My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 11

"Hehe... The key to an obstacle course isn't jumping over hurdles, but reaching the finish line in the shortest time. And there's no rule that you absolutely have to jump over the hurdles, so I'm thinking of—"

"That's enough, I understand what you mean."

I didn't care if I pushed the fence aside, kicked it away, or crawled under it—I was interrupted by Yukinoshita before I could finish what I was saying.

"We've got our methods and goals wrong, haven't we?"

...I felt a little uneasy, but since my meaning was exactly as Yukinoshita had said, I could only nod helplessly and continue to add:

"These are cookies you made yourself. If you don't emphasize the 'handmade' aspect, it's meaningless. Even if the recipient receives a product that rivals those from a cookie shop, they won't be particularly happy; they'd rather have something that tastes a little worse."

After I finished speaking, Yukinoshita seemed to disagree.

"Is it better if it tastes a little less appealing?"

"That's right. If you tell the other person that although the food wasn't very good, you tried your best, they'll misunderstand and think, 'She went to great lengths for me'... How tragic."

"It's not that simple..."

Yui looked at me with disbelief, her eyes seeming to say, "What are you talking about, you virgin?"

Sigh, I have no choice but to tell a convincing story.

"...This is the story of a friend of a friend. At the time, he had just entered the second year of junior high school. At the beginning of the new semester, class officers were elected during class meetings, but since everyone was a second-year junior high student, of course no boy wanted to be class monitor, so they had to decide by drawing lots. Since that guy was a born unlucky guy, he naturally became class monitor. After becoming class monitor, he had to take over from the teacher to preside over class meetings and elect a female class monitor. This was a heavy burden for the shy and timid boy."

"These adjectives all mean the same thing, and the opening remarks are too long."

"Listen quietly. Back then, a girl volunteered to be the class monitor. She was very cute. Luckily, a male and female class monitor were chosen. The girl said shyly, 'Please take care of me for the next year.' After that, the girl would talk to the boy from time to time, which made the boy start to think, 'Huh? Does she like me? Come to think of it, after I became the class monitor, she immediately stepped forward to be the class monitor and often talked to me. She must like me!' The boy made up his mind in about a week."

"That's too fast!"

Yuihama, who had been nodding continuously, exclaimed in surprise.

"Fool, love has nothing to do with age or time." Later, one day after school, when the teacher asked the class monitor to help collect the handouts, he made up his mind to confess his feelings to the girl at that moment.

"Um, do you have someone you like?"

"What?! No, there isn't one."

"Your answer means it exists! Who is it?"

"...Who do you think it is?"

"How should I know? Give me a hint!"

How should I give a hint?

"Ah, tell me the first letter of the Romanized spelling. It can be either the surname or the given name, please!"

"Hmm...it should work."

"Really? That's great! What is it?"

'...H.'

"Wait...could it be...me?"

"Huh? What? How is that possible? That's disgusting. Can you please stop saying things like that?"

"Ah, haha, you're right, I was just kidding."

"No, that joke was terrible... I'm done, I'm leaving."

"Okay..."

Afterwards, I was left alone in the classroom, watching the sunset and crying. Even worse, the next day when I got to school, the story had already spread throughout the class.

"So it's the story of an autistic man..."

Yuihama looked away apologetically.

"Hey, are you stupid? When did I say this was my story? There was just a misunderstanding in the narration."

Yukinoshita ignored my explanations and sighed in annoyance:

"The fact that it's 'a story about a friend of a friend' already gives it away, right? You don't even have any friends."

“W-What did you say!?”

"Those traumas are irrelevant, so what are you trying to say?"

Who says it's unimportant? Because of that incident, I'm even more disliked by girls; my male classmates tease me all the time and gave me the nickname "Narcissist Valley." Oh well, none of that matters anyway.

I composed myself and continued.

"What I mean is, it's a shame that boys are so naive. They misunderstand things just because someone talks to them, and they're overjoyed to receive homemade cookies. So..."

I paused briefly and looked at Yuihama.

"A cookie that's not special at all, that's easy to eat in small pieces, and frankly, that's not that tasty is enough."

"It's so noisy~~~~"

Yuihama, her face flushed with anger, grabbed a plastic bag and napkins and threw them at me. This person even threw things at me that wouldn't hurt—how gentle! Wait, could she have a crush on me? Oh, of course, that's just a joke. Why would I repeat the same mistake?

"You're infuriating! You withdrawn guy! I'm leaving!"

Yuihama glared at me fiercely, grabbed her schoolbag, stood up, turned her head and strode toward the door, her shoulders still trembling slightly with anger.

Oh no, I think I went too far. If rumors about me start circulating in the class again, that would be terrible. So, I quickly tried to calm Yui down.

"Well... as long as you show that you're trying, the boy will waver."

Yui turned around at the door, but because of the backlighting, I couldn't see her expression.

"...Even autistic men can waver?"

"Huh? Oh~~ I'm so easily swayed, I can fall in love with someone just by being treated gently. Also, don't call me an autistic guy."

"snort!"

I gave a perfunctory reply, and Yui gave a casual response before turning her head away again. As she opened the door to leave, Yukinoshita asked her retreating figure:

"Yuigahama-san, what should we do about this request?"

"No need! I'll try my own method next time. Thank you, Yukinoshita-san."

Yuihama turned her head, a smile on her face.

See you tomorrow, bye-bye.

