My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 765

"However... the people around Orimoto-senpai are... a bit... not very appealing to Komachi... so, even excluding Orimoto-senpai herself, the overall result is that I don't really like them..."

Komachi lowered her head, as if finding it difficult to speak, and uttered each word slowly and deliberately. Because her head was bowed, her expression was unreadable; was that the reason she kept her distance from Orimoto?

Although the sentence was fragmented and lacked focus, I immediately figured out the answer.

I confessed my feelings to Zheben, but I was dumped. I think a lot of people find this funny and tell others about it.

Given that, it's not surprising that Komachi, who attends the same school, heard about it.

The fact that my brother was dumped so badly is being used as a joke, and it probably doesn't look good.

She must have felt extremely ashamed; it must have left her with bad memories.

Although she spoke haltingly, I sensed it from Komachi's attitude.

Having many friends means being surrounded by people with different values, and among them, there are likely to be those who make fun of others and have fun doing so. A certain student named Makoto from the seaside comprehensive high school that Orimoto attends is the best example of this.

It's not just the person involved who gets ridiculed like this; their loved ones are also included.

"Feel sorry……"

I said that unintentionally.

I should have discovered this much sooner and told her sooner, but I delayed it for so long. Perhaps it's pointless to bring this up now.

Therefore, this is neither an apology nor a repentance, but rather closer to a vow.

"Don't worry, that will never happen again. I won't cause you any bad memories. The same thing will never happen in high school as it did in junior high."

I put my hand on Komachi's head to reassure her.

I've had enough of leaving behind those kinds of memories, and I've had enough of hurting others by leaving behind those kinds of memories. What's most important to me is quietly protecting each day I spend in my own way, and the people around me.

I will certainly not express my wishes and feelings in words again.

If only I could find a better way when I grow up, it might be too late by then, and I'll only have bitter memories to cherish.

As I was lost in thought, Komachi looked at me in surprise. Her face was filled with a question mark, in addition to my hand above her head.

She shook her head back and forth as I touched her, her expression complicated. Finally, as if she had thought of something, she sighed deeply.

"Ah—that's right, that's how my brother thinks..."

She slapped my hand off my head.

"Brother, I want to tell you something."

She started with an opening remark, then knelt down on the ground, sitting face to face with me. She cleared her throat to check its condition, then raised a finger and began to speak fluently.

"You seem to have misunderstood, so Komachi is just trying to clarify things with you. Komachi is just really annoyed by Orimoto-senpai's friends. She doesn't feel anything at all about her brother being laughed at. In fact, she can understand it."

"Whoa whoa……"

Is it... understandable...?

I was intimidated by her imposing manner, and then Komachi continued:

"My brother is always being ridiculed by all sorts of people, so there's no need for him to do anything special. Komachi herself will make fun of him."

"Whoa whoa……"

Is that so...?

The shocking truth that is now being revealed has taken a toll on me. That's too cruel, Komachi... I hung my head in dejection, and anger began to rise within me.

What does this guy take me for? I cast a slightly resentful glance at Komachi and our eyes met.

"...So, even if your brother does something stupid, even if he acts incredibly lame, Komachi will still accept him with a smile. Don't worry about Komachi, just do what you want to do."

She playfully added, "Because Komachi is my younger sister," and smiled shyly. That bashful smile suited her age perfectly, innocent and adorable, yet her gentle eyes were far more mature than mine, even though she was my sister.

"I don't think I'll do anything stupid or act really bad... Anyway, got it. Thanks."

In comparison, how childish my answer was. Komachi seemed willing to play along with my childish words, nodding exaggeratedly like an older sister.

"It's good that you know. Just don't have any unnecessary thoughts like 'for Komachi'."

"No way."

I clicked my tongue, and Komachi smiled with satisfaction.

"Then Komachi wants to go eat ice cream too."

She used the kotatsu (heated table) to stand up, and the table swayed slightly with her movement. When I moved the tilted table back into place, I felt a vibration on the surface where my palm touched.

What was that? I looked toward the source of the vibration; it seemed to be my phone, which I had left on the table, ringing.

I picked up my phone and saw "☆★Yui★☆" on the screen. The person who called me was Yui Hama.

Holding my phone, I subconsciously glanced at Komachi. There was no problem answering the call here. However, Komachi's words from earlier suddenly came to mind.

Don't have unnecessary thoughts like "for Komachi's sake," as if you're telling me not to use Komachi as an excuse to escape.

I can't rely on Komachi too much. Because if Komachi is around, I can't help but bring up the topic with her. She just scolded me, so I'll handle this little thing myself.

Holding my phone in one hand, I quickly got up and went to the hallway, which was a bit colder than the living room. Like the flamingo, I stood on one foot on the cold floor, leaning against the hallway wall.

The phone, still ringing incessantly, vibrated in my hand, the vibrations reaching deep into my body. It kept buzzing and thumping.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down and pressed the answer button.

"…………Hello?"

I only realized why this guy was calling me after I answered the phone.

