My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 798

Note: This quote is from Chapter 5 of Episode 8 of the main storyline, featuring Yukino Yukinoshita.

I smiled and recounted how that person had once described Hayato Hayama.

"What do you mean?"

Ye Shan's glare at me was clearly filled with anger, and his tone was impatient. His aggressive attitude was completely different from his usual composed manner.

I shrugged gently.

"You told me to just state my thoughts, but what about you? You just say what you think and that's it? You think you can explain your feelings like that? You think you can convince someone with just one sentence?"

Finally, I stomped on the extra-large landmine.

"...Are you such an ordinary and boring person?"

Yukinoshita Haruno would definitely say that. She's using other standards to mislead Hayama about the correct approach he advocates.

She'll even deliberately use the phrases the person involved least wants to hear—that's Yukino Yukinoshita's style. It's precisely because I've been repeatedly rendered speechless by her that I can easily imitate her.

Hayama wiped the sweat from his hair, looked towards the sea, and murmured weakly in distress.

"That's a really annoying way of putting it..."

"I just want revenge."

I tried my best to pretend to be calm and composed, but I wasn't as sunny and cheerful as him, so I could only replace it with a sarcastic laugh.

An eye for an eye. That's the principle of reciprocity. Revenge is mine.

You've hit my sore spot, so you'll get to experience my pain too.

"It's not simple enough to be explained with fancy words. So, it can only struggle on and on... though I don't think you can understand."

"Hmm, I can't understand it. But I can empathize... I feel a sense of shared experience."

Ye Shan sighed, the tone of which was ambiguous, whether it was helplessness or despair.

Our environments, circumstances, and situations are vastly different, but we can all share the feeling of things not going our way.

"Perhaps she is too..."

"What?"

I didn't understand what that sentence meant, and just as I was about to ask back, I heard light footsteps behind me.

Turning my head, I saw several people from the second-place group approaching. They probably saw us stop and were trying to overtake us in one go.

Although being overtaken won't affect me at all, Ye Shan is burdened with the mission of winning consecutive championships, so I can't keep wasting his time.

I looked at him again to quickly draw a conclusion.

"So, what do you think? I've explained the reasons, you'll help, right?"

"I never said that."

"This argument will never end. Let's just leave it at that. It'll be more constructive to discuss what to do next."

"Yes, it's really not constructive to talk to you here."

Hayama gently moved his shoulders to check his physical condition, perhaps having decided on a temporary course of action.

"It's not that there's no way. The prerequisite is that I have to win the championship."

"Oh, really... So, will you win?"

Since I barely made it here and had to stop once, my legs were completely immobile, but Hayama didn't seem to be.

"no problem."

Without turning his head, Ye Shan swung his arms and stretched them out, revealing a smug smile.

"I will win... I'm prepared to win."

"Oh, so you've come to your senses..."

He used unexpectedly heavy words, which bothered me a little. At that moment, Hayama glanced at me.

"And you?"

Don't bother asking, you'll see when you look. I took a deep breath and showed it to him, as if to answer.

"...You can go first."

"Really? Then I'll be polite."

Hayama shrugged, seemingly unconcerned.

"Please look forward to the awards ceremony."

He laughed with unwavering confidence and took off running.

In the blink of an eye, the pace changed from jogging to sprinting.

I didn't have the strength to catch up with him, so I could only watch him run away.

Damn, how can this guy be so handsome? Seeing his dashing figure makes me, unusually, feel that I must also run seriously to the end.

Winning or losing and other trivial matters become irrelevant.

I just inexplicably felt like running. With this impulse, I moved my legs forward, and accidentally kicked my left shin with my right foot.

I stumbled and fell to the ground, lying there looking up at the blue sky.

"...I really can't do it like Hayama."

A white sigh melts into the cloudless winter sky.

× × ×

As a result, no matter whether I fell or lay on the ground, the marathon proceeded as scheduled without any changes to the plan.

I remained in a collapsed position for a while before Totsuka helped me up. Feeling bad for troubling him, I told him to go ahead and dragged my aching leg to barely finish the race.

Although I wasn't last, I ended up in the bottom group during the final sprint. I only mustered all my strength at the last moment before crossing the finish line, and even reflexively asked the people around me, "Is it time to reach the finish line...?" Incidentally, only Zaimokuza, who was running alongside me at the very end, answered me.

Note: This is a line spoken by Misuzu Kamio, the female protagonist of the anime/manga series *AIR*.

After the run, my legs were shaking like someone who was laughing uncontrollably; this is truly a case of a smiling little fragrance...

Note: This is a signature line from the character Yazawa Himeko in Love Live!

I collapsed helplessly, checked my physical condition, and found myself in a truly wretched state.

My knees and calves are scraped, my shorts are filthy, the muscles around my butt are cramping, and my side is killing me. It's hard to find a spot that doesn't hurt. I'm already a sorry sight, but it turns out there are ways to make me even worse. I've learned something new (about being a sorry sight).

If I hadn't kept cheering myself on along the way, my life points would probably have been reduced to zero long ago.

Of course, no one could be waiting for me at the finish line.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that only one physical education teacher was present near the finish line, while everyone else seemed to be in the park's plaza.

I went over there to take a look, and there happened to be an awards ceremony.

The marathon wasn't originally supposed to have an awards ceremony, so judging from the fact that the emcee was Isshiki, it was probably a last-minute arrangement by the student council. That guy is more capable than I thought. Isshiki Iroha, a truly formidable young man.

