There's a moment every protagonist fears. A moment when the plot stops being predictable and starts cackling in your face. That moment came for me around 2:03 a.m., somewhere between a suspicious dare and the realization that I was surrounded by emotionally unstable girls and one otaku with questionable ethics.
We were still knee-deep in Truth or Dare. The lights were dim, everyone was over-tired, and the line between romance and psychological warfare was thinning fast.
Makki, who had dozed off in the corner, suddenly jolted awake, eyes blazing like he'd received divine revelation.
"I have it," he whispered.
"Oh no," Yuki said.
"I have… the ultimate dare."
"Makki," I said, "your last 'ultimate dare' almost got me banned from the literature club."
He ignored me and turned to the group. "Truth or Dare… Kuroda!"
I sighed. "Dare. Because clearly I hate myself."
Makki stood, raised one finger, and proclaimed:
"You must—steal someone's underwear and return it like a gentleman."
The room froze.
Yuki took a slow sip of water and muttered, "I need better hobbies."
Noa gasped. "That's pervy!"
Mina was already reaching for a pillow to throw.
Koharu, face beet red, squeaked, "W-WE ARE NOT DOING THAT!"
"Fine, fine!" Makki said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Alternate dare, then. Kuroda has to—sit in someone's lap until they say stop."
"I hate this game," I muttered, standing slowly.
A circle of suspicious eyes fell on me.
Noa grinned. "Pick me!"
Yuki raised one eyebrow but said nothing.
Mina deadpanned, "Try it, and I'll break your knee."
Koharu looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor.
So, naturally, I walked over and sat right on Koharu's lap.
She let out a strangled wheeze. "W-Why ME?!"
"You're the main heroine, aren't you?" I said with as much sarcasm as I could muster.
She flailed for a second, then went stiff.
"Stop," she muttered.
I didn't move.
"Stop," she repeated, eyes darting everywhere.
Still didn't budge.
"I SAID STOP!"
She finally shoved me off with a squeal and smacked my arm with a nearby manga volume. My head landed in a beanbag chair.
Makki clapped. "Ten out of ten scene. Emotional tension, mild ecchi, comedic violence—perfect."
Yuki crossed her arms. "I'm making popcorn."
The next few dares devolved rapidly. Noa had to whisper a confession into someone's ear. She chose me.
"I think I'd be a better heroine than her," she whispered, loud enough for Koharu to hear.
Koharu threw a sock at her face.
Then Yuki, with her usual monotone, dared Koharu to write "I like you" on someone's arm without saying who it was for.
Koharu, trembling like a robot learning emotion, walked over to me, took my arm, and shakily wrote it in ballpoint pen.
I stared.
She stared.
Everyone stared.
Then she slapped a sticky note on my forehead that said "Ignore that."
The group eventually thinned as the hour grew later. Mina dozed off under a blanket. Noa curled into a pillow and mumbled something about alternate timelines. Yuki claimed the recliner and wrapped herself like a sushi roll in a throw blanket.
Makki, for reasons I'll never understand, decided to join via video call from the kitchen.
"I wanted to witness history," he said. "This is the NPC evolution arc!"
"Go to sleep," I muttered.
Koharu and I were the only ones still semi-awake, sitting on opposite sides of the room. She wouldn't look at me.
"What?" I finally asked.
"I didn't mean to write that."
"You wrote it."
"It was a dare."
"You picked me."
Silence.
Then, quietly, Koharu said, "I didn't hate it."
I looked at her.
She looked away.
Before I could process that emotional nuke, the lights suddenly cut out.
Pitch black.
"WHO TOUCHED SOMETHING?!" Koharu screamed.
"No one move," I muttered.
A shuffle.
A brush of fabric.
Then—warmth. Someone leaned close.
Soft breath near my cheek.
And then—
A kiss.
Quick. On the lips. A little awkward. Definitely real.
And gone.
Silence.
"I—What the heck was—"
But whoever it was had vanished back into the dark.
I lay back, brain melting into soup. "I need a system prompt or a save point."
The world faded as sleep overtook me, the kiss still tingling on my lips, and five very possible suspects echoing through my chaotic brain.
When I woke up—
It was morning.
And I was in a different room.
On a different futon.
With Rena Minami.
Who was snoring softly beside me.
My entire body tensed. I blinked five times. Slowly.
She was wearing a tank top and shorts. One arm draped over her face. Completely relaxed.
My soul left my body.
"Koharu's going to kill me," I whispered.
Then Rena yawned and cracked one eye open.
"Oh," she said. "You're awake."
"W-Why am I in here?"
"You sleepwalked."
"I don't sleepwalk!"
She smirked. "You do now."
I sat up, panicking. "We didn't—nothing happened, right?"
She rolled onto her side. "Define 'happened.'"
I made a choking noise.
"I'm kidding. Geez. You looked like you were gonna combust."
I grabbed my phone. 8:12 a.m.
I tiptoed back to the living room.
Koharu was still asleep, curled in her blanket like a burrito. Yuki was writing in her journal. Noa was drooling on a stuffed animal. Mina had a note on her forehead that read "Do not wake unless emergency."
Makki had sent no fewer than twenty text messages:
"NPC-KUN, DON'T MESS THIS UP!"
"This is a legendary event!!"
"Who kissed you??? Was it Koharu??"
"If it was Noa, your life is now a romcom minefield."
"Rena counts as a secret route."
I put my phone down. Sat on the floor.
Koharu stirred. Opened her eyes. Looked at me.
Then frowned.
"Where were you?"
I froze.
"Bathroom," I lied.
She looked skeptical.
"Rena didn't do anything weird, right?"
My heart stopped.
"W-Why would you ask that?"
"She's been grinning since she woke up. That's never a good sign."
I laughed nervously.
Then Koharu leaned in, close enough to make my ears burn.
"Who kissed you last night?"
I choked.
"I—I don't know—someone—it was dark—"
Koharu stared.
Then smirked.
"Guess you'll have to figure it out."
She rolled back under her blanket, leaving me stunned.
My life had officially entered full romcom meltdown.
I wasn't sure who kissed me.
But I knew one thing for certain:
Whoever it was, the next chapter… was going to be chaos.