My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 719

She spoke to me very quickly, giving me orders, and even slapped my thigh.

It's just for show, just for show. If I take it too seriously, it'll just feel disgusting... I tried my best not to notice that my armpits were already sweating a lot, and cautiously stretched out my arm towards Yuihama.

Then, Yuihama looked at her hand, which was suspended in mid-air, and continued her explanation.

"And then, like this..."

As Yuihama said this, she suddenly raised her hand and gently patted my palm.

"Yeah—!"

The sudden shout and the "slap" sound echoed simultaneously. It meant a high-five. I was taken aback by this sudden action, while Yui turned her head towards Isshiki.

"Like this?"

Yuihama chuckled and waved her hand. Seeing this, Komachi immediately closed her eyes.

"Using a high-five to avoid it, I never thought of that before... Genius... Avoiding it without lowering the other person's favorability at all... I've really learned something."

"...This person is bad. I'm starting to think Yui-senpai is really scary..."

Isshiki made no attempt to hide her shock, hugging her arms and trembling. Beside her, Koyo's eyes sparkled as she clapped softly with her fingertips.

The three people reacted differently, so what about the other person...? I looked over and saw Yukinoshita muttering something while typing on her phone.

"Use, high-five, dodge... um."

After confirming and typing, Yukinoshita let out a satisfied sigh, as if she had finished her work. Wait, you don't really need to take those notes, do you? Well, I really hope you can learn this way of smoothly avoiding others. I feel like you'll definitely need it when you get to university…

But will doing this really avoid it...? We guys won't back down because of this... In fact, isn't that why we went to the bowling alley? Wait, is a high-five really a normal thing to do? Is it? No way. My heart will definitely be pounding!

Even as I clapped and clapped, my heart trembled, I couldn't find peace, and I stared intently at my hands.

Translation note: The original text of the second half of the sentence is "楽にならざり、ぢつと手を见る". From a poem by Japanese poet Ishikawa Takuboku.

I silently recited a poem to calm myself down, but then I heard comments that stirred up my already calmed emotions again.

"Wow—that's amazing. If it were Komachi, she definitely wouldn't want to high-five her brother."

"Exactly, if you don't think someone is good enough, then absolutely not. You won't even give them a high five."

Oh dear, Komachi and LOHAS, really, you didn't have to be so harsh, did you? You guys have gone to such extremes that even I'm a little hurt.

Translator's note: Alicia Florence's catchphrase in *Aria*

"That's going too far, isn't it?" I looked up with that expression, but then Yuihama's hand swung towards me.

"I have no problem with small businesses."

She said this calmly, shouting "Yeah—" again as she raised her hand, her fingers curling back and forth as if to say, "Come on, come on."

"...No, I won't do that!"

I'm not that calm... I shifted my chair slightly to indicate my refusal. Yui pouted in displeasure. Even if you make that face, it won't work. I shook my head and placed my hands on my knees. Still preoccupied with the touch and warmth from before, I clenched my fists. Seriously, that's really bad for my heart; it'll definitely cause arrhythmia...

I was grumbling to myself when I saw another person muttering something. I looked over and saw Xiao Xufu nodding at something.

"You're right. We probably won't mind too much; a good wash will do the trick..."

How horrible what she was muttering was! If I saw Xiaoxu vigorously washing his hands after a high-five, I might cry. Even Semmelweis, the father of disinfection, would cry.

Translator's Note: Semmelweis Ignaz Philipp, a Hungarian obstetrician, first discovered that puerperal fever was caused by unclean hands of doctors and proposed preventive measures.

Considering all the possibilities, karaoke seems like a real hassle. I'm trying to avoid trouble as much as possible, and Yukinoshita, who's been deep in thought beside me, seems to be thinking the same thing.

"Some people like karaoke, some don't; it seems better to focus on having a proper meal together..."

After stating this conclusion, Yukinoshita seemed tired and let out a breath.

"...It would be a headache if a guy misunderstood something because of a high-five."

Hearing Yukinoshita's addition, I involuntarily straightened my back. Ah, I don't think that kind of situation will happen, hahaha... I wanted to laugh like that, but obviously it was impossible.

Yukinoshita tucked her hair behind her ear, leaned forward slightly, and smiled as she glanced at me sideways.

"Besides, wouldn't it be a headache if some guys misunderstood?"

"Why did you say the exact same thing twice...?"

When she spoke to me with a knowing smile and a knowing squint, all I could say was nonsense.

