2. Quantum Romance

Or well, wasn’t it?

Who the hell knows at this point.

Oh wait... are you curious?

Okay, here we go.

So, actually…

Alright, never mind. 

This omniscient narration is getting as annoying as ever, whoever made this stuff up.

Like... seriously, who even approved this script? It looks absolutely horrendous.

Definitely not really good nor healthy for my eyes. Shake my head.

So yeah, let me pause for a bit and take over this rip-off script.

I will create something innovative. Something new and fresh, out of it.

And next, do pay attention to what I'm about to say. Loud and clear.

Yes, yes. This is me, Akira Kamiya speaking to all of you, dear readers.

First of all, allow me to summarize the situation properly. 

One-by-one. Step-by-step. Slowly but surely.

Which is done according to, well, my completely unbiased point of view. 

Yep, hopefully.

So, may I continue this story again? 

Let me hear your thoughts.

...

Yes? Do you want me to?

Alright then, that's it. 

Here. We. Go.

...

The scene started immediately when I sat down on a chair and opened a book on the table.

Afternoon sun slowly slipped through the classroom window, spreading accross the book's pages.

There was no dramatic lighting. No special effects. No excessive pose like Dio Brando did even.

Just a perfectly ordinary scene.

Technically speaking, it was supposed to be for Nakamura’s exam.

However then, realistically speaking…

That exam was easy enough. Far too easy that it didn’t deserve my full attention in the slightest.

My real focus instead was elsewhere instead.

Something much more crucial. Much more integral.

Quantum physics subject. Yes.

Why, you ask?

Well... as a great physicist Richard Feynman once said: 

“No one truly understands quantum physics.”

And he was absolutely right. 

Which, in itself, feels somewhat rather comforting. Or else, validating.

Oh, do you want to know why?

Because if even a Nobel Prize winner physicist doesn't understand it, I don't have to feel guilty either. Let alone should have I respected them in any regard what so ever.

Quantum physics is basically cosmic absurdity wearing a lab coat and pretending to be complex mathematics. An old-running cosmic gag served cold and bitter.

Statements such as...

Particles behave like waves.

Waves behave like particles.

Observation changes reality.

All of these were somewhat extraordinarily ridiculous.

Which basically implies this universe runs on a carefully curated system called  the“trust me bro” physics. 

Source: Peer-reviewed research conducted by absolutely no one in recorded human history.

But do you know something even more confusing than quantum physics?

Romcom. Romance and comedy.

Yes. Exactly.

Romantic comedy genre in any form of literature.

No, wait. Don't get me wrong.

Just think about it and hear me out for seconds.

Either as stand alone subjects, physics and romance should both make sense, right?

Physics inherently explains nature and its relationship, or doesn't it?

While romance, well… It mostly explains humans and its chemistry, right?

Both, to me, follow a set of certain specific rules and regulations.

And both, obviously, have a set of certain specific laws and patterns.

Therefore, both should be understandable. That's the gist of this argument, after all.

You don't agree? 

Never mind, I don't care. 

Anyway, let's continue.

But then all of a sudden someone decided to add two unrelated ingredients in the wild.

Comedic SNAFU.

And quantum uncertainty.

The result?

Peak absurdity. Chaos logic. Absolute cinema.

Romcom logic in any media makes quantum physics in reality look inherently stable.

Or naturally, it should be as expected. And that alone is saying something about them.

Which is statistically alarming, and perhaps quite confusing in itself.

Yet somehow, quantum uncertainty still explains romcom logic perfectly.

And bizarrely so. Like an adventure undertaken by a star-bearer—one who carried the mark.

And, ironically, better than any branch of psychology ever could.

Anyway...

Let's forget everything I have just said to you.

That explanation above was completely unnecessary.

Let's just pretend it never happened.

Okay? Alright, that's good.

Now it's time to go back to reality.

This time, just follow the script. 

Like this.

...

“H-hey! Don’t you think that’s a little bit too harsh?!”

Hanase Shiro puffed her cheeks, looking like a president about to declare war.

“Also… it’s not like I’m that prideful!"

"Hmph. I just know how smart I am!”

Really? Is that even true at all?

Right. 

It's time.

Let's observe her body gestures carefully.

Her arms folded across her chest.

Her head turned away from me.

Her body leaned backward slightly.

Classic defensive posture. Almost tsundere-alike.

Conclusion: Hanase-san was absolutely prideful. And almost rightfully so.

Margin of error, 0.000000000001%

There was no uncertainty in that measurement.

Unlike quantum when included into classical physics.

However… measurements can also change depending on numerous circumstances.

For example—

“Huh, what is it? Overthinking again?”

Well, there it goes. The example.

Hanase-san suddenly leaned closer, staring directly at me.

Her cheeks were puffed out in a pout I had never seen before.

Which was quite unfortunate.

Because that single expression completely interrupted my internal monologue.

And just like that.

Derailing my train of thought with remarkable efficiency.

See?

This was exactly what I meant earlier.

Romcom logic.

In a romcom manga, the protagonist begins thinking about something important—

Then the heroine suddenly interrupts with something completely unrelated.

Conversation hijacked abruptly, as if it never happened.

Logic all of a sudden abandoned, neglected by the choice.

And emotional chaos begins with quite an absurdity.

To be fair, quantum physics also operates under a similar principle.

Particles behave unpredictably.

Observation alters outcomes.

Reality refuses to follow common sense.

Romcoms follow the same system.

Except instead of particles…

It’s girls like Hanashi Shiro.

Which brings me to a final conclusion.

Quantum physics and romcoms operate under identical laws.

And both make absolutely no sense. Period.

And yet, despite all that nonsense, people still fell for it every single time. 

Just like a clockwork. 

Predictable unpredictability, if that even makes sense at all. 

Maybe that’s the real core issue here...

A chaos that dressed up as a fate, pretending everything was planned from the start.