My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 342

Seeing his self-deprecating smile, Ooka and Yamato chimed in with agreement.

"Y-yes, that's true—oh dear, I knew it was unlikely."

"Then why did you say it?"

Hayama lightly tapped Ooka on the head, and Ooka made a funny face. Their interaction was just like the playful banter between ordinary boys, and the atmosphere in the classroom gradually eased.

Then, Hayama picked up his schoolbag and stood up from his seat.

"It's about time I went to my club. I'll go to the faculty office to hand in the survey first."

"learn--"

"Then let's go."

After the Ministry of Revenue, Ooka and Yamato stood up, waved goodbye to Miura and the others, and left the classroom.

Miura bit her lip lightly, silently watching them leave, her fingers still tucked in her long hair, motionless.

Yui gently placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be nervous. I was with them that day too."

"real?"

Miura asked uneasily, and Yuihama smiled at her.

"Yeah. I went out shopping that day and ran into Yukino's older sister. Yukino knows Hayato's family, so they were going to visit them for the New Year. Yukino was just called over."

Your explanation is terrible, isn't it? It feels like listening to a child... Ebina nodded, and after listening to her incoherent explanation, helped her summarize the key points.

"I see. So someone just happened to see their family gathering, and that's how the rumor spread."

"Yeah, probably."

"It's probably because Hayato and Yukinoshita are both very conspicuous that they are easy to remember."

I vaguely heard this, and I left my seat and walked out of the classroom.

× × ×

After school, the noise from the crowd spread into the corridor.

The winter break had only just ended, but there was still some restlessness on campus. The corridors leading to the special building, which were usually almost deserted, were now filled with students.

"Have you heard about what happened in Hayama?"

"Oh, I see. I see. It feels so real!"

The girls who passed me were also discussing the latest gossip.

Perhaps, as Ebina said, people pieced together fragments of information and mixed them with their own guesses and imaginations to satisfy their curiosity, which led to the spread of the news.

Even though this matter has nothing to do with me, whenever I hear the discussions around me, a certain unpleasant feeling washes over me, making me shrink back.

This unpleasant feeling probably stems from disdain for those complete strangers who casually spread rumors.

Rumors are difficult to deal with because they don't necessarily harbor malicious intent.

Because those two people are eye-catching, because everyone is interested, because it's funny... so, it doesn't matter what you say. As long as it's explained this way, everyone will talk about it without any doubt, without verifying the truth, irresponsibly allowing misinformation to continue spreading. Even if someone suffers losses as a result, they can evade responsibility by saying, "That's just a rumor." They usually emphasize their own existence so much, but when faced with unfavorable situations, they shamelessly claim to be just an insignificant passerby.

I feel terrible. Compared to these rumors, it feels much better to hear people talking badly about me behind my back.

As I was thinking, I heard the sound of footsteps pattering behind me. Yui was the only person in the entire school who could walk so loudly. I slowed my pace slightly, and Yui immediately caught up.

She walked over to me and bumped my waist with her backpack.

"Why did you leave first?"

"You guys are still chatting..."

I don't remember ever telling you we'd go together... Okay, we did agree to go to the community office together last December. Does she think that agreement is still valid?

"You heard what happened between Yukino and Hayato just now?"

"Who taught you to be so attention-grabbing..."

This group of people was already very conspicuous, and Miura shouted so loudly when he heard the news... At that time, it wasn't just me, everyone in the classroom was looking at you, okay?

"Anyway, it's just a rumor; it can't be true."

"Yeah, I also think it's unlikely..."

Yuihama paused for a moment, then immediately looked up.

"But I also wonder, one day, will Yukino and Hayato really—"

I tried my best, but my brain just couldn't form a picture. Yukinoshita was a given, but the fact that Hayama was developing a romantic relationship with a fixed character was also beyond my comprehension.

I blurted out my thoughts.

"To be honest... I can't imagine what it would be like for Yukino to date someone else."

"……Why?"

"Why...?"

Isn't the reason obvious? Stop looking at me with that puzzled expression...

"Forget about dating, just getting along with other people..."

Upon hearing this, Yuihama frowned and pondered for a moment.

"Ah... well, okay. Indeed, that's possible."

"Right?"

"Hmm... Ah! No, no, no! That's not what I wanted to ask! But, that makes a lot of sense..."

While she was still lost in thought, we had already reached the student union office at the end of the corridor. Before opening the door, I cleared my throat and lowered my voice to say to her:

"Alright. Let's not bring this up in the club."

"Huh? Why?"

"...She will definitely be angry."

"...Oh, right!"

We've known Yukinoshita for almost a year, so we can guess what kind of topics would upset her. She'd be quite angry if she knew she was the subject of gossip.

After Yuihama and I nodded to each other, we opened the long-unseen door to the clubhouse.

× × ×

The office was warm and cozy.

I took a breath and sat down in my usual spot.

The birthday cake prepared by Yuihama has been divided into four equal parts and placed on the table.

"Happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday."

Happy birthday, senior!

Everyone took turns offering their blessings, and Yukinoshita awkwardly twisted her body.

"Thank you... Oh, right, we should also prepare tea."

