My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 329

"I don't think I said anything wrong."

Yukinoshita stubbornly turned her face away, a gesture that touched a nerve with Isshiki, who let out a breath.

"Those words may make sense, but please consider the context. Aren't there rules for meetings too?"

Yukino turned her face away again, this time looking in my direction for some reason.

"You can't expect this man to know how to speak appropriately for the occasion; even in the office, he only cares about reading the words on the surface."

"Too bad you're wrong. Someone at my level can read between the lines. Besides, she's clearly angry with you."

She looked puzzled when she heard me say that.

"Isshiki-san also said that what I said makes a lot of sense, so what reason does she have to be angry with me?"

"That's it! That's why you made her angry. Can't you just listen to what others are saying?"

We chatted back and forth, and finally, Yise couldn't hold back any longer and tapped the whiteboard to show her presence.

"Excuse me, are you listening to me? I'm speaking to both of you at the same time."

"Okay, okay, it's good that things have been resolved satisfactorily."

Yui came in to smooth things over, and Isshiki sighed, no longer wanting to argue with us, but judging from her expression, she wasn't completely over it. So, Yui continued to tell her:

"And the event can continue, isn't that great?"

"Sigh... in that respect, it is true... and I also feel a little more at ease..."

This awkward guy couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This person is so dishonest." But even though Isshiki clearly had no interest in student council work, he was now actually concerned about whether the event would even happen...

At this moment, she clutched her head and groaned again.

"But this matter has nothing to do with that matter! It's making things difficult for people to be respectful—"

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that."

It was indeed my fault that she was in a difficult position, so I sincerely apologized to her. Previously, either Ise or Isshiki would directly negotiate with Yusheng, but after the tense meeting just now, she probably won't want to talk to me anymore. Therefore, all future negotiations will fall on Isshiki's shoulders.

"If the two sides stop cooperating, it will indeed cause problems... Although we are going to work separately, the general direction is still the same, and doing so might damage our relationship..."

Yukinoshita stroked her chin thoughtfully, when Yuihama raised her hand and suggested:

"Then, Iroha and I will be in charge of the negotiations and communication with them from now on!"

"Eh~ Do I want one too?"

"You're the representative here, so of course you should be the one to come forward."

Isshiki was not very willing, and Yukinoshita immediately scolded her.

"Yes...yes! But...this wasn't caused by Yukinoshita-senpai—"

Yukino glared at her again, and she immediately cleared her throat, swallowing back the words she was about to say. Then, she came over and whispered something to me:

"Senior, Yukinoshita-senpai is scary..."

You're wrong, her reaction to you was actually quite friendly—of course, I couldn't really tell her that; right now, Yukinoshita's gaze is incredibly sharp. Yukinoshita's ears must be hell ears (Note 43, from the opening theme song lyrics of the anime *Devilman*)....

"Isshiki, please go and confirm the budget and time allocation with them, and calculate the current expenses."

"Ah, then let's go find the accountant together."

After answering, Isshiki led the two of them toward the student council's work area.

With nothing to do for the moment, I pulled up a chair nearby and sat down, leaning back and looking at the ceiling. No one approached my surroundings, and time passed slowly.

People kept casting glances my way. Those stares at strange things and those hushed whispers were commonplace for me, but I hadn't felt that kind of attention in a long time, so it felt strangely familiar. Besides me, Yukinoshita was also receiving those gazes.

"Hikigaya."

Hiratsuka-sensei, who appeared out of nowhere, suddenly poked her head into my line of sight.

"So the teacher has arrived."

"Let's check on the situation halfway through."

Hiratsuka-sensei probably didn't plan to stay long and didn't sit down. I felt strange sitting alone, so I stood up too. After our faces came close, the teacher stared at me for a while, then gave a wry smile.

"You're playing the bad guy again."

Ah, so the teacher was there then... I started to feel embarrassed seeing her like that. The teacher looked around the room, and finally her gaze landed on Yukinoshita.

"However, I didn't expect her to do something like that... I'm a little surprised."

"Yeah, that's right..."

Even I don't understand what I'm agreeing with. When Yukinoshita said those things, I was surprised, but I could also understand, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Hiratsuka-sensei nodded again and whispered:

"If we get hurt together, maybe it won't count as harm... Is this what they call 'the beauty of rhythm'...?"

"What?"

I don't understand the meaning of that sentence. Could you please explain it in detail? She didn't look at me and answered directly:

"Even people who have been hurt, have eccentric personalities, or are prone to tantrums can still be found beautiful and have value by others... I don't dislike that."

She then turned her head and looked at him with sad eyes.

"However, at the same time, people also feel fear and doubt whether this is really okay. After all, happiness that is not understood by others can also be called closed-off happiness."

"Would that be terrible?"

Hiratsuka-sensei slowly shook her head, her long, jet-black hair swaying as she did so.

"Well... as a teacher, the only thing I can answer whether is right or wrong is the exam answer... so you should at least keep this question in mind and keep thinking about the answer."

After saying those words, she left the lecture room. I watched her walk away, pondering what to say in response.

What I hope for may not be the kind of relationship that the world generally considers right; perhaps someone will grab the hand that's reaching out to me and drag me down with them. Such sentimentality would be far too selfish.

Even without my teacher telling me, I will continue to ask myself questions and find the answers.

× × ×

After a long day of work, I could finally head home. I hopped on my bicycle and slowly left the community center.

