An idea suddenly struck Yakoya—simple, yet it might be the only way to truly communicate with Mitsuko.
He sat on the edge of his bed, opened a small notebook, hesitated for a moment, then finally wrote his first sentence:
"If you're reading this… it means we've switched again."
His hand trembled slightly.
He had never written anything this serious before, and each word felt like a confession that his life was no longer under his control.
He closed the notebook firmly, pressing it between his palms as if afraid the truth inside it would slip away. Then he tucked it under his pillow, close enough to reach the moment he woke—if the switch happened again.
He exhaled deeply.
That heavy feeling inside his chest only grew stronger.
This wasn't just a strange accident anymore.
It was becoming part of his daily life, intruding without warning, without permission.
He glanced around his room as soft morning sunlight filtered through the window. But the warmth never reached him.
Only questions filled his mind:
When will this phenomenon stop?
How can he regain control of his own life?
And who… or what… started all of this?
He closed his eyes—not out of comfort, but out of exhaustion.
Maybe a little rest would bring clarity… or so he hoped.
On the Other Side… Mitsuko Awakens
Mitsuko opened her eyes slowly.
She sat up, placed a hand on her chest, then looked quickly at her arms, her hair, the room around her.
A deep breath escaped her lips.
Mitsuko (relieved whisper):
"…I'm back in my own body."
But before she could even process the relief, a loud childish scream burst through the hallway.
Neriko (shouting at full volume):
"WAKE UP!! Breakfast is ready—get up, you lazy girl!"
Mitsuko jumped in surprise, then let out a tiny laugh.
After a long, confusing night, Neriko's voice felt strangely comforting.
The sound of normal life—something she hadn't realized she missed.
But she had no idea yet…
That beneath Yakoya's pillow, far away in his own world,
a message waited for her.
And another message… waited for him.
Mitsuko frowned, clearly annoyed.
Mitsuko (irritated): "I'm coming! And stop calling me lazy!"
She brushed off the sleep from her clothes and hair, stretched her arms, then headed straight to the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face, trying to fully wake up and start her day.
Despite being back in her own body, there was still a lingering confusion inside her… a weight she couldn't shake off.
After getting dressed, she walked to the dining table to have breakfast. But the moment she sat down, her grandmother suddenly paused mid-scoop.
Grandmother (puzzled): "Why are you wearing your school uniform?"
Mitsuko: "…What?"
Neriko burst out laughing.
Neriko (mocking): "You half-asleep idiot! Today's a holiday!"
Mitsuko: "What? A holiday?"
She blinked, startled. Only then did she remember—today was a day off from school. She had completely forgotten because her mind was tangled in the strange events of the past few days.
Grandmother (laughing softly): "It seems someone is a bit overwhelmed. You should really take it easy today."
Mitsuko (embarrassed smile): "Yes… I will."
She sat down with a tired sigh. Even though she was back to normal—at least physically—her thoughts kept drifting to the body-swapping and how it had shaken her sense of reality.
Neriko: "Hey! Half-asleep girl, pay attention! Even holidays don't come this often!"
She laughed loudly as she stuffed a bite of food into her mouth.
Mitsuko: "Ugh, stop saying that… Fine, I won't go to school today."
Her expression was drained, her voice faint.
Despite the teasing and the morning chaos, Mitsuko tried to calm herself. She needed to relax. At least for today.
---
A Sudden Shift
As she ate breakfast with her grandmother and Neriko, Mitsuko's eyelids grew heavy.
Mitsuko (in her mind): "I'm so tired… maybe just a moment of rest…"
She closed her eyes—just for a heartbeat.
And when she opened them…
She wasn't at the table anymore.
She wasn't even in her own home.
She was somewhere completely different.
Lumya (worried): "Brother, are you okay?"
Yakoya's father (confused): "What's wrong with you?"
Mitsuko froze.
Mitsuko (in her mind, panicking):
"Did… did we switch bodies again? But I only closed my eyes for a second!"
Yakoya's father stepped closer, his tone more serious.
Father: "Answer me. What's wrong?"
Mitsuko swallowed hard, forcing herself to react.
Mitsuko: "S-sorry… I'm fine."
But her mind was racing.
She could feel it—she was inside Yakoya's body again. The shift was real. And sudden.
Lumya: "Are you sure you're okay?"
Mitsuko: "Yes, I'm fine. Really… don't worry."
She tried her best to stay composed, though confusion pulsed through every nerve.
Yakoya's father eyed her carefully.
Father: "If you're fine, then why do you look like that?"
Mitsuko: "It's nothing… I just felt tired for a moment. I'll be alright."
Inside, she was anything but alright.
Carrying Someone Else's Responsibilities
Yakoya's father crossed his arms.
