My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

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After everyone was seated, Yu Sheng walked to the seat that was equivalent to the chairman of the meeting, opened his MacBook Air, and looked around at everyone present.

"Is everyone here? Well then, let's begin."

Yu Sheng announced the start of the meeting, and everyone bowed and said, "Please give us your guidance."

They'll definitely decide on the Christmas event today... right? I've already given him countless instructions, and with yesterday's break, if we don't decide today, the event might really fall through.

Yu Sheng was the first to speak, of course. Then, he gestured to his student council to begin distributing materials.

"After the previous brainstorming, I've come up with some ideas and created this resume. Please take a look at it first."

It turns out that the meeting was suspended yesterday to work on this.

The summary report is titled "Christmas Concert," and lists the project details below. It feels more like a project proposal than a summary report… but that's not the point, let's continue reading.

The concert, themed "Connecting Our Moment," features a diverse program divided into five sections: classical, rock, jazz, hymns, and Christmas carols. Interspersed within each section are theatrical and musical performances themed around Christmas carols. It's a lavish program that maximizes the synergy between music and performance, spanning all genres.

After quickly skimming through it, I took the time to look at it carefully again from the beginning. Of course, the content of the materials was exactly the same.

Hey, hey, hey, this is just a hodgepodge, it can't even be called a compromise, okay? Although everyone's opinions are indeed included.

The "orchestra" in the original minutes has been changed to "classical music" here, probably to give it a more imposing feel. Not only that, but the seemingly similar "hymns" and "Christmas carols" have also been deliberately separated, so are the two really different...? As for the other parts, the original content has been directly copied over, and at first glance it looks like a decent proposal.

However, the result of adopting all opinions 100% is that the scale of the event becomes exaggeratedly large, and eight or nine out of ten times it cannot be realized.

"How about it?"

Yu Sheng addressed the audience, who responded with comments like, "Hmm—seems pretty good," "Looks interesting," and "It's going to be lively." While the reactions appeared positive, it wasn't entirely true that everyone approved of the project.

They only dared to offer negative affirmations using ambiguous language, probably because they were required not to deny others' opinions during the previous brainstorming session. Another possibility is that no one was seriously thinking about it.

However, this way, everyone will never reach a conclusion. The best approach is to point out the practically impractical parts and subtly suggest they reduce the scope of the activity.

"I think it's a bit too big. Also, is anyone here able to play music?"

"Okay. Then, let's consider outsourcing as well."

Yu Sheng seemed to have anticipated this question, answering without blinking.

"For classical and jazz musicians, you can look for performance agencies that handle private shows; for orchestras, our school should be able to find people; for drama and musicals, you can ask the drama club for help; as for Christmas carols... how about the church?"

So his strategy was to "leave it all to them." Does that even count as our own activity anymore...?

There's nothing inherently wrong with outsourcing human resources. The wise choice is to honestly hire someone skilled in the area rather than rashly taking on work you're not good at or that requires specialization. As long as you don't reject this approach, there shouldn't be any problems.

The remaining question is whether this plan is even possible. I mentally calculated the dates and said:

"So, have you finalized the dates with the dispatch company?"

I don't think they'll readily agree to a request if you only make it up to them on the eve of an event. The performers will definitely be incredibly busy during the Christmas season.

"We will talk to them next."

Wait a minute, I can't just leave it like this without checking with them first... It's just a giant pie drawn on the wall, and it's anthropomorphized into a cute character called "Mochi Rabbit (Big Boobs)" (Note 36: Mochi Rabbit is an advertising character for the Japanese medical beauty brand Dr.Ci: Labo, originally named "Mochimichan." The Japanese pronunciation of "mochi" is also "mochi.") Oh!

My inner thoughts were probably written all over my face, so Yu Sheng added:

"I want to get everyone's consensus first, work together to establish a grand design, and then decide which parts to exclude."

"The main line...Gandhi?"

Yuihama was completely bewildered. However, the immediate priority was to prevent the situation from worsening; those words could be explained later.

