My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 794

"Oh, oh, thank you so much, so many gifts..."

I forcefully shoved the plastic bag into her hand. The timid secretary seemed too afraid to refuse, and bowed to thank me. Oh dear—you can't do that—how can you take things from strangers like that?

"Um, President, someone delivered some gifts..."

However, she didn't know what to do with the gifts she had received, so she called out to Isshiki, who was sitting inside.

Yise seemed to react to the word "gifts of condolence," and walked out from inside, peering out to see what was in the bag that the secretary's sister was carrying, her eyes lighting up.

"Wow—senior, you're so thoughtful. Thank you, and best of luck on your way!"

The door squeaked and closed.

Ugh! The principle of reciprocity is completely useless against Iroha!

I gripped the door tightly as it was about to close, forcibly opening it a crack. Then I squeezed my face inside, clinging to her in the pose from Jack Nicholson's famous scene in "The Haunted Shop of Spirits."

"Hey? Don't try to see them out, okay? How can you take someone's things and then immediately send them away..."

Isshiki tilted his head slightly.

"Oh, is there something you need? No, I don't."

You're so self-centered, it's almost refreshing! So what? Can't you come if there's nothing wrong? I wouldn't come if there wasn't something wrong. So I really did come today.

"Isshiki, could you please use the student council office?"

"What?"

This time, Isshiki tilted his head in the opposite direction.

In Yui's Story 7, when it comes to her older brother, Komachi Hikigaya always observes things with remarkable keenness.

I looked out the window of the student council office and gazed down at the courtyard, illuminated by the afterglow of the setting sun and the cold streetlights.

Students participating in club activities on the playground will pass through the courtyard on their way home. If the soccer club is present, it should be clearly visible from the student council office.

Besides, thanks to Isshiki's investment in equipment since becoming president, the student council office is exceptionally comfortable, perfect for lingering. Right now, the halogen heater is emitting far-infrared rays, warming my legs. It's an excellent spot for surveillance.

I leaned against the window, sipping my MAX coffee and glancing outside.

Next to me was Isshiki, who was in the same pose as me. Her fingers peeked out from the cuffs of her overly long cardigan as she sipped her hot cocoa.

"Senior Hayama hasn't come yet."

"yes."

I have already told Isshiki my purpose.

At first, she complained impatiently, "Ugh—won't this delay my time to go home—" But as soon as I mentioned Hayama's name, she reluctantly allowed me to stay in the student council office.

The other student council members, perhaps out of concern for my presence, all left first. I was struck by how the vice president and secretary left together; what are you two doing together? Vice president, you scoundrel, you look down on work, don't you? Get your work done! Although, I was the one interfering with everyone's work.

Speaking of work, something comes to mind.

"Aren't you the manager? Is the football club about to release someone?"

"I don't know?"

Isshiki answered in a second.

"You didn't know that...?"

It's not like it's the opening theme note for "Guardians of the Moon"... Can you please be a serious manager?

Note: The opening theme song of the anime "Moon Guardian" is "Saa", which means "I don't know".

"It's really cold right now—?"

Isshiki gave a super affected yet adorable "hehe☆" smile. What's wrong with this girl? She's so cute... Is this okay...? However, it was I who told her that since she became the student council president, she should make the most of this position.

Iroha Isshiki's charm, or rather, her ability, lies in her shrewd personality.

On the contrary, I'm someone who doesn't know how to get things done. I waste so much effort. This includes being monitored in the student council office now. I should have asked Hayama for his phone number before giving it to me. But it's strange to ask for his number through someone else.

Why go through so many roundabout ways?

If I were good friends with that guy, I could go to his place with the attitude of, "Hey bro! What's up? Come over to my place!" That would be ideal. I don't want Hayama, who would obediently come along like that.

Even so, all we can do now is wait for Hayama. I stared blankly outside, my eyes meeting Isshiki's reflection. She noticed too, and chuckled softly.

"I mean, I'm a little surprised that you've gone this far."

"Yeah?"

I shifted my gaze back to Isshiki, and she nodded repeatedly.

"Yeah, I thought you'd think 'whatever,' 'so boring,' or 'a bunch of idiots.'"

Wow—that sounds like something I would say—Iroha understands me quite well. I should be able to pass the Hikigaya Proficiency Test Level 3. Okay, Daddy gives you eight million points—

To be honest, I would probably have done as she said. Itsuki Makoto, however, was very perceptive and noticed something amiss.

"You actually went out of your way to come to the student council office and—ambushed him all along..."

Isshiki was lost in thought, staring into my eyes. Those eyes were so lovely, yet their gaze seemed to see right through me, which was a little frightening. So, I couldn't help but look away.

She seemed to have discovered something, and suddenly sprang back, putting a step between us.

"...Ah! There are only the two of us in the student council office right now. Do you want this to get out and create a fait accompli so I'll take a little interest in you and then pursue me? There are many aspects of that strategy I can learn from it, and I plan to use it to observe the results. I'm sorry, I can't date you."

She spoke fluently, finishing the entire speech in one breath, and then bowed her head with astonishing speed.

"Ah, um... please try it out and let me know what you think."

"Your reaction is so cold—"

I couldn't be bothered with her and just brushed her off, puffing out my cheeks in dissatisfaction.

However, I waited for Hayama for quite a long time, but luckily she was willing to keep me company to pass the time.

I should find a way to repay her... Thinking of this, I suddenly had an idea.

"By the way, I'm sorry about today."

"Today? What is it?"

Isshiki tilted his head, his face saying, "Why are you suddenly bringing this up? What's this guy doing?" He squinted and said the first part of his sentence, "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?" Not only that, he added an extra sentence.

"You've apologized to me most of the time, not just today, right..."

