My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 262

Miura played with her long, golden curls with her fingers, seemingly lost in thought. Her image of a princess in fantasy was full of girlish charm, which I personally found quite charming.

"It's gotten to this point already..."

Hayama propped his cheek up with his hand, a smile suddenly spreading across his lips. Yuihama listened, pressed her index finger against her chin, looked up at the ceiling, and tried to search her memory.

"Hmm... Ah, speaking of Disneyland, it seems there are some new rides there."

Ebina then crossed his arms and pondered.

"Huh? Isn't this the Ocean World area? These two can get confused sometimes... So who's the top?"

"Ebina, put on a good show."

Miura tapped Ebina on the head and gave him a natural smile.

Ye Shan and his group acted as usual.

Seeing that scene, I felt somewhat relieved.

This is a world that everyone hopes will never change, a world that will forever remain stagnant.

Admittedly, such a world will eventually become closed and corrupt, but that is precisely what a closed and corrupt world is meant to be. Perhaps, this is what the world should be like.

Hayama and Ebina do not interfere with my life at all.

Their choice was absolutely right. If they wanted to pretend nothing had happened, they couldn't change their attitude towards me after the graduation trip. Therefore, the distance between us remained unchanged.

I stared at the group of people, slowly drifting into a daze. Suddenly, I found myself making eye contact with Yui.

"..."

"..."

Although our eye contact lasted only a few seconds at most, it felt incredibly long to me. The mutual probing glances were quite awkward, so I quickly looked away.

I propped my cheek up with my left hand to support the weight of my head, preparing to take a short nap. But even with my eyes closed, my ears remained firmly in their place.

"Hey, how about we all go to Disneyland together next time?"

"That's really good."

"OK."

The rather pointless conversation between Hayama and the others continued.

However, hearing Yuihama's laughter mixed in made me feel relieved.

...But then again, their conversation was so pointless.

It's really not easy to have a conversation based entirely on intuition.

Although they may be deliberately avoiding the core issue, using irrelevant topics to pretend that everyone's relationship is no different from the past.

Regardless, friendship is always a virtue, and so is hypocrisy and pretense. A perfectly polished exterior certainly looks beautiful.

This proves that friendship equals beauty equals hypocrisy and pretense. What a concise equation! My mathematical skills are indeed frighteningly high. So, it seems I can understand why some science students find complete equations beautiful. Unchanging truths bring peace of mind. However, for science students to find equations charming is rather perverse. What a disgusting bunch.

After a while of daydreaming, which killed time, I opened my eyes and looked at the clock. The school bell was about to ring.

Just then, a figure rushed towards the classroom at the last moment. Although the person's movements were hurried, their steps were very light.

The classroom door slowly opened, and a face cautiously peeked in. It was Totsuka, wearing a tracksuit. Seeing that class hadn't started yet, he breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his face, and glanced at the clock.

"Thankfully, I made it in time..."

Totsuka muttered to himself as he walked to his seat, making sure to greet his classmates along the way.

He walked halfway and noticed me staring at him the whole time, so he came closer—what? You're asking why I kept staring at him? Well, let me ask you, is there anyone who doesn't look at him at all from beginning to end?

Totsuka had probably just finished his morning exercise, so he rushed back to the classroom and was still panting heavily, his cheeks flushed. I wondered if I was just imagining things, but his eyes seemed a little moist because of his fatigue from the morning exercise.

Good morning, Hachiman.

"...Okay, good morning."

I coughed lightly before greeting Totsuka to avoid getting too excited. That being said, acting too calm wouldn't be like me. Fortunately, my voice was just right today, neither too loud nor too soft.

Upon hearing this, Totsuka looked puzzled and suddenly stopped speaking, leaving his hand, which he had raised to greet him, hanging in mid-air.

"..."

"What's wrong?"

When I asked him, he waved his hand, which was still in mid-air, and brushed it off with a bright smile.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just thought your greeting today was normal."

"..."

I reflected on my previous reactions and wondered if there was anything different about them compared to usual.

However, I couldn't think of an answer for the time being, so I gave up and stopped thinking about it.

"Hmm...yes, that's normal. Did you just go for your club's morning exercise?"

"Yeah, I haven't gone for my morning exercise in ages, that's why I accidentally lost track of time... Oh, have you recovered from the fatigue of your graduation trip?"

After my graduation trip, I slept almost the entire way on the Shinkansen back. Totsuka was probably referring to that. But in reality, I was awake about half the time, just not in the mood to talk to anyone... I couldn't help it; I was going through a low period at the time, how could I want Totsuka to see that side of me?

I want to always be the dashing Hachiman Hikigaya in front of Totsuka. What nonsense is this guy spouting?

"Yes, fully revived."

"Oh, that's great." Totsuka smiled at me.

Just then, the school bell rang. He waved gently to me, and as I watched him go with a warm smile, he walked to his seat.

That's right, all my fatigue has vanished. If I had to say, it was the scene from a second ago that instantly restored me.

× × ×

With each class ending, my body felt heavier. I naturally started counting down the days until school was over.

