My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 81

"Oh my god, what an annoying skill..."

Komachi admires people in ways she shouldn't.

The wood-carrying stool seemed to agree with my theory. After pondering for a while, it slapped its knee.

"Mmm... Okay, I'll allow you to ask me to come with you next time you need to get a drink!"

"What are you being so arrogant about... Here, Yukinoshita, your black tea."

I handed her the glass, and Yukinoshita accepted it without hesitation, returning to the previous topic with Yuihama.

"Thank you. So, where were we?"

"Oh, I meant let's sing together, it's a little embarrassing to sing alone."

"Absolutely not."

Yukinoshita refused again with lightning speed.

"Hey! Didn't you just say you'd listen to all my requests?"

"I didn't say that..."

"Alright, alright, Yuihama, just let Yukino go. She lacks confidence in her singing."

"Really?"

Yuihama asked, stunned. Yukinoshita immediately puffed out her chest, placed her hands on her chest, and proudly declared:

"Ha, I don't want to be looked down upon by you. I have some knowledge of music, whether it's violin, piano, or keyboard."

"What's the point of playing both the piano and the keyboard...?"

In short, Yukinoshita probably wanted to express that she has a high level of musical literacy.

"I don't reject singing, I'm just not sure if I have enough stamina to sing a whole song."

"His stamina is just too poor..."

Is there any way to survive like that?

At that moment, Yui tugged at her sleeve.

"Yukino, if the two of you sing together, you'll only need half the stamina."

"How is that calculated... Alright, since you're asking, I'll sing you a song."

"Long live!"

Yuihama successfully persuaded Yukinoshita and cheered excitedly. At that moment, Komachi reached for the play-on machine.

"After you're done singing, Komachi should sing too! What about Totsuka-nii?"

After studying the playlist carefully for a while, Totsuka pointed to one of the songs.

"Um... I want to sing this song."

"That's a female singer's song."

"Oh, really... I wonder if I can even hit those high notes..."

"Totsuka-nii shouldn't have to worry about this at all... If you're still worried, Komachi can help."

Totsuka was initially not very confident, but after hearing Komachi's words, he immediately put on a bright smile.

"Really? Thank you! I feel a little embarrassed singing alone..."

"Um! This...this is...Komachi understands why her brother lost his mind..."

Oh? You finally understand? But I haven't lost my mind.

"Hmm...it seems everyone will have to sing in pairs."

For some reason, the wooden stand moved slightly closer to my position.

"Hey, wait a minute, this isn't right, is it? There aren't even 50/50 boys and girls here... Hey, why am I in your group?!"

He completely ignored my protests.

"Phew... It's time to show off my anime song database. Let me see, starting from the late 1990s."

"Hey, I really like the songs from that era too, but I don't want to sing them with you!"

"Hey, hey, hey, saying things like that now will only make things more difficult for me. I don't want to sing alone in this kind of setting either! If I start singing, the atmosphere will definitely become very awkward."

"You're quite self-aware... In that case, why don't you just not sing and sit quietly in the corner tapping your knees to the beat."

"I can't hold back anymore! I have to sing! And please give me the best orange glow stick!"

"The color of the glow stick doesn't matter!"

Besides, we're clearly the coldest group, so there won't be any orange glow sticks to choose from.

While we were arguing about trivial things, the other two groups quickly got ready.

"Ah, then I'll sing this song with Yukino."

"But I've never heard that song before... Wait a minute, are you even listening to me?"

Yuihama ignored Yukinoshita's words and quickly entered the song number into the machine.

"Hmm... the confirm button is here..."

"Here, here."

Then, the machine emitted a series of beeps.

"Hmm~ Ah~ Dividing Driver! Hmm, your throat is doing pretty well."

"Wait, wait a minute! At least, at least let me sing a duet with Totsuka!"

As the woodworker earnestly practiced vocalizing by making the "GAGAGA" sound, the machine emitted a cold and emotionless voice:

Music is about to play.

She let out a soft sigh under the snow.

"...Sigh, really."

"Hey, Yukino, let's begin!"

"Yuigahama-san, give me the microphone."

"I didn't expect you to be so enthusiastic!"

I couldn't find my place at the birthday party, talking about nicknames touched on my past wounds, and I even had to be in the same group as the boys when singing... As expected... My romantic comedy was wrong...

