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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 30: Summer Break—Now with Bonus Time
Director Daito stared in disbelief, his eyes trembling, as he faced the man sitting across from him—Deputy Editor Sawada.
“B-But… 'D Note' is at the peak of its popularity right now. Why would you want to end a series like that so soon…?”
After all, anime adaptations thrive when they ride the momentum of a hot original. So no, Director Daito wasn’t clinging to this out of desperation over a single month’s salary. This was about strategy. About art. Definitely not the paycheck. Absolutely not.
“We at the editorial department also feel it’s unfortunate, but this decision was made some time ago. It’s final—there won’t be a reversal.”
“Agh… No…”
Daito buried his face in his hands, overcome with dread and disbelief.
Just then, a hand gently landed on his shoulder. He looked up instinctively to see who it was—and there stood Producer Yamaguchi.
“Director, it is what it is. Why don’t we go back and regroup for another meeting?”
“Y-Yamaguchi…”
But Yamaguchi wore a grin—one of those infuriatingly subtle smiles twisted at just the right angle so only Daito could see it.
He leaned in close and whispered—
“Now, now, don’t take it too hard. We’ll be sure to put your precious salary to ‘very’ good use.”
Crushed by this psychological attack, Daito clutched the back of his neck and nearly collapsed, only to be caught and propped up by Yamaguchi.
“Our director has been wanting to work on 'D Note' for a long time.”
Yamaguchi explained with a calm smile.
“The sudden announcement of the finale must’ve been quite a shock.”
Daito stared at him like he’d just been stabbed in the back—and maybe he had.
Meanwhile, Yamaguchi smiled on, cool as ice, like a corporate assassin on a casual Friday.
“If it’s not too much trouble, could we ask for just a few more days? We hadn’t expected the series to end so soon, and it’s such a compelling title... It’d be a shame to drop it just because it’s wrapping up.”
“Of course. Just remember—the news of the series ending hasn’t been made public yet, so please keep that under wraps.”
“Understood. Thank you. We’ll be in touch very soon.”
Daito tried to object, to say ‘something’, ‘anything’—but Yamaguchi clamped a hand over his mouth before he could get a word out.
“Isn’t that right, Director? He agrees completely.”
And with that, Yamaguchi dragged the struggling Daito away like a mafia enforcer pulling his mark into the shadows.
“…What was ‘that’ all about?”
“No idea.”
Deputy Editor Sawada and Matsuda could only stare in bewilderment at the scene that had just unfolded.
＊ ＊ ＊
Summer break was over.
…And I found that out exactly one week after it ended.
When I told Hasegawa Kanna—who was sitting next to me, delicately eating her low-carb salad bento—her jaw dropped like I’d just said the Earth was flat.
To her credit, she finished chewing and swallowed before reacting. That’s the kind of elegance you only get from someone born to be in the spotlight.
“You’re joking, right? Didn’t your teacher try to contact you? I definitely did!”
“Ah… yeah. My phone broke.”
Riiing—
My phone started ringing.
“...Hello?”
“Guess you got a new one? That connected ‘real’ fast.”
Kanna’s voice came loud and clear through the speaker. I must’ve accidentally cranked the volume. Her usual Kyoto-accented lilt poked at my brain like it was teasing me for fun, and with a sweet little smile, she flicked me right on the forehead.
“So? What happened? Why couldn’t anyone reach you?”
“You really wanna hear the full story?”
“Not particularly.”
“Too late. You asked. So listen closely—and keep this between us.”
“......”
Here’s how it all went down…
Ever since Comiket, I’d been getting bombarded with threats from all kinds of people.
Publishers sliding into my Twitter DMs with stuff like “Post the manuscript now or else!”
Readers practically frothing at the mouth.
At its most violent—
“Author... I’ll kill you... GRRAAAHHHH!!”
At its most unhinged affectionate—
“Huff... Huff... I wanna lock the author in a basement and make them draw manga forever...!!”
Being caught in that whirlpool of unfiltered otaku desperation wrecked my nerves. I was so stressed out, I couldn’t sleep—except in the dead of night, when the whole world was quiet.
“So basically, you slept fine.”
“...Just shut up and let me finish. This next part is important.”
Trapped in this mind-numbing routine—same day, same cycle—I gradually lost all sense of what day it was.
The only times I got a clue were when Matsuda dropped by for a meeting.
Then, eventually, I lost track of the ‘date’ too.
I barely used my phone, outside of contacting Matsuda. And once he realized I was awful at replying, he just started skipping the whole “calling first” thing and began using his emergency key to let himself in. Like a parent dealing with a wayward teenager.
So, naturally, my phone died. Battery drained.
And with that, my only lifeline to the outside world went silent.
But even that ‘alone’ doesn’t explain how I managed to extend my summer break by a full week.
The truth is…
A series of misunderstandings and coincidences had to align ‘just right’ for this absurd miracle to happen.
“How long is this story?”
“I’m almost done. Just shut up and listen.”
＊ ＊ ＊
“Due to Ms. Takahashi being on maternity leave, I’ll be serving as your temporary homeroom teacher! I look forward to working with you all!”
Matsumoto Yuichi had just stepped in as the substitute homeroom teacher for Jung Junhyuk and Hasegawa Kanna’s class.
Matsumoto was a loyal cog in the machine—an ambitious teacher aiming to climb the ranks at this private middle school. The moment he stepped into the classroom, his eyes scanned the room, quickly analyzing the students.
