My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 773

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The unbearable time ticked by, second by second.

About thirty minutes passed after Yang called Yukino.

It will probably take a while to get here from that building. The one who called for help can't go back first. Hurry up! Wukong! [Note: Otherwise, I can't go home!]

Note: Krillin's lines from Dragon Ball.

The coffee I was sipping was already empty, and the pot of black tea that was steaming had gone completely cold.

Not only me, Yuihama also seemed a bit anxious, glancing restlessly at the store entrance.

Only the two people sitting in the front remained calm and composed.

Yang Nai seemed to be looking something up on her phone, showing each new window to Hayama who was sitting next to her.

"Oh, what about this one?"

"Not bad? Quite cute."

He answered with a hearty smile, but Yang scoffed at him.

"That's very much your style."

Hayama shrugged slightly, looking rather troubled. Although he didn't know what Haruno was asking for his opinion on, he thought the answer was perfectly safe. However, well, it certainly had Hayama's style.

Even though it was her own idea to ask, Yono lost interest in Hayama's answer and leaned forward to hold her phone in front of me.

The screen displayed a set of pajamas. The soft pink color combined with the fluffy texture reminiscent of a dessert was incredibly cute. Yui, standing next to her, glanced at the image and whispered, "Ah, so cute—"

It seems that this is what Haruno has been investigating all along. Judging from what she just said, it's probably a gift for Yukinoshita.

"Hey, Hachiman, what do you think?"

She stood up, rested her elbows on the table, gently swayed her upper body, and gazed at my face.

Uh, I don't know how to answer your question either. How should I put it? I really don't know where to look... Cover your chest! And your face is so close! It's so frustrating! This is not the time to look at a phone screen. If this were a fighting game, I would lose instantly.

"Not bad, quite cute."

I subconsciously over-identified.

"That sarcastic response is very much in line with your personality."

Yang Nai raised the corners of her mouth, sat back on the sofa, seemingly satisfied. She said, "Should we choose this one?" and started scrolling through her phone again.

The conversation just now was inexplicably exhausting...

I let out a long sigh and closed my eyes.

After resting with her head down for a while, Yuihama noticed something and let out a soft "ah".

I looked up abruptly and saw Yukinoshita walking quickly towards me.

"Yukino, over here!"

As Yuihama spoke, she waved, and Yukinoshita saw her too, and walked over to our seats.

"Yuihama-san... So you're here too."

She looked surprised. After all, we hadn't mentioned it to her on the phone.

"Yeah. Well... how should I put it, I went shopping with the autistic guy, and then we got caught..."

She smiled guiltily, fiddling with the bun on her head.

She seemed to be struggling with whether or not to say she was there to buy Yukino's birthday present, and she spoke somewhat hesitantly.

"Buying things...is that so...?"

Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita cast a questioning look at Yui and me. Yui, taken aback by the seemingly suspicious look, kept glancing at Yukinoshita and me.

We exchanged glances, but no words were spoken. Though it lasted only a few seconds, a silence enveloped us.

The sounds of other customers talking, the clinking of coffee and saucers, soft music, the footsteps of the staff, and Yang Nai's soft laughter.

With so much noise, the silence seemed particularly jarring.

"Shall we sit down first?"

It was Hayama who broke the silence. Yuihama seemed to be jolted by those words, and stood up from the sofa.

"Ah, sit here, sit here."

She cleared a space for one person next to her and invited Yukinoshita to sit down.

"Um, um... thank you."

Yukinoshita obediently responded, took off her coat, folded it up simply, and tucked it under her arm before sitting down.

Then he bowed his head and apologized to Yuihama.

"I'm sorry, sister, I've caused you trouble."

No, it won't happen.

Yuihama readily waved her hand in reply, and Yukinoshita breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to face me, raising her gaze as if observing my expression.

"Hachiman, too, um..."

"It doesn't matter. I'm free anyway."

In fact, I didn't plan any other activities after I finished shopping.

Perhaps it would be more relaxing if I didn't have to spend time alone with Yui. However, the current situation isn't necessarily better.

The culprit, with a provocative smile, spoke to Yukinoshita in a mocking tone.

"Yukino, you're so slow."

"You have the nerve to say something like that, suddenly calling someone out like that..."

Yukino glared at her sideways, while Haruno completely ignored her. Yuihama, caught in the middle, gave a wry smile. A chaotic brawl! Could you please, Yukino sisters, show some mercy...?

"Don't do that, Yukino seems to be on her way here too..."

