Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi đŻ Premium
âInteresting,â Takano said, holding the manuscript like a weapon. âBecause this was submitted by a new talent. She claims she found it in a used bookshopâs free bin, thought it was âpassionate but clumsy,â and added her own ending. She wants us to publish it as a collaboration.â
Hereâs a short, interesting story inspired by the world of Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi â focusing on the themes of unexpected reunions, pride, and the chaos of working in publishing. The Manuscript He Couldn't Reject
Panic prickled his skin. He had thrown that story awayâliterally tossed it into a trash bin outside the school library after his then-boyfriend, Masamune Takano, had broken his heart. How did it end up here? And why was it submitted to his department?
The story was published. It became a surprise hit, praised for its âraw emotion and surprising humor.â And Ritsu, despite himself, started doodling againânot for Aya, not for Marukawa, but for the boy who had fished his broken heart out of a trash can and held onto it for a decade. Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi
Ritsu wanted to strangle him. But late one night, alone in the office, he found an old sticky note inside the manuscriptâs envelope. Not his. Takanoâs handwriting, years old, faded: âYou threw this away. I kept it. Always.â
âOh no,â Takano grinned. âWeâre accepting it. And you, Onodera, are going to be the editor. Youâll work with her to âfixâ your younger selfâs mistakes. Consider it... character development.â
That resolve shattered on a rainy Tuesday when a manuscript landed on his desk. She wants us to publish it as a collaboration
Ritsu felt the floor drop. His teenage angst, his first loveâs betrayal, his secret dreams of becoming a mangakaâall of it, now with a strangerâs ending.
Ritsu Onodera prided himself on one thing above all else: his professionalism. After transferring to the shoujo manga editorial department of Marukawa Publishing, he had sworn off personal feelings. No more nepotism allegations, no more emotional attachments. Just work.
Before he could hide the evidence, his boss, the terrifyingly competent Takano himself, strolled over. âOnodera. Whatâs that?â How did it end up here
Takano snatched it. His eyes scanned the first page. Then he laughedâa low, dangerous sound that made Ritsuâs soul leave his body.
Some manuscripts, he learned, never truly get rejected.
Worst of all, Takano kept lingering. Heâd lean over Ritsuâs shoulder, whisper, âYou really thought love was that hopeless, huh?â or âPage twelveâthat crying scene. Were you thinking of me?â
For the next three weeks, Ritsu lived a waking nightmare. Every editorial meeting was a dissection of his own heart. The new author, a cheerful woman named Aya, had turned the tragic ending into a comedy where the rivals accidentally glue their hands together and fall in love. She had no idea the original author was sitting across from her, dying inside.