My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 338

"Hey, I'll bite!"

Then, the puppy bit my hand.

"...Just kidding..."

The next second, her cheeks flushed even redder. If you knew it was embarrassing, couldn't you have at least not done it in the first place? Even I felt a little embarrassed… I gently shook off her hand and fanned myself a few times. Hmm, it must be because the heating in this shop is on too high; that's why it's so unbearably hot.

"It's not very important, but Yukino wouldn't wear these gloves out, would she?"

"……indeed."

Yui nodded, agreeing with me. From what I remember, Yukinoshita has never paired her everyday outfits with anything so obviously cute. Even if she accepted it, she probably wouldn't use it—wait, there's a chance. Since it's a gift from Yui, she might actually use it. And her calm expression is just an exterior; she's actually overjoyed inside.

"Looks like I'll have to look for something else..."

Yui changed to a cat paw play glove and racked her brains to continue looking for other items.

"Ah, this one seems pretty good too."

She took a pair of socks that looked like cat paws from the shelf.

"Are they socks? They seem hard to get into the shoes."

"These are indoor socks! Of course you can't wear them outside!"

If what you're saying is true, then the gloves I had my eye on earlier can't be used outside either... However, after hearing what Hibin said, I noticed that the socks have pink rubber pads on the bottom, which seem to have an anti-slip effect.

"Since I'll only wear these socks at home anyway, I don't have to worry about what other people think... How about it?"

"Yes, she'll be very happy."

To be honest, Yukinoshita would probably be very happy with any gift from Hima. The person giving the gift is more important than the gift itself. Similarly, we often don't pay attention to what someone says, but rather who says what.

"Okay, I'll choose this one."

Yui took everything she was carrying to the checkout. Among them were the cardigan and two pairs of gloves from before. Was she going to give her the cat paw gloves too...?

That being said, since there are cat paws and cat legs...

Do you sell cat tails here?

× × ×

Next, it's my turn to pick out a gift. It's such a shame that the shop I just visited didn't sell cat tails.

And so, we arrived at SOGO Chiba, located in Senbanji. Judging from its address, this department store seems to be very sensitive to trends. Ah, it should be called "sensitive" (Note 12: The name "Sensity" comes from its location at 1000 Shinmachi, which sounds similar to the English word "sensitive").

Normally, when I come here, I go to the men's clothing section. However, today my purpose is to buy Yukino's birthday present, so I'll go to the women's floor instead.

I didn't know what girls liked, so I had Yui lead the way.

Yuihama took a liking to a shop that sold not only clothes but also other small trinkets.

"Actually, you can just look around, there are gloves, jewelry, scarves, and household items..."

Following her suggestion, I also started browsing around the store.

Thankfully, I had Chihama by my side, offering all sorts of advice. So far, no store staff have called the police, and no security guards have come to check on me. If I had wandered in alone, the staff would definitely have approached me and asked, "What are you looking for?" and then followed me closely, while the people behind the checkout would have looked at me with wary eyes. These are things that happened when I casually strolled in before. I understand that men rarely shop alone in department stores. But I still hope everyone won't be so wary of me…

I moved between the display shelves, occasionally glancing at the staff. Suddenly, Yui stopped in front of one shelf. The pop-up ad on that shelf prominently displayed "EyeWear".

What's going on? Glasses are glasses, why write them in English? Always throwing in a few foreign phrases, stop acting so self-important! Why not just say "clothes hanger"? Is calling meat sauce "bolognese" so cool? And pasta, "spaghetti" is outdated, "pasta" is trendy now. I really don't know what else to say… Best wishes, your ad is very romantic :)

Halfway through grumbling to myself, Yui patted me on the shoulder.

I turned my head and noticed that she had put on a pair of glasses, which she proudly pushed up a few times.

"Hehe, do I look smarter?"

"When you think that 'wearing glasses equals being smart,' your brain is already beyond saving."

"Shut up, you idiot!"

She immediately looked displeased, but still picked up other pairs of glasses one after another, examining their styles and designs. Later, I also picked up a pair of glasses to take a look.

I never imagined that there could be so many different styles of glasses.

Beyond their stylish design, glasses also offer a wide variety of functions, such as preventing pollen from getting into the eyes and filtering blue light. As glasses become more common, their purpose is no longer just to correct vision, and their prices are becoming increasingly affordable.

Yuihama picked up a pair of glasses and handed them to her.

"Here, you try it on too."

“Eh…”

If I actually wore them, I would definitely be laughed at... Seeing my hesitation, she pushed the glasses towards me.

"Okay, hurry up!"

I'm ready, I'm mustering my courage... PER～～SONA! (Note 13 refers to the Persona series of games; the glasses are an important element in Persona 4.) To add, I prefer Persona 3 to Persona 4, so when I summon it, I feel like I'm holding a pistol to my temple!

"Something like this."

After putting on my glasses, I pushed up the frames with my index finger. Yui saw this and immediately burst out laughing.

"They're such a mismatch!"

"It's so noisy..."

That's why I didn't want to wear them... I reluctantly took off my glasses, and Yui immediately brought over another pair of different styles.

"This time... let's change to this one."

"No way!"

"What does it matter? Come on!"