Oh, really, it's really bad for your heart, it will definitely cause arrhythmia...

DB Bonus Chapter 2 (New 5) - Unexpectedly, tension and silence quietly descended.

After enjoying some refreshments, the brainstorming session, aimed at deciding on the outline for the class reunion, began again.

In short, the current plan is to have a meal together. Once we've decided what to do, we just need to finalize all the details.

To be honest, for this kind of work where there's plenty of time and you can just do a sloppy job before the deadline, you can basically just do it casually and apologize if there are any problems. That's how I've always done it before. But this time is a little different.

The fundamental reason is that this matter also involves new employee training. This job is the new Service Department, and more specifically, it is to become the OJT (On-the-Job Training) for the new department head, Komachi Hikigaya.

OJT stands for On-the-Job Training, which is a somewhat rough educational method where students learn the job content while doing it. It would be ideal to have a mentor or consultant who can provide careful instruction, but unfortunately, some unhelpful senior colleagues reportedly don't understand the true meaning of OTJ, acting like old-fashioned craftsmen, saying things like "I'm not teaching...learn by yourself..." and neglecting to provide guidance. Apparently, even when they barely teach, they'll say things like, "I'll only teach you once, and you're not taking notes?" "Are you going to look at your notes on-site?" "Ask me if you don't understand," with no logical connection between the two. The newcomer's expression is like Makihara after being hit by a legendary triple strike from Bass Kakebu Okada.

Translator's Note: On April 17, 1985, in a Japanese professional baseball game between the Hanshin Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants, three consecutive home runs were hit by three Hanshin Tigers batters—Randy Bass, Masayuki Kakefusa, and Akira Okada. Hiroki Makihara was the Yomiuri Giants' pitcher at the time. Because 1985 was the only year in Hanshin Tigers' history to win the Japanese professional baseball championship, this three-run streak is known as the legendary three-run streak.

It's a real shame that new employees can't choose their mentors. At least I should be a good mentor... I turned to my juniors.

"...Although the general direction has already been decided."

I struck a serious pose, like Gendo, and stared intently at Komachi.

Translator's note: From EVA

"So, Komachi, the question is, what do you need to decide next?"

*Ta-da!* I mentally added sound effects to my question, and Komachi looked at me in surprise. No, not just Komachi, everyone present had the same expression: "What is this person saying..." Isshiki even said, "Just say it."

There was only one person present, and Yukino Yukinoshita immediately raised her hand slightly, waiting for me to ask her to answer. Oh no, this is the question I asked Komachi… Honestly, I know you're competitive… Don't be so restless, just bear with it, okay?

Under everyone's awkward gaze, I tried my best to ignore Yukinoshita, who was raising her hand to get my attention, and just kept staring at Komachi.

Finally, Komachi realized this was something like further education. She sighed helplessly, crossed her arms, and began to think. *Thump, thump, thump, thump, ding—note.* After finishing her thoughts, she spoke softly.

Translator's note: The sound of striking a wooden fish.

"Hotel and time? And, number of people and cost...?"

Hmm, that's a good point considering the costs. No wonder Komachi does housework regularly and has access to information about household finances. This kind of awareness about expenses is very important. While I previously felt the Service Club didn't care much about money, with so much outsourcing work now, cultivating financial awareness will definitely be beneficial.

"That's right. So, which one should we start with?"

"The hotel... can't be booked without deciding on other matters, so we'll leave it for later... We need to know the number of people to roughly calculate the cost, well, I don't know."

Komachi shook her head from side to side, looking troubled, before finally losing her patience and giving me a look that seemed to ask, "What should I do?"

Seeing this, I nodded vigorously.

"Yes. That is to say, nothing can be decided yet."

I continued speaking while maintaining the Gendo pose, and Komachi looked disgusted.

"...What?"

"What a terrible question..."

"The way small businesses educate their children is terrible..."

Isshiki sighed deeply, his eyes half-open in disappointment. Yuihama stood there, stunned, and spoke softly.

"No, that's not it at all. I'm just giving her a good lesson in the harshness of society. Because the requests submitted to the Service Department are basically all terrible, exploitative ones. I want her to get used to these unreasonable things now."

"The ultimate form of power bullying."

Yukinoshita tapped her chin with her fingertips and shrugged.

I got a real dressing down... However, given that nothing is clear yet, it's understandable that things have turned out this way. Having a fixed deadline for submitting documents is troublesome, but jobs with too much freedom are also a headache.

The situation that has left us confused seems to have been communicated.