The tutoring session before the end of the school term has come to an end, and the countdown has also come to a close.

time up.

I picked up my empty backpack, got up from my seat, and left the classroom before those who were going to club activities or leaving school.

It seemed like someone was looking at me from inside the classroom, but I simply pulled the door shut behind me to block their view.

A relaxed atmosphere permeated the corridor. Students came and went, each with their own destination, their pace slow but never lingering.

I chose to walk along the corridor where I wouldn't be in the sun and where the temperature was slightly lower.

Some classes' tutoring sessions had not yet ended, so fewer students came down the stairs than usual.

Along the way, no one spoke to me, no one stopped me, and no one asked why I was out so early. I arrived at the building entrance with ease.

Change your shoes here, walk to the parking lot to get your bicycle, and then pedal for a while. Even if your mind is blank, you'll get home.

However, this is definitely not my style.

I am who I am, no different from usual. In that case, I should choose my usual mode of action.

The vending machines outside the gate came into view.

Let's change the mood. This time, I've chosen—coffee. Ayaka has lost again.

"...This coffee is really bitter."

I downed my coffee in one gulp, threw the empty can into the trash can, and started walking again. The lingering bitterness in my mouth persisted for a long time.

I dragged my heavy steps along a route different from the usual one to the community office.

Walking down the corridor and climbing the stairs, several random thoughts popped into my head. Each time I was about to start having random thoughts, I would slowly exhale.

After quite some time, the community office finally appeared before us.

I took a deep breath and then put my hand on the doorknob.

Voices could be heard coming from inside the office. Although the conversation was obscured by a door, it was clear that two people were inside.

I made up my mind to open the doors of the community office.

In an instant, their conversation came to an abrupt halt.

"..."

Yukinoshita and Yui looked over in surprise, and all three of them were speechless.

They probably assumed I wouldn't come today because I hadn't shown up at my usual time. That was half right; I didn't really want to come.

I'm just being stubborn, clinging to my wicked, awkward, rotten-to-the-roots, yet utterly selfless little self.

This is for myself, a small act of resistance to prevent my past, my actions, and my beliefs from being denied.

I nodded slightly in greeting, walked to my usual seat, pulled out the chair and sat down, then took out the half-read paperback from my bag.

The bookmark's position hadn't changed since before the graduation trip.

Once I started reading, the frozen time finally resumed its flow.

On the table were a patchwork teapot warmer, snacks, chocolates, and steaming teacups and mugs.

Thanks to that pot of boiling water, the office felt warm and had the aroma of black tea.

However, the warmth didn't last long before it gradually cooled down.

She stared at me with cold eyes.

"...You've arrived."

"yes."

I answered casually, flipping through the pages of the book, which were barely halfway through.

Yukinoshita said nothing more.

Yuihama also glanced in this direction, but she simply pouted unhappily and sipped her black tea.

I could still sense the question, "Why did you come?" from the aura she exuded.

The silence, as if blaming me, continued to loom.

I leaned back in my chair, lazily relaxing my shoulders, scanning line after line of text before turning to the next page. The emptiness I felt during this time made me start counting how many pages were left and how much time remained before I had to leave school.

Some people were clearing their throats, some were making rustling noises from their clothes, and some were swinging their legs incessantly.

Finally, the long hand of the clock moved one notch.

Yuihama seized the opportunity, took a slight breath, and said:

"Oh, right. Everyone's the same as usual, nothing's different... I mean, um... everyone..."

She couldn't withstand the cold, heavy atmosphere, and her voice grew weaker and weaker. However, Yukinoshita and I watched her speak carefully.

The "everyone" that Yuihama mentioned should be Ebina, Tobe, Hayama, Miura, and others.

After the graduation trip, the two groups remained largely unchanged. They seemed as close as ever, or rather, acted as close as ever.

"...Yes. At least it looks fine."

I have no intention of boasting about what I did back then. It was probably the worst approach imaginable. The only saving grace was that it wasn't all for nothing.

Therefore, this can be considered my frank opinion.

"...Yes. That's good."

As Yukinoshita spoke, she gently stroked the rim of the cup with her fingers, but her expression betrayed a completely different story. She stared forlornly at the surface of the teacup.

Seeing that we responded to her words, Yuihama gained some confidence, touched the bun on her head, and let out a cheerful laugh.

"Oh dear, although I was really afraid something might happen, it seems my worries were unnecessary. Everyone is... just like usual."

Unfortunately, that confidence couldn't last. Yuihama lowered her head dejectedly, and the last few words she managed to utter sounded hollow to me.

"I'm increasingly confused about what they're thinking..."

Who was she saying this to? I secretly worried that the "everyone" she was referring to might include people outside the Hayama Group.

I was unable to react for a long time, and it was Yukinoshita who spoke first.

"...We can't possibly know what other people are thinking."

These cold words left Yuihama speechless, and she fell silent once more. The mug in her hand had long since stopped steaming.

Yukinoshita looked at Yuihama with a heavy heart and continued: