My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 293

The student union office isn't very big; too many people crowding in would just get in the way. The student affairs department was already helping out, and several other seemingly newly appointed officers were diligently working, so my absence shouldn't be a problem.

Just as I thought of this, I spotted a familiar face.

The senior student was struggling to carry a heavy cardboard box. She noticed me, gave me a gentle smile, and was about to wave when she realized she didn't have a free hand and anxiously didn't know what to do.

...Okay, anyway, I don't have anything urgent to do.

"Please help me out."

"Really? That's great!"

I ignored what Isshiki had said and stepped into the office to help support the thing that was about to collapse from Xun's hands.

"I'll take it."

"Huh? Oh, thank you."

I took the cardboard box, moved it to the ground by the door as instructed by the senior student, and then took a breath.

"Haha, I'm so sorry to trouble you."

"No, I'm here to help."

I tried to look cool, but honestly, this pile of stuff is really heavy...

My hands felt tired in a short time. I looked at my palms, and the senior student smiled a little embarrassedly and said:

"Oh dear, I didn't expect there to be so many personal belongings piled up inside before I actually started tidying it up."

"Are these all your senior's personal belongings?"

I've suddenly become a little interested. Ladies and gentlemen, when you hear "girl's private item," do you get excited? Do you? What, so only I feel excited? Of course I do! Would Senior Xun get excited?!

"The room seems completely different now..."

The senior student murmured with emotion.

Her term was one year. She spent that year in this office. Now, it's about to be handed over to Isshiki. Although she will still be there for a while to handle the handover, the space has been completely changed, and all the people working there have been replaced.

The senior student, with a smile on her face, looked into the office from a distance.

"...Actually, I was really looking forward to it—"

I knew I didn't need to ask "what are you expecting?" The next moment, she began to describe her imagination, word by word, in her usual slightly slow tone.

"—Yukinoshita-san has become the student council president, and Yuihama-san has become the vice president. As for you… you'll be in charge of general affairs!"

"Why did I have to be a clerk...?"

Am I the only one who can't become a cadre...?

The senior student continued to happily imagine.

"Then, after I graduate, I can come back here often... and chat about how happy we were with the school anniversary celebrations and sports meets we organized together—"

The smile that appeared on her face at that moment was as innocent as a child's.

"—Originally, I was somewhat looking forward to it."

Was there any hope that such a future could have come true?

There must be.

However, that was an impossible dream, a hypothesis that could never be established.

What's done is done; the only thing we can do is start over. But sometimes, we don't even have that chance.

The senior student reluctantly touched the door.

Then, she hummed in agreement and lifted her head.

"Now it's time to seriously teach Isshiki-kun. Okay, I'll do my best!"

"...Then, I'll take my leave."

"Um……"

I stopped at the door and turned around to bow to the senior student.

"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Ju."

"...Thank you, you've worked hard too!"

I turned around and left the office after Senior Sister Xun said a soft goodbye.

× × ×

I continued toward the special building.

It had been a week since Yukinoshita and Yui confirmed their intention to run for office. That day, Yui and I sat together until just before school ended, when Yukinoshita finally returned. We didn't exchange more than a few words before parting ways.

However, the Service Society continues to operate, and its activities and operations remain unchanged. We continue as usual, simply flipping through books or killing time idly.

Arriving at the entrance of the community office, I casually opened the door.

"Hi."

After I gave a brief greeting, Yuihama, who had been lying on the table, immediately got up.

"You're so slow, you autistic guy!"

"Sorry, something came up in the middle."

After pulling out a chair and sitting down, Yukinoshita, positioned slightly diagonally away from her usual spot, spoke softly:

"It's okay, it's not very busy here anyway."

Yukinoshita spoke in the same calm manner as before. Her gaze remained fixed on the paperback, occasionally turning a page with a flick of her finger.

Although Yuihama complained a few times, she later started playing with her phone again because she couldn't find anything else to do.

"Sigh, it's incredibly boring here."

"What's wrong with being idle? There's a saying that 'those without money are also not idle,' so being idle is a good thing. By that logic, those who are unemployed in society are actually the wealthy class and the winners. This fact further confirms that working means losing."

"Just like you, you know how to say things."

Yukino answered calmly, turning a page of the paperback edition. I, too, took out a book I'd brought but never read, and opened it to a page.

"The semester is almost over~"

Yuihama suddenly said this, and then, as if she had thought of something, she clapped her hands.

"Ah, let's have a Christmas party! I want to eat pizza!"

"You can have pizza anytime you want, Yuihama-kun."

Yukinoshita continued reading her book, while Yuihama looked surprised upon hearing this.

"Oh, really? We only order pizza on special occasions..."

"My family is the same; we only order pizza on days with typhoons or heavy snow."

"Your place is so unique... The delivery people must be so pitiful..."

That's unfair. For delivery workers, delivery is their job, and that's an undeniable fact. So if you're going to hate someone, hate the "job" itself. And since you've said that, I can refute you.

"Those people are the ones who suffer when pizza orders surge, like during Christmas. I deliberately choose to order pizzas on days with less business, that's how I show them consideration."

"Is that really true...?"

Yui hesitated for a moment, looking somewhat reluctant to accept it. However, she quickly thought of something else.

"Oh! Right! Didn't we say we were going to have a party? We can have it at Yukino's house—"

"This idea sounds great... but I'm sorry, I've decided to go home this winter."

Yukinoshita politely declined, but Yuihama came up with a new idea.

"I see. How about we all go somewhere together?"

"Okay, although I'm not sure if there are any plans at home yet."

After answering this time, Yukinoshita smiled gently at Yuihama.

"...Okay. Then, I'll contact you again after I've confirmed."

I wonder what Yuihama thought when she saw that smile.

As the sun was about to disappear behind the other side of the sea, the last rays of sunlight in the sky were no longer so bright that they stung the eyes, leaving only a touch of melancholy as the day drew to a close.

"The days are getting shorter and shorter..."

Yukinoshita, just like me, looked out the window and murmured softly.

The winter solstice is just a few days away. Lately, the dark nights have been getting longer, and this kind of darkness, which seems like it will never see the dawn, will probably continue for some time.

That concludes today's club activity.

After Yukinoshita made the announcement, she closed her book and put it in her bag. We nodded and got up from our seats.

This is how we spent our week in club activities.

Under the snow, it looks the same as before the graduation trip.

No, that's not the case. Anyone could see at a glance that she was behaving the same way as before, without any change.

She remained composed, responding politely to those who spoke, and occasionally smiling at Yuihama.

Nevertheless, that smile was extremely cruel, like remembering a deceased person, looking at a young child, and recalling something that can never be undone. She used that smile to condemn the viewer's heart.

However, we can't be too harsh on her.

Because Yui and I both chose to stay. We tried our best to keep talking, forcing ourselves to act silly, afraid that silence would engulf us if we weren't careful.

Such time is superficial and empty, utterly meaningless. This is precisely the kind of superficial communication that I and she despise most.

I believe this is something I achieved over the course of nearly a month.

I've asked myself repeatedly if I've made a mistake. Now, I've decided to check again.

Am I too confident and complacent about my methods and ideas? Should I really be using those tricks, or is there something else I should be doing?

I haven't been able to find the answer. The reason must lie within myself.

Someone once described me as a "rational monster".

Reason and emotion are relative concepts.

Was that person going to tell me that rational monsters cannot understand emotions, do not see humans as humans, are forever trapped in their own consciousness, and are beings far inferior to humans, not even worthy of being called human?

Before leaving the office, I looked back one last time.

Although the same people were there, she felt as if she were in a completely different world.

The aroma of black tea is long gone.

× × ×

if--

I mean, if—

If we could go back to the last save point like in a game and make choices again, would our lives be completely different?

the answer is negative.

That's the path only those with choices can take. For those who have no choice from the start, this assumption is meaningless.

Therefore, I will not regret it.

To be more precise, I regret almost everything I've done in my life so far.

If there exists something in this world that I truly want to protect, what exactly is that thing?

Postscript to Volume Eight

Goodnight everyone, this is work. Oh dear! Look what I typed! It's because work is so tough that the name "Wataru Watari" sounds more and more like "work" to me. Goodnight everyone, this is Watari Watari.

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had any chance to meet people outside of work; I also can't properly reply to the occasional phone calls or emails inviting me to have drinks.

"I'm too busy" is a convenient excuse people often use to avoid troublesome matters. Actually, if I really wanted to keep the appointment, I would still leave my work aside and rush out the door!

Therefore, everyone lies. Whether to others or to themselves. Although stating that I am very busy is simply a statement of fact and cannot be considered a lie.

That being said, I might sincerely make a promise to someone, only to break it later. For example, I might brazenly guarantee, "I'll definitely give birth by tomorrow, haha," and then shamelessly ask, "Can we postpone it until next week?" Whether it's intentional or not, or whether I said it out loud, it's still breaking a promise.

Therefore, he, she, and everyone else… including myself, the author, all lie. No, perhaps when the other person thinks we're lying, what we say becomes an unconditional lie.