My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

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"What did I say?"

He sat upright, back straight, staring intently into my eyes, and answered in a serious tone:

"...I also want to get the 'real thing'."

My cheeks flushed instantly. Thinking back carefully, I realized that when we left the clubroom that day to find Yukino, we did indeed bump into Isshiki as soon as we opened the door. I couldn't help but rub my forehead.

"Did you hear that...?"

"I could hear it very clearly from outside."

Seeing how naturally she said it made me feel so embarrassed.

"...Forget about it quickly."

"I will not forget... nor can I forget."

Her expression was quite serious at the moment, which was very different from usual.

"So, today I'm going to take a step."

I have no way of knowing what the "real thing" Isshiki longs for is. She may not share the same fantasies as me, and whether such a thing even truly exists is unknown, but she certainly hopes to obtain something. In my eyes, this is already a rather noble act.

I didn't know how to comfort Isshiki, but I should at least say something encouraging.

"Well, how should I put it... Oh right, don't take it to heart, after all, it's not your fault."

After hearing this, Issei blinked several times and then distanced herself from me.

"What do you mean by this, senior? Are you planning to pursue me while I'm heartbroken? I'm sorry, that's really unlikely."

"No, that's not it..."

How exactly did she interpret it...? Could there be any other sentence that could be formed from the words "Don't take it to heart"? I looked defeated, and Isshiki cleared his throat and sat back down in his original spot.

"However, it's not over yet. In fact, this is the most effective way to win over Hayama-senpai. Because others will sympathize with me and won't easily make a move against him. Right~"

"...Oh, I see."

This person is really something else... I admire her, but I don't know what to say. Isshiki chuckled a few times, puffed out her chest smugly, and continued speaking.

"That's right. And sometimes, even if you know you'll be rejected, you can't just not confess. Also, after being rejected, the other person will still care about you, right? Feeling sorry for you, feeling guilty, these are all common reactions... So, in order to make next time go more smoothly, today's failure is just a step in the process... So, so... I have to try my best..."

She let out a sob, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Isshiki has already tried her best, so I won't ask her to keep trying. As Komachi said, I should say "I love you" in times like this, but that's only for my sister. Also, I thought about patting her head, but that's also only for my sister.

"You're really something."

"These are the only words I can say right now," Isshiki said, raising her tearful eyes to look at him.

"I became like this because of my senior."

"...You're overthinking it. Aside from the student council president incident, I don't care about anything else—"

Before I could finish speaking, she leaned closer and whispered in my ear:

"Senior, you need to take responsibility."

Finally, she flashed a mischievous smile.

Volume 9, Chapter 9: Naturally, Isshiki Iroha took a step forward.

We met at the student council office after school on Monday.

Before the meeting with the Seaside Comprehensive High School, we decided to hold a pre-meeting meeting. Judging from this, the day when a pre-meeting meeting for the very next meeting is held is not far off.

Yesterday, I sent a text message to Yuihama asking her to help contact the relevant people, so everyone did attend.

The student council officers sat at one corner of the conference table, and I made eye contact with one of them, Isshiki.

After what happened the day before yesterday, I thought she would be depressed for a while, but she doesn't seem to be like that at all; she's acting no differently than usual. Of course, this might just be a facade she's putting on.

She looked around for a while and asked:

"Hmm—why are we meeting here today?"

"To confirm our policy, and what's next."

"oh……"

After I answered, she gave a vague response that seemed to understand. Yukinoshita frowned and glared at her.

"This meeting should have been convened by Isshiki-kun."

“Yes, yes…”

Isshiki jumped in fright, then sat up straight. The snow beneath the ground was indeed a bit terrifying... but we weren't here to lecture Isshiki.

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore..."

I urged everyone to start the meeting quickly, but Yukinoshita shifted the focus to this.

"You'd better not spoil her and think that's for her own good."

I understand what Yukinoshita wanted to express. Besides doting and gentleness, we must not confuse love, heartache, and strength (Note 40: Actress Ryoko Shinohara's fourth single). Yukinoshita's strictness towards Isshiki represents her concern for her, which is the so-called "deep love leads to strict discipline".

"If you're always harsh with her, she'll only think you're heartless."

"Even so, if you do everything for her perfectly, it won't help her grow."

Yukino and I were locked in a fierce debate, our arguments as parallel as two parallel lines.

"I always feel like a child being scolded by my family..."

Yukinoshita heard Isshiki muttering something and opened her mouth as if to say something, but Yuihama quickly went up to stop her.

"Don't be like that, Iroha has only been in office for a short time, and he's not used to it yet..."

"……Too."

After some appeasement, Yukino finally relented.

To be honest, her argument makes a lot of sense. It would be ideal if Isshiki could become a capable student council president. Although Isshiki isn't anything special, nor is she great enough to teach others anything, and doesn't even understand the fluttering in her chest (Note 41 is from the lyrics of the opening theme song "Otoko ga Doki Doki" from the anime *Detective Conan*), I still need to consider Isshiki's future term and provide appropriate assistance.

I cleared my throat and looked at Isshiki directly opposite me.

Do you know where the problem lies?

"Yeah, we're short on money, time, and manpower, right?"

"That's right. So, what should we do?"

"Hmm... so we need to... 'outsourcing'? Find people from other places who are willing to help, but we don't have enough money to hire them right now, so we have to find a way to raise the funds..."

Isshiki truly understood the current difficulties. She always seemed not to be listening, but in reality, she was taking it all in. To be honest, she performed much better than the chairpersons of the school anniversary celebration and sports meet, which was a strange feeling.

After confirming that Issei had a grasp of the current situation, I continued.

"Judging from Hiratsuka-sensei's reaction, we're afraid it will be difficult for us to get more funding, but I don't want to go out and solicit sponsorships."