She insisted on putting my glasses on for me. Ugh, so annoying... I had no choice but to put the glasses back on properly, which were half-hanging on my ears, and mutter a few words to her in the process.

Just as I was about to speak, I saw her open her mouth and stare blankly at me.

"..."

"What does it mean by not saying anything...?"

You're the one who asked me to wear it, and now you're not even reacting. At least say something—I hinted with my eyes—and she quickly waved her hand and said:

"Ah! No, it's nothing... I just feel like we get along surprisingly well."

"...Thank you."

Hearing Yuihama's praise, I found myself unsure how to react.

But... it actually works surprisingly well, doesn't it?

There are many things in the world that we think we understand, but in reality, we understand nothing at all. For example, Yuihama, who doesn't usually wear glasses, looks surprisingly good when she does.

I forget when it was, but Yukinoshita regretfully said that she knew nothing about Yuihama.

Actually, I'm the same way.

I never tried to understand it in the past.

This applies not only to Yukinoshita, but probably also to Yuihama.

However, at this moment, although only a little, although still far from "understanding," and certainly not in an ideal state, we have indeed accumulated a period of time shared by the three of us. A mere six months is nothing remarkable. But compared to then, I have indeed gained some understanding of them.

The Yukino Yukinoshita I know—

The Yukino Yukinoshita I know always gives in to Yuihama's pleas, loves cats the most, and likes to hug Johnny the panda's cushion during holidays and search for cat videos online.

I never imagined that I would understand her to some extent.

Since Yui is going to give her cat-foot-shaped indoor socks, I'll pick something to match.

I hope that the time she spends alone is filled with warmth and that her heart finds peace.

× × ×

After finally finishing our shopping, we decided to go to a coffee shop to rest our tired legs. There's also Starbucks outside the department store, but it's freezing outside, and I don't really understand their ordering system, so I wasn't in the mood today.

So we went to a place we had visited several times and were quite familiar with.

"Is this okay?"

"Um."

After confirming Yuihama's wishes, we went into the café inside the department store. Located deep inside, it had a quieter atmosphere, away from the hustle and bustle outside.

"The two of you."

The shop assistant led us to a four-seater table by the window. From the window, the entire Chiba Station was laid out before us. I let Yui sit by the window while I sat on the other side to admire the Chiba Station behind her.

The sight of the monorail running here gives one the illusion that Chiba is incredibly advanced. This place is practically a city of the future.

I was watching the monorail for a while when I suddenly made eye contact with the person sitting diagonally opposite me.

"Oh? It's Hachiman."

The other person was also sitting on the sofa by the window.

She—Yukino Yukinoshita—wore a white, ruffled blouse with a gold chain necklace around her neck. Even as the light from the window illuminated her, her eyes, though filled with a cheerful smile, were darker than the twilight sky. As if concealing an incongruous impression, she draped a bright red shawl over herself and called my name.

Yuihama heard the sound, glanced over briefly, and then showed a surprised expression.

"Yono-neechan... and—"

She shifted her gaze forward. There stood a man, Hayama Hayato, wearing a gray knit sweater that was neither black nor white, with a black jacket over it. Beneath Hayama's slightly blond hair, he also wore a slightly surprised expression. However, he quickly put on a smile.

"Hayato-kun?"

"……Hi."

Ye Shan simply raised his hand in greeting, revealing a silver watch gleaming from beneath his sleeve.

I nodded slightly in response. Aside from that, there was no further interaction between us, only the faint strains of jazz music playing in the shop. Then, the sound of someone moving a chair drifted in.

"It feels like it's been ages since I've seen Hihama-chan!"

Yang Nai sat down at our table quite naturally. Ye Shan sighed softly, picked up the bill, and sat down next to me.

"A date, right? Gotcha! You guys are still as close as ever. Didn't Yukino come along?"

Yang nudged Yuihama a few times with his elbow, then looked towards the shop entrance.

"Ah, we're here today to buy a present for Yukino..."

"Oh—right, right, her birthday is coming up soon... Oh, I see."

After listening to Yuihama's words, she nodded in understanding, then quickly took out her flat-screen phone and made a call.

Seeing her actions, Hayama said tactfully:

"...She won't come out, will she?"

"No, probably today."

A confident smile appeared on Yang Nai's lips.

In the quiet coffee shop, you can faintly hear the ringing of a phone before it connects.

"Hello……"

"Ah, Yukino, it's me! It's me! Can you come out now?"

"goodbye."

"Wow! She hung up the phone instantly!" Yui and Hayama both gave wry smiles. However, Haruno, probably already used to Yukinoshita's reactions, remained unmoved and continued playfully:

"Huh? Are you sure you want to hang up?"

"...What is it?"

Upon hearing this, the corners of her mouth immediately turned up.

"Actually, Hachiman is right next to me!"

"You're making another pointless joke... You should—"

"Come, Hikigaya."

As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately handed me her phone.

"Hey, hello!"

I checked my phone, then looked at Xiang Yangnai; she had already hidden her hands behind her back, looking completely unconcerned. It seemed impossible to get her to take the phone back now, but I kept hearing Yukinoshita calling for her older sister through the receiver. I had no choice but to answer…

"Uh... hello?"