‘That kid… and that one. And that one too. Those kids all come from influential families. Hasegawa Kanna—child actress, but already a household name. Better make sure I don’t step on any landmines here.’
It might’ve seemed calculating, but hey—this was his way of surviving in the shark tank of modern society.
“Hm?”
Something caught Matsumoto’s eye—an empty seat.
Late on the first day back?
But it turned out not to be a simple case of tardiness. The student never showed up at all—not for a minute the whole day.
“This is outrageous! An unexcused absence, and not a single word of notice?!”
Matsumoto might have been a ladder-climber, but he also prided himself on running a tight ship. Even if this was just a temp gig, he had no intention of phoning it in.
“Hah! A no-show on your very first day as a substitute?”
The teacher sitting next to him chuckled, but Matsumoto answered proudly and with gusto.
“Yes! Honestly, how long are they planning to stay in ‘vacation mode’? I’ll be giving them a firm talking-to!”
“Who is it, anyway? The student who skipped the first day?”
“He’s a foreigner! Name’s Jung Junhyuk! Sure, it’s probably hard adjusting to life in another country, but a student’s still gotta uphold their duties! He clearly needs some strict guidance!”
Matsumoto, fuming, reached for the staff room phone and began dialing furiously.
“Oh—wait. That kid? Isn’t he the one the chairman said we should ‘pay special attention to’?”
Matsumoto froze. And slowly put the receiver down.
‘How hard must life be for him... Living alone in a foreign country at such a young age… he must be going through a lot.’
“…?”
“You absolute fool!”
He suddenly yelled—at himself.
“You didn’t even stop to consider the student’s feelings, and instead just flew off the handle! What if he was sick and couldn’t call?!”
After berating himself into a spiral of shame, Matsumoto took a deep breath, recomposed himself, and turned to the teacher beside him.
“…Patience is a virtue for a teacher too, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Uh… Y-Yeah, sure… I guess?”
Now, for someone like Matsumoto—always gunning for promotion—Jung Junhyuk, with even a hint of ties to the school chairman, was practically radioactive.
But after four whole days of radio silence, his patience was running out.
He’d already sent multiple polite check-ins and lovingly concerned texts, but Junhyuk’s phone was off, and there wasn’t a single response.
He ‘could’ have just contacted Junhyuk’s legal guardian, Matsuda, to get to the bottom of it. But…
- How dare you lay a hand on someone personally blessed by the chairman?! Do you have any idea how badly I got chewed out because of you?! I’ll be reporting this straight to the top—you can kiss your promotion goodbye. No, forget that—kiss your job goodbye! FIRED!!
That was the kind of imaginary rant Matsumoto pictured Jung Junhyuk launching into. Gripped by paranoid fantasies of being ruined by a rogue middle schooler, Matsumoto couldn’t bring himself to make the call.
“…But what if he really is sick and something happened?”
That thought finally tipped the scale. With hands trembling, Matsumoto dialed the guardian’s number.
- Weekly Shōnen Jump, Matsuda speaking.
“A-Ah! I beg your forgiveness for the sudden call! I’m reaching out regarding Jung Junhyuk’s absence from school. Please understand—this is not to say he’s done anything wrong! But if he’s in good health, I humbly request that you encourage him to return to class!”
- ???
＊ ＊ ＊
“That’s how it all happened.”
“…So basically, this entire long-winded explanation was just to say it was your fault?”
“Hey now. It wasn’t ‘my’ fault—it was a perfect storm of coincidences, inevitability, and unfortunate timing.”
Kanna shot Jung Junhyuk a frosty glare.
“Didn’t you say you go on walks all the time? How did you ‘not’ realize school was starting soon when you saw kids in uniforms walking around?”
“I figured it was approaching, not that it had already started.”
Kanna, clearly done trying to make sense of him, let out a small sigh and shut her now-empty bento box.
“More importantly—what’s this about Comiket? You went to Comiket?”
“…!!”
Junhyuk stared at her, eyes wide in panic.
“W-Wait, how did you—?!”
“…You told me yourself. Said you started getting threats in your DMs after publishing at Comiket.”
At Kanna’s response, Junhyuk retraced his words, realizing he'd let that detail slip in the excitement of talking to someone other than Matsuda for the first time in a while.
He’d been so hyped up, he’d blabbed without thinking.
“Relax. I won’t tell anyone. I already know ‘you’re’ the author of 'D Note'. At this point, who cares?”
Kanna casually dug through her convenience store bag like it was no big deal.
“Kanna-chan… thank you. I swear, as your fan from now on, I’ll support you in every way I can.”
“Eugh, gross. Never call me that politely again.”
But Junhyuk, now genuinely grateful, couldn't help but meddle like a well-meaning idiot.
“That bread’s 1,000 calories, y’know. More than two bowls of rice.”
He pointed at the bag of bread Kanna was opening.
“If you eat that, it completely cancels out the salad from earlier—”
“Shut it. Unless you wanna die.”
Junhyuk, not wanting to die, shut it.
＊ ＊ ＊
A few days later, the producer and director from ND House showed up again at the Weekly Shōnen Jump editorial office.
Director Daito looked visibly worn down, while Producer Yamaguchi, for some reason, looked pleased as punch. They sat side-by-side.
“We’ll still need the author’s consent, but if they’re willing, ND House would like to take full charge of animating 'D Note' through to its conclusion.”
And just like that…
The anime adaptation of 'D Note' was officially set into motion.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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