As I rode through the residential area, someone suddenly rang their bell behind me. "Tsk, what's going on? I'm just riding my bike, I'm not bothering you!" Despite these thoughts, I pulled over to the side of the road to let the person behind me pass. But the bell kept ringing.

I couldn't stand it anymore, so I turned around to see which guy it was.

As it turned out, I discovered that Orimoto was also riding a bicycle, closely following behind. She saw my face and immediately burst out laughing.

"Why are you ignoring me? It's hilarious."

"...It's you. Wait, there's nothing funny about this, is there?"

Logically speaking, it's only natural that we attended the same junior high school and lived not far from each other. If we started walking from the same place in the same direction at the same time, it's obvious we would meet somewhere along the way.

Zheben rode up beside me.

"So you still live around here."

"My home is right here..."

"Ah, that's true. It's just that I've never touched you here before."

The main reason is that I don't want to see you, so I try to minimize my chances of going out... If there were a ranking of "the people I least want to see again," Zheben would definitely be near the top. However, I don't need to tell her even this.

"Oh, wait a minute, okay?" She stopped her bicycle in front of the vending machine.

If you were to make a list of "people you least want to wait for," Zheben would definitely be near the top. However, since she had already asked me directly, I could only sit on my bicycle and patiently wait for her to buy me a drink.

"Here, please."

She handed me a can of hot black tea. What's going on? Why isn't it MAX coffee? —Okay, I know since it's someone else's treat, there's no point in complaining, so I obediently accepted the tea.

Zheben picked up another can of drink he had bought for himself and banged it against the can in his hand.

"yeah--"

"Oh, oh..." Does that mean "cheers"...?

Then, she pulled the tab on her drink, took a few sips, and said to me:

"Hachiman, you've changed a bit. In my memory, you used to be incredibly boring."

“Is that so?”

...Oh, I see. So that's how others viewed me back then. Don't you think this kind of information is completely unimportant?

What bothered me more was her comment about how I'd changed. Had I changed since junior high? The answer would likely be yes. I'm taller, I've learned more English words, and most importantly, I no longer break out in a cold sweat when talking to Zheben. Besides these, I could probably list many other differences, but rather than calling them "changes," it's more accurate to say they've "returned to basics."

"However, the fact that it seems boring might be due to a problem with the person observing it."

Zheben's expression at this moment could truly be described as "bored." She shook the can a few times, drank the rest of the beverage in one gulp, and then let out a "ha—" sigh.

"That's what I say, but I probably still can't date you~"

"Forget it, I haven't confessed to you yet."

I did confess my feelings to you in the past. Yes, that's true. But that's all in the past, right? So please forget about it, thank you for your cooperation.

"But why did you bring this up for no reason?"

"Didn't you suddenly say those things at today's meeting? If I really had a boyfriend like that, I definitely couldn't stand it. I wouldn't understand what he was trying to say at all."

Remembering what happened at the meeting, Orimoto chuckled. After a while, she stopped laughing and looked ahead at the road. Following her gaze downhill, you'd reach the junior high school we attended.

"However, it seems like there's no problem being friends, and it's kind of funny... Anyway, it doesn't matter now."

She threw the empty drink can into the trash can and got on her bicycle.

"Also, thanks to you and that girl today, our student council really got serious, especially the president. So, we'll definitely beat you."

"It's not like we're in a competition..."

When she heard my answer, she tilted her head and asked:

"Really? Oh well, it doesn't matter. Goodbye—"

"Hmm. Ah, thank you for the black tea."

Zheben gently raised his hand in response to my thanks, then pedaled away. I finished the rest of my black tea and threw the empty can into the trash can. Just then, I heard the sound of bicycle brakes not far away.

"That's right."

"what?"

I looked in the direction of the sound and saw Zheben riding his bicycle, turning his head to ask:

"Would you like to come to the next class reunion?"

"Come on, I'm definitely not going."

"Yeah, that would be hilarious."

"It's not funny at all."

She chuckled softly and stepped on the pedal again. Before she was gone, I turned the handlebars around and headed in another direction.

× × ×

The day after the meeting, the classroom in the Civic Center immediately became busy after school. We had decided to put on a play, but we hadn't decided what kind of play to perform.

However, under Isshiki's clueless instruction that "there should at least be angels in the play," everyone began rushing to make angel costumes. Will the angels really appear...? If so, wouldn't the scene be the afterlife (Note 44, from the anime *Angel Beats!*)?

Until recently, these kids, whom we considered a huge nuisance, have now transformed into invaluable helpers when we're rushing to finish a project, each one a super-powerful force. Elementary school students are truly amazing!

Rumi Tsurumi is dexterous and a lone wolf who can focus on her work. On the day she first arrived here, she volunteered to ask us what we needed to do, so she has now become the elite of the elementary school student army.

As everyone chatted, laughed, and teased each other, the angel's costume gradually took shape. I observed from a distance and noticed that, seeing how engrossed Liu Mei was, the others piled their work onto her.

Even if someone who studied in the US is incredibly talented, it's impossible for them to do so much work on their own. So I walked over and sat down next to her without asking, intending to help make the props. At that moment, she stopped me.

"It's okay, I don't need your help."

He stayed in the US and continued with his work, not even glancing at me.

"I'm enough on my own."

"You shouldn't speak too soon..."

She spoke with great confidence, but the amount of props we needed was quite considerable. Even though the costumes were designed to be children's sizes, it was still too much of a stretch to have one person make them all. Nevertheless, she shook her head.

"Need not."

"You can really do this all by yourself, right...?"