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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 21: A Midsummer Day’s Dream
After the ruckus of the leak incident finally settled, the end-of-term ceremony crept up before anyone noticed.
“Kanna-chan, was the writer ‘really’ there when you recorded for ‘D Note’ this time?”
“Wait—don’t tell me you ‘didn’t’ get an autograph?”
“Hold up, are you serious? That teaser leak was actually planned and wrapped up in just four days?”
“Was it true that the writer’s plan was what caught the leaker, too?”
“Ahaha…”
With vacation right around the corner, the kids were buzzing with excitement.
Their biggest obsession lately? None other than the juicy behind-the-scenes of the ‘D Note’ leak scandal.
Since Kanna had taken part as a voice actor—and even made the news for it—she couldn’t escape the barrage of questions from her classmates that started the moment she walked in.
“It was honestly so cool. Your voice sounded totally different from usual, you know?”
“You’ve done anime voice work before, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, I got lucky once and landed a good gig back then. I still take voice lessons now for vocal training, so I guess I kind of stumbled into this one too. Haha…”
Maybe it’s because they’ve known Kanna’s usual self for so long.
But right now, she looks like she’s trying really hard to match the vibe—and honestly, it’s a little heartbreaking to see.
Showbiz really ‘isn’t’ for just anyone, huh.
Still, judging by their reactions, it’s a relief that the leak footage we scrambled around to make over those few hectic days didn’t go over too badly.
You can only get so much from internet reactions—hearing people’s thoughts face-to-face hits different. It’s way more real.
“Alright, alright! Everyone take your seats. Just because it’s the start of vacation doesn’t mean you get to lose your minds.”
Just as Kanna was starting to get overwhelmed, Mr. Takahashi, their homeroom teacher, walked in—right on cue to cool the overheated room.
As usual, he ran through the basics in his usual dry, clipped style.
“Don’t go getting yourselves into trouble. Don’t fool around and get hurt. That’s it.”
Short and sharp—he was just about to wrap up the last homeroom session before summer break when—
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Mr. Takahashi tossed in one final, ominous line.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Hahahahaha! Supplementary classes?”
“You're enjoying this ’way’ too much, Matsuda.”
“Ha, haha… Sorry, it’s just—I’ve never had to take one. So people ‘really’ get assigned to these things, huh?”
“I hadn’t either, until now.”
Jung Junhyuk hadn’t ever taken one either.
In Korea, there’s no such thing as ‘supplementary lessons.’
But in Japan, if you fail an exam or don’t meet attendance requirements, you get assigned to extra classes during vacation.
At first, he thought it was actually a pretty reasonable system—better than just letting students fall through the cracks.
But now that ‘he’ was the one stuck in it? That thought quickly soured.
“Want me to tutor you or something?”
“If I’d ‘actually’ taken the exam, I would’ve aced it, thanks.”
“Right, right.”
“KRAAAHHH!”
Jung Junhyuk—who'd already graduated from university—had not failed a middle school test.
No, the reason for all this was that he'd skipped school to pour everything into finishing the storyboard for ‘D Note’, drawing inspiration from ‘Fullmetal Alchemist.’
“So, as you can clearly see, I’m entirely blameless.”
Of all the rotten timing—Junhyuk had taken time off to double down on work just when the exams were held.
Meaning—it wasn’t ‘his’ fault. It was the school’s fault for scheduling the test while he was off doing something important.
Firm in his belief, Junhyuk clung to his own righteousness.
“You? The guy who can whip out 10 chapters' worth of storyboards in a single day?”
“Look, I was in the ‘zone.’ And I really needed to nail that part—so yeah, I focused.”
Maybe his explanation convinced him, because even Matsuda, who'd been relentlessly teasing, gave a slow nod.
“Honestly? That’s a damn good excuse. With a story like that, I can’t even say anything to you.”
That last line… was the final blow.
Something inside Junhyuk snapped.
All this... because of a middle school test? He had to take a supplementary class?!
“It’s not my fault it’s not my fault it’s not my fault—”
For Junhyuk, whose academic pedigree was a serious point of pride, this was like someone keying his soul. He spiraled.
