um…”
“Oh, right. Totally forgot. Your name is… HaseMoto Kanna, right?”
“It’s Hasegawa Kanna! I introduced myself earlier! And you’re Jung Junhyuk from my class, right?”
“Out of all those kids, you remember me? Matsuda, I think she likes me.”
“Based on my experience, that’s definitely a green light.”
“I’m literally the only foreigner in the class—how could you ‘not’ know?!”
They bounced off each other perfectly, leaving Kanna totally caught in their teasing.
Just as Kanna was about to lose it, their ordered food arrived at the table.
Her dish was placed alongside theirs.
“Alright, let’s eat. Matsuda’s treating us today, so eat as much as you want.”
“No, I’m good. I brought money.”
Kanna pulled out her wallet to show she could pay, but Matsuda just laughed and motioned for her to put it away.
“It’s fine. We’ll use the company card anyway.”
“...But you said you were paying with your personal card earlier.”
“There are more people now.”
Matsuda really wanted to use his own card, but today he really had no choice but to use the company one.
“But hey…”
“Why the sudden formal speech? You’ve been chatting casually all this time.”
“It's just… you kept teasing me, so…”
Kanna said shyly.
Jung Junhyuk gave her a cold, puzzled look.
The girl who pretended to cry and got caught, then yelled at him for getting her name wrong—why was she acting like this now?
Well, the latter was his fault, but this sudden change in atmosphere left Jung Junhyuk feeling out of place.
But for Kanna, this was just her emotions finally settling down.
She wasn’t pretending—she was genuinely shy.
With a timid voice, she finally spoke.
“Are you really… the author of ‘D Note’?”
“…Alright, but first, can you stop with the weird formal speech?”
Jung Junhyuk quickly looked away, unable to meet Kanna’s sparkling gaze.
“Since you overheard everything, I’ll just tell you. Yes, I’m the author of ‘D Note.’ And, as you might have guessed, this here is my editor.”
“Hello. I’m Matsuda.”
“Uh, I’m Hasegawa Kanna.”
Kanna, who’d been acting for a long time, instinctively offered her business card and greeted Matsuda.
“Earlier I said it lightly, but Jung’s identity as the ‘D Note’ author is confidential. It’s unavoidable if it spreads through unofficial channels, but we’d prefer to keep it under wraps.”
“Understood.”
Matsuda had been worried when Jung’s identity was at risk of being exposed, but he felt relieved it was Kanna.
She was one of the top child actors, so she wouldn’t spread the news recklessly.
They were most cautious about it reaching close friends, but judging by Jung’s reaction, that wasn’t a concern.
Probably because his friendships weren’t that smooth.
When Matsuda glanced at Jung, he gave a small nod.
“I’m just going to quickly hit the restroom.”
＊ ＊ ＊
When Matsuda stepped away, it was just Kanna and me left at the table.
Without the unfamiliar adult nearby, Kanna seemed noticeably more at ease.
She subtly pulled something from her bag and held it out toward me.
“Hm?”
It was the first volume of ‘D Note’. The cover looked shiny and new, so she probably hadn’t had it long.
“Um… could you… sign this for me?”
Kanna ducked her head shyly, trying to hide her nervousness. Her lips pressed together, cheeks flushed pink, but her eyes stayed locked on me.
Her acting game was strong—no wonder she was an actress.
I took the pen she handed me and asked—
“Which character do you like the most?”
“J!”
I quickly sketched J sitting in a unique pose on the sofa with a name pen and added a speech bubble saying, ‘Looking forward to your performance.’
“Wow… you really are the ‘D Note’ author.”
“What did you think I was until now?”
Saying that made me realize my behavior up to this point probably didn’t leave the best impression.
“So… what should I call you?”
“Just call me Jun. Or Hyuk, or whatever you’re comfortable with.”
My name stretches out awkwardly when said in Japanese—Jung Junhyuk becomes Jōngu Junhyōku—five syllables instead of three.
So since university in Japan, people have just called me Jun, and that nickname stuck.
“Alright then, I’ll call you Jun. And you can just call me Kanna.”
“Sounds good. So, what did you want to ask?”
“Oh, how come your Japanese is so good?”
A pretty standard question, and one I’d heard too many times since coming here.
“I used to live in Japan.”
“Where did you live?”
“Well, back then—”
Just the usual questions and answers, nothing special.
After a few back-and-forths like that, Matsuda returned.
For some reason, Kanna’s face looked even brighter and more relaxed than she did back in the classroom.
This unexpected little fan meeting was a first for me, and signing that autograph felt pretty special.
＊ ＊ ＊
“The survey results are out. ‘D Note’ has been number one for 20 weeks straight.”
“......”
Hashida, the team leader, approached waving the survey paper, and Matsuda covered his eyes with both hands.
“I can’t look. Seriously, I can’t.”
“Not even at your future?”
“It’s our future, you know.”
“Don’t rope me into this—I’m just your editor.”
Chapter 20 of ‘D Note’ dropped, and once again, it snagged the number one spot without breaking a sweat.
Matsuda had been quietly holding steady near the top all the way to chapter 20. If it stayed that way through chapter 50, the higher-ups were ready to greenlight the series’ conclusion.
Which meant... Matsuda was about to face the axe.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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