A cheerful, familiar voice, capable of easing the tense atmosphere, reached my ears. The unfamiliar address made me instinctively turn my head. The owner of the voice, Hayama Hayato, looked like he had said something wrong, frowned, and immediately forced a smile, trying to cover it up.

“…………”

Yukinoshita was probably frightened, and stared at Hayama without saying a word, while Hayama shrugged.

"What would you like to drink, Yukinoshita?"

"……black tea."

Hayama quickly ordered the food, and after the black tea was served, Yono let out a soft sigh.

"It's been a long time since we had tea together."

"yes."

“…………”

Hayama nodded in agreement, but Yukinoshita held her cup with her eyes closed. A silence fell, and Yuihama spoke up as if to continue the conversation:

"Ah, um... Hayato-kun already knew you guys before."

"Yes, yes, yes. Hayato's family only has one boy, right? So we used to be really pampered. Right, Yukino?"

I don't think so.

"No, not at all. Not just my parents, everyone loves them very much."

Even though Haruno threw the ball to her, and Hayama smiled in response, Yukinoshita's attitude remained unchanged. Haruno, however, didn't take it to heart and quietly gazed into the distance.

"I miss those days... When I was little, whenever my parents were busy, I was the one who took care of them both."

Yukinoshita immediately frowned.

"That's called dragging us around everywhere, it's causing me a lot of trouble."

She placed the teacup on the saucer, giving Yang a calm voice and a cold gaze. Hayama responded to her words.

"Ah—like that time we went to the zoo…we got really messed up at the amusement park…"

"And that time at the seaside park. Sometimes they'd just leave us standing there, and sometimes they'd keep rocking the Ferris wheel..."

Both Hayama and Yukinoshita looked melancholy, probably recalling that turbulent time. Only Haruno nodded happily.

"Ah—that really did happen. Yukino would cry most of the time."

"You...don't fabricate memories."

"No, right? Hayato."

"Haha... I don't know."

Yang started the conversation, Hayama responded with a smile, and Yukinoshita nodded silently.

Watching the three people reminiscing about the past, I suddenly realized something.

The time accumulated bit by bit truly exists here, and others probably cannot touch those memories.

Even Yuihama couldn't join the conversation between the three, let alone me.

I don't know what their relationship was like before. And even if I did, it wouldn't make a difference.

All I could do was occasionally sip my bitter coffee, listen absentmindedly as they continued their reminiscing, and offer perfunctory responses. And then there was my imagination.

I forget when it was, but someone asked me that.

What would happen if I went to the same elementary school as them?

What was my answer at the time?

As I was lost in memories and thoughts, the sound of setting down my teacup was accompanied by a sigh.

I looked toward the source of the sound. Haruno was propping her cheek up with her hand, staring at Hayama and Yukino with cold eyes.

"You guys used to be so cute... but now... it feels so boring."

Her beautiful red lips uttered cold words. Seeing that icy smile, we were all speechless.

Yukinoshita's hand, resting on the table, clenched into a slight fist. Hayama gritted his teeth and looked away. Yuihama glanced at me, bewildered.

Silence descended, and then Yang Nai laughed.

"But now that Hachiman is here, we can just pamper him..."

The moment I heard those words, a chill ran down my spine. The eyes that were staring up at me were dull and lifeless.

"Uh, I'm a little... a bit... averse to that kind of doting approach that involves sports clubs."

I tried my best not to look at her face, lest I be sucked into her dark eyes. Yang Nai chuckled softly.

"It's this kind of place that makes you want to cherish and love me. Oh, my sweetie, Hachiman is such a good boy."

She stretched out her arm to touch my head.

I sidestepped the hand.

"Oh dear, they've escaped."

Her smiling face made her seem like a kind older sister. It's not a common experience to be smiled at by an older, beautiful woman, so it didn't feel bad.

They even felt that it didn't matter if that smile was faked.

Iroha Isshiki is the best example; everyone has a side that wants to appear cute, so there's nothing to be afraid of.

What I fear is that Yukinoshita Haruno will reveal the unknown entity lurking on the other side.

However, Yang Nai didn't seem to be planning to say much now, and instead started a completely different topic with a smile.

"Speaking of sports clubs, the school is holding a marathon soon, right?"

"Ah, yes. At the end of the month."

Yuihama answered, and Haruno looked a little surprised.

"Oh, it's not being held in February this year."

"The consultant said it should be done a little earlier to match the schedule."

Hayama responded with a gentle smile, his tone calm and unhurried.

Under the snow, a worried expression appeared on his face. After all, this guy isn't very physically fit... he doesn't seem to be good at marathons.