My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 34

TITLE Re5

It was abolished approximately 1,900 years ago.

The.

Volume 2, Chapter 3: Hayato Hayama always holds a leadership position.

No other time is more unsettling than the break between classes.

Everyone was freed from the pressure of class and gathered in the classroom, making a ruckus. They were either chatting with their best friends, discussing their plans after school, or talking about the TV shows they had watched the day before. To me, those conversations sounded like they were in another country's language and were completely meaningless.

Moreover, the atmosphere today seemed even more enthusiastic than usual. This is likely because during yesterday's class meeting before school ended, everyone learned that they would be forming their own groups for the "workplace internship." Deciding on group assignments and internship locations is supposed to be discussed in the class meeting the day after tomorrow, so what's the rush?

The conversations I overheard were almost all about "where to do the internship" rather than "who to go with," indicating that everyone had already formed their own groups.

This is only natural. Schools are not simply places for students to learn; in short, they are like a microcosm of society, a miniature version of the entire human world. Wars and conflicts occur in the world, and bullying exists in schools as well; society has a strong class consciousness, and this remains true in schools; as for democracy, the "majority rule" system is perfectly applicable in schools. The majority—that is, those with more friends—naturally have the loudest voice.

I propped my cheek up with my hand, half-asleep, watching my classmates. Although I slept well last night and wasn't really sleepy now, I've always spent my breaks like this, so my body has developed a conditioned reflex and automatically starts to feel sleepy.

In my gradually blurring vision, a small hand suddenly appeared and waved in front of me.

I looked up to see what was going on, and it turned out that Totsuka Saika was sitting in the seat in front of me.

"Good morning."

He chuckled softly and gave me his daily greeting upon waking.

"...You have to make me miso soup every morning."

"Huh... Huh? What... what does this mean...?"

"Ah, no, it doesn't mean anything, I just slept too long."

Thank goodness, I blurted out that I was going to propose to him... Damn it, why is this guy so cute! He's a guy, he's a guy! What a waste! Wait, since he's a guy... then, would he be willing to make me miso soup every morning?

"...What is it?"

"It's nothing, I just thought Hachiman-kun should be in the classroom... Is it inconvenient to talk right now?"

"No, how could it be inconvenient? I'd love for you to come and chat with me all the time."

I'd much rather you told me all day long that you liked me.

"Then we'd have to be together all the time."

Totsuka covered his mouth and laughed, probably finding it amusing. Then, he clapped his two small hands, as if remembering something, and spoke:

"By the way, has Hachiman decided where he'll be doing his internship?"

"Well... you could say it's decided, or you could say it's not decided yet."

He tilted his head, looking up at my face from below, clearly not understanding what I meant. However, because of this gesture, I accidentally caught a glimpse of his collarbone from the neckline of his tracksuit, so I quickly looked away. Why is his skin so beautiful? What brand of shower gel does he use every day?

"Ah~ Anyway, I'm fine with going anywhere for my internship. If it's not my own home, then anywhere else is the same to me, I mean it's all meaningless."

"Hmm... Hikigaya-kun, you often say some very profound things."

I don't remember saying anything particularly difficult, but Totsuka nodded repeatedly with an expression of admiration. I could almost hear the sound effect of his affection level increasing. No, no matter what I say, Totsuka's affection for me keeps rising. This is actually quite scary; it seems I'm about to step onto a forbidden path.

"So... have you decided who you want to team up with?"

Totsuka's eyes always held a hint of hesitation, yet you could sense a firm resolve. Now he was looking at me in that same way. Why did I feel like his last words implied, "I want to go on the internship with you; it's a real shame if you've already chosen a group"?

This problem came as a complete surprise.

So unexpectedly, it gave my memory a powerful shock. The knocking was as intense as that of a newspaper salesman.

I recall similar incidents happening before...

That's right. Back then, I had just entered the second year of junior high school and was chosen by lottery to be the class monitor. A cute girl also volunteered to be the class monitor and shyly said to me, "Please take care of me for the next year"...

Ahhh! That was close! What a close call! I almost got fooled again by those vague, unfathomable questions and suffered another serious injury!