Unable to accept this cruel reality, he yanked out his phone and furiously scrolled through his call history.
“Wait—what are you doing…?”
Matsuda watched in horror as Junhyuk’s thumb flew past contact after contact—until it stopped.
He read the name on the screen and went pale.
“Moriyama… the chairman… No. No way—don’t you dare—”
But Junhyuk, now fully yandere mode activated, was long past rational thought.
His thumb hovered over the call button—
“No! Jun-kun! Stop! I’m begging you! We’re all gonna ‘die’ if you do this!”
Just in time, Matsuda grabbed his wrist—and the disaster was averted.
For now.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Well... that was disgraceful.”
“One more scene like that and we’ll be holding a funeral before the wedding.”
Thanks to Matsuda’s quick intervention, my morally sketchy attempt to call Chairman Moriyama and beg him to cancel my supplementary classes ended in failure—before it could turn into a full-blown scandal.
As he took a breath and sipped his coffee, Matsuda picked up a sheet of paper that had fallen to the floor.
Probably dropped during my earlier meltdown.
“Hm? Jun-kun, you into stocks now?”
It was a printout I’d made—stock market info I’d pulled from the internet to check investment trends.
“Yeah. I’m thinking of putting some money into something stable.”
In Japan, savings accounts give abysmally low interest. Holding onto cash is basically losing money.
I send over 70% of my earnings back home, but with the royalties from Volume 2 just hitting my account, it was enough that I figured I should invest a bit for the future.
“But I’m not really sure ‘where’ to put it.”
Weirdly, despite being a regressor, I couldn’t remember a single solid investment opportunity.
All the juicy guaranteed-wins or prime real estate tips—gone.
Can’t even recall which smartphone companies were big back then. Pathetic, right?
While skimming through my printouts, Matsuda made a suggestion.
“What about U.S. companies? Like Nasdaq stocks or something…”
“Ugh… Ughhh—my head…!”
Nasdaq. That name... oddly nostalgic.
A name I don’t ‘want’ to forget. A name I ‘can’t’ forget.
Just hearing it feels like something scorches my chest—like tears soaked in pain.
And for some reason, when I hear the word ‘Nasdaq,’ my mind keeps snagging on an image of a trump card lingering at the edge of my vision.
That damn card… I hate it so much.
“I-I’ll think about it…”
“R-Right. Sounds like it’s weighing on you. I mean, if I suddenly had that much money, I’d probably be overwhelmed too.”
So, with Matsuda’s well-meaning sympathy, I decided to take my time—and think through my investments a little more carefully.
＊ ＊ ＊
Summer in Japan is hot.
Like, anime-summer-scenery-with-the-sun-beating-down kind of hot.
In other words—
“This weather is insane… Absolutely insane…”
It means the walk to school is disgustingly hot.
I was sweating just standing still. I didn’t even run, and I was already drenched.
By the time I got to school, I was soaked head to toe in sweat.
As I opened the classroom door, the sound of the sports clubs shouting outside echoed in the background.
“Good morning.”
Already there ahead of me, my fellow supplementary-class sufferer—Hasegawa Kanna—waved and greeted me.
＊ ＊ ＊
“I see. So that’s how it is.”
“This is just a misunderstanding… I showed up on exam day, and I didn’t fail anything. I’m only here because I missed too many days earlier in the semester.”
I’d assumed Kanna and I were in the same boat, both stuck in supplementary class because we bombed our exams—but clearly, I was wrong.
“Isn’t our school private? I figured they’d cut you some slack.”
“I don’t want that. And if people thought I was getting special treatment just because I’m an entertainer, the rumors would never stop.”
As expected of someone who’s been in showbiz since she was young—she’s sharp about these things.
Even when she’s in awkward situations at school, she never loses her cool. Her mental fortitude is no joke.
We were taking different makeup classes in the same classroom, and thanks to the weird half-day schedule, we could leave sometime between morning and afternoon.
