My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

"arrive."

Ms. Hiratsuka stopped in front of what appeared to be a normal classroom.

There were no words on the classroom sign.

I stared at the sign curiously, while the teacher simply opened the door.

One corner of the classroom was cluttered with desks and chairs, suggesting it had been used as a storage room. Aside from that, it was no different from the other classrooms; it was just an ordinary classroom.

However, it still looks quite unique because there is a young girl inside.

A young girl is reading in the setting sun.

The scene before her was so beautiful, like a painting, that it gave her the illusion that even if the world ended, the girl would stay there and continue reading.

My mind and body were completely still.

I was so engrossed in watching it.

The girl noticed someone coming in, so she put the bookmark into the paperback and looked up.

"Mr. Hiratsuka, didn't I tell you that you should knock before coming in?"

The girl had regular features and long black hair. Although she wore the same uniform as the other girls in her class, she stood out from the crowd.

"Even when I knock on the door, you never answer."

"That's because I didn't have time to respond before the teacher came in."

After hearing Hiratsuka-sensei's reasons, the girl gave him a dissatisfied look.

"Also, who's that guy with the vacant look in his eyes?"

The girl gave me a cold look.

I know who this girl is.

Yukino Yukinoshita from Class 2-J.

Of course, I only knew her name and what she looked like; I never actually spoke to her. I can't help it, I rarely talk to people at school anyway.

Zongwu High School has nine regular classes and one international education class. The latter has a deviation score that is two to three points higher than that of the regular classes. Most of the students in the class are students who have returned from overseas or plan to study abroad.

In that dazzling—no, rather naturally eye-catching—class, Yukino Yukinoshita stood out even more.

Her grades were outstanding; she consistently ranked first in the entire grade, whether in midterm exams or mock exams.

Additionally, her rare beauty also makes her the center of attention at all times.

In short, she can be said to be the most beautiful girl on campus, with a resounding reputation.

As for me, I'm just an ordinary, unremarkable student.

Therefore, even if she doesn't know who I am, I'm not really sad. However, being told that my eyes are terribly vacant still hurts me a little, and I start trying to escape reality by using excuses like, "Ah, there used to be a kind of dessert with a similar name, but I can't find it very often lately."

"His name is Hachiman, and he wants to join the club."

With Hiratsuka-sensei's introduction, I nodded to her. So, the next step is to introduce myself.

"I'm Hachiman Hikigaya from Class 2-F. Um... Hey! What does it mean, teacher? Should I join a club?"

Which club should I join? And what kind of club is this?

Hiratsuka-sensei seemed to sense my question and spoke first:

"My punishment for you is to join this club, and I will not listen to any arguments, resistance, protests, dissatisfaction, or backtalk. You should calm down here and reflect on your actions."

She gave me no room to respond and delivered her verdict with astonishing force.

"As you can see, he has a very awkward personality, so he is always lonely and very pitiful."

You'd better just look at me to know!

"Let him learn how to get along with people, and this situation should improve. So, could you put him here? I'd like to ask you to change his awkward and withdrawn personality."

After Hiratsuka-sensei turned to explain to Yukinoshita, she replied impatiently:

"If that's the case, then the teacher can just give him a good beating."

...What a terrifying woman.

"I'd like to if I could, but things are stricter lately, and teachers aren't allowed to use physical violence against students."

...It's as if psychological violence doesn't matter.

"I must refuse. Seeing that boy's wicked and lewd eyes makes me feel extremely dangerous."

Yukino pulled up her perfectly neat collar and stared at me. No, I didn't look at that unremarkable chest... Wait, I'm serious! Believe me, I really didn't look, I was just momentarily attracted when I caught a glimpse.

"Don't worry, Yukinoshita. Don't let his eyes and personality fool you. Because of that, he's very good at risk assessment and self-preservation. He would never do anything that violates the law. You can trust his cowardly nature."

"This isn't a compliment at all... and isn't it wrong? What does this have to do with risk assessment and self-preservation? Please say it's about 'knowing how to use common sense to judge'."

"What a coward... I see..."

"Not only were they not listening, they were actually accepting it..."

Whether it was Hiratsuka-sensei's successful persuasion or my cowardly nature that earned her trust, Yukinoshita reached a conclusion that I absolutely did not want to see.

"Alright, since it's the teacher's request, I can't just sit idly by... so I'll accept it."

Yukino reluctantly agreed, while the teacher smiled with satisfaction.

"Okay, I'll leave the rest to you."

After the teacher finished speaking, she left without looking back, leaving me standing there.

To be honest, I'd rather be left all alone; the solitude I experienced in the past made me feel much more at ease. The second hand on the clock ticked away, the sound slow yet resonant.

Wait, wait, wait, this can't be real, right? How did it suddenly turn into a romantic comedy? I'm so nervous!

The setting itself was impeccable, which reminded me of my innocent memories from junior high school.

That was in the classroom after school, when only the two of them remained.

A gentle breeze stirred the curtains, and the setting sun cast its rays into the classroom. A boy mustered the courage to confess his feelings. To this day, I still remember that voice clearly.

"Can we be friends?"

Ah, no, this is a memory of failure. And let alone being friends, we never even spoke to each other again after that, making me think that friends couldn't even talk to each other anymore.