I've already learned my lesson once; a well-trained lone wolf won't be fooled twice. Whether it's someone confessing their feelings to me after losing a game of rock-paper-scissors, or a fake love letter written by a girl and delivered to me by a guy, it's all useless against me! I'm a battle-hardened veteran! If we're talking about who loses, I'm definitely the best!

Okay, calm down. When faced with this kind of problem, the safest method is to repeat what the parrot says. Therefore, ○奇宝贝's big ○雀 is a master of solitude!

So I asked Totsuka the same question in return.

"Who have you decided to team up with?"

"I...I've already made up my mind."

After I suddenly asked him a question, Totsuka, though somewhat puzzled, still blushed and answered. Then he lowered his gaze, only glancing at my reaction out of the corner of his eye.

Just as I expected. After all, Totsuka is in the tennis club, has his own circle of friends and a place to belong, and naturally has connections extending from there. Thinking about it that way, it's not surprising that he has friends in his class.

Looking at myself, although I participated in club activities, those clubs were really just isolation wards that gathered people who couldn't adapt to school life together, and it was impossible to make friends there.

"Thinking about it carefully... no, even without thinking about it carefully, I know I don't have any male friends."

"Um... Hachiman-kun... I'm a guy..."

Totsuka whispered something, but I couldn't hear it because she was so cute.

That said, it's a really strange experience to be able to talk to people in the classroom. After helping Totsuka resolve the tennis club's problems a while ago, we started chatting casually for a couple of minutes whenever we met.

But now a question arises: Is this what friends are all about?

If it's just a brief chat, then anyone you know—no, even strangers—can do it. For example, while waiting in line at a ramen shop, you might chat with the person next to you, saying things like, "Wow, so many people!" or "Still so many people today, I'm going to surrender." But you wouldn't consider those people to be friends, would you?

If you're friends, you should act like this:

"Hayato, have you decided where you'll be doing your internship?"

"I want to intern at a mass media company or a foreign company!"

"Wow, you've already set your future goals! That's amazing! But we're almost at that age too, and lately I've been really respecting my dad."

"So let's get serious from now on~"

"Wow... But wouldn't it be a shame to forget the heart of a young person?"

I think that's the feeling. If someone can talk about a bunch of trivial things in a very youthful way, then they can probably be considered a friend. If it were me, I would definitely burst out laughing halfway through, so absolutely not. Respect Dad? Are you a J-rapper? (Note 15: The word "respect" is frequently used in the Japanese hip-hop scene.)

Hayato Hayama was still the same as ever, sporting an endearing smile surrounded by three boys.

Everyone casually calls him "Hayato," and he affectionately calls them by their names directly, creating a scene that truly deserves to be called "friend."

However, in my opinion, the reason they address each other by "name" is simply to feel the presence of friendship. Nowadays, whether it's in TV dramas, anime, or comics, everyone addresses each other by name, so aren't they just copying? Does doing that really make their relationship better?

...Well, I'll give it a try. After all, everything is a form of experience. I'm upright and honest; I would never criticize a comic as bad if I hadn't read it. However, if I've read it and think it's not good, I'll criticize it without hesitation.

Experiment title: Does addressing someone by their first name change interpersonal relationships?

"Ayaka."

"..."

When Totsuka heard me call his name, he froze in place, blinked two or three times, and even opened his mouth in surprise.

See? The relationship hasn't improved at all. Anyone would be annoyed to be called by their first name out of the blue. For example, when Zaimokuza suddenly called me "Hachiman," I would just ignore him. In short, those realistic people (laughs) do that just to deceive themselves, hide their dissatisfaction, and create an atmosphere of harmonious relationship.

So, I'd better apologize to Totsuka as soon as possible.

"Ah, sorry, that was just now..."

"...I'm so happy, this is the first time you've called me by my name."

"What!"

Totsuka smiled, his eyes still a little moist. Hey, are you kidding me? Is my real life about to become fulfilling? Reality being fulfilling is truly amazing—it's impressive!

"So……"

This time, it was Totsuka's turn to speak. He looked up at me and said:

"Can I... call you 'autistic guy'?"

