Yukinoshita's Correction Method

"I went with her to Matsudo," Komachi Hikigaya answered casually. "You'd better not go there. I was furious at the time."

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama asked curiously. "What happened?"

"The color on the dye card was clearly closer to ash blonde, but after it was dyed, it turned into princess walnut." Komachi Hikigaya complained in a huff, "I wanted to file a complaint against that hairdresser, but then Miki went and said it was close enough."

"She's way too good-tempered..." Yui Yuigahama sighed. "But I feel like it looks pretty nice too."

As they spoke, Miki also moved closer and closer to the camera.

["Miki?"] Tanaka's voice carried surprise. ["You still haven't gone home?"]

["Ah... I'm going home with Hojo in a bit."] Miki smiled and looked at the camera curiously. ["Are you...?"]

["Reshooting some footage to use in the transitions."]

["You've already started filming?"] Miki cried out and dodged away from the camera. ["No, don't you dare edit that last bit in."]

["I know, I know."] Tanaka said, turning the camera back toward Miki again. ["President Hojo is still drawing the poster, huh."]

["Ah... yeah."] Miki lowered her eyes slightly. ["There's less and less time left, and he's been drawing until very late these days..."]

["Isn't Sasaki's poster pretty good? Can't you just use that one?"]

["Hojo just wants to see if he can draw something better..."] Miki seemed not to want to talk too much about this topic, and showed Tanaka the drinks and snacks in the plastic bag. ["Oh, right, want a ramune?"]

["There are only two bottles—that's for you and Hojo, right? I won't steal someone else's favorite."]

["It's fine."] Miki turned the glass bottles of ramune in the plastic bag a little, took out a melon-flavored one, and handed it over. ["This one's for you. Hojo and I can share the other one."]

["No, no, no, I still have to film all over the place. It'd be inconvenient to carry."] Tanaka refused repeatedly.

Miki didn't insist any further either. After saying goodbye, she carried the plastic bag and walked toward the special building.

Tanaka continued filming all over the place. It was obvious he didn't know what kind of effect he wanted either; he filmed whatever he saw for a while, as if looking for inspiration.

Dong Yunshan took this opportunity to ask, "What's the deal with the posters?"

"There are a lot of concept posters, but we can only use one for publicity." Komachi Hikigaya placed two posters side by side. "Speaking of which, which one do you guys think is better?"

Yui Yuigahama raised her hand. "Komachi's is the best!"

"Mine doesn't count~" Komachi Hikigaya smiled and waved her hand. "I already said it was just there to make up the numbers."

"I feel like... Sasaki's one is better." Dong Yunshan pointed at the one with Blue Demon chasing four people. "Although Hojo's one is very clever, for a poster, it's still better to be more direct and straightforwardly show what it's trying to express."

"That was pretty much the situation back then." Komachi Hikigaya spread her hands. "Everyone had different opinions."

"But the one who decided to redraw it was Hojo..." Dong Yunshan raised one eyebrow. "Miki chose Sasaki's drawing?"

"Yeah. Honestly, we all thought Miki would choose President Hojo's, since they're childhood friends." Komachi Hikigaya sighed. "We never expected Miki to choose Sasaki's drawing, so President Hojo has been working hard to draw a new one ever since."

"She was probably trying to avoid suspicion," Dong Yunshan guessed. "The more someone likes someone in their heart, the harder it is to admit it out loud. Even if everyone can tell, the people involved will still hide it, and might even specifically go against the person they like and say the opposite."

Komachi Hikigaya glanced at Yukino Yukinoshita and nodded. "True."

"Your misunderstanding seems to be getting deeper and deeper..." Dong Yunshan pointed at Hojo's poster. "I didn't look at it carefully enough just now. Hojo's poster actually seems more suitable."

"Right, right, right!" Komachi Hikigaya nodded repeatedly. "Miki said the same thing back then too, but President Hojo insisted on redrawing it."

Dong Yunshan: "..."

Yukino Yukinoshita shot Dong Yunshan a sideways look. "Trying to change someone else's mind with an unsteady opinion will only strengthen their opinion."

"President Hojo probably thought the same thing," Komachi Hikigaya guessed. "Because Miki changed her decision so easily, he thought Miki didn't really think his poster was better. He felt she only said that to save his face."

Yukino Yukinoshita: "..."

Behind the two of them, Yui Yuigahama gave Komachi Hikigaya a thumbs-up.

Dong Yunshan explained seriously, "She and I are not childhood friends."

Yukino Yukinoshita followed up, "Nor are there any romantic feelings."

"Weren't we talking about Miki and Hojo? Why..." Komachi Hikigaya froze for a moment. "Did you two think I was talking about you?"

Dong Yunshan & Yukino Yukinoshita: ""...""

Yui Yuigahama silently raised both thumbs.

While they were