My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 522

"Huh? What's that? That's scary."

I completely forgot to keep a poker face and reflexively glanced at Ebina. She gave a meaningful chuckle and looked at me sideways.

"I don't know why it turned out this way, and it's not something I should be talking about. But there must be an easier way, right?"

This statement made me smile wryly.

These are the words that other people, or rather everyone, have been saying to me.

One word from me is all it takes to solve the problem.

But I cannot allow such a simple approach.

"Simplicity is the hardest thing. For me, this is the simplest. That's all."

Ebina turned and stared at me.

"Oh—that's disgusting."

"...Ah, um."

She spoke bluntly, seemingly uninterested. I slumped my shoulders. I held no grudge against her, because I knew I was awful.

However, Ebina wore a faint smile, and his expression did not match his words.

"Okay, I'm not completely clueless. Is this pessimism? I don't dislike it."

I nodded silently in response, gazing at the sea shimmering in the sunset.

Our thought processes probably share some similarities. The idea of ​​using something like decay as an excuse to mask one's true self resonates with me.

From Ebina's perspective, she probably felt that my actions were pessimistic. I wouldn't say her view was correct, but it wasn't entirely wrong either. It's just that the subtle difference convinced me.

Hina Ebina and I are definitely different. We can resonate with each other, but our final conclusions are different. That sense of distance is, in a way, similar to that between Hayato Hayama and me.

Even if they are similar, even if they seem alike, even if they appear identical on the surface, they are not entirely the same. This is something I have been confirming all year.

She might be the same way.

I didn't force Ebina to change her address; instead, I chose to remain silent. At this point, there was no need to specifically correct her.

Joyful sounds mingled with the roar of the waves.

"Ebina—come take a picture!"

Let's take a picture together!

Miura and Yuigahama waved vigorously from the shore, calling out to Ebina. Perhaps because they were running so excitedly, they exhaled white smoke, their faces flushed, and they didn't seem cold at all, as if only that area was particularly warm.

"Here it comes—"

Ebina quickly stood up, turned to look at me, glanced at my camera, tucked her shoulder-length hair behind her ear, smiled at me as if to say "thank you," and immediately ran over.

I watched her leave, then silently picked up my camera.

╳ ╳ ╳

The morning after the photos were taken, it was a sunny day, just like the day before.

The rising sun shone through the gaps in the curtains, its rays making my eyelids burn.

Saturday, March 3rd, ten days before graduation.

Today is also the birthday of Komachi Hikigaya, the world's little sister.

However, my schedule is packed from morning till night.

I had planned to buy Komachi a lovely, affordable gift to celebrate, but these past few days I've been preoccupied with a bunch of dance party arrangements and haven't been able to prepare anything yet. I hate it, I hate work… I almost vented my frustrations as usual, but this time it was a job I'd volunteered for, so I swallowed my complaints and instead motivated myself to jump out of bed. Since I decided to do it myself, there's nothing to complain about. I am my own employer; no matter how dissatisfied I am, how much I complain, or how much I cry, I'll only be hurting myself. That's the tragedy of being self-employed.

I don't know if it was because of the fatigue of the past few days, but my head felt like it was shrouded in a thick fog. I walked to the bathroom in a daze, washed my face with water that was still cold even in March, and forced my eyes open.

I glanced at the clock; it was already past nine in the morning. I might be late if I didn't hurry. I rushed upstairs, ran into my room, quickly put on the confiscated uniform hanging on the wall, grabbed what I needed, and rushed back downstairs.

I peeked into the living room, wanting to tell my family before leaving. Komachi, still in her pajamas, had her feet in the kotatsu (heated table) and was staring blankly at the TV.

It seems that her parents are still deep in a dream. Apart from Komachi, the only other person in the living room is Koyuki, who is sleeping soundly in the sunlight by the window.

"I'm heading out now..."

"Okay. Be careful on the road—"

I put on my coat, and Komachi waved to me while watching TV. Yuki slapped the floor with her tail.

It's just like any other holiday. Today is Komachi's birthday, but she doesn't seem to care much. I, on the other hand, am filled with so many emotions—so many emotions I could water the fields countless times! More emotions than irrigation!

However, no matter how much I felt, the preparations for Komachi's birthday celebration were never quite complete. Lately, even dinner conversations have been tainted by work, and I haven't had time to discuss birthday gifts with Yuihama.

Even if I wanted to go home and celebrate with her, I wouldn't have the time, money, or energy. Komachi herself might not care much, but I would feel bad if I didn't offer even the most basic blessing.

