My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 772

"Hayato-kun?"

"……Hi."

He raised his hand slightly, gave us a brief greeting, and a watch with a faint silver sheen was visible through his cuff.

The year's plan begins on New Year's Day.

I had a strong feeling that my ominous premonition that this year might be full of ups and downs had come true.

End 1 Yui's story 10 Under the snow, Yang has some ulterior motives.

The soft jazz music playing in the café seemed unusually loud now. Normally, I wouldn't have paid attention to that volume.

However, not long ago I was listening to New Year's music like "ding...dong dong dong ding! qiang~" in the department store, which contrasted with the jazz music, making me keep paying attention to the background music in the store, and I was still restless after I sat down.

My gaze drifted across the table, landing on the people beside me and across from me. Since this was a four-person table, sitting opposite me was Yuihama with a puzzled smile.

The reason for her confusion was right beside her.

Yukino's radiant smile contrasted sharply with Yuihama's somewhat stiff one.

After Yang met us by chance, he briefly wished us a Happy New Year and then quickly moved to our table.

"It feels like it's been a long time since I've seen Hachiman and Hihama."

"Oh, right! What a coincidence!"

"Right—"

"Yes, that's right!"

The two were smiling and seemed to have a good relationship, but it was obvious that they were just pretending to cooperate with each other. Listening to this conversation, I broke out in a cold sweat.

How did it turn out like this...? I kept glancing furtively at the opposite side, my heart pounding with fear.

Yang Nai, whose eyes met mine, let out a meaningful laugh and slowly narrowed his eyes.

Her eyes were like those of a wild beast eyeing its prey, sending chills down my spine in the heated shop.

I shifted my gaze from Yui and Haruno, and looked ahead to Hayama Hayato, who wore the same bewildered smile as me. Hayama gave a safe response to the two women's conversation while quickly ordering his food. Ugh… thoughtful guys are so charming…

I'll just do some chores to kill time, right? Got it! I admire him. Anyway, let's use wet wipes to fold paper cranes or rabbits to pass the time... I cleared my mind, playing with the wet wipes, when I heard a conversation emanating a dangerous aura from ahead.

"A date—oh no! You two are still as close as ever. Didn't Yukino come along?"

Yang nudged Yuihama with his elbow, who was wearing a wry smile.

"Ah, we're here today to buy a present for Yukino..."

"Ah—that child's birthday is coming up soon... Oh, I see."

She nodded as she listened to Yuihama speak, then took out her phone, unsure of who to call.

Ye Shan smiled slightly and said tactfully:

"...She won't answer, will she? Didn't she say she wasn't coming?"

"That's true. But it's hard to say; she might change her mind."

Yang held the phone to her ear and squinted. I couldn't see through her eyes, but I always felt that she seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Hmm—if I had answered the phone, she would have come... Couldn't she have just answered it...? My sister is so sad."

Yang Nai pretended to cry while muttering to herself, showing no sign of giving up. She carefully examined her phone, mustered her courage, and said, "One more time," before continuing to dial.

Yui looked at her, completely bewildered. Hayama, perhaps sensing her confusion, lowered his voice and spoke.

"Every year at the beginning of the year, we go to visit relatives and friends for the New Year. Afterwards, my family and Yang Nai's sister have dinner together. Now we are waiting for my parents to arrive."

(Illustration 012)

"Oh, I see. Sending New Year's greetings sounds like a lot of work."

"No, I'm used to it."

Yui sighed, and Hayama nodded. In truth, given Hayama's social skills—or rather, his ability to put on a show—he was probably quite adept at that kind of thing. Social skills, besides innate talent, are also influenced by experience. Considering Hayama's position at school and the nature of his parents' work, he certainly wouldn't have few opportunities to stand in front of others.

On the other hand, look at me.

I was often scorned by everyone at school, but I never had the chance to stand in front of people. As for my family relationships, I couldn't even greet my relatives properly.

Therefore, when Hayama said "wait for Mom and Dad to come," it sounded a little strange to me.

I said…

I hesitated for a moment about how to address Hayama, and in the end, instead of calling him by name, I tapped the table with my fingers to summon him. Hayama turned his head and looked at me, but didn't answer, only urging me to continue with his gaze.

"In that case, let's go somewhere else. Otherwise, it would be awkward and get in your way."

"...Ah, that's true."

Yuihama understood what I meant and nodded in agreement. Hayama shook his head, giving me a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about it. On the contrary, I think Yang Nai is happy that someone can keep her company and help her pass the time."

He glanced at Yangnai. Yangnai's phone was still pressed against her ear, but she seemed to be listening to us, nodding quietly. Seeing this, Hayama turned back to face us.

"Right? Don't overthink it."

Hayama asked for my consent, but I didn't take it seriously.

