My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 339

I couldn't think of anything to say for a moment, so I just made a sound. If Yukinoshita heard it, she would probably suddenly forget to breathe.

After a brief silence, I heard her sigh.

"Ugh, I can't stand it... Why are you here too?"

Even I'm wondering about it myself. I just came out to buy something today... Why am I here! Why am I here! Ugh~ Wow! Ha! What! Ha! Ha! It's the yokai's fault, right? Right? (Note 14 is from the lyrics of the ending theme song "Yokai Gymnastics First" from the anime "Yokai Watch".) I'm not wrong, the yokai are wrong!

"You only go out occasionally, and your sister catches you..."

I glared at the monster that had caught me, and was about to add more when I was interrupted by Yukinoshita's second breath.

"Okay, that's enough, I'm coming right away. Tell your sister to answer the phone."

"Yes... I'm sorry."

Why should I apologize?

I wiped the phone screen clean with a wet wipe and handed it back to Haruno. Haruno briefly explained the location to Yukino and then ended the call.

"Yukino said she'll come."

She smiled contentedly. Yuihama, somewhat embarrassed, asked:

"Excuse me, why did you bring Yukino out? She doesn't seem very willing..."

"Hmm? Oh—there was supposed to be a family dinner later tonight, but she refused to come. But, if you tell her you're there too, she has no choice but to come. Right?"

"So we're hostages..."

"Although the term 'hostage' doesn't sound very nice, isn't it a wonderful story to rush to the scene in place of your imprisoned friend?"

"In that case, who would become the wicked and tyrannical king—"

"Oh my, what a bohemian type!"

Yang teased me with amusement.

Yuihama, standing to the side, was filled with questions. Hayama chuckled and explained.

"The plot of 'Run, Melos!' (Note 15: A short story by Osamu Dazai)."

"Ah, oh~~ yes, yes, that's him! I know, I've heard of him. He's super fast~"

Do you really know...? It's the one where "Melos started running...Melos and Serinus...are always best friends...!" (Note 16: "The original text is 'メロスゎ走った……メロスとセリヌンゎ……ズッ友だょ……！' which comes from a famous series of posts on Twitter.)"

I looked at Yuihama with suspicion, and she quickly changed the subject to evade the question.

"By the way, a family dinner sounds great! Everyone together—wait, what?"

Halfway through her sentence, her gaze shifted to Ye Shan. Ye Shan, sensing her thoughts, spoke up first:

"Our two families have known each other for a long time... When we went out to pay New Year's visits today, they suggested that we have dinner together, so I was forced to come along."

"Right……"

Yuihama nodded as if understanding, and Haruno stroked the rim of the teacup, letting out a soft sigh.

"I was busy dealing with relatives all day on New Year's Day, and I have to go back to work on the 4th. I must have been extremely busy the day before, so today is the only day I have time to meet with acquaintances."

It seems this is an annual event for the Yukinoshita family. If there's going to be a dinner party later, it means Yukinoshita's parents will be nearby... I'd like to see what they look like.

I pretended to stretch, taking the opportunity to peek around. However, Yang Nai saw right through my intention and told me with a smile:

"Our family is visiting relatives elsewhere for the New Year, so we'll wait here."

"Oh, I see..."

Her answer made me understand immediately. When adults have something to do, children are always sent aside. In the past, when my mother participated in the cooperative, she would also meet with other mothers. These mothers' children would be grouped together and left to play on their own. But, Mom, just because adults get along well doesn't mean their children will get along well... I felt like I was suffocating.

"Eh~~" Yuihama exclaimed softly upon hearing this.

"Visiting people everywhere must be exhausting."

"I come here every year, I'm used to it. Although I still often find it troublesome... I never thought this habit would last—no, I should say it's a tradition."

Although it's hard to put into words, Haruno's words reveal that she has long since given up on this matter.

Whether it's Yukinoshita or Hayama, who didn't appear at the New Year's shrine visit, they all have to deal with this kind of social interaction.

Even among prominent, prestigious families, there must be many conflicts and troubles behind the scenes. While these things may seem unreal to ordinary people like us, they do happen. This is truly disheartening. On the other hand, there are also many families with close kinship ties. Perhaps many families even have their own unique communities, which I may not be aware of.

Even ordinary people are plagued by various troubles for a long time. As one's status rises, the troubles one faces naturally become more complex.

Yang slammed his hand on the table, sat up straight, as if to bid farewell to the previous sigh.

"Let's not talk about that. What gifts did you buy?"

She moved closer to Yuihama, who seemed a little flustered and shrank back as she took out her shopping bag.

"Um... I bought indoor socks..."

"Oh, the floor has been really cold lately."

"That's right! When I went to Yukino's house before, I thought her living room floor seemed a bit cold."

"Yes, yes. I'm also very sensitive to the cold, I totally understand~"

The two people opposite us were talking about women's topics, and Ye Shan and I, the two guys, couldn't get a word in edgewise, so we just listened quietly.

Later, Ye Shan, probably bored out of his mind, began to mutter to himself.

"A birthday present...?"