Father: "Do you have your part-time job today, Yakoya?"
Mitsuko froze again.
A job?
Responsibilities?
Burden?
She had no idea what he was talking about. The person whose body she now occupied had a life she knew nothing about.
Father: "Yakoya?"
Mitsuko snapped back to reality, lifting her head slowly.
Mitsuko (quietly): "…Yes."
He sighed.
Father: "If you're feeling tired, don't push yourself. I know you carry a lot on your shoulders. But you need to take care of yourself too."
Mitsuko blinked at him, stunned.
A lot on his shoulders?
What kind of life was Yakoya living?
She took a breath, steadied her voice, and replied:
Mitsuko: "I understand. I'll try."
But deep down, she knew—
This phenomenon wasn't random.
Something bigger was happening.
Something neither she nor Yakoya could escape from.
Mitsuko: "Yes, I'm fine. I won't take on too much---
The words left her lips, but they weren't truly hers. She only said them to ease Yakoya's father's worry. Deep inside, she was terrified—overwhelmed by the responsibilities she knew nothing about, and unsure how she could possibly live his life correctly.
Suddenly, Yakoya's phone began to ring.
Yakoya's father: "Who is it?"
Mitsuko: "I… don't know."
She picked up the call, trying her best to steady her voice.
Mitsuko: "Hello, Tsukasa. What's going on?"
Tsukasa (over the phone): "Hey, Yakoya. Just reminding you—we have plans today. You, me, and Jinta. Don't forget."
Mitsuko (in her mind): Plans? Today? What are these plans? Am I supposed to go?
Yakoya's father watched her carefully.
Father: "What is it? Will you have time today?"
Mitsuko (trying to sound calm): "Yes… Tsukasa reminded me. It seems important. I'll go."
Father (serious): "If that's the case, make sure you take care of yourself. Don't push too hard."
Mitsuko (in her mind): Can I really slip into Yakoya's routine? What if I can't handle his life the way he does?
After an hour, Mitsuko met Tsukasa and Jinta.
Mitsuko (with Yakoya's voice): "Hey… how are you guys?"
Tsukasa & Jinta (simultaneously): "We're good. What about you?"
Mitsuko (carefully): "I'm… fine."
Tsukasa & Jinta: "Good to hear."
Mitsuko (in her mind): Boys greet each other so strangely… is this normal for them?
Jinta (smirking): "Are you tired, Yakoya? You seem off today."
Mitsuko: "Not really… maybe just the weather."
Tsukasa (laughing): "You always have something to complain about."
Mitsuko (thinking): Is this how Yakoya usually acts? His life is… complicated.
Tsukasa: "Let's head to the café."
Jinta: "The usual place?"
Mitsuko (suddenly excited): "A café? Yes, let's go!"
Tsukasa and Jinta exchanged looks.
Both: "You're oddly enthusiastic today, Yakoya."
Mitsuko (mentally confused): Why am I even excited? What's wrong with me?
Tsukasa: "Alright, let's go."
Mitsuko (thinking): This is my chance to learn more about his life… maybe understand the burdens he carries.
At the Café
Mitsuko ordered the most expensive dessert on the menu.
Tsukasa (worried): "Yakoya, that's really pricey. And you don't even like sweets…"
Mitsuko: "What? No, I love sweets. And besides, this isn't my money."
Jinta (confused): "Huh?"
Mitsuko (panicking): "I mean— it is my money. Forget it."
Mitsuko (thinking): It's Yakoya's money, not mine… so why not enjoy it?
The boys shared a chuckle.
Tsukasa & Jinta: "You're acting weird today, man."
Mitsuko: "Just trying to enjoy the moment."
Suddenly, Yakoya's phone buzzed.
Message from: Boss
Where are you? You're late.
Mitsuko: "Looks like I'm late for his part-time job… I should go."
Tsukasa: "Good luck, man."
Jinta: "Take care. Don't push yourself."
Mitsuko hurried out of the café.
Mitsuko (thinking): I really need to get back to my own body… this is too much. But for now… I have to survive this shift.
At Yakoya's Part-Time Job
Mitsuko arrived at the café where Yakoya worked. The moment she began her shift, she could feel eyes on her—curious, confused, slightly suspicious.
Coworker 1: "Yakoya, are you okay? You're acting strange."
Coworker 2 (whispering): "He's different today… way too different."
Coworker 3: "Something happened? You don't seem like yourself."
Mitsuko: "No, no… I'm fine. Just tired."
Coworker 4 (kindly): "Don't worry. Everyone has off days."
But inside, Mitsuko was drowning.
Mitsuko (in her mind): They're right. I really am different. How does Yakoya deal with all this pressure every day?