"No, that's really awkward. It would be super embarrassing to suddenly meet your parents."

We only ended up sitting at the same table by chance. It's a bit of a headache to suddenly ask me to greet his parents. They might get nervous. Could we take it slow? I'm sorry. I thought of a line very reminiscent of Iroha's style and said this. Hino, sitting diagonally across from me, put down her phone, looking puzzled.

Why worry about that?

"How could I not consider it..."

I'm not familiar with Ye Shan, so what kind of punishment game is it to meet his parents...?

Upon hearing my answer, Yang squinted and stared at me.

"Right……"

She seemed uninterested, then suddenly remembered something and started making phone calls again. The caller was, of course, Yukinoshita.

A faint ringtone echoed through the quiet shop.

However, Yukino never answered the phone, and every time the call was transferred to voicemail, Haruno would call again.

Hey, are you going to keep playing...? Is this Hiratsuka-sensei? Ugh, how scary. Is it okay to inherit such a flaw from one's mentor? -- If it were me, I'd just shut down.

I looked at her in horror. During this time, Yang Nai made two or three more phone calls.

"……oh?"

"It seems the connection has finally been established." Yang exclaimed softly. Her surprise was palpable, and a slight smile played on her lips.

An impatient voice came through the receiver.

"Hello……"

In contrast to Yukinoshita's somewhat listless voice, Haruno's tone was light and bright.

"Ah, Yukino? It's your older sister—would you mind coming out for a moment?"

"I'm going to hang up..."

Wow! They wanted to hang up so quickly. Yui and Hayama, who were listening nearby, both gave wry smiles.

However, Yang Nai seemed to have gotten used to this reaction, and without wavering, continued in a teasing tone:

"Huh? Is this okay?"

"……What?"

Yang then revealed a wicked smile.

"Actually, I'm with Hachiman!"

"You're telling another pointless lie... Enough already."

"Hachiman, take it."

Before I could finish speaking, Yang Nai shoved the phone into my hand.

"Uh, huh?"

I glanced at my phone, then at Hino. She was pretending not to notice, her hands hidden behind her back, showing no intention of taking the phone. Yukinoshita's voice called out to Hino from the receiver. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to answer it…

"Hey... hello."

I don't know what to say, so I'll just leave it at that. I could sense that Yukinoshita was speechless on the other end of the phone.

After a brief silence, she sighed.

"Ugh, my head hurts so much... Why are you there?"

That's exactly what I was going to ask. I just came out to buy things...

"I went out once in a while, and then I got caught..."

I glared at the culprit, trying to explain, but was interrupted by a second sigh.

"Never mind. I'll go right away and let my sister hear."

"...Okay, I'm sorry."

I don't know why I apologized reflexively.

After wiping the screen with a wet wipe, I handed the phone back to Haruno, who briefly told me the location of the store before hanging up.

"Yukino said she's coming."

She wore a satisfied smile, while Yui and I could only manage a wry smile. How could this person be so stubborn... No, I knew she had this kind of personality, but it had been a long time since I'd witnessed it firsthand, and it was truly frightening.

Only Hayama Hayato remained unmoved, letting out a helpless sigh.

He's probably the only one who understands and gets used to Yukino's personality. No, perhaps he's given up the struggle. Hayama's faint, bitter smile wasn't something that developed overnight.

"By the way, what gift did you buy?"

Yang put away her phone and approached Yui, who was sitting on the same side as her. Yui timidly picked up the bag.

"Um... I bought indoor socks..."

"Oh—the floor is so cold at this time of year."

"Really! When I went to Yukino's house before, I felt that the floor was a bit cold."

"I understand, I'm also very afraid of the cold."

When it comes to topics about young girls, neither Hayama nor I, being men, have much to say; we just sit and listen.

However, Hayama seemed to be bored and muttered under his breath.

"A birthday present..."

He glanced in my direction.

"What did you buy?"

"Just a little thing."

"Yeah?"

He didn't pursue the matter further and silently looked away.

Afterward, Hayama continued to listen to Haruno and Yuihama's conversation, occasionally chiming in with a few words. In the hand holding the cup, the second hand of his watch moved slowly.

I've been watching it.

The hands of the clock moved forward at the same steady pace, never going astray, simply following a fixed path. Round and round it went, returning to the same spot, displaying the same familiar appearance. Yet, it was by no means the same. Even if the second hand remained still, the time displayed by the surrounding numbers continued to change.

Looking at the gift, Yang suddenly spoke.

"Should I give her something after all this time?"

Her gaze shifted to the side.

"Right? Hayato?"

"……yes."

Ye Shan shrugged and looked out the window. What he was looking at was probably not the streetlights.

I looked at Hayama's reflection in the glass window, and my mind was suddenly filled with the question, "I wonder what he gave me before?"