My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 771

Neither good nor bad. It suits her perfectly.

If there's anything wrong with it, it's not something Yui wore; it was a gift for Yukino. That cardigan would be too loose on Yukino… well, I won't say which part.

"You mean, we don't need to consider the dimensions beneath the snow?"

The basic principle of choosing clothes is to wear the right size. There's a whole host of other things to consider, like body shape—that's what Komachi taught me. By the way, the clothes I wore today also underwent Don Komachi's fashion inspection [Note]. The reviews for my own choice were so terrible that Komachi seemed to be saying, "I'm going to stomp on it!" Wait, that's a reference to Peeco [Note]. Huh, it's his brother's? Oh well, never mind.

Note: Japanese fashion designer Yoshiyuki Konishi appeared under the stage name "Don Konishi" in the fashion inspection segment of the program "Information Presenter Exclusive News!".

Note: Sugiura Katsuaki is a Japanese entertainer. His twin brother, Sugiura Takaaki, is also an entertainer.

"size……"

She repeated the word, pinching the flesh of her abdomen.

"It's too big, isn't it...?"

As she said this, despair clouded Yuihama's face. Her hand, which had been resting on her abdomen, moved to her upper arm, her expression growing increasingly melancholic. "Don't worry! It won't be too big! It's too big, but not too big! Or rather, it's not small!"

"No, um, it's fine. In fact, it's perfect..."

Although I wasn't trying to defend her, I still stammered an explanation. But my questionable actions only earned me a suspicious glare from Yui. Ugh—how annoying! What kind of answer is this at a time like this?!

"It suits you well, I think that one is great."

I managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"...Hehe, thanks."

Yui finally smiled, took off her cardigan, and happily folded it. I couldn't look at her directly, and turned my head away in embarrassment, when suddenly it occurred to me.

"But Yukino will follow the school rules, so she probably won't wear that to school."

Although it's practically a formality, the school still has rules. These naturally include regulations about clothing; sweaters and cardigans have specific styles designated by the school. Very few students actually follow them, so there's no need to worry about it. However, some good students, including Yukinoshita, do diligently abide by that rule.

"I see. That makes sense. Well then..."

She held the sweater under her arm as she pondered, this time heading to the area selling scarves, gloves, and other small items.

Halfway through her shopping trip, she gasped softly.

"So cute! It might be fun to play with this and the shortbread."

She took out a pair of mittens shaped like cat paws and a pair of mittens shaped like dog faces.

The cat paw gloves look just like cat paws. The dog face gloves have the back of the hand as the face, complete with ears, and the thumb as the chin. Yui wore them and moved her hands around.

"It feels so hard to pick things up..."

Even fingerless gloves are like that.

Yuihama fell into deep thought, then looked up as if struck by a flash of inspiration, and opened her clasped hands.

"Hey! I'll bite you!"

Then it bit my hand with the dog glove.

"...Just kidding."

She tried to pretend nothing had happened, but her face instantly turned bright red. If you're going to be shy, please don't do that; I get shy too. I gently pulled my glove off from under my hand and fanned my face with it. This shop's heating is way too strong.

"That's not the point, but I hope he doesn't wear those gloves outside."

"...It seems so."

Yui nodded, completely convinced. Actually, judging from Yukinoshita's usual attire, she wouldn't wear anything so obviously cute. Even if she received it, she probably wouldn't use it… no, not necessarily. Since it was a gift from Yui, she might outwardly appear calm but inwardly be overjoyed and put on the gloves.

"Should we look for other gifts...?"

Yuihama, waving her cat-paw gloves, pondered and continued selecting.

"Ah, this looks good."

She took out socks from the shelf that looked like cat paws.

"These socks look hard to put on."

"These are indoor socks! How could you possibly wear these kinds of socks outside?"

Following your logic, you definitely wouldn't wear those gloves outside either...

However, after she mentioned it, I noticed that the soles of the socks had pink, fleshy-shaped anti-slip adhesive, which seemed to have an anti-slip effect.

"You don't have to care about what others think when you wear it at home... What do you think?"

"Yes, she'll be very happy."

Whatever Yuihama sends, Yukinoshita will probably be very happy.

The person who gives the gift is more important than the gift itself. Just as sometimes, the person who speaks is more important than the content of the words.

"Okay, let's choose this one."

Yuihama rummaged through the items she was carrying and headed to the checkout counter. The sweater and two pairs of gloves were included too. And the cat paw gloves too…

Speaking of which, cat paws and cat feet...

Do you sell tails here as well?

× × ×

Well then, I need to carefully choose a gift. That shop doesn't sell cat tails.

So I came to this place. SOGO Chiba store, Sen City. Just looking at the name gives you the feeling of being very sensitive to trends. No, that's Sensitive, not Sen City.

I usually go to the men's clothing section, but today I came to buy Yukinoshita's birthday present, so my destination was naturally the floor that sells women's clothing.

However, I don't know much about fashion, so I asked Hihama to show me the way.

Yuihama's shop not only sells clothes, but also a wide variety of other small items.

"Just browse around, right? For example, gloves, jewelry, scarves... and miscellaneous items..."

I did as she suggested and looked around the store.

