There wasn't a single guy in the world who could bring himself to refuse a request like that from a girl. They had plenty of considerations, too. After all, having someone come to ask you for help was something to be happy about; when a girl pressed her hands together to make a request, her bouncing chest could make you lose all judgment; and besides, everyone had wished since childhood that one day they could become a hero who saved others... Anyway, there were lots of reasons.
Even Hayama was no exception. He shrugged and answered:
"I get it. If that's the reason, then there's no helping it. I'm not exactly eager about it, but I'll give it a try... Yui, you do your best too."
After saying that, he reached out and lightly tapped Yuihama on the head. Wait, shouldn't you be the one doing your best?
"Th-thank you..."
Yuihama touched the spot Hayama had tapped and answered like that.
And so, Yuihama's "Pretty-Boy Hayama's Heart-Pounding Rom-Com Grand Operation" officially began. Who came up with that name? It was straight out of the Showa era.
The operation itself was simple.
Hayama would use every trick he had and capture Kawasaki's heart with his charm. Incidentally, "every trick he had" and "charm" were a pun in the original, since both were pronounced "moteru."
After packing our bags, we moved to the bicycle parking area and waited for Kawasaki to appear. Naturally, standing with Hayama would have looked suspicious, so we watched from farther away.
Then, at last, the moment arrived.
Just like yesterday, Kawasaki came to the bicycle parking area without an ounce of energy, dragging her exhausted feet as she stifled a yawn and prepared to unlock her bike. Hayama made his appearance at just the right moment.
"Good work. You look sleepy."
He gently greeted Kawasaki. It was probably an act, but it looked so natural that even I, watching from the side, almost replied, "Yeah, good work."
"Heading to your part-time job? Don't push yourself too hard."
That subtle concern... God, Hayama really was such a good guy. Even I was starting to fall for him a little.
But Kawasaki merely yawned, then sighed and said:
"Thanks for the concern. I'm heading home."
Kawasaki's response was ice-cold. She began leading her bicycle away. Then Hayama called after her from behind. His voice was so gentle it felt as though it could melt the listener's entire heart.
"Um..."
Kawasaki suddenly stopped and turned to look at Hayama.
A cool early-summer breeze passed between them. It looked like their romantic comedy had suddenly descended upon this place. Yuihama leaned forward eagerly, clutching her sweat-dampened hands, while Zaimokuza clenched fists full of jealousy, hatred, and murderous intent.
Once the cool breeze died down, Hayama spoke to Kawasaki.
"Actually, you don't need to push yourself so hard, do you?"
At that moment, he looked dazzling, radiating massive amounts of negative ions from his entire body.
"Oh, I don't need your concern."
Clack, clack, clack... Kawasaki pushed her bicycle farther and farther away.
At that moment, time completely stopped in Hayama's little corner of the world. After what was probably a full ten seconds, the abandoned Hayama finally walked over to us with an awkward smile.
"I kind of feel like... I just got dumped."
"Ah, good wor... heh heh..."
I had meant to say, "Good work," but the last two words got caught in my throat, while some indescribable feeling brewed in my stomach. Damn it! Hold it in, hold it in! I desperately tried to suppress this restless emotion, but the guy beside me broke first.
"Pfft, pffft... Gahahahahaha! Look at you, look at you! Trying to act all cool over there and getting dumped! Pwahahahaha!"
"Don't say that, Zaimoku—hehehe..."
"You two, you shouldn't laugh!"
Totsuka warned us, and I tried hard to restrain myself too, but with Zaimokuza's explosive laughter ringing out, I could no longer hold it in.
"It's fine, Totsuka. I don't mind."
Hayama said with a wry smile... He really was such a good guy. Even though he had no desire to do this, he was still willing to help us, and he had suffered unnecessary harm because of it.
Zaimokuza, too, seemed to sense Hayama's gentlemanly spirit and stopped laughing. He cleared his throat and spoke again.
"Hayama... you needn't... pfft! Needn't push yourself so hard! Wahahaha!"
"Idiot! Zaimokuza, you're not allowed to talk anymore! Stop making me laugh!"
Zaimokuza and I burst out laughing again. Yuihama stared at us, her face completely frozen.
"These two are the worst..."
"This plan failed too. Can't be helped. Let's check another place tonight."
"Yeah..."
Hah... That was fun.
For the first time, I felt that joining the Service Club had truly been a good thing.
The hands of my watch pointed to 8:20.
Everyone had agreed to meet in front of that pointed landmark outside Mihama Ward Station, and I was currently leaning against the thing everyone casually called "that weird pointy thing."
Tonight, we were heading to Angel's Ladder, a bar on the top floor of Hotel Okura.
It was the last place in Chiba City with "Angel" in its name that stayed open until dawn. Besides, this might be the first and only time I ever stepped into somewhere this fancy.
I adjusted the thin jacket I wasn't used to wearing. I had secretly borrowed it from Dad's closet. Maybe because our builds were similar, it actually fit perfectly.
A colorful shirt with a black stand-up collar, jeans, and pointed leather shoes—normally, I would never dress like this. More accurately, I didn't care much about clothes, and aside from the jeans I was wearing, everything else had been borrowed from Dad. I had also fixed up my hair.