I decided to approach it from a different angle.

"Also, does this content fit the image of a high school student? I feel like it has deviated from the original purpose of the project."

"That's why I say 'this moment.' I want to overturn the stereotypes people have about high school students and show the image of high school students today."

"Hard pudding... Leo... Miki?"

More question marks appeared above Yuihama's head. "Okay, okay, I'll teach you later... Wait, you should know what an image is, right?"

Regardless, let's put Yuihama aside for now and get back to the problem at hand. The problem at hand is, of course, the Tamaro. Although I've unleashed my ultimate move, "Face Reality," which should end this round immediately, it probably won't do much good for this guy who doesn't even glance at reality.

All I can do now is point out the unavoidable realities and difficulties, and gently discourage him from his idea.

Therefore, I have prepared a countermeasure.

I took out the spreadsheet I had shown Yusheng before, which outlined the various expenses required for a concert by a hired musician. I examined the figures one by one and asked him questions:

"Let's assume we decide to hire outside performers. Where will the budget come from?"

According to calculations at the time, the cost of hiring a musician for an hour was approximately 30,000 to 40,000 yen. If classical and jazz musicians were hired simultaneously, the cost would double. Adding more musicians would naturally increase the cost even further. And let's not forget that hiring a choir would have to be calculated separately, which was also a significant expense. If this plan were to be implemented entirely, the existing budget would definitely be insufficient.

However, Yu Sheng's answer remained the same:

"The reason we're having this meeting now is to discuss how to make the plan a reality."

Hearing this, I really couldn't say anything more.

Yu Sheng's proposed plan was not inherently unfeasible, provided there was sufficient time, manpower, and budget.

However, we are currently severely lacking in these three elements.

I remained silent, and no one else raised any objections. So, we began discussing how to raise funds to make the concert possible.

Once the budget is finalized, they'll probably start cutting back on the performance content. However, by the time they realize they need to do this, time is running out, so they have no choice but to continue cutting content.

I easily foresaw such a future, and sighed inwardly.

× × ×

I was exhausted after the meeting.

The performance content is still undecided today and must be discussed again next time. Christmas is less than a week away, and tomorrow is Saturday. With things so urgent, holidays will only cause more time loss.

Yukinoshita, standing nearby, was also nearing her limit. She pressed her temples lightly as if suffering from a headache, sighed, and asked:

"It's more serious than I imagined... Was your meetings always like this before?"

"……yes."

To be honest, the situation was far worse before. Today's meeting at least used specific terms, which is a significant improvement. Recalling the disastrous state of affairs a few days ago, I can't help but let out a cold laugh.

"Everyone is talking their own thing, and just watching them makes me anxious."

"Yeah... he doesn't seem to be listening to anyone at all."

"I know," Yukino said unhappily, and Yui nodded wearily. "However, Tamaki isn't what they described. I've been observing him for several days, so I know that."

"If it were just about not listening to others, it might be better... That person only listened to half of what was said and then forced their own ideas into it, which made the situation increasingly out of control."

"Sigh...that's right."

Amidst the unanimous agreement, there was a sigh.

Yuihama, trying to break the somber mood and cheer herself up, looked in my direction.

"So, what should we do?"

"……have no idea."

I really don't know what to do. I thought that if we could finalize the event details today, and then work hard to get things done, maybe we could actually manage to produce something. I had some expectations, but in the end, it was all for nothing.

What should I do next? Just as I was racking my brains, Yukino turned around and stared at me, muttering to herself:

"...So there are things you don't know."

"Is this a sarcastic remark? There are many things I don't know."

As usual, I reflexively retorted. Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita was speechless.

"I...I didn't mean that..."

She turned her face away, bit her lip slightly, and lowered her gaze to the ground.

Before, this back-and-forth would have been perfectly fine, but now it suddenly feels awkward. I've lost the sense of distance we used to have.

The atmosphere was quite uncomfortable. I scratched my head and began to speak:

"...I'm sorry. I really have no idea what to do right now..."