"Well then—the results have been announced, let's invite the champion to the stage to give a speech!"

Isshiki gripped the microphone, which appeared to have been brought from the student council office, and spoke with a gleeful, excited tone. The vice president, adjusting the speaker volume to match her tone, looked somewhat amused.

Looking around, many students were gathered in the park's square, regardless of grade or gender. Students from Yuihama, Miura, Ebina, Tobe, Totsuka, and other classes were also there.

I watched from a distance, all chanting the champion's name.

"Welcome champion Hayato Hayama to the stage!"

Hayama, wearing the laurel wreath, walked onto the makeshift stage. The audience immediately erupted in cheers. That guy really won…

"Congratulations, Hayama-senpai! I knew you'd win!"

"Thanks."

Isshiki made no attempt to hide her favoritism, to which Hayama responded with a composed smile.

"So, please share your feelings right now."

As soon as Hayama took the microphone, applause, whistles, and shouts of "Hayato is number one!" erupted from the audience. Meanwhile, that guy from the Ministry of Revenue was just going on and on, yelling "Heave-ho!" "Ouch!" and "Hmph-haha!"—it was so annoying.

With a shy smile, Hayama waved to everyone and began his speech.

"There were times when I almost couldn't go on during the race, but thanks to the support of several good competitors and everyone else, I was able to finish the race. Thank you all."

He finished his thank-you speech smoothly, and the others gave him thunderous applause.

The emcee, Isshiki, cheered and clapped as he asked the next question.

"Is there anyone you'd like to share this joy with?"

While speaking, Isshiki pointed frantically at himself. His bright smile and amusing gestures made the audience burst into laughter.

"Let me think... First, Iroha."

Hayama caught the ball that Isshiki threw. Isshiki screamed shyly on stage, and the audience cheered loudly.

Hayama paused for a moment, and after everyone quieted down, he found Miura in the crowd and waved vigorously.

"I also want to give a special thank you to Yumiko for cheering me on. Thank you both."

This remark raised the volume of the cheers to another level. Ooka was whistling, and Yamato was clapping wildly. As for Miura, when Hayama called her name, she froze in surprise, then shyly twisted her body, blushing and lowering her head. Ebina patted Miura on the shoulder with a beaming smile.

Seeing Hayama's gentle gaze and the two's reactions, the audience began to whisper among themselves. So that's how it is—this is how the rumors are put to rest. Deliberately hinting at something in front of the audience is indeed a tactic only a champion could use.

I watched with admiration, and Ye Shan casually added:

"Ah, there's one more person, Miss Haruno. It's a pity she's not here."

The audience stirred.

I'm one of them too. Are you serious? Why are you suddenly bringing this up...? So this is what you wanted me to look forward to...

Even I, who had been given a slight heads-up, was stunned. The emcee blinked repeatedly, frozen in shock at the unexpected turn of events. The vice president hurriedly rushed onto the stage.

"Well then, please say one last thing to everyone!"

Thanks to the vice president's hard work, the champion's speech segment was able to continue.

"From now on, I will focus on club activities and work hard for our final match... Also, in today's match, there were many players in the football club whose performance was not good. I will train you all again and be mentally prepared."

Ye Shan gave a murderous smile towards the direction where Hubu and the others were, and Hubu groaned and fell backward.

"Hayato—no way—! You have to speak first—!"

The Ministry of Revenue emitted a volume that rivaled that of a microphone, and the students, centered around the soccer club, burst into laughter. The laughter gradually spread, slightly wiping away their earlier astonishment and confusion.

Isshiki, who was on stage, suddenly snapped back to reality and brought the interview to a close.

"Okay, okay, thank you very much—congratulations to champion Hayama Hayato—let's give him a round of applause… We don't need to applaud the rankings below champion, do we??"

Taking advantage of the thunderous applause, Isshiki asked the vice president for confirmation, his unnecessary words perfectly picked up by the microphone. What is that guy doing...?

Just as Isshiki was trying to save face after her slip of the tongue, Hayama, who had stepped down from the stage, chatted and laughed with Miura and her group. However, a question mark appeared above everyone's head. I think so... everyone was in a state of "Who is Haruno-san?"... After all, most people probably had never seen Haruno before.

Having witnessed the entire process, I left the park square.

As I walked out of the square, I accidentally bumped into the crowd of people who were also preparing to leave. What I heard from them was meaningless idle chatter.

I glanced sideways at those people who kept asking "Who is Ms. Haruno?" and "Hayama-san and Miura-san really have a good relationship," and then I swayed and dragged myself away.

"it hurts……"

I found a suitable curb to sit on, and when I lifted my sports pants, I saw that my skin was chafed. Blood was slowly seeping from the wound, and it looked painful. It would definitely hurt terribly when I took a shower.

Ouch—that looks painful. I poked my wound with an indifferent attitude, muttering nonsense like "Ouch—it hurts so much—" when I heard someone running towards me. Thanks to the noisy footsteps, I immediately recognized who it was.

"Autistic man".

"Whoa whoa."

Yui came running over, her breathing a little rapid. She took a deep breath and showed me the first-aid kit she was carrying.

"Hayato said you're injured..."

"Huh? How did that guy know?"

"Huh...didn't you guys run away together? Hayato said so."

Yuihama tilted her head in surprise.

I did run with Hayama for a while, but only at the very beginning. The important thing is, I fell after we parted ways. How could he have known… Ah! Could Hayato be a psychic!? Hmm…