"That's true, I'm sorry..."

She looked at me coldly, pouted, and said, "Too many possibilities flashed through my mind, and all I could say was an apology. But what I want to apologize for right now isn't that..."

"Isn't there one of those events today? A future aspirations consultation session or something like that? Sorry, I can't help you with that."

"Ah—that matter. It's alright, I scaled it down a bit, the student council has enough manpower."

Isshiki remained expressionless, but a proud smile played on her lips. Her slightly protruding, flat chest betrayed her smugness; she tried to feign composure but failed. Even so, it didn't change the fact that Isshiki had made the judgment single-handedly and that they had successfully organized the event.

"...That's pretty impressive. The student council president works very hard."

Thinking back to the election, she really has grown up a lot. I should have praised her more frankly, but unfortunately, my personality is twisted, and what came out of my mouth was also a bit twisted. After listening, Issei turned her head away, smoothed her bangs with her hand, and stammered out a series of words.

007

"...Um, um, I also felt it wasn't right to keep asking you guys for help, so I tried a little harder on my own~"

Hmm, it seems my compliment was delivered correctly because of our quirky personalities. Judging from her constant fanning of her cheeks, Isshiki seems to be shy.

I looked at her with warm eyes. Isshiki felt a little uncomfortable, cleared her throat, and let out a small sigh.

"...And I've found that it's not something to be taken for granted."

"Oh?"

I didn't understand what she meant by that additional sentence, and replied casually, puzzled.

Isshiki rested his chin on his hand on the window frame, gazing up at the night sky as if in a dream, and murmuring softly as if in anticipation.

"How should I put it? I thought it would continue indefinitely~"

His tone was nonchalant, yet his eyes held a deep, searching gaze, as if searching for a shooting star, conveying a sense of detachment. Knowing it wouldn't come true, he used the past tense, which made my chest ache slightly. However, remaining silent felt like admitting it, so I uttered the lines I usually used to avoid facing the truth, just like always.

"what?"

But since we are both people with twisted personalities, my feigning ignorance doesn't seem to work on her.

"Such a time and such a relationship."

The reflection in the glass gave a helpless smile, then mouthed to me, "You know perfectly well what I'm asking."

Yes, I understand. I looked into her eyes through the reflection and nodded.

Seeing this, Isshiki sighed and turned to face me. The darkness behind her made her appear exceptionally mature as she leaned against the window.

"But it's also kind of cool to try to protect someone who takes things for granted. When you see someone like that, you want to cheer them on."

Who is being referred to? It certainly shouldn't be me. It seems that Isshiki is looking at the vast, blurry night sky outside the window, and at someone on the other side of it.

"ah."

She suddenly gasped softly.

Looking down, he saw the soccer club members crossing the courtyard. Hayama was among them.

Has it finally arrived...? I finished the rest of my MAX coffee, grabbed my coat and backpack.

"Thanks, Isshiki."

"You're welcome. This is all I can do."

I thanked her, and she smiled gently. I returned her smile with a goodbye, and as I prepared to leave the student council office, a gentle voice came from behind me.

"Good luck, senior!"

Turning around, I saw Isshiki clenching his fists in front of his chest, encouraging me. His expression was gentle, and his gaze was calm.

"What's the big deal? I just want to talk to him," I could have replied, but I didn't say it aloud.

Instead, he waved lightly and walked out of the student council office.

× × ×

I hurried from the main entrance to the courtyard. Just moments before I'd been in the warm student council office, and now the cold wind stung my cheeks. I pulled my coat tighter, drew my scarf to my mouth, and quickened my pace.

Hayato Hayama was just ahead. He was chatting and laughing with the group from the Ministry of Revenue as they walked slowly along the road.

The Ministry of Revenue was the first to spot me, probably because there weren't many students at that time, and people's attention was easily drawn to the figures coming from the opposite direction.

"Oh, it's more like a penguin."

He waved vigorously, and Ye Shan noticed my presence, raising his hand slightly to greet me.

Are you getting ready to go home?

I stopped in front of Hayama and his group to ask them a question, and they naturally had to stop as well. Kebu sensed an atmosphere where a conversation was about to begin, so he wrapped a scarf that looked like a fake Burberry around his neck and continued the topic.

"Yeah, you too?"

"Um... Oh, by the way. Hayama, would you mind if we spoke in private for a moment?"

I glanced at Hayama.

It's as if I only just remembered I needed to talk to him. I think my acting was terrible, but maybe because I'm not usually good at talking to people, others didn't think there was anything wrong with my attitude.

But Hayama was different. He seemed to have thought of something and looked at me with surprise.

Not surprising. Hayama is a popular figure admired by many and often approached by all sorts of people.

To outsiders, this situation wouldn't seem unnatural. It's simply a case of "Even classmates he happens to run into chat with him—typical Hayato!"

However, Hayama knows my personality.

He knows I'm not the type to initiate conversations with him, that we're not close enough to go home together, and that I'm not the type of friend he'd ask out. He also knows that when I contact him, it's never for anything good.

Hayama, who was initially surprised, shook his head slightly and immediately showed his usual smile.

"No problem. Ministry of Revenue, then I'll..."

"Oh, oh. Bye-bye—"

He gave the Ministry of Revenue a wink, and the Ministry of Revenue immediately nodded in response, chatted loudly with the others, and left the scene.

After watching Kebu and the others leave, Hayama turned his gaze back to me, raising his chin to indicate that we were moving to the bicycle parking area. I followed him out.

After most of the students went home, the parking lot was empty. Although a few people—presumably students from other clubs—were chatting, once they left in a lively atmosphere, only silence remained. A cold wind blew through, causing the tin roof of the parking lot to creak, and the rusty bicycles parked there to rattle and clatter.