But thinking about it is pointless. Knowing beforehand that you should think about what to say and what to say will only bring emptiness.

Most of the words and answers that are prepared in advance are not from the heart; they are all outright lies.

"Oh, you're an autistic guy? Are you free now?"

A familiar voice came through the receiver.

Therefore, I hope that I can at least become someone who can speak without any falsehood, even without any preparation.

In the seventh chapter of Yui's story, Yui awkwardly makes a phone call to Yui.

The faint sound of the television came from the living room through a door.

I bet it was Komachi, lounging in the kotatsu with an ice cream cone in one hand, lazily watching TV. I didn't know what she was watching, but the soft background noise was bothering me, so I quickly moved away.

"An autistic man? Hey—"

Yuihama's voice came through the phone next to my ear; she seemed to be wondering why I wasn't talking.

"...Yes, I can hear you."

As I answered, I quietly moved away from the wall and walked towards my room, unconsciously softening my footsteps.

Perhaps it was because I was on the phone. To avoid the person on the other end of the line hearing background noise, I tiptoed and moved slowly.

The hallway was a bit colder than the living room.

The floor was as cold as the air temperature; with each step, the icy touch came through my socks.

"Oh, you suddenly went silent, I was worried something was wrong."

"Nothing's wrong..."

It just took some time to come to this realization.

Unexpected phone calls can cause worry: "Huh, did I do something wrong...?" A moment of hesitation ensues before answering! If you want to know the reason, you simply ignore it! After listening to the voicemail, you might assess its importance, thinking, "It's okay not to call back, right...?" and ultimately ignore it again...

Some relationships may gradually drift apart as a result.

Therefore, phone calls can create tension. Not being able to see the other person's face and being able to unilaterally ignore them can easily sever interpersonal relationships.

If you already don't understand what the other party is thinking, and your intelligence is limited, the risk of failure will increase accordingly.

It is precisely because relationships are easily established that they are easily lost.

Even if the object of my affections is Yuihama, it's the same. No, it's precisely because the object of my affections is Yuihama that I don't want to fail.

Because I was a little nervous, it took me a while to control my voice, which was almost piercing.

"So, what's the matter?"

My house isn't very big, and I went back to my room during this conversation.

I turned on the light switch, closed the door behind me, and sat on the bed. The fluorescent light dimly illuminated a few specks of dust floating in the air. Looking at the glaring light, I absentmindedly thought about how I should do a thorough cleaning.

"that……"

Yui carefully considered her words. In the deathly silent room, the faint, hesitant voice was still clearly audible.

"...Hey, you autistic guy, are you free at the end of the year?"

"Whoa whoa……"

I reflexively responded to the fragmented words. Soon after, the content of that sentence slowly entered my mind.

"I do have time..."

There's no need to ask me specifically.

Not to mention the end and beginning of the year, I was unemployed all year round, and even unpaid.

It's all because of my association with the Service Society that I've gotten used to unscrupulous companies. What a promising corporate slave.

Is this another instance of them being ruthless? A different kind of tension arose within me.

However, Yuihama's proposal was unexpected.

I heard a soft inhale, followed by a joyful sound.

"So, so, so, are you going to a New Year's shrine on New Year's Eve?"

"Oh, two years of shrine visits."

After the word was uttered, a confused voice came through the receiver.

"...Two years of pilgrimages?"

Ah! This is a reaction I can't understand! The image of Yuihama tilting her head in the distance on the radio waves clearly appeared in my mind.

"Going to the New Year's Shrine on New Year's Eve is called a 'two-year shrine visit'."

The term "ni-nen samaya" refers to a shrine visit that spans two years, with midnight on New Year's Day as the dividing point. Detailed definitions vary, but simply put, it means visiting a shrine during the New Year's Eve celebrations.

"oh……"

Yui's response was ambiguous, making it unclear whether she understood or not. Most likely, she didn't...

However, it's a New Year's visit to the shrine.

It's quite auspicious.

Going to a shrine for the New Year gives you the feeling that your hair will grow back [Note]. No, from a phonetic perspective... I'm the kind of person who worries about my own scalp when I see my grandfather has almost no hair.

Note: "New Year's visit (Hatsumoude)" and "long hair (Hatsumou)" sound similar.

Sooner or later, shrines related to hair will appear, advertising with mysterious slogans like "Grow your hair by visiting shrines during the New Year!"

I avoided confronting my scalp problem, at which point Yuihama exhaled a questioning breath, as if observing my reaction.

"So... are we going to make the pilgrimage in the second year?"

"Ah, um... well, this."

I answered reflexively.

but.

But.

The amount of information provided by the invitation method just now was far too limited.

At the end of the year, I will go to the New Year's shrine with Yuihama. That's for sure.

But without understanding the other parts, it's really hard to answer.

E.g.

Are there only the two of us?

Yuihama hasn't mentioned anyone else's name yet, and if we're to give a very direct interpretation of what she just said, it's very likely that it was just the two of us.

However, just the two of us... something felt off. What was off? It really was off.