My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 534

"Why are you so dissatisfied..."

Yuihama rolled her eyes at the two people in front of her and sighed helplessly.

The ban successfully dampened their enthusiasm, so I decided to press my advantage. To deceive someone, you must strike when they are wavering or emotionally vulnerable! Seeing their dejected expression means the opportunity has arrived!

"So, we're going to karaoke."

I greeted them casually, as if to say, "Hey, Mom? It's me. Yeah, yeah." The two from the gaming club looked at me with dull, lifeless eyes.

"...With whom?"

"Friends?"

"Hachiman has no friends."

"I don't want you to say that..."

Only the woodworker was as lively and energetic as ever, constantly interrupting. I immediately retorted, and the woodworker just smiled smugly and said, "Hmm, hahaha, indeed."

"So, the chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) wasn't friends with those two people after all."

Yuihama, though surprised, inadvertently let out a casual "Oh—" that betrayed how indifferent she was to the matter. The two game club members, hearing this, stared at us in astonishment.

"what?"

“Eh…”

What are you all so surprised about...? Is it really that much of a blow to be told you're not friends with Zaimokuza? Shouldn't you be happy? I was puzzled and observed their reactions. Sagami's younger brother and Qin Ye mumbled "those two" "people..." in barely audible voices, their shoulders slumping. It seemed they were upset because Yuihama didn't remember their names; their glasses, like their mood, gradually slipped down.

Yeah, I understand. Judging from Hihama's recent princess-like behavior, I feel like our relationship has improved somewhat... However, she only calls me "introverted guy" and has never called me by my full name, so whether she remembers my name or not remains to be seen.

"Okay, let's go sing karaoke later. Let's go!"

I urged them on, wanting to give chase while they lost their senses. However, Sagami and Qin Ye both frowned, as if they had something to ask.

With a "click," Qin Ye pushed the glasses, which had been sliding down and now resembled Kaname Kawabata's sunglasses, back into place. (Note)

Note: Japanese singer Kaname Kawabata sometimes wears sunglasses hanging from his ears, with the lenses dangling below his chin.

"Huh? Now? Suddenly saying he's going, is this guy crazy...?"

Sagami's younger brother seemed to have recovered from the earlier blow, brushing his bangs aside and pushing his glasses back in.

"Is there something wrong with this person...?"

"Just a little bit?"

Zai Muza joined them, and the three of them quietly began to attack my personality... Yui Hama finally couldn't stand it anymore and stepped in to help me out.

"Actually, we were thinking of having a celebration banquet. Do you have any other plans? I heard everyone is free today..."

She gave me a cold look. That look was basically saying, "I knew it wouldn't work..." She even nudged me with her knee under the table, scolding me, "What do we do now?"

How embarrassing! I'm so ashamed... I cower like a white-faced scops owl when it encounters its predator...

I was thinking about how to lure them here, while secretly glancing ahead. Sagami and Qin Ye took off their glasses and wiped them.

"Ah... since it's already decided, there's nothing we can do about it."

"Sigh, okay. It's not that I can't find the time."

They turned their slightly flushed faces away, pretending not to care, and put their glasses back on. Their tone was a bit cold, like a voice actor calling themselves on a radio program, a teenage listener whose speech inexplicably became arrogant.

"Really? That's great—"

Yuihama immediately broke into a bright smile, while Sagami's younger brother and Qin Ye kept clearing their throats and stammering, "Yeah, that's fine."

Hey, you guys are such jerks! Why do you only react differently to Yui? I wanted to complain a bit, but if I were in your shoes, I'd probably react the same way. Thinking about it made me feel really down, so I could only groan to myself.

"KTV, huh? Well, in that case, you'd better bring some light-emitting materials."

"ah--"

"It's wood," said the man with the wooden frame solemnly, and the two bespectacled men nodded vigorously in agreement. Only Yuihama was a beat slower to react.

"A glowing object... Ah, sushi (note)."

Note: In sushi terminology, "glowing fish" refers to fish with a bluish back and a bright white belly.

"wrong."

Why do you give that answer with such an air of knowing, as if you've just had a sudden realization? It's so strange! Waving bamboo sticks shaped like fish or crucian carp while someone is singing is just disruptive. Or is it some kind of ritual? I guarantee you'll be kicked off the show immediately.

This is a small matter, of course I don't need to explain it, Sagami and Qin Ye understand it too.

"I didn't bring my penli today."

"Let's go to Daiso and buy Lium later."

Hearing their conversation, Yuihama was completely bewildered. This guy really needs to work on his English!

"Penli? Lium?"

"Penlight and Psyllium."

As an aside, although the reason is unclear, otaku tend to abbreviate glow sticks as "lium," while idol otaku tend to abbreviate them as "psy" (based on personal research).

Going to karaoke and specifically buying glow sticks... some people might find that strange, but I do hear about people doing that occasionally. There are also people who specifically book a party room, invite a bunch of people, and sing their hearts out like they're having a concert.

In fact, otaku and karaoke have a high affinity for each other, so this is not surprising. Looking through the past records of the karaoke machine, you will see a lot of Showa-era songs and anime songs, which shows that singing is already an interest of otaku and the elderly.

When it comes to places where a group of friends can have fun, KTV is one of the best choices.

The problem is, today's members are not only not good friends, they don't even know each other's names...

Seeing the three of them excitedly discussing which songs they were going to sing, I really couldn't bring myself to say anything... If I told them, they wouldn't come.

Let's get out of here before we give ourselves away. I winked at Yuihama, signaling that it was about time to leave, and then stood up.

"We'll make a reservation first. We'll let you know once we've found a restaurant."

See you later!

Yuihama also stood up, and we walked towards the door together. At that moment, one of the men with glasses called out to me.

