This is from "Tales of the Unusual" (Yonimo Kimyona Monogatari), a story written by Shinji Nojima titled "Loved to Death." The protagonists are a trio of high school boys (let's call them Boy A, Boy B, and Boy C). The three of them idolize D-ko, the school's Madonna. However, one of the trio, Boy A, received chocolates from D-ko on Valentine's Day. Since he didn't get them directly from her and they were just left in his shoe locker, Boy A assumes, "It must be some kind of mistake," and can't bring himself to ask D-ko directly.
Seeing Boy B, whose family runs a funeral parlor, unable to stand by and watch Boy A, he makes a proposal. The proposal is: "We'll stage a fake funeral for Boy A to find out D-ko's true feelings." Taking advantage of the fact that Boy A's parents are away on a trip and Boy B's family owns a funeral parlor, they decide to tell D-ko it's a private funeral among close friends, invite only her, and find out her true feelings.
Everything is set, and the day of execution finally arrives. Boy A gets into a coffin and plays dead. They also called D-ko. Up to this point, things had been progressing smoothly. Though only D-ko was supposed to be invited, shockingly, other classmates and even teachers show up. Apparently, D-ko had told everyone about it. A perfectly staged fake funeral. Everyone believes it's real. D-ko cries uncontrollably, talking to the coffin, "I... I liked Boy A... The Valentine's Day chocolates were also true-love chocolates just for Boy A." And hearing the commotion, Boy A's parents also return from their trip.
Overwhelmed by the atmosphere and unable to admit now that it was a lie, Boy B and Boy C panic. Consumed by guilt, the two of them drink alcohol and fall asleep. When they wake up, it's morning. The coffin and the people around are gone. Unbelievably, everyone had gone to the crematorium. The two of them hurriedly head for the crematorium. However, completely unaware of any of this, Boy A is rejoicing, thinking, "I can't believe D-ko actually liked me..." completely oblivious to his own situation.
...Soon after, arriving at the crematorium and finally grasping his situation, Boy A panics and cries out for help. Just as the fire is about to be lit, Boy B and Boy C arrive at the crematorium. The two of them rush over to Boy A's parents. As they desperately try to say it was all a lie, the mother says with a gentle expression, "Thank you for always being good friends with Boy A."
Next, the father speaks with an equally calm face. "Actually, we had taken out a massive life insurance policy on Boy A. My failing factory is going to bounce back thanks to our boy..." In unison, the parents say, "He truly was a dutiful son..." Boy B and Boy C stared blankly at the smoke rising from the crematorium...
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