A customer raised his hand, signaling her.
He looked polite—clean suit, neatly combed hair, handsome face.
Customer: "Could I get a strawberry cake and a coffee?"
Mitsuko: "Of course."
She brought the order a few minutes later.
But suddenly—
The Outburst
Customer (raising his voice): "This waiter is useless! How am I supposed to pay for something this awful? The dessert is terrible! The coffee too! Why should I pay?!"
Mitsuko (shaken inside): What? Why is he saying that? I followed his order exactly… why is he being so cruel?
Coworker (angry, defending Yakoya): "Excuse me, sir. Yakoya is one of our best workers. He always does his job well."
Customer (arrogant): "I don't care! Nothing is good here. This waiter shouldn't even be paid!"
Mitsuko felt the words hit her harder than she expected, like blows to the chest.
Mitsuko (in her mind): Why… why does it hurt so much? Why is he attacking me like this? Did I do something wrong?
Coworker: "Sir, please stop. Yakoya doesn't deserve this."
Mitsuko (trying to remain composed, but her voice trembling): "Why… why would someone say that? Was it really that bad?"
Her eyes burned—anger, sadness, and confusion mixing together.
After the Incident
The manager stepped in and threw the customer out.
Coworker: "Go home, Yakoya. Your shift's over."
Mitsuko (sadly): "Why did he say all that…?"
Coworker (puzzled by Yakoya's emotional reaction): "Don't you know, Yakoya? You've dealt with dozens like him. Some people pretend to complain just so they don't have to pay."
Mitsuko froze.
Mitsuko (in her mind, stunned): Yakoya… went through this so many times? People treating him like garbage just to avoid paying?
It hurt her deeply.
Returning Home
She returned to Yakoya's house, walked into his room, and collapsed onto his bed.
She closed her eyes, fighting back the heaviness in her chest.
Mitsuko (thinking):
Was Yakoya really enduring all this alone?
How painful must it have been for him…?
He never deserved that kind of treatment…
Not once.
She curled into the blanket, swallowed by the weight of someone else's life—one far harsher than she expected.
Mitsuko closed her eyes, surrendering to the storm of thoughts crashing inside her mind, trying to grasp the reality of the person whose body she now occupied. Yakoya—quiet on the outside, yet carrying so much more than anyone ever noticed.
Mitsuko (whispering to herself):
"How… how could someone endure all of this? Being humiliated like that… and still show up every day? Should I really have been here today? Wouldn't it have been better if I had just stayed in my own body?"
A single tear slid down her cheek as she lay on the bed, not even realizing how deeply every word and moment she experienced in Yakoya's body affected her.
Mitsuko (voice cracking):
"Why were they so cruel? Why did he keep everything bottled up like this? How did he survive all of it… alone?"
She turned her face away, squeezing her eyes shut as the weight of this borrowed reality pressed down on her chest. This body—Yakoya's body—carried burdens she had never imagined, and now she felt every part of it sinking into her heart.
She shifted slightly, feeling something beneath the pillow.
Slowly, she lifted it.
Mitsuko opened it with trembling hands.
Mitsuko (softly):
"…What did he write?"
She flipped through the pages, each line filled with a kind of quiet honesty she had never seen in him before. It was as if every word carried pieces of the life he never spoke about.
She read aloud, voice barely above a whisper:
"I am Nakamura Yakoya… a high school student… working part-time at a café… and I've been swapping bodies with some girl… which means you, the one reading this now."
The simple sentence hit her harder than she expected. She reread it, again and again, as if the meaning kept sinking deeper each time.
Mitsuko (breathing shakily):
"He really… wrote this. He actually wanted me to see it…"
She turned the page and continued.
"If you're reading this, it means our bodies have switched again…"
Her expression softened—sadness mixed with astonishment.
She closed the notebook gently and set it on the small table beside the bed, her mind racing.
She had never imagined Yakoya carried so much alone.
She had never imagined he suffered this quietly.
After a moment of hesitation, she picked up the notebook again.
And she began to write.
Her hand moved slowly, as if every word weighed something.
"Today, I felt what Yakoya goes through…
He's been hurting far more than I ever realized."
She wrote not just thoughts—she wrote understanding.
She wrote empathy.
She wrote the ache in her chest that wasn't even hers to feel, yet somehow was.
"I never imagined I'd spend a day in his place…
I think he hid everything too well."
She closed the notebook carefully, inhaling deeply before slipping it back beneath the pillow—right where Yakoya always kept it.
And for the first time, Mitsuko understood:
There were things in both their lives that needed to change.
And maybe… this strange, painful exchange was the beginning of that change.
This chapter is probably not good The events will begin soon, believe me, you will be surprised at how things will change. Just wait a little while.