In short, for me, a romantic comedy about being locked in a room with a beautiful girl is impossible in reality. Now, with my professional training, I wouldn't fall for that trap. So-called girls are creatures only interested in handsome men (laughs) and real life (laughs), and they'll engage in more than just romantic relationships with them.

In other words, they are my enemies.

To avoid being hurt again, I've been working hard until today. The quickest way to avoid getting caught up in a romantic comedy is to make yourself disliked by girls as early as possible, thus avoiding a lose-lose situation. To maintain your self-esteem, forget all about how much they like you!

So I decided to replace greetings with a fierce glare.

Wild beasts kill with their eyes! Roar ...

Seeing this, Yukinoshita glanced at me with the look of someone who had seen filth. She narrowed her eyes, sighed coldly, and then spoke to me in a voice as melodious as a stream:

"...Don't make those strange noises. Why don't we sit down first?"

"Huh? Oh, okay, sorry."

Whoa! What kind of look is that? Is she a wild beast? That look could have killed at least five people, right? Even Matsushima Tomoko (a famous Japanese singer who has survived attacks by lions and other wild animals multiple times) would have been devoured by her, making me apologize to her without even realizing it.

It seems that I don't need to threaten her; Yukinoshita is already hostile towards me.

Feeling very uneasy, I picked a chair and sat down.

By this time, Yukinoshita had already resumed reading her paperback and showed no intention of paying any attention to me; the only sound in the room was the rustling of pages turning.

Paperback covers all look like that, so I can't know what's inside, but judging from her appearance, it's probably a literary work by Salinger, Hemingway, Tolstoy, or something similar.

Yukino Yukinoshita is like a well-bred young lady, a model student by all standards, and an undeniably beautiful girl. But like the fate of such people, Yukino Yukinoshita is out of place among everyone else. She is like the white snow buried deep beneath the surface, just like her name. Although beautiful, she is untouchable by others, who can only yearn for her in their hearts.

Honestly, I never expected to have the opportunity to get close to her so inexplicably. If I bragged about it to my friends, they would be incredibly envious, even though I have no friends to brag to.

So, what exactly am I supposed to do with this beautiful young lady?

"What's up?"

Perhaps I had been staring at her for too long, because Yukino frowned unhappily and turned to look at me.

"Oh, sorry, I was wondering why it turned out this way."

"Is there a problem?"

"No, because I was brought here for no reason at all."

I had barely finished speaking when Yukino slammed her book shut with a "click," as if she wanted to lick her tongue, her displeasure obvious. She glared at me with the look she gave some kind of insect, before finally sighing in resignation:

"...Okay, let's play a game then."

"Playing games?"

"That's right, let's play a game of guessing what club this is. Okay, what club is this?"

Playing games in an escape room with a beautiful girl...

All the signs were enough to fuel the imagination, but the scent emanating from beneath the snow was far from alluring; instead, it felt like a sharpened blade, as if losing this game would mean the end of my life. Where did all that romantic comedy go? This would turn into a "Gambling Apocalypse" movie!

I succumbed to the oppressive feeling under the snow, wiping away cold sweat as I looked around the classroom for clues.

"Aren't there any other members here?"

"no."

I strongly doubt whether such a club can even be established.

Honestly, there wasn't a single hint.

—No, wait a minute, maybe all of this is a hint.

I'm not bragging, but I didn't have many friends growing up, so I'm very good at playing games alone, especially game books and puzzle books. I would even have a chance of winning in a high school quiz competition, but I can't compete because I can't find other teammates.

There are a few things that are certain so far, and once you piece them together, the answer will become clear.

"Is it the literature club?"

"Oh...why?"

Yukinoshita asked in return with considerable interest.

"Because it doesn't require a special environment or equipment, and the club won't fail even if there are too few members, in other words, this club doesn't need funding. And as you were just reading, the answer was actually quite obvious from the beginning."

Not to brag, but this reasoning is absolutely flawless. Even without a bespectacled elementary school student exclaiming, "Huh? That's weird~~" to give me a hint, I could easily solve it.

Miss Yukino seemed to admire me as well, letting out a soft sigh. However, she then gave me a very disdainful smile and said:

"wrong."

Oh dear, you're really getting on my nerves!

Who said she was virtuous and flawless? She's practically a demon superhero!

"So, what kind of club is this?"

My tone was a little impatient, but Yukinoshita told me nonchalantly that the game would continue.

"Here's the most obvious hint: what I'm doing right now is part of the club's activities."

Finally, I got a hint, but I still couldn't figure it out. Based on this hint, the only thing I could think of was the literary society, which I had guessed earlier.

Wait a minute, calm down, calm down. Hachiman Hikigaya, calm down!

She said there were no other members here.

But clubs can still be established.

So, there are ghost employees? Those ghost employees are probably real ghosts, and then the story will turn into a romantic comedy between me and that ghostly beauty.

"The Paranormal Research Society!"

"This is not some kind of academic society."

"The Supernatural Research Club!"

"No... Hmph, ghosts and stuff are too funny, there's no such thing."

There are no ghosts here! I'm not saying this because I'm scared—Yukinoshita doesn't have this cute side at all. She looks at me with disdain, as if to say, "Go to hell, you idiot."

"I surrender, I never expected this."

Who would know the answer?! Can't you ask a simpler question? Like, "A house is on fire, tears are flowing like a flood, guess what it is?" Wait, isn't that just a fire? But that's not a riddle, it's a brain teaser.