Yuihama was there giving me all sorts of advice, so the staff haven't called the police, and there aren't any security guards patrolling the area. If I had come in alone, a staff member would definitely have come over and asked, "What are you looking for?" and would have stayed right next to me, and the cashier would have been watching me closely too. This information comes from someone who's been in this area before. I understand it's rare for a male customer to come alone, but um, could you please not be so wary...?

I watched the store clerks' gazes as I moved between the shelves, finally stopping at Yuihama. A pop-up ad on one of the shelves read "Eyewear."

What the heck is "eyewear"? Just write "glasses" directly. Don't write everything in English. If you're not familiar with it, you won't understand. And "hanger" too, just write "clothes hanger," right? Writing "Meat Sauce" as "Bolognese" and "Spaghetti" as "Pasta" is ridiculous. Wait, Meat Sauce and Spaghetti are also in English... what's the Japanese name for them...?

When I was feeling down, Yui patted me on the shoulder.

Looking back, she was pushing up her glasses with a smug look on her face.

"Hmph, doesn't it look clever?"

"The idea of ​​equating glasses with intelligence is stupid enough..."

"Mind your own business, you idiot."

She said sullenly, and then picked up several more pairs of glasses to try on. I followed suit and picked up my glasses too.

Oh, there are quite a few types.

Not only are the styles varied, but the functions are also diverse. Some protect against pollen, while others block blue light. The prices are also relatively affordable, perhaps because glasses are starting to be used for purposes other than vision correction.

I continued looking for a gift, and Yui handed me a pair of glasses.

"Oh, right, you should try it on too. Like this pair."

“Eh…”

I'll definitely be laughed at... I hesitated, but Yui shoved my glasses at me and urged me on.

"hurry up!"

I'm ready, got my act together, and put on my glasses. Persona…! [Note] By the way, I prefer Persona 3 to Persona 4; when summoning it, I want to hold a gun to my head!

Note: This reference is from Persona 4. When the main characters enter another world, they wear glasses and shout "Persona" when summoning Personas. In Persona 3, the main characters shoot themselves in the head with a pistol.

"That's roughly the feeling."

I put on my glasses and pushed up the frames with my index finger. Yui burst out laughing on the spot.

"This is so unsuitable!"

"None of your business..."

That's why I didn't want to wear them... I impatiently took off my glasses, and Yui gave me another pair of glasses of a different style.

"Okay—next time, let's try...this one!"

"don't want."

"It won't do anything. Come on!"

She forced the glasses onto my face. Ugh, so annoying... I put the glasses, which were hanging loosely on my ears, back on and faced Yui, intending to complain to her.

She stared at me, dumbfounded.

“…………”

"Uh, why aren't you saying anything?"

You asked me to wear it yourself, but you didn't react at all... I looked at her, indicating that she should express some thoughts. Yuibin came back to her senses and hurriedly waved her hand.

"Ah, it's nothing, nothing at all... I didn't expect it to suit you so well."

"...Thanks."

When I receive praise, I don't know how to respond.

But, didn't you expect that?

Many things we think we understand, we don't actually understand. For example, Yuihama, who doesn't usually wear glasses, looks better with them than we imagined.

In the past, Yukinoshita regretfully said that she knew nothing about Yuihama.

me too.

In the past, I never really tried to understand.

Not only Yukinoshita, but also Yuihama is probably included.

However, I'm starting to understand a little now. Although it's far from complete understanding, and certainly not ideal, the three of us have gradually accumulated time together. More than six months is hardly worth mentioning. But my understanding of her is definitely a little more than it was back then.

The Yukino Yukinoshita I know...

She can't refuse any request from Yuihama. She loves cats and spends her weekends watching cat videos on her computer while hugging Johnny's plush pillow.

I know more about her than I imagined.

Since Yui is going to give her cat-foot indoor socks, I'll give her something that matches them too.

I hope that the time she spends alone is warm and peaceful.

× × ×

After shopping, since we'd been walking a lot, we decided to find a coffee shop to rest. Going to a Starbucks outside wouldn't be a bad idea, but it would be cold at this time of year. Besides, I didn't know how to order at Starbucks, so I wasn't really keen on going today.

So I chose a familiar restaurant that I had been to several times.

"Is this place okay?"

"Um."

I consulted Yuihama before stepping into the café inside SOGO. The atmosphere was calm and quiet, probably because of its location further inside.

"The two of you."

I told the staff how many people were in our group, and they led us to a four-seater by the window, where we could enjoy a panoramic view of Chiba. I gave the window seat to Yui, so we could look out at Chiba Station behind her.

From this vantage point, you can even see the monorail running, giving the impression that Chiba is developing incredibly fast. Chiba truly is a city of the future.

My gaze followed the monorail, and our eyes met.

"Oh dear, it's Hachiman."

The person was sitting on the sofa with their back to the window.

She wore a white blouse with ruffles and a gold necklace. She was dazzling, as if all the outdoor lights were focused on her, her smiling eyes a darkness deeper than the night sky. Yukinoshita draped her bright red shawl over herself again, as if to conceal the contradictory impression, and called my name.

Upon hearing her voice, Yuihama also looked to the side and exclaimed her name in surprise.

"Sister Yang Nai... and—"

Yuihama's gaze shifted forward. The man sitting there wore a gray knit sweater that was neither white nor black, and a dark blue jacket. Beneath his light blond hair was a slightly surprised look in his eyes, but Hayama Hayato still smiled.