"Ah, wait a minute. Can this website also be deleted?"

I turned around, and Sagami's younger brother turned the computer next to him towards me. The screen displayed the website for the fake dance party.

This was originally intended as a pawn to ensure the success of the ball under the snow. Now that its purpose has been fulfilled, there's no need to continue operating it. Moreover, considering the potential misunderstandings it might cause later, it should indeed be deleted.

Everything that was written down, and everything that wasn't written down, is now over.

Therefore, you can simply delete them all. No, you must delete them as soon as possible.

"Hmm... it's not urgent anyway, I can deal with it when I have time."

But these were the words that came out of his mouth.

Even if I don't delete it now, it will eventually be swallowed up by the sea of ​​digital data and disappear silently without anyone's company. However, deleting it by hand would be like pretending that painful time never existed. Therefore, I hesitated.

"So indecisive," I couldn't help but smile bitterly, my slightly upturned, twisted lips revealing a sigh that sounded like self-mockery.

I wondered how Sagami and Qin Ye interpreted that sigh. After exchanging glances, they briefly indicated that they understood. I nodded and added, "Thank you for your help," before turning and leaving.

Shift your gaze from the screen to the girl standing on the beach at dusk.

× × ×

We walked slowly down the deserted corridor after school.

At noon, most students have gone to participate in club activities or gone home, leaving the campus quiet.

Yui and I left the game club and walked towards the building entrance, discussing which store to go to. A short while later, we passed the student council office.

The door swung open, and a woman with short, flaxen hair cut into a bob jumped out from behind. It was the student council president, Iroha Isshiki, followed by other student council members. Upon seeing the woman with long, flowing black hair among them, Yui rushed out.

"Ah, Yukino."

The person Yuihama was waving and running to was Yukinoshita. She rushed over and hugged her, and although Yukinoshita was confused, she caught her.

"The one I was talking about yesterday, it seems to be running throughout the entire spring break."

"Then there's no problem. I have plenty of time during the second half of spring break."

As Yukinoshita answered, she gently pushed away Yuihama, who was trying to rub her face against hers.

Judging from their conversation, they were probably talking about their spring break plans, but I didn't intend to join in.

Because I had stopped and had nothing to do, I had time to let my mind wander. I was thinking about what would be the most natural thing to do, and at the same time, I knew I couldn't linger here, so I continued walking slowly forward.

At that moment, Isshiki, who was in the group, saw me and quickly turned his head away.

"Oh, senior is here too."

"Well, thank you for your hard work."

Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita glanced over out of the corner of her eye, and our eyes accidentally met. However, she quickly looked away. In the instant Yukinoshita blinked, I also looked to the side, causing me to be talking to Isshiki diagonally in front of me.

"...How did it go?"

Isshiki paused for a moment, blinked her big eyes two or three times, but immediately replied:

"Was it smooth...? What do you think, senior?"

Isshiki chuckled as he passed the ball to Yukinoshita.

"Ah, um."

Yukinoshita, who was suddenly called out, seemed a little flustered. She mumbled a response while fixing her bangs and closing her eyes to think.

"After all, there were some setbacks during the planning stage, so we couldn't achieve the best results. However, there aren't any major problems at the moment."

Hearing such a roundabout explanation, Yui and I exchanged bewildered glances. The silence spoke volumes: "So what exactly is going on...?"

"Overall, it's alright."

Isshiki shrugged slightly with a wry smile, filling the silence. "I see," he said, though it was rather difficult to understand, "it's neither good nor bad." "I can roughly accept it," he said, "but Yuihama across from me doesn't." She grabbed Yukinoshita's arm and shook it back and forth.

"Yukino, your explanation is too casual! I don't understand!"

"I'm sorry...it really didn't go smoothly, I don't know how to say it..."

Yukinoshita spoke haltingly, blushing and shyly lowering her head, quickly fixing her bangs, her expression almost invisible.

"Too honest! But... that suits Yukino's personality perfectly."

Yui chuckled softly and hugged Yukinoshita's arms even tighter. Yukinoshita said in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible, "So close..." but seemed to have given up struggling and let Yui do as she pleased.

Seeing that they were the same as usual, or even closer than before, I felt a little relieved.

"...It seems there's no problem."

My unintentional remark made Isshiki look a little embarrassed.

"Things are going okay for now. I don't know what will happen in the future."

Isshiki tilted his head to ask for permission, and Yukinoshita responded with a faint, bitter smile.

"We intend to hold the ball as scheduled."

"That's it."

"Oh... don't push yourself too hard."

"No, no, no, we're pushing ourselves too hard. Otherwise, we simply won't have enough time. To be honest, we're severely short-staffed."

Isshiki glanced at Yukinoshita, seeking her permission. However, Yukinoshita didn't answer immediately. After thinking for a moment with her hand to her mouth, she spoke at length:

"Indeed, the next two days are crucial, so everyone will be quite busy... but we can manage without asking anyone else. This is all thanks to Isshiki's hard work."

Finally, she smiled at Isshiki. Isshiki blushed and was speechless.

"...Yes. It's not convenient today, but I'll be free to help tomorrow. Just let me know if you need anything."

"May I!"

"Isshiki-kun, tomorrow's focus is on technical rehearsals, there's no large-scale work involved, so I don't think we'll need too many people."

"Right……"

Both Yukinoshita and I were focused on Isshiki. She raised her hand slightly, looking like she had a headache.

"Um, I'm not a translator..."

"I'm sorry, my Japanese isn't very good, and I'm not confident that I can communicate well with Japanese people."

"It's definitely not a problem with Japanese! It's a problem with communication skills! You absolutely wouldn't be able to do it in any other language either..."