My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 56

"Yes, that's right... but can't we sneak in?"

"Well, it's not impossible..."

Sigh, it's really hard for me to say no after Totsuka asked me to do this.

"Hahahaha! Hachiman, don't worry. Didn't I say I was in charge here? As long as I'm involved, everything will be taken care of."

"Huh? Really? You're amazing! You're definitely a regular here, you seem super reliable."

Looks like he's not just faking it at this amusement park. Isn't it impressive that he managed to make an impression on the staff? Truly worthy of being called "Cai Mu Zuo" (a nickname implying someone like him, implying he's a skilled but cunning individual)!

"Leave it to me, come with me!"

Led by Zaimokuza, we headed towards the photo booth area. He walked with an imposing presence, making no one feel uneasy whatsoever. That was the true demeanor of a king—truly worthy of the name Zaimokuza!

So we went to the counter in front of the photo booth area.

"Guests, what are you doing? It's not appropriate for a group of boys to go in like this."

"Um! Ah, uh... I'm sorry..."

As I expected, he was brazenly blocked outside by the frivolous shop assistant. Truly befitting a timber merchant!

"really……"

"...Ahaha, what can I do?"

Everything unfolded as expected, so there's nothing surprising.

I exchanged a glance with Totsuka, but then a miracle happened.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry, I'm disturbing you. Please come in."

The shop assistant maintained his flippant tone, forcefully shoving the timber stand outside before clearing a path for us to enter. The timber stand offered no resistance as it was being led out, like a cat being grabbed by the neck.

"W-why?"

Totsuka blinked his big eyes in confusion, and I think the reason must lie in his appearance.

"...I don't know. Anyway, he let us in, so let's go."

"Okay, sure..."

He followed with a puzzled expression.

The photo booths here are all sorts of things. To be honest, every single one of them is gleaming, as if they've been heavily made up, exuding images of "beauty," "glamour," "butterfly," and "glamour," much like Kabukicho in Shinjuku. Moreover, there are piles of what look like model photos printed on the curtains and the machines themselves, probably for demonstration purposes. But they all look exactly the same—it's terrifying.

Why do all these girls look the same? The only way to distinguish them is by their hairstyle and clothes. Are they real-life models?

"Oh my god...a bunch of sluts..."

Compared to these people, not only Yuihama, but even Miura seems innocent. Is this "The World You Don't Know" (Note 14: A Japanese paranormal program)? This is terrifying.

"Hmm... this one's fine. Hachiman, what do you think?"

"...Oh, okay."

To be honest, it doesn't really matter which machine you choose.

After getting into the sticker machine, Totsuka carefully read the operating instructions.

"Hmm...choose a background...and then, it seems I need to stand here."

He pulled me back a few steps by the hand.

"Huh? What? It's started? What do we do now—Wow! It's so bright!"

The flash went off without warning. What's going on? Isn't the Solar Flare a technique only Tien Shinhan knows? Does Goku know how to use the follow-up camera?

One more picture~~

After the incongruous synthesized voice, a series of flashes went off. Tien Shinhan, lend me your moves!

"All done! Now let's go outside and do some doodles!"

"Doodles... what should I draw?"

We lifted the curtain and came to the area for graffiti. A countdown timer appeared on the screen, indicating how much time was left.

"Take a look at the photo first. Wow! What is this? A ghost photo?"

As soon as Totsuka opened the screen, he immediately grabbed my hand in fright. Oh dear, that startled me!

I struggled to control my racing heart as I carefully examined the eerie photograph Totsuka had shown me. It did indeed depict half a man's face, radiating an aura of sorrow.

Isn't this a timber base?

I lifted the curtain to check and saw the guy squatting down there.

"Ah, what is it? It's Zaimokuza-kun... That's great!"

"What are you doing...?"

"Hmph, I deliberately crawled in to avoid being spotted by the staff. Seeing how well you and Mr. Totsuka got along, I got the idea to get in the picture myself and ruin your photo. How about that? Because of my interference, your wonderful memories have turned into regrettable ones!"

"Don't you think it's pathetic to say something like that?"

"Ha, I experienced that kind of sadness when everyone was buying photos after the graduation trip. Those girls cried just seeing me in the pictures too."

Wow~ So this thing also has such a big landmine...

"Um, well... how should I put it... sorry, Zaimokuza."

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Despite saying "Don't worry about it," he secretly wiped away tears from the corners of his eyes. He himself did nothing wrong; the wrong thing was selling the photos.

"Selling photos is full of bad memories and should be abolished immediately. Besides, if other classmates find out that you secretly bought photos of the girl you like, they will hate you."

