After much thought, I chose the playground where they had first played together in the past as the meeting place.
It was symbolic in many ways, and the park with the playground had become neglected and deserted.
Right after arriving at school, I approached him, dozing off in a window seat.
“Ryuji.”
“…Huh? Why?”
“Do you have some time after school?”
Ryuji, seemingly tired, yawned and replied,
“Yawn, well, I have plenty of time. I’m not doing any club activities or anything.”
“Good. That works out. Let’s go somewhere together.”
“Where to?”“There’s someone who wants to meet you.”
Technically, it was a ghost.
I glanced at Saya, anxiously waiting next to me, and then looked seriously at Ryuji’s face.
Ryuji, realizing I was serious, nodded agreeably.
“Okay, sure. If you’re asking, it can’t be something strange.”
“I really appreciate it.”
I thanked him, nodded, and then returned to my original seat.
‘With this, all preparations are complete.’
The operation would start after school.
Now everything depended on the conversation between the concerned parties.
“What should I do? I’m so nervous.”
Despite feeling strange anxiety seeing Saya’s excited state, I decided to trust in the process.
I would rely on the eloquence of Sakamoto Ryuji, the protagonist of this love comedy world.
After school.
Today’s journey home was a little different.
Normally, it would have been just Rika and me taking the subway, but today Ryuji was with us.
Including the ghosts Saya and Mahes, it was a large group of five.
“Then, we’ll be going now.”
“Okay, take care. See you at school tomorrow!”
After waving goodbye to Rika, who always parted with an energetic smile, we got off at Chitose-Funabashi Station.
While walking to the park, Ryuji, who was next to me, asked first,
“So Yu-seong-ah, isn’t it about time you tell me? Who’s this person who wants to meet me?”
“Ah, about that.”
I scratched my cheek and turned my gaze away.
“It’s probably someone you know. Someone who’d be really happy to see you.”
“???”
Ryuji looked even more puzzled.
I understood that it wouldn’t be easy for him to grasp.
It wouldn’t make sense to him, as we hadn’t known each other for even half a year.
“Well, seeing is believing. It’ll be faster to understand by seeing it firsthand.”
I said that to gloss over the conversation and quickened my pace.
We arrived at a public park near my house.
“This is…”
Ryuji quickly recognized the place, showing a familiar expression.
“Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve been here. It’s still here.”
He approached the old slide, stroking it with a nostalgic expression, as if he missed it.
“This playground is where I used to come often as an elementary student. Is the person you mentioned one of the friends I played with back then?”
“Yes.”
I nodded and checked my phone screen.
[I’ve arrived nearby.]
It was a message from Sasha.
Looking around, I saw Sasha walking towards us from a distance.
Following my gaze, Ryuji turned his head with a puzzled expression.
“That’s Sasha.”
“Yes.”
“Sasha knew me when we were young? Did I forget about her?”
I shook my head.
“Don’t worry, it’s not what you’re thinking. Sasha just came here to help.”
“To help?”
Meanwhile, Sasha arrived at the playground, waving her hand and approaching us.
“Hey, Kim Yu-seong.”
“Sasha, thanks for coming today.”
“I have to help out for a friend’s request.”
She said this and greeted Saya, who was floating next to me, with a nod.
Anyway, with this, all the people were gathered.
I asked Ryuji, who still had a puzzled expression on his face,
“Ryuji, do you believe in ghosts?”
Ryuji, seemingly taken aback by the sudden question, tilted his head and replied,
“I didn’t before, but now that Mahes is here, I do.”
“Then that’s good. The person who wants to meet you today is also a ghost.”
As I said this and looked at Saya, she nodded and entered Sasha’s body.
Thunk!
At that moment, I felt as if something invisible connecting her and me was severed.
Simultaneously, Sasha’s hair, originally blue, began to slowly turn white.
Ryuji was speechless at the supernatural phenomenon unfolding before him.
Though it might be a high hurdle for an ordinary person, it was unavoidable this time.
Because without possession, it was impossible to converse with Saya.
Eventually…
Sasha, transformed into a white snow maiden, opened her mouth.
“It’s been a long time, Ryuji.”