"Sorry, nothing has been decided yet..."

Tomioka lowered her head and apologized softly. As if visualizing the phrase "feeling ashamed," she shrugged and looked like she was about to disappear.

"Oh, no, no! It's perfectly fine! Let's consider this together!"

Komachi hurriedly tried to comfort her, but her gaze was also unfocused, as if she was still pondering the answer to what she should decide first. She glanced at Yuihama, then at Iroha, pretending not to see me, before finally fixing her gaze on Yukinoshita.

Upon seeing this, Yukinoshita immediately smiled with relief.

"Regarding the specific date, we can suggest a few options. Choosing the day with the most attendees would be more realistic."

Perhaps because she had been holding back her words, Yukinoshita's voice sounded unusually energetic. "Yes, that's right, correct answer, correct answer. The winner of the question is Yukinoshita Yukino. 80,000 points (only for Hachiman). Well, although I hoped Komachi would answer, at least the goal of prompting her to think has been achieved. That concludes the question-and-answer session; let's start the brainstorming again."

"Well, yeah. Let's think about it using a temporary solution for now."

"Yeah, no matter when it's scheduled, someone's always going to cancel, and maybe someone'll suddenly have time and be able to come."

Seeing that Iroha seemed to understand deeply, Yuihama gave a wry smile and said, "Yeah, that's true..." Seriously, guys who say "go if you can" are absolutely awful! Even though it's me!

Instead of thinking about myself, I looked at Tomioka.

"By what timeframe do you plan to do this?"

"We're going on a picnic next week, so I wanted to..."

"Oh, a picnic."

"It's a rare opportunity to go, so I was thinking it would be better if we could build a good relationship beforehand."

Although nothing was decided beforehand, it seems Tomioka had already thought this through. She answered immediately when asked.

Well, that makes sense. Since there's an activity like a picnic, it's definitely best to deepen the relationship beforehand. If you only have your first conversation and start testing each other out then, you won't be able to fully enjoy the activity.

As I nodded and thought this, I suddenly froze.

A picnic?

"...Are there really such imagined activities?"

They're already in their final year of high school, and they're still going on a field trip...? Are they going to have a picnic? I was completely baffled and secretly glanced at Yukinoshita and Yui.

"Hey, why didn't you know?"

Yuihama was taken aback, and Yukinoshita nodded with a smile as if she had given up on something.

"After all, field trips are only for third graders..."

"Hey? Don't make me repeat a grade without my permission! I did move up a grade, you know!"

I said this to Yukino, who was looking into the distance, but she wouldn't let it go.

"Did you really move up a grade? What about math? You only got a 9, right?"

"You remember our previous conversation so clearly... Although I often failed math, it shouldn't have made me repeat a grade." I snorted through my nose and said to her.

"No problem. I easily passed the second exam."

"You're bragging about something as trivial as a retake exam..."

Yukinoshita slumped her shoulders listlessly, shaking her head. But then she noticed something and frowned.

"...What do you mean by 'breakthrough'? Didn't you pass your makeup exam either?"

Haha, I guess I've leveled up. But let's not talk about the retake for now. Haha. I tried to laugh it off, but Yukinoshita kept staring at me, silently pressing for an answer.

To avoid her gaze, I turned around and met Tomioka's eyes.

Tomioka exclaimed "Ah!" as if she had remembered something, and rummaged through her bag at her feet.

"If possible, this one."

As she said this, she handed me a piece of paper. "Oh, thank you, I'm so sorry..." I respectfully took it with both hands and glanced at it.

It looks like it's a list of precautions for a picnic. This is the first time I've seen it, but Yukinoshita and Yuigahama both pouted as if to say, "See, didn't we already post that?" That's when I realized we might have seen it before. I was just rummaging through my memories...

I looked at each line one by one, and Komachi leaned her head closer.

"Hey—are we going to Disneyland?"

Hey, you're in my way. I walked around Komachi's head and continued reading.

The rule was that we had to go together, but it seems like we can go back anytime. Although a return bus was prepared, it's optional. Oh… This efficiency is great! It means those who haven't had enough can stay and continue, while those who have can go home immediately. So, the first ride we've decided on is the Keiyo Line!

I was making plans on my own when I heard someone move a chair. I looked over and saw that it was Yukinoshita who had moved the chair next to me. She looked down over my shoulder and pointed a slender, delicate finger at a corner of the paper.

"The only stipulated times are the departure and return times; basically, it's all free time."