"...No, that's right, even I can't say I'm impressed!"

"Hachiman... Let's create many memories together from now on! I'll try my best to make time for you."

Totsuka tried his best to comfort me. Is it... really that strange? For a middle school student, it should be quite normal...

Before we knew it, the graffiti time was over, and our photo booth pictures were printed.

"Your skin is so white..."

"The editing is really exaggerated..."

"Hmm, even the glittering Hachiman is scary... He's radiating light all over, but his eyes are so cloudy..."

There was no way to avoid overexposure after being exposed to flash so many times; even the wooden base with half its face cut off had a whitening effect. As for Totsuka, he even displayed the beauty of a young girl that made the models next to him pale in comparison.

"Here, this is Hachiman's share."

Totsuka deftly cut the photo booth picture into three pieces and handed one of them to me.

"And this one is for Zaimokuza."

"Oh? Oh? Can I take it too?"

"Huh? That's good."

Totsuka flashed a smile even brighter than in his photo booth picture. Zaimokuza, seeing this, couldn't help but feel tears welling in his eyes.

"Well, then I'll accept it."

Cai Muzuo carefully took the photo booth picture and looked at it with great joy.

I also looked at the photo booth picture in my hand.

Only three photos inside were covered with graffiti, which seemed to have been done hastily before time ran out.

One of the cards had "Sports Group" written in Totsuka Enen's handwriting. He seemed to really like that phrase...

The other one reads "Good Friends".

"Well, although I wouldn't call Hachiman a good friend..."

"Yes, we're definitely not good friends."

"Really? I think you two are very close."

Totsuka tilted his head in confusion.

"That's not true. If I had to say, I belong to the 'Ribon' faction." (Note 15: Kodansha's "Nakayoshi" and Shueisha's "Ribon" are two major Japanese shoujo manga magazines.)

"Yes, 'Kodocha' is really great..."

"Yes, the ending of the original work touched my heart."

"What? The animation is much better."

I clicked my tongue at the woodworker and I, neither of us giving in.

"What?"

"Whoa whoa?"

The two glared at each other, preparing for battle.

At that moment, Totsuka, who was standing nearby, burst into laughter.

"You two have a really good relationship."

"Huh? What's so good about it...?"

"Hmph, whatever!"

"Fine, I'll forgive you for now, considering Totsuka's adorable smile. I'll lend you the original work on Monday; remember to write a reflection report after you've finished reading it."

"Hmph, I'll give you the DVD too, and you'll have to write a report."

The wood-carrying stand let out another "humph" and turned its face away, putting the photo sticker into its wallet.

"Honestly, you only drew two pictures. If it weren't for Hachiman making a fuss, you could have finished all the doodles. To make up for it, you have to choose volleyball for PE class next month! Otherwise, I'll be left without a partner."

"I didn't want to run either, I was originally planning to choose volleyball...wait, two?"

There are more than two, aren't there? Just as I was about to check the photo booth pictures I had received, Totsuka tugged at my sleeve.

I turned my head and saw him put his finger to his lips, signaling me not to say anything more.

I secretly opened my palm and found that the last photo booth picture with graffiti read "Yahata Saika," which made me a little embarrassed.

No, my face is definitely turning bright red right now, oh no!

"Ah, it's already so late, it's about time..."

"Oh, are you going to class?"

Oh right, Totsuka came here to kill time during his break before class, but it didn't help him relieve his depression at all, and he felt a little bad about it.

"I'll be going now, anyway, Hachiman seems to have recovered his spirits."

"what?"

"You seem a bit listless lately, I think you should go out and change your mood."

"Totsuka..."

Come to think of it, Komachi said something similar this morning.

However, my younger sister has always been strange, so I didn't pay much attention to what she said at the time; but when Totsuka, a normal person, said it like that, I couldn't help but pay attention.

"Although I don't know what happened... I hope Hachiman can stay the way he is."

Totsuka glanced at the time on his phone, said "Let's play together again next time," and quickly ran out. Until he disappeared from sight, he kept turning back to wave loudly at me, and I raised my arm in response.

"Yes, Mr. Totsuka is so kind, even though he doesn't need to be kind to you at all."

"Huh? What? Why are you still here? I don't want to be lectured by someone like you."

"Phew, Mr. Totsuka is truly my friend, well done!"

"...You consider yourself his friend?"

"Huh? Doesn't... does that count...?"

"How should I know? Don't be so easily swayed!"

This guy's role-playing has become really split lately, is that okay?

"Hey, what are you doing? How can you go in there?"

Just then, we heard the frivolous, dull-witted voice of the shop assistant.