My stylist was Komachi Hikigaya.
I asked Komachi to put together an outfit that would make me look more mature. After she dug through the closets at home, this was what I ended up with.
"Big brother's eyes look like those of a tired office worker, so if we just make a few adjustments to your clothes and hairstyle, you'll look like an adult."
Hearing her say that, I honestly didn't know how I was supposed to feel. Were my eyes really that bad?
The first person to arrive at the meeting spot was Totsuka Saika.
"Sorry, have you been waiting long?"
"No, I just got here too."
Totsuka's outfit had a distinctly androgynous sporty style. A properly sized T-shirt paired with loose work pants, a knit cap worn lightly on his head, and a set of headphones hanging around his neck. Every time his basketball shoes hit the ground, the faintly shining wallet chain swayed.
It was my first time seeing Totsuka in casual clothes, and without realizing it, I stared. For some reason, he shyly pulled down the brim of his cap, trying to hide his eyes.
"D-don't keep staring at me... I-is it that strange?"
"No, it's not strange! It looks great on you."
That conversation somehow sounded like something people would say on a date, but unfortunately, Totsuka and I were not on a date.
The proof was that Zaimokuza appeared next.
For some reason, he was wearing a full set of work clothes, with a white towel wrapped around his head, so I decided to pretend I hadn't seen him.
"Hm hm~ I believe the meeting place was around here... Oh! Isn't that Hachiman?"
He said it in an affected tone, making me even more annoyed. But since he had noticed me, I had no choice but to stop playing dead.
"...What's with that outfit? Why is there a towel wrapped around your head? Are you the owner of a ramen shop?"
"Well, weren't you the ones who said we should dress like adults? So I chose work clothes and a head towel, dressing as an adult at work."
Oh... So that was the idea behind his outfit. He was already here, and saying anything now would be pointless. We could just leave him alone later, so there was no need to worry about it.
Just as I came to that conclusion, Yuihama happened to approach with a tap, tap of footsteps.
She took out her phone while looking around. Huh? Had she not noticed us?
"Yuihama."
The moment I called out, she jumped and guiltily looked this way. Hey, you were clearly looking over here just now, weren't you?
"Y-you're the loner guy? It really is you! Dressed like that, I couldn't recognize you at first..."
"What? Don't laugh."
"I-I'm not laughing! You just look so different from usual that it startled me..."
She stared at me for ages without blinking, repeatedly letting out little exclamations. Finally, she nodded as though she understood everything.
"Komachi picked that outfit, right?"
"Yeah. You know me well."
"I knew it..."
She looked remarkably understanding. What exactly did she understand?
I felt like I was having my outfit inspected by Peeko, so I returned the favor in the style of Yoshiyuki Konishi.
Yuihama wore a strapless off-the-shoulder camisole, with the plastic strap on her right side resting on her shoulder while the left one had been allowed to slip down. The heart-shaped necklace around her neck swayed lightly; she seemed to like that necklace a lot. Over her upper body, she wore a short denim jacket. Below, she had on black hot pants made of work-pants material, decorated with gold buttons. On her feet were high-heeled sandals that wrapped around them like vines, and her anklet swayed with every step.
"It doesn't really feel very adult..."
"Huh? What part of it doesn't look adult?"
Yuihama nervously looked at her hands, then her feet. Well, considering the outfit, she at least looked like a college girl...
Now that nearly everyone had arrived, only one person remained. Just as I thought that, a voice came from behind me.
"Sorry, am I late?"
In the darkness of the night, her white summer dress stood out sharply, while the leggings beneath it emphasized her slender, graceful legs. Her small sandals had a simple design, but they suited her trim ankles perfectly.
As she raised her wrist to check the time, the pink face of her small watch looked incredibly cute against her fair skin. Its metal band circled her lustrous wrist like a piece of silver craftsmanship.
"You're right on time."
Yukino was like a small white flower blooming in the night, radiating a cool, refreshing charm.
"Ah..."
That was all I could manage. I couldn't say anything else. The memory of being overwhelmed by her beauty when I first entered the Service Club room resurfaced in my mind.
If only her personality were a little more normal...
"Have you ever heard of a 'wasteful ghost'?"
"What a foolish question. There are no ghosts in this world."
Yukino ignored my question and surveyed everyone present.
"Hmm..."
Then, starting with Zaimokuza, she pointed at each of us in turn.
"Fail."
"Huh?"
"Fail."
"...What?"
"Fail."
"Huh?"
"Your character fails."
"Hey..."
Everyone had been inexplicably declared failures, and my evaluation was especially different.
"Didn't I tell you to dress more maturely?"
"Weren't we supposed to look like adults?"
"If your attire isn't formal enough for the place we're going, you'll be turned away at the door. For men, a collared shirt and a jacket are the bare minimum."
"Th-there are rules like that..."
Yukino nodded at Totsuka.
"Upscale restaurants and hotels often have such rules. You'd best remember that right now."
"You sure know a lot about that stuff."
Ordinary high school students normally wouldn't know these things. After all, the places we frequented usually went no further than Bamiyan and Saizeriya; if we wanted somewhere fancier, Royal Host was about the limit.
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