"no."

Why this particular name? It creates a very negative impression, thankfully there's only one so far.

That's how I would call someone. If there were one more person, I'd be in real trouble.

After I refused outright, Totsuka looked a little disappointed, then cleared his throat and tried again.

"Then... Hachiman?"

...I completely understand what it feels like to "crack your chest".

"Three more times!"

Hearing my strange request, Totsuka gave me a knowing smile, seemingly unsure of what to do. But even his hesitation was so endearing that it left me completely bewildered.

"...Hachiman." He called out to me shyly for the first time, while observing my reaction.

"Hachiman?" He then turned his head to one side, puzzled.

"Hachiman! Are you listening?" This time he puffed out his cheeks, looking a little sulky.

Seeing his unhappy expression, I suddenly snapped back to reality. No, no, he's just too cute; I got so engrossed in watching him.

"Oh, sorry, what did you just say?"

I was in a daze, so I had to get away with it this way. At the same time, I memorized today's experimental results.

Conclusion: Calling him by his full name, Totsuka, makes him seem very cute.

× × ×

As the noise from the sports field gradually faded, the setting sun began to shine into our clubroom. The sun, sinking into Tokyo Bay, cast its last rays, melting away the darkness that lingered on the distant horizon.

"Hmm... Is the darkest hour about to descend...?"

The boy muttered to himself as he clenched his fist, the synthetic leather half-finger glove making a squeaking sound. He stared at the one-kilogram wristband peeking out from the cuff, then exhaled.

"It seems I should break the seal..."

No one paid any attention to him.

There are clearly three people here...

Yoshiteru Zaimokuza had been watching us closely, hoping for a response, but Yukino Yukinoshita completely ignored him and continued reading her book; Yui Yuigahama, unsure of what to do, cast pleading glances at me and Yukinoshita.

"Wooden base... Is there something you need?"

As soon as I opened my mouth, Yukino sighed heavily and glared at me. She looked as if to say, "Isn't it better to just ignore him?"

However, there's nothing that can be done about it.

Of course, I didn't want to talk to him either, but this situation had been going on for thirty minutes! Wasn't this just like the King of Reinuel in "Dragon Quest V"? If we didn't say something, he would keep haunting us like that.

When I asked him that, Timber Base happily rubbed his nose and let out a "hehehe" laugh. How disgusting.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I suddenly thought of a good line, and maybe I was just checking the rhythm and intonation when I accidentally blurted it out. Sigh, my writer's spirit is truly ingrained in my bones; whether I'm asleep or awake, I'm always thinking about my novel. It seems I'm really destined to be a writer!"

Zai Muza is only good at talking, leaving Yui and me speechless. When Yukinoshita slammed her book shut with a "snap," he jumped in fright.

"A writer's job is to create something for people to read... What have you created?"

"Ugh, ugh!"

His upper body leaned back, as if something was stuck in his throat—a reaction that was truly unbearable. However, he was unusually strong today, and soon regained his composure, even deliberately coughing a few times before speaking.

"Ahem~ You can only say that now, because I have a map to the Golden Land!"

"What? You won an award?"

"Not yet... but once I finish the work, winning an award is only a matter of time!"

I don't know why he straightened up so proudly. Hmm... what was so smug about what he just said? If he can say that, then I could easily change the history of Japanese gaming by making a game with "RPG Maker".

Timber Stander flipped up his coat and shouted again:

"Hehehe! You'd better be surprised! For this internship, I've decided to go to a publishing house! So, you get it?"

No, I don't understand at all.

"Hachiman, you're so oblivious. This means I'm about to gain connections, and my talent is finally going to be discovered!"

"You're overestimating yourself... This is even worse than a chuunibyou who brags about being friends with a delinquent upperclassman."

But Zai Muza didn't listen. He just stared at something else and grinned foolishly, muttering to himself, "The studio needs to be there... the voice actor needs to be found..." This behavior was really unsettling.

Moreover, even among publishing houses, the quality varies greatly. If he truly believes this will pave a bright future for him, there's nothing more I can say.

However, according to him, things are a bit strange.