This time, she waved and really left the classroom, still wearing her apron.

"...Is this really okay?"

Yukino stared at the doorway and asked in a low voice.

"I believe that as long as it improves oneself, one should constantly challenge one's limits. In terms of the outcome, that would be beneficial for Yuihama-san."

It's also helpful.

"Yes, you're right. Hard work will never betray you, but it might betray your dreams."

"Is there anything different?"

Yukino looked at me and asked. A gentle breeze caressed her cheeks, causing her hair to flutter on either side.

"Effort doesn't guarantee the realization of dreams; in fact, many dreams don't come true. But if you've tried, it's more comforting."

"That's just self-satisfaction."

"But it doesn't count as betraying myself."

"What a naive idea...it's really uncomfortable."

Society has been too harsh on me, including you. So, I should at least be kinder to myself, and everyone should be kinder to themselves. If everyone becomes corrupt, then no one is truly corrupt.

"This is the first time I've met an idealist with such negative thinking... If your ideas became popular, the earth would surely perish."

Yukino's face was full of helplessness, but I quite liked this idea. Someday, I will establish a NEET nation where NEETs (NEETs are young people who don't go to school, work, study, or participate in job counseling, and spend their days doing nothing) have, govern, and enjoy, named "NEETia"... However, it will probably perish in three days.

× × ×

I finally understand what the Service Society does.

In short, this is a student counseling center that helps them solve problems. However, this club doesn't seem to be publicly known, as I'd never heard of it before. No, no, it's not because I'm unfamiliar with the school that I don't know about it. Judging from Yuihama's lack of understanding of the club's purpose, it seems that people who come here for counseling all learned about it through some channel, namely, Hiratsuka-sensei.

The teachers would bring students with problems or worries here from time to time.

To put it simply, this is an isolation ward.

I stayed in this sanatorium, reading a book as usual.

So-called counseling involves revealing one's vulnerable side. For a sentimental high school student, doing this to a classmate is incredibly difficult. Yuihama only visited the Service Club because of Hiratsuka-sensei's introduction; otherwise, no one would have come here at all.

No customers came in today either; business was quite slow.

Yukino and I are both good at keeping quiet, so when we were engrossed in our reading, the room became very quiet.

Therefore, the "knock knock knock" sound seemed particularly loud.

"Hi~~"

Yui Yuigahama greeted us in a strange way, opening the door at the same time. We were all speechless.

I shifted my gaze from her beautiful legs beneath her short skirt to the open shirt at her chest. She was still the same as always, seemingly a complete slut.

Upon seeing her, Yukino sighed deeply.

"……What's up?"

"Huh? What's wrong? You guys don't seem to welcome me. Does Yukinoshita-san... dislike me?"

Yuihama's shoulders trembled slightly upon hearing Yukinoshita's soft murmur. Yukinoshita, however, feigned deep thought and spoke in a normal tone.

"I don't hate you... I'm just a little bothered by it."

"When a girl says something like that, doesn't it mean she dislikes me?"

Yuihama panicked; it seemed she really didn't want to be disliked. This girl seemed like a slut, but her reaction was that of an ordinary girl.

"So, what can I do for you?"

"No, you know I've recently taken a liking to cooking, right?"

"...How could I possibly know? This is the first time I've heard of this."

"This is a thank-you gift from last time. I made the cookies myself and brought them to share with everyone."

Snowfall's face suddenly drained of color. When I think of Yuigahama's cuisine, the first thing that comes to mind is those biscuits, black as iron. Just thinking about them makes my throat and heart dry.

"No need, I don't have much of an appetite right now. I appreciate your kindness."

I think Yukino lost her appetite the moment she heard the word "cookie." The fact that she didn't explicitly say this shows her kindness.

However, Yuihama completely ignored Yukinoshita's refusal and hummed a tune as she took a cellophane package out of her bag. Although it was wrapped very cutely, the cookies were still burnt black.

"Wow, cooking is so much fun! Let's try making bento boxes next time. Ah, let's have lunch together then, Yukino!"

"No, I prefer to eat alone... Also, 'Yukino' sounds weird, don't call me that."

"Really? Won't you be lonely? Yukino, where do you usually eat?"

"In the office...wait a minute, did you hear what I said?"

"Also, I'm pretty free after school anyway, so I thought I'd help out with club activities. Oh, how should I put it? Consider this a thank-you gift, so don't worry about it."

"...Are you even listening to me?"

Yuihama's offensive came on like a tidal wave, clearly leaving Yukinoshita at a loss. She kept giving me meaningful glances, probably wanting me to think of a solution.

But why should I help her?

Yukinoshita is always being rude to me, and I haven't even paid for my drink yet... Besides, Yui is her friend. To be honest, Yui thanked Yukinoshita precisely because Yukinoshita genuinely helped her solve her problems. Therefore, Yui has both the right and the obligation to accept the gift. If I were to interfere, it would be my fault.

I closed the paperback, stood up quietly, and said "Thank you for your hard work" in a barely audible voice, preparing to leave the office.

"Ah, an autistic man."

I turned around and saw a black object fly in front of me, so I reflexively grabbed it.

"Consider that my thank-you gift, since you also helped."

This is a black, unidentified object shaped like a heart, and it seems to exude a menacing aura. Although it's not a lucky omen, since it's a thank-you gift, I can only accept it with gratitude.

Also, don't call me an autistic man.

Hikigaya Hachiman