Then, he glanced over.

What are you buying?

"A little thing."

"Yeah?"

He didn't press further and quickly looked away.

For the rest of the time, Hayama remained silent, listening to Haruno and Yuihama chat, occasionally nodding in agreement. The second hand of his drink cup ticked slowly across the dial.

I stared blankly at the second hand.

The rhythm was precise, without a single error, faithfully adhering to the pre-set speed. It circled again and again, always returning to the same place, its appearance never changing. However, this didn't mean there was truly no change. Even though the second hand remained stationary, the time displayed around it was constantly shifting.

At that moment, Yang Nai looked at the gift wrapping and suddenly spoke:

"I'll give her a gift every now and then."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Ye Shan.

"Hayato, how are you?"

"……Um."

Ye Shan shrugged and then looked out the window. What he saw was probably not the streetlights on the road.

I also looked at Hayama's reflection in the glass window and unconsciously began to wonder what kind of gift Hayama had given Yukinoshita.

× × ×

This period has been truly agonizing.

About thirty minutes had passed since Yukino called Yukino. It seemed it would take some more time to get here from her building. Besides, she was already on her way, and I couldn't just leave first.

The coffee that had been slowly sipped was now empty, and the teapot that had been steaming with white vapor had gone cold.

Not only me, but Yuihama was also constantly looking around, appearing restless. Suddenly, she saw something and unconsciously made a sound. I looked over and saw Yukinoshita walking in quickly.

"Yukino—over here!"

Yuihama Asayuki waved, and the other person noticed and immediately turned to our seats.

"Yuihama-san...you came too?"

Yuihama wasn't mentioned during the phone call, so Yukinoshita found it somewhat unbelievable that she was also there.

"Yeah. Um... I was out shopping with the autistic guy, and we just happened to run into them..."

"Buying things...is that so...?"

Yuihama didn't want to directly say that she bought it as a birthday present for Yuihama, so she concealed part of the truth. Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita looked back and forth between the two of us in surprise.

"Anyway, let's sit down and talk."

Yuihama stood up slightly, making room for Yuihama. Yukinoshita naturally sat down in a spot where she couldn't see Haruno, then bowed her head and apologized to Yuihama.

"I'm sorry, I've caused you so much trouble."

"No, no, not at all."

Seeing Yui wave her hand, indicating that she didn't care, she felt a little relieved. Then she turned her face towards me and looked up at me.

"Hachiman, I also want to say to you—"

"It's nothing, I'm just very free anyway."

To be honest, after we finished shopping, Yui and I didn't have any particular plans. Now that we're not alone together, I feel a bit more relaxed. That being said, things aren't much better now.

The culprit behind it all smiled provocatively and spoke in a mocking tone:

"Yukino, you're so slow~"

"To call someone out on short notice and still manage to say something like that..."

Yukino glared sideways, while Haruno maintained her nonchalant expression. Yui, caught in the middle, could only manage an awkward laugh. A chaotic brawl! The Yukino sisters—please, stop messing around…

"Don't say that. Yukino seemed to have rushed over too..."

Just then, a familiar, cheerful voice entered, easing the tense atmosphere. However, he used a form of address I had never heard before, and I instinctively turned my head away. Ye Shan immediately realized his mistake, frowned slightly, and then quickly brushed it off with a smile.

"..."

Yukinoshita seemed surprised as well. She looked at Hayama without saying a word, but he simply shrugged.

"Yukinoshita-kun, what would you like to drink?"

"……black tea."

Hayama quickly ordered drinks, and after the black tea was served, Haruno let out a soft sigh.

"It's been so long since we all had tea together!"

"yes."

"..."

Hayama nodded in agreement, while Yukinoshita, holding her teacup, closed her eyes and remained silent. Seeing the silence fall, Yuihama began searching for a way to continue the conversation.

"Hmm... Hayato-kun and the two of you seem to have known each other for a long time."

"That's right. Hayato is an only child, so his parents dote on us too. Right, Yukino?"

"I don't think so."

"How could that be? It's not just my parents; everyone loves you all very much," Hayama said with a smile.

No matter what Haruno said to him, Yukinoshita remained unmoved. Haruno didn't take it to heart and continued to look into the distance.

"I really miss... when we were little, whenever the family had something to do, I was the one who took care of both of you."

Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita frowned.

"You're just dragging us around everywhere, aren't you? It's a nightmare."

She slammed the teacup down on the saucer, looked at Yang with a cold gaze, and said softly. Hayama then spoke up:

"Ah—the zoo, right…the amusement park was definitely a nightmare…"

"It was the same when we went to the seaside park. They were releasing pigeons and rocking the Ferris wheel cars around like crazy..."

They recalled their painful past, and their expressions turned gloomy, except for Yang Nai who nodded cheerfully.

"Oh, right, right. And Yukino cries almost every time."

"Sister...don't fabricate memories out of thin air."

"I didn't make that up—Hayato, right?"

"Ahaha... well..."

Hayama smiled and responded, while Yukinoshita silently lowered her head.

Watching them reminisce about the past, I suddenly had a feeling.