"Ah... Komachi, happy birthday."

I cleared my throat before mumbling something. It was really embarrassing to say something like that to someone's face, thankfully Komachi didn't turn around... At that moment, Komachi lay back down.

She rolled over, lay face down on the ground, propped her cheeks up, and laughed "hehehe".

"Thank you, brother!"

Just moments ago, she had her back to me, seemingly not listening to me at all, but upon hearing my blessing, she smiled shyly and happily. Her adorable appearance made me smile involuntarily. Then, Komachi chuckled through her nose…through her nose? I gave her a questioning look, and Komachi launched into a long explanation:

"Pretending to be calm and acting as usual, but appearing very happy to hear her brother's blessing... Komachi thinks that trick scored quite well."

Yeah... if you hadn't spoiled the joke, the score would have been higher... but I know this is Komachi's unique way of covering up her embarrassment. Just that alone makes what I'm about to say a little difficult to say.

"Today I..."

"Yes, it's okay. Komachi understands."

She nodded gently and smiled.

"Is Yui-neechan waiting? Go quickly."

"...How did you know?"

I didn't mention today's schedule to Komachi... I asked, half in alarm. Komachi grabbed her phone and waved it at me.

"At midnight, she sent me a text message wishing me a happy birthday, and that's how we started chatting."

"Oh, I see..."

Komachi spoke of it casually, but I was a little scared. Doesn't it scare her to learn about her schedule from someone else? I asked Hihama-san, "Did you tell Komachi a lot of things? I want to confirm the coverage of that network… but asking random questions might alert them." Men are so complicated!

"Hmm—"

I hesitated for a moment, and Komachi puffed out her chest, raised her finger, and smiled smugly.

"Komachi is certainly happy to receive congratulations and gifts. However, it's best to celebrate together once everyone is here."

"...Yes, that's right."

I gave a brief answer, and then it suddenly occurred to me.

Everyone? I vaguely understand who Komachi is referring to. However, I have absolutely no confidence that her wish will come true.

Komachi propped her head up and looked at me, perhaps puzzled by my unconsciously lowered voice. Her gaze, as she looked up at me, held a hint of probing. Our eyes met, and I instinctively gave a wry, helpless smile. Komachi glanced at me, shrugged slightly, and muttered:

"...Okay, it's fine if everyone doesn't have to be here. In the worst-case scenario, as long as my brother is here, it's barely acceptable."

A hint of warmth appeared in her tone, which allowed me to relax, and I replied with a soft laugh:

"What's the worst-case scenario...? Hmm, is it barely acceptable?"

"It means whatever. It's not important, just don't keep Yui-neechan waiting too long."

Komachi waved her hand at me with a "Okay, okay, go on, go on" attitude, rolled around once, and then sighed softly, as if she was controlling her emotions. I glanced at her and left the living room.

╳ ╳ ╳

Because I left home too late, I had to give up on riding my bicycle and instead took the tram and bus. During the journey, I kept reviewing materials to prepare for the meeting later.

Fortunately, thanks to Yuihama's help in negotiating, a meeting time was quickly agreed upon. Although I didn't really want to talk to Tamaki, it was part of the job. After realizing this, I took out a book on business terminology and read it carefully, trying to increase our common ground.

Shortly after, I arrived at the nearest station and headed to the community center where the meeting was to be held.

It would be most convenient to discuss this at our school, but outsiders are basically prohibited from entering. It's true that outsiders can enter the campus as long as they follow the proper procedures, but I'm not a student council member, so it probably won't be that simple. That said, a coffee shop outside seems too casual. Considering the meeting will be uploaded to social media, it's best to choose a place with an office feel. As long as it adds a little bit of realism to the discussion… I thought to myself as I walked, when my phone vibrated.

I took out my phone and saw a text message from Yui Hama. It only said, "Haven't you arrived yet?" I replied, "Soon," and thought it was quite rare. Yui Hama's text messages are always rather long.

In fact, I had already arrived at the community center. I looked around near the entrance but didn't see Yui. It seemed she had already gone in.

I quickly ran upstairs to the small meeting room I had booked in advance.

The faint sound of folding paper could be heard coming from one of the rooms. Without even checking the door number, I knew the meeting room was there. I knocked a few times, then opened the door and entered.

Yuihama was already inside, with Tamaki and Orimoto sitting opposite her.

"Ah—Hachiman Hachiman, it's been a long time—"

Zheben waved to me with a relaxed and carefree air. Yusheng, sitting next to me with her arms crossed, blew her bangs back with a "whoosh" sound and glanced in my direction.