"The latter is entirely your own reasoning..."

Yukinoshita sighed in exasperation. But wait, look closely! Yui and Isshiki both nodded in agreement! According to my rough mental calculations, if we really wanted to get sponsorships, each person would have to contribute at least 5,000 yen… That's too difficult… Going home and crying and begging my parents might indeed get me that money, but rather than spending it on this kind of event, I'd rather cry to my parents to get the money first, and then completely ruin the event. Not only that, the costs of the event might continue to increase.

When it comes to practical money matters, the student council members can only look at each other with disapproving expressions, and Yise's face is the most unpleasant. I'm not saying this to be mean, but this guy is really...

"The current plan is not very feasible. It can only achieve a small part at most, and it will be much smaller than the copy displayed on the billboard. Organizing such an event will only make people shake their heads."

"Ah, indeed..."

Isshiki couldn't help but sigh as he imagined that scene.

They heavily promoted the event beforehand with the slogan "Connecting Our Moment," but on the day of the event, there was only one performing group that finished their performance after just one hour—they seemed incredibly weak... What exactly were they connecting?

"So, we should clarify this issue first. From the student council's perspective, do you want the event to proceed as it is? Let me state upfront that I personally have no opinion. I'm just here to help; I'll do whatever you ask me to do."

"Hmm..." Isshiki crossed his arms, pondered for a while, and slowly spoke:

"It doesn't feel very good. If the event is significantly scaled back, it might be better not to hold it at all. But we can't just cancel it like that, can we? So, some things are just unavoidable."

Yukinoshita was exasperated by her coquettish way of speaking and her lack of motivation, and pressed her temples.

"Isshiki-kun..."

"Okay, okay, okay..."

Yuihama quickly tried to smooth things over, but Isshiki was also startled by Yukinoshita, and his attitude immediately changed drastically.

"I'm willing! I'm willing! We'll definitely make this event a success!"

I have a feeling that she was forced to nod... Oh well, whatever.

"I understand your point of view. So, what is the student council's overall perspective?"

"Huh? Oh, right... what do you all think?"

Isshiki cautiously glanced at the other executives, including the vice president. All the members exchanged glances before tentatively speaking:

"And us—"

"If it can be done well, then there's nothing wrong with it..."

After the other cadres nodded in agreement, they all looked over at me, giving me a smile that was a mixture of shyness and embarrassment.

"...That's roughly it."

Unsurprisingly, they still couldn't get along well.

Given Isshiki's social skills (and how shameless she is), she should be able to resolve this impasse sooner or later. However, she doesn't know if she deserves the title of "student council president," so she hasn't dared to stand out too much.

This isn't a problem I can solve. However, if this event is successful and gives Isshiki confidence in himself, their relationship might change.

"Okay. So, before we think about how to do it, there's one more obstacle we need to overcome—now the question is, what exactly is this obstacle?"

"what?"

Isshiki, abandoning her previous serious demeanor, looked at her with a "Are you an idiot?" gaze. Damn it, I went out of my way to entertain myself, guiding her with a quiz... Okay, just answer already! Thinking this, Yukinoshita answered before Isshiki could:

"Isn't it right to overemphasize a collaborative meeting style?"

For some reason, she even slightly raised her hand. This person's competitive spirit was probably ignited the moment she heard about the quiz. Not only that, she looked at me with excited eyes, waiting for me to reveal the answer.

"The standard answer..."

Yukino clenched her fist under the table, making a victory sign. What a pity, I was originally planning to let Isshiki answer this question… Oh well. Anyway, the person who answers correctly gets 80,000 points (because I'm Hachiman! Note 42: In Japanese, "八万" (hachiman) is pronounced the same as "八幡" (hachiman).)!

"As Yukinoshita said, the seaside comprehensive high school asks everyone for their opinions one by one and then discusses all the opinions one by one. No one has the final decision-making power, so of course no result will ever be reached."

Yuihama listened and raised a question.

"Isn't it decided by their president?"

"Judging from the current situation, Yu Sheng is merely guiding the meetings and compiling everyone's opinions; he has never made any decisions."

Such meetings appear lively on the surface, and with a certain number of participants and the fact that opinions raised are unlikely to be rejected, minor details are quickly settled. However, the truly important parts are completely nowhere to be seen.

A meeting where no one has the final say is meaningless. Even if a final result is reached, no one will consider it a decision.

Everyone is in the same position, so no one can make the final decision.

Although both Haibin Comprehensive High School has Yusheng and Soubu High School has Isshiki as representatives, when faced with choices, these two always show an attitude of "Hmm, what should we do?", which makes it difficult to make a decision.

As Isshiki listened, a certain thought surfaced in his mind, and he sighed softly, saying:

"I guess I'm not very good at this after all..."

I saw her lower her head and comfort her:

"You did nothing wrong."

"Senior..."

After I said that, she raised her head again, her eyes glistening with tears. I nodded solemnly and explained the greater good to her.

"It's obvious that the person who put you in the student council president position was in the wrong."

"Isn't that my senior...?"

Isshiki instantly showed an expression of not knowing whether to complain or not. But you should know that the spirit of "I am not wrong, society is wrong" is actually quite important.

"If we only discuss this matter, the problem lies in the fact that both sides are hesitant and have not clearly defined the superior-subordinate relationship."

Generally speaking, discussing who holds the final decision-making power is more important than win-win relationships, equal negotiations, or who has a higher or lower status. If this consensus is not reached initially, subsequent meetings will naturally be just empty talk.

"...Therefore, we must eliminate this ambiguous battle, hold a proper meeting, boldly raise objections, create confrontation, negate the other side's opinions, and determine who wins and who loses."

The vice president looked troubled upon hearing this.