Since we were headed in the same direction, we walked together for a while—until the sky darkened, catching my attention. I looked up.
“Those clouds don’t look good.”
“It’s fine. The forecast said it wouldn’t rain today—”
Kanna said this with way too much confidence, showing off her intel.
FWOOOOSH!
It started pouring.
“Damn meteorologists.”
Whether it’s Japan or Korea, you just can’t trust the weather service.
＊ ＊ ＊
They ducked under the nearest tent to escape the rain, but even after a while, it showed no signs of stopping.
Jung Junhyuk’s phone was soaked through and completely dead.
Next to him, Kanna let out a quiet sneeze—she must’ve been freezing too.
This definitely wasn’t one of those quick, passing showers.
Junhyuk turned to Kanna and asked—
“How long does it take you to get home?”
“My place is a bit far... about 20 minutes on foot.”
Since they’d passed the bus stop earlier, going back would take about 10 minutes.
Seeing Kanna shivering, Jung Junhyuk pointed to a public phone.
“Call your parents. My studio is just ahead, so let’s head there first.”
“Uh...?”
“We can’t just stand here shivering. Unless you’re worried about drawing attention.”
“No... it’s not that bad.”
As a child actor, Kanna wasn’t exactly a magnet for attention like adult celebrities.
She had to be careful about her behavior, but it wasn’t like paparazzi were lurking around.
“Come on in.”
Kanna entered Junhyuk’s studio, quietly impressed.
She’d heard about his setup from lunches together but this was her first time visiting.
It was neat—not cluttered so much as just minimal.
The only noticeable things were a large drawing tablet and a printer.
It didn’t feel like there was any unnecessary stuff lying around.
“Here, take this towel. Go get into some warm water.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Kanna was gently ushered into the bathroom. After finishing her shower, she stepped out to find clothes neatly laid out for her.
“They’re kinda big...”
She muttered.
Wearing men’s clothes for the first time felt a little strange.
When she came out dressed, Junhyuk had already set out warm tea and some snacks on the table.
“Finished? Your phone’s drying over there—take it with you when you leave. I’m gonna wash up, so just sit here and warm up with some tea.”
Since Matsuda often brought snacks when visiting the studio, there was always plenty of tea and treats.
Junhyuk went into the bathroom, leaving Kanna admiring how smoothly he hosted guests.
“This is... kinda embarrassing.”
Sitting awkwardly, Kanna’s eyes landed on the collected volume of ‘D Note’ on the desk.
She’d read it before but naturally picked it up and got drawn into it.
As she was deeply focused, Junhyuk suddenly appeared.
“Uh...?”
“We didn’t even have lunch yet. Let’s eat.”
He emerged from the bathroom holding a plate of omelette rice.
“When did you make that?”
“While you were lost in that book.”
“S-Sorry. I should’ve helped.”
“You can cook?”
“......”
“Let’s eat.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
Kanna was surprised by how authentic it looked—and even more surprised it tasted good.
But seeing Junhyuk’s proud look made her stubborn, so she kept her reaction low-key.
After finishing and cleaning up, Junhyuk, watching TV, said,
“They say the rain will stop soon.”
“Who says?”
“The weather forecast.”
“......”
Kanna stared at the TV suspiciously.
Fortunately, the weather forecast wasn’t all lies, and after a while, the rain gradually eased.
Just as her phone started working again and she was about to get ready to leave—
Click.
The front door opened suddenly.
“Jung, your phone was off. Is everything okay?”
And then—
“Uh...?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, Matsuda-san. It’s not a meeting day, so what brings you here?”
Two were flustered, one was calm.
By the way, Matsuda was the most shocked, and Junhyuk was the most nonchalant.
Matsuda’s eyes landed on Kanna wearing Junhyuk’s clothes—and on the two awkward teens in the cramped room.
“Jung, y-you don’t mean to say...! I’ve heard these kids are quick nowadays, but not this quick!”
Matsuda began backing away from the entrance.
“Uh...? Oh...!”
Only then did Junhyuk realize the situation and reached out to stop Matsuda from leaving.
“W-Wait!”
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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