I said "Hi," nodded in greeting, and pulled out the chair next to Yui. Yui didn't say anything, but mouthed "Hi" to me. You know it's embarrassing to say "Hi" in front of others, right? Good. But, that feeling of whispering something, it's embarrassing if someone sees it too!

As if to hide my shyness, I quietly asked Yuihama:

"Didn't we agree to meet outside?"

"Um...uh, I met her at the door, and then she said it was cold and told me to go inside and wait..."

Yuihama touched the dumpling with a troubled expression, a faint, wry smile appearing on her face. It seemed that Orimoto had struck up a conversation with Yuihama in his usual casual manner, slowly luring her inside. And then, before I arrived, Yuihama spent an awkward time facing these two not-so-familiar people… Ugh, how embarrassing!

"Oh, really... I'm sorry."

I bowed my head in apology, and Yui shook her head in response with a smile. Oribon seemed to have noticed this, and clasped his hands together, making an unusually loud sound.

"Ah—I'm sorry! Yuihama wanted to wait for you, so I asked her to come in. It's so cold outside, I thought it would be okay to wait inside."

Such a straightforward apology is certainly in line with Zheben's style. Rather than saying he doesn't care about the distance between them, it's more like he knowingly tries to get closer despite the existing gap. This person has always been like that.

"Yes, really... It's okay, I don't mind at all."

Yuihama nodded beside him, smiling at the folded book.

"Yes, yes, yes! I feel cold too, but it's really okay!"

"Oh, that's good then..."

Zheben also gave a similar fake smile, patting his messy curly hair a few times.

W-what's going on... This awkward atmosphere... Just meeting Orimoto alone put me in a "I'm doomed..." state. Adding Yuihama to the mix, it's practically "I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed—I'm doomed, I'm doomed—I'm doomed..." [Note 44: The original text is "べべべーべべーべべー," a parody of the original text of the manga "Bobobo Bobobo"]. I'm almost about to unleash a "I'm doomed" punch...

Yuihama and Orimoto exchanged a light laugh. As for the expressions beneath their smiles, that remains unknown.

An inexplicably heavy silence descended. Zheben sighed and said:

"By the way, why wasn't it Hachiman contacting me? I was really surprised when Yuigahama contacted me suddenly."

Orimoto squinted at me, her tone conveying displeasure, yet her words sounded like a joke. Thanks to her, the atmosphere eased considerably, and my heavy lips slowly opened.

"Ah—no, something happened when I was getting a new phone, so..."

I couldn't very well tell her to her face that I'd deleted her contact information, so I just made up an excuse. Zheben offered his own explanation, agreeing with, "I know, I know."

"Ah—if I change my phone, I'll change my email address too. I'll add you on LINE."

"I don't use LINE."

"That's hilarious. That's an excuse only girls use."

"No, it's not funny. The way the girl rejected him was just too much..."

Using this as an example, does it mean that all the girls around Orimoto would do this...? Could it be that the girl who was with Hayama when they went out, Nakamachi-san?! I get it~ She feels that it's very likely that she would do such a thing~ I rudely drew a conclusion on my own, and Orimoto tilted her head for some reason.

"Huh—what should we do then?"

She looked in other directions, taking selfies with her phone while seemingly deep in thought. Yu Sheng, standing nearby, was still blowing his bangs and occasionally feigning a cough. Then, as expected, he gave me a sharp look. I understood his intention, and following his fake cough, I interrupted my conversation with Zhe Ben and began searching my bag.

"Uh, we'll talk about that later... I'm here today in place of the president, or rather, as the president's representative."

I presented today's topic of discussion—the fake prom proposal. This proposal had already been sent to Yu Sheng and Zhe Ben beforehand, but I still printed a paper copy for the meeting. This is the ironclad rule of the corporate slave! What, then, is the point of paperless living...?

"Our school is planning a dance and wants to expand its scale. Not immediately, but in preparation for dances next year and beyond..."

Upon hearing what I said, Yui looked at me in surprise. I nodded in response.

For us, this dance was organized with the goal of this year's graduation ceremony, but it was limited to Soubu High School.

In fact, the website currently under construction does not specify a exact date such as this year or next year; it only displays the sign "New Dance Party".

In Yu Sheng's opinion, they probably wouldn't think such an absurd plan should be implemented this year. With ample time, the plan would be easier to gain approval for, so there was no need to reveal the whole story.