× × ×

As the automatic doors of the KTV opened, Yui stretched her limbs and walked out of the store.

"Mmm...that was so satisfying! It's so nice to sing once in a while. Yukino, let's do it again next time!"

"No way. If I come with you, I'll have to sing a ton of songs... After one song, I'll have to sing five more..."

Yukinoshita was the second to step out of the shop. Hearing her say this with annoyance, Yuihama immediately pleaded.

"Wow, you sang so well! Let's sing together again next time!"

"Ah, and Komachi too! Komachi wants to come along again!"

Komachi ran to Yukinoshita's side. Yukinoshita, sandwiched between the two, had a slightly flushed cheek.

"...Alright, it's fine to come along with you guys once in a while."

"Yes, thank you. And thank you for the birthday party today. I'm really happy to receive so many blessings."

"You don't need to thank me; he's the one who brought so many people."

"Yes, yes...an autistic guy~"

I followed them out of the store and saw Yuihama turn her head towards me.

"Um?"

"Um, thank you so much for today... Huh?"

She was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly looked behind me in disbelief. I turned around and saw a figure standing in the automatic doorway.

With a mechanical sound, a woman walked out.

"Sigh... I've wasted so much time alone again. Oh well, I'll be alone again when I go back anyway... Heh."

Upon seeing the woman's self-deprecating smile, Yuihama asked in shock:

"Hiratsuka-sensei? Weren't you going to an event?"

"Y-Yuihama! You...you guys are still here!"

Hiratsuka-sensei looked at us in panic.

The moment I heard the word "event," a thought immediately flashed through my mind, and I couldn't help but blurt it out:

"The activity the teacher is participating in... could it be... a social gathering...?"

"...Is it not going well?"

Yukinoshita's tone was sympathetic, and Yuihama also tried her best to comfort the teacher.

"Teacher? It's okay, marriage isn't everything. Teachers have stable jobs and are very capable; they can live well even on their own, so please cheer up!"

However, after hearing her words of comfort, Ms. Hiratsuka's eyes welled up with tears.

"Waaaaaah... Someone else said the same thing to me before..."

These words saddened us all. At that moment, Ms. Hiratsuka suddenly ran out.

"Oh no, the teacher has run away."

The teacher's voice, gradually fading into the distance, echoed through the night streets, creating the Doppler effect.

"Sigh... I really want to get married..."

(BONUS TRACK! End of "Happy Birthday Song Like This")

Illustrations for Volume 3

Book Review of Volume 4 Junior High School Summer Homework

The Taiwanese version is from the Kingdom of Light

Scanned image: Ren Leipi

Input by: Ren Leipi

First proofreading: Ren Leipi

Photo editing: Gay guy

I read Natsume Soseki's *Kokoro*.

Hachiman Hikigaya, Class 2-3

Natsume Soseki's "Kokoro" is definitely a novel that explores loneliness.

The essence of this work lies not in the tangled love triangle, but in a more realistic portrayal of distrust of people, the isolation of the individual from the world, and the truth that there is no glimmer of redemption.

Even if you see the flag raised, it doesn't guarantee a happy ending; someone understanding you doesn't mean they'll become your confidant. What truly soothes loneliness isn't love or friendship.

We are helpless against this kind of loneliness. Natsume Soseki called it "loneliness" in his writing, but we who live in modern times have long been accustomed to that kind of "loneliness," taking it for granted, and even saying that it is an element that makes us independent individuals.

I believe that Natsume Soseki wanted to tell us through this novel that humans are inherently lonely animals, and can only live in the sorrow of being excluded from the group and misunderstood by anyone.

For example, the characters in the story—"I," "the teacher," "K," and "the teacher's wife"—are all lonely. They successfully establish their presence and win the other person's heart, yet they still cannot satisfy their own desires.

Even if they stay together and spend the same amount of time, they can never truly connect with each other.

The Meiji era was more than a hundred years ago. After such a long time, this work is still widely read, perhaps precisely because that is the essence of humanity.

Finally, I'll conclude with what the "teacher" said in the story.

Not every bad person in the world is exactly alike. Most people are good, or at least ordinary, but when it comes to a critical moment, they can suddenly turn into bad guys. This is what's frightening, so we can't be careless.

Never trust anyone—that's what Natsume Soseki taught us.

Volume 4, Chapter 1: This is how Hachiman Hikigaya spends his summer vacation.