Stuck in Love's Script

Chapter 4

[Classroom]

Hiroshi, catching his breath after arriving in the classroom, rushed to deliver the news about the exam scores being posted outside.

"Shinichi! I know you're tired right now, but the exam results just got posted! I haven't seen them yet—come on, hurry, let's go check!" Hiroshi said, excited.

"Oh? Is that so? Alright, let's go take a look," Shinichi replied.

[School News Posting Area]

"Ah! Here it is!" Hiroshi said, pointing at the results.

"There are so many people here..." Shinichi noted.

"Yeah, I agree... not like last year," Hiroshi added.

"Okay, let's see..." Shinichi said as he scanned the names and scores.

"H-how did you..." Hiroshi began, shocked as he spotted something unexpected on the list.

"Oh! I scored higher than Mizuki. I guess that means I won," Shinichi said, noticing his score was above Mizuki's.

"Wha—what do you mean?! That's all you're going to say after taking the 7th spot in the exam rankings?!" Hiroshi exclaimed.

"Huh? Yeah, I guess you're right. I might’ve overdone it... heck, this might even be overkill for Mizuki," Shinichi replied nonchalantly.

"H-how did you do that—wait, did you even study?" Hiroshi asked, still in disbelief.

"I didn’t. I thought it would make the contest fair, but it wasn't even a contest. Hmm... maybe they made a mistake or something," Shinichi said, shrugging.

"So you climbed the top rankings just to beat Mizuki? You even outranked me..." Hiroshi muttered.

"Oh, yeah... sorry about that. Well, what’s important now is that we passed. Anyway, Yuna should be around here somewhere... Oh... uh... Hiroshi, I think we have a tiny problem," Shinichi said, looking concerned.

"Huh? What is it... WHAT?! N-no, no. This can't be! Yuna failed the exam by one point?!" Hiroshi said, panicked.

"I mean, it’s not that bad... it’s only one point, right?" Shinichi asked uncertainly.

"I wish you were right, but that’s not how it works... if you fail, even by one point, that’s it. No second chances," Hiroshi explained, his tone somber.

"What happens if you fail the exam, simultaneously?" Shinichi asked.

"If you fail, you have to repeat the entire semester until you pass the next exam," Hiroshi explained further.

"But... isn’t that kind of brutal?" Shinichi asked.

"Yeah, but I understand why they do it. They give us plenty of time to prepare and provide all the resources we need. If you fail, it's on you," Hiroshi responded.

"I see... unless..." Shinichi said, trailing off.

"Unless, what?" Hiroshi asked.

"Unless she takes another exam," Shinichi suggested.

"Eh? But that’s not possible. She’s already on the scoreboard," Hiroshi countered.

"Yeah, but this isn't official yet," Shinichi said.

"Even so, most of the students here usually show up on the official scoreboard," Hiroshi added.

"That’s true, but has the unofficial scoreboard ever been wrong? Has anyone failed here and then passed on the official list?" Shinichi asked.

"No, it’s always accurate. If you fail here, you fail on the official list too," Hiroshi replied.

"Well, there’s always a first time for everything, right?" Shinichi said with a smirk.

"W-what do you mean...? Don’t tell me you have a plan..." Hiroshi said, his hope returning.

"It’s simple. As long as the official scoreboard isn’t published yet, Yuna hasn’t officially failed. We just need to make sure she takes another exam—and this time, she has to pass. What do you think? Are you in?" Shinichi asked.

"Now I understand how you easily took the 7th spot on the scoreboard... I’m in!" Hiroshi agreed.

There’s no way I’m letting one of my protagonist’s heroines fall into despair after all the hard work they did studying every day. That would lead to an ending my uncle wouldn’t like, Shinichi thought.

"So, what’s the plan?" Hiroshi asked.

"Your role is important, okay? I need you to go to Yuna right now. She’s probably already seen her score and is feeling down. So, go tell her that everything’s going to be fine," Shinichi explained.

"That’s it? O-okay... but what about you?" Hiroshi asked.

"Don’t worry, I’ll handle the rest," Shinichi replied.

"Are you sure? Isn’t this too much for you to handle alone?" Hiroshi asked, concerned.

"That’s not for you to worry about. Now go!" Shinichi ordered.

"Okay, okay! One last thing!" Hiroshi added.

"What is it?" Shinichi asked.

"Can I at least tell Yuna that you did all of this for her?" Hiroshi asked.

"No, definitely not. That would be a big pain in my ass," Shinichi replied.

Hiroshi sighed, "Okay then, you’re the boss. Good luck, Shinichi!" he said before leaving.

"Alright, how should I do this?" Shinichi asked himself.

[Library]

After learning the results of Yuna's failed exam, Hiroshi rushed to the library.

"Where is she...?" Hiroshi wondered as he scanned the room.

It didn’t take long for him to spot Yuna, sitting in the same spot where they had been studying together.

"Ah, there she is—i-is she... crying? Damn it. I'm too late," Hiroshi muttered as he hurried toward her.

"Hey..." Hiroshi said softly.

As soon as Yuna heard his voice, she quickly wiped her tears away.

"H-Hey...? Hi... Haha... This is new, huh? I'm usually the one always asking you to study with me..." Yuna said, her voice shaky. She subtly brushed her hand against her cheek, pretending to fix her hair, but really, it was to wipe away any remaining tears before Hiroshi noticed.

Hiroshi quietly sat beside her and gently patted her head. That small gesture broke Yuna's composure, and she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.

"I'm sorry... I failed you. I did my best, but it wasn't enough," Yuna said, her voice trembling.

"Hey, don't say that. You haven’t failed—at least, not yet," Hiroshi reassured her.

"What do you mean?" Yuna asked, confused.

"You're going to take the exam again, okay? But this time, I want you to pass it. Got it?" Hiroshi said firmly.

"But... how? That’s impossible. How are you going to make that happen?" Yuna asked, a glimmer of hope returning to her eyes.

"I can't explain right now, I'm sorry. But don’t worry about it. All we need to do for now is study, alright? I’ll help you. I promise," Hiroshi said, assuring her that everything would be okay.

"Thank you... for everything. I’ll do my best," Yuna said, her determination slowly returning.