"...I didn't mean to blame you."

Yukinoshita said softly, her eyes fixed on the ground.

Yui watched from the sidelines, nervously trying to smooth things over:

"Okay, okay. Anyway, let's start by thinking about what we can do. How about that?"

"indeed."

After hearing her words, Yukinoshita raised her head, gently crossed her arms, rested one hand on her chin, and entered a thinking mode. After sorting out her thoughts, she slowly presented her ideas.

"I believe the first step must be to bring the activities back to a feasible level."

"Hmm... But, given the current situation..."

Isshiki recalled the previous meeting. Judging from the current climate, proposing to scale back the event was unlikely to be accepted. Yukinoshita, who had actually observed the meeting, probably thought so too, and nodded before continuing:

"Then we must find a way to increase the budget. If we hire musicians, we have to pay them; even if it's a student orchestra performing, we have to provide them with time and space to practice. Music classrooms are one option, but if that's not possible, we have to pay to rent an outside rehearsal room."

That's when I realized that not only would the event cost money on the day itself, but also the expenses incurred during the preparation period had to be taken into account.

"In that case, the budget will continue to increase..."

Moreover, since the details are not yet finalized, it is currently impossible to estimate a precise figure. We are truly at a loss now.

While I was thinking, Yukinoshita continued to organize her thoughts.

"Another decision needs to be made on how to raise the funds. One approach is to apply for funding from the school, another is for everyone to share the cost. Although there is also the option of finding sponsors, it may be difficult in terms of time."

"Yes, there's less than a week left."

Time is tighter than I imagined. Even though we've discussed the details of the activities in the meeting, the current plans are still difficult to implement.

If we don't find a way to change that kind of meeting format, there's no way to proceed with anything else.

"Realistically speaking, the expenses should be covered by the student council's budget. But after reviewing this proposal and activity plan, I really don't think it can be approved..."

Yukino watched as Tamaki distributed the materials at the meeting, scribbled and drew numerous lines on them with a red pen. In the end, the document was covered in her deletions and annotations, turning into a sea of ​​red.

"Wow..." Yuihama cast a respectful glance at Isshiki, who was also taken aback, his gaze filled with a mixture of fear and awe.

I understand Isshiki's feelings. It's truly remarkable that he could pinpoint the problem and propose solutions in such a short time. When it comes to practical experience, probably no one at Soubu High School can rival him.

However, even under such snow, she couldn't come up with a solution quickly. She drew a large X on her own notes and sighed softly.

"However, that shouldn't be the problem. There's something more fundamental..."

She herself wasn't entirely satisfied with her conclusion, but for us, it was a big step forward. At least now we're no longer idle.

"Anyway, let's try your method first. So what we need to do now is negotiate with the school to see if we can get more funding."

As I stood up from my seat, I noticed Yukinoshita looking up at me with a slightly uneasy expression. It was rare for her to show such a lack of confidence, which made me wonder.

"W-What's wrong?"

She turned her face away and answered:

"It's nothing... I just thought you had already thought of this method."

"No, I haven't come up with a specific plan yet."

"Is that so...then it's alright."

After she finished speaking, she also stood up.

Regardless, the first priority is to generate funding. It's supposed to be a Christmas event, and the first hurdle we encounter is money; this world is sorely lacking in dreams.

× × ×

We handed over the duties of supervising the elementary school students and updating the council minutes to others, and returned to school with Isshiki. Ms. Hiratsuka was assigned to oversee the Christmas activities, so there were a lot of things to discuss with her.

I entered the faculty office and went to Ms. Hiratsuka's seat, where I saw her writing something. It was quite a strange sight; when I came in, she was either eating or watching anime…

"teacher."

Ms. Hiratsuka heard my voice and looked up. She saw me, Yukinoshita, and Yui behind her, and a smile appeared on her lips.

"It seems you've finished my assignment, Hachiman."

Yui blinked, looking puzzled.

"Operation?"

"There's no homework for modern Chinese texts."