The voice that came from her throat was not Sasha’s.
It seemed that Saya was now in control of her body.
Hearing Saya’s voice, Ryuji’s eyes began to tremble as if shaken by an earthquake.
After a long silence, he finally asked,
“Is it you, Chiaki?”
It was a name I hadn’t heard before.
But I could tell it was Saya’s real name.
It was evident when Sasha’s body, possessed by Saya, flinched upon hearing the name Chiaki.
And confirming this speculation, she muttered to herself,
“Yes, I remember now. My name is Shirogane Chiaki…”
And with newfound confidence, she took a step forward.
“It’s been a long time, Ryu-chan. Almost 6 years, right?”
At that moment, Ryuji’s eyes filled with emotion.
“…Yeah, it’s been a long time, Chiaki.”
Honestly, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what he was feeling.
How do you react when someone you loved and promised to marry in childhood suddenly returns as a ghost?
After hesitating, Ryuji asked,
“How did it happen?”
Saya—no, Chiaki, with a bittersweet smile, answered,
“You know, Ryu-chan. The incurable disease I had since I was young eventually took my life.”
“…Is it because of me? For taking you out of the house?”
“No, not really. The doctors had said that if it continued, I wouldn’t live to see twenty. My condition worsened while in care, so I just died a bit earlier than expected.”
She spoke of her own death, but Chiaki did so with detachment, as if it were someone else’s story.
Perhaps it was possible because she was already dead.
Chiaki, perhaps feeling pity for Ryuji and still confused by her death, gently stroked his cheek.
“It’s still a relief. To be able to meet you like this again.”
“Chiaki…”
“I still remember. The promise we made when I left this town.”
“…About getting married when we grow up?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Chiaki nodded with a faint smile.
“Forget that promise now.”
“……”
Ryuji couldn’t immediately respond to her request.
Probably because he too understood.
How important that promise had been to Chiaki.
The reason she remained on earth, unable to find peace.
One of her biggest regrets that was keeping her in this world must have been that promise.
Finally, Ryuji spoke up.
“Chiaki, can I be stubborn about just one thing?”
“…What is it?”
“I can’t grant that request.”
Ryuji, holding Chiaki’s cold hand, said this while smiling bravely.
“Honestly, I’ve never forgotten the promise I made when we parted. I think it will be the same even when I become an adult.”
Then he paused for a beat and said,
“After all is said and done, you are my first love.”
Hearing this, Chiaki’s face turned bright red.
“Wh-What are you suddenly saying?”
But Ryuji, having opened up, didn’t stop confessing.
“Even though you’ve become a ghost, and the promise we made can no longer be fulfilled, at least I want to remember you. I want to be the one to remember that you existed in this world.”
“So…”
“Will you allow me to remember you forever?”
Startled by Ryuji’s straightforwardness, Chiaki stuttered and then, with her head hung low, whispered softly,
“…I’ll allow it.”
Their conversation ended there.
A girl hoping to be forgotten and a boy wishing to remember.
It was truly a tragic tale.
Had she been alive, she probably would have been treated as the true heroine of “Scramble Love” by the readers.
Watching the two at the sunset-lit playground, I felt a strange sense of regret about this fact.
Mahes, who had been quietly beside me, then spoke.
“Then, shouldn’t this girl join us as well?”
“Huh?”
I turned my head, not having thought of this idea before.
Wasn’t it standard in such situations for the ghost heroine, having resolved her regrets, to pass on peacefully?
However, Ryuji’s eyes widened at Mahes’s suggestion, which pointed in a completely different direction.
“Is that really okay?”
“That depends on the girl’s will. Whether she passes on now or stays by your side.”
Chiaki, possessing Sasha’s body, also wore a stunned expression, not having thought of this option either.
“Is it really alright?”
“It’s just a matter of reincarnating sooner or later. You’re not an evil spirit, so I can overlook such a deviation within my authority.”
Encouraged by Mahes’s confident statement, the two looked at each other.
Then, Chiaki spoke first.
“Then… I’ll be in your care from now on, Ryu-chan.”
“I’m the one who should say that. Please be with me, Chiaki.”
The two exchanged these words and then looked at each other, smiling radiantly.
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