"End of the Century"

"End of the Century"
Chapter information
Volume	1
Release date	January 1992

"That day 754 people purchased passes. Miki bought one glossy photo selected from amonh 100. And only one youth appears in her dreams. And yet, he still insists that it's all coincidence. But one day they'll meet again and he'll know. That they were placed on this earth to meet and live through the end of the century together."

—Narrator

"End of the Century" (世紀末ゲーム (せいきまつゲーム) , Seikimatsu Gēmu), also translated as "End of the Century Game", is a one-shot by Yoko Kamio. The one-shot was published in Margaret No.3-4 in January 1992. It was later included in the first volume of Boys Over Flowers.

Miki believes in destiny and spends most of her time fantasying. Lately, she has had a reoccurring dream of an unknown boy. One day, she meets him at the train station and tries to convince him that it is their destiny to be together.

Plot

Miki recounts a dream to her friends at school. In her dream, it is the end of century and a young man approaches her. Her friends, except Senko, dismiss the dream as a part of her overactive imagination, though Miki believes it is her destiny. At the train station, Miki reaches for the same train pass as a young man. She recognizes him as the man in her dreams and starts crying. Miki thinks he recognizes her and grabs him. He does not and tries to get away from her, but not before she grabs his train pass.

She learns his name, Kazumi Hirose, and school from the pass. After informing her friends, they secretly gossip about how Miki's father left his family for another woman, which is why Miki prefers fantasy. Later, she visits Kazumi at his school and tells him about their destiny together. He clearly has feelings for one of his classmates and tells Miki he is a realist, who does not "destiny". She continues to insist with a smile. Miki later introduces her friends to Kazumi. At this point, he appears to be enjoying her company.

At school, Miki gives Senko photos of her favorite singer. Her other friends look through the photos and spot Kazumi in the background of one. They laugh at her, telling her that her dreams were actually her subconscious all along. Miki attempts to laugh too, but Senko knows that she is hurt. After school, two of her classmates run into Kazumi and jokingly inform him about the photo.

Miki waits for Kazumi at his school gate. He tries to ignore her, until she begins speaking about telepathy. At that point, Kazumi tells her that there is no such as telepathy or destiny, and that she should "give up the nonsense". Miki runs away crying, feeling that the "magic has disappeared". The following day, Senko is waiting for Kazumi at the same gate. She tells him that Miki's parents are about to divorced, which is why Miki relies on her imagination.

Recovering from a fever, Miki resolves to give up on her dreams. Miki heads for the same train station. As she goes to pick up a time card, another person startles her by getting it first. Turning around, she realizes that it is not Kazumi and wonders if she will meet him again. The narrator relates the rest of the story, saying that only one person appears in Miki's dreams. Believing their meeting to be coincidence, he does not yet know that one day they will meet again and live out the rest of the century together.

Characters

Miki

A freshman in high school, who believes in past lives and destiny. Her dad left her and her mom for his lover sometime earlier. Since that time, Miki avoids reality by making up fantasies. She dreams every night of the same boy, who she later coincidentally meets at the train station. Miki believes that destiny will bring them together by the end of the century.

Kazumi Hirose

A nineteen-year-old, college sophomore, and self-proclaimed realist. He does not believe in destiny or anything that he cannot see for himself. Kazumi goes to R University and lives somewhere in Kamicho, Setagaya, Tokyo. He also has a crush on a girl with short hair, who attends the same university. He later rejects Miki's attention and insists that their meeting was not destiny.

Senko

Miki's friend, who attends the same high school. She is a fan of the fictional idol group, Lees. Out of all of Miki's friends, Senko is the only one who enjoys and encourages Miki's fantasies. After Kazumi rejects Miki, Senko confronts him and explains the reason for Miki's aversion to reality.

Notes

Margaret No.3-4 - January 1992, containing the short story

• The story was published about a month before the debut of Boys Over Flowers in March 1992 issue of Margaret.
• In Viz Media's edition of Boys Over Flowers volume one, "to be continued in volume 2" is printed on the last page of "End of the Century". This is an error and refers to Boys Over Flowers not the one-shot. In the foreword for volume two, the error is clarified.
• The train station that Miki and Kazumi meet at is the Tokyo Station located in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo.
• This work has the distinction to be the only one-shot not directly related to Boys Over Flowers to be published in one of the volumes. All of the other one-shots are also considered side stories.
• The story was included in the second volume of the Italian edition, due to the unique way the series was published in Italy.