She suddenly stood up and quickly brewed some black tea. Amid the slight clinking of cutlery, the person sitting next to me exclaimed, "Wow!"

"Yukinoshita-senpai, your birthday is January 3rd! Oh, right, senpai, my birthday is April 16th~"

"Nobody asked you..."

And what is this guy doing here...?

Iroha Isshiki tilted her head, her flaxen hair swaying. Beneath her slightly disheveled uniform was an overly long cardigan. Her small hand emerged from it, holding a fork to her lips, as if she couldn't wait to dig in.

She appeared in the Service Society as if it were her own club.

Not only did she get her own piece of cake, but she also drank black tea from a paper cup provided by the club... This person's adaptability is truly extraordinary. Could she be a member of Tokyo Boys (Note 20: The famous Japanese boy band "TOKIO". They once explored a deserted island in a segment of the TV show "Iron Fist DASH"). She might even survive being thrown onto a deserted island.

Isshiki sipped his black tea, then reached out from his overly long sleeve and gently touched the paper cup.

"And remember to look me up when you go to the shrine!"

"Why should I look for you...?"

Besides, I don't have your contact information, and I couldn't find it even if I wanted to. Do you expect me to use telepathy to save on phone charges? Or are you trying to trick me into asking for your contact information so you can secretly feel smug? Unfortunately, I won't fall for it! I know very well that over-interpreting things will only lead to my downfall!

The mini-drama in her mind came to an end. Isshiki herself didn't seem to have thought that much about it; she turned her face away and sighed.

"Weren't you going to the shrine together? So Hayama-senpai must have gone too—"

"No, he didn't go that day..."

"As expected~ Never mind then."

Isshiki turned his face away again, instantly changing the subject. Wow! Is this the legendary dimensional sword that can cut through anything? There are only three people in the world besides Isshiki who can cut so cleanly: one is an anime viewer, one is Battōsai the Man-Slaying Swordsman, and the other I can't say.

Back to the main point. I actually understand Isshiki's thinking. Since Miura and his group showed up at the New Year's shrine, it's reasonable and logical for them to assume Hayama should be there as well. What I don't understand is why Isshiki would be at the Service Club office.

"Tell me why you're here."

"Huh—the student council seems pretty quiet lately~"

"I'm not entirely sure, but there must be a lot to do... Or, you could join a club. Aren't you still a manager?"

As she said this, she gently patted my shoulder.

"Don't be like that~ What's wrong with being here? Oh, right. I'm here to pick up the things I left here for Christmas."

"You obviously came up with this on the spur of the moment, didn't you?"

This reason is so convoluted, it's almost like an arched bridge.

"well……"

Yukino sighed, and Yuihama beside her gave a wry smile. There's just no way to deal with this girl… The three of us are completely defeated, except for Iroha herself, who seems completely relaxed—so relaxed that I want to put her at the entrance of the pharmacy as a mascot. (Note 21: The original word for "completely relaxed" is "kerori," which sounds similar to the character "Keroyon" from the old TV show "Wooden Horse Time." Keroyon is often mistaken for "Kero-chan," the mascot of Kowa Pharmaceutical.)

Surrounded by everyone's gaze, Isshiki finally felt embarrassed, picked up the not-too-hot black tea, and pretended to blow on it to cool it down to get away with it.

"Oh, right—"

She suddenly spoke again, then turned her gaze to Yukinoshita. Yukinoshita noticed and tilted her head. The next second, Isshiki, with a radiant smile, uttered something astonishing—

"—Yukinoshita-senpai, are you dating Hayama-senpai?"

"What?"

Upon hearing this question, Yukinoshita tilted her head to almost a 90-degree angle.

Good heavens... This guy is so daring, stepping on a landmine like it's nothing... Is this some kind of movie called "Countdown to Crisis"? And without any warning, he threw out the most straightforward question right away. I feel like I'm seeing the legendary pitcher who used the tomahawk pitch to throw a fastball (Note 22 refers to Japanese professional baseball player Choji Murata).

The topic returned to Isshiki. She probably asked that question intentionally. Furthermore, she likely came to the Service Club today precisely to verify the truth of the rumors.

"Isshiki-kun..."

Yukinoshita spoke in a cold voice. Beneath her faint smile, seemingly shrouded in an aurora borealis, were eyes as clear as polar ice.

When Isshiki saw that expression, his voice and shoulders trembled with fear.

“Yes, yes~~”

She answered in a soft voice, then immediately leaned back, hiding behind me and only peeking out slightly. Hey, don't use me as a shield!

Yukinoshita stared directly at her with a strong and powerful gaze.

"...That's impossible."

Hearing Yukinoshita's confident answer, Isshiki nodded and said:

"Yeah, yeah—oh dear, I knew it was impossible! But of course, hearing such rumors still bothers me, right?"

"Rumors?"

Yukinoshita noticed something amiss and looked at me and Yuihama.

"Oh, um...a lot of people are talking about this today..."

"Didn't we go to the department store during the New Year? It seems someone saw us there, and then there was some misunderstanding."

After Yuihama explained, Yukinoshita sighed deeply, seemingly feeling weary from the bottom of her heart.

"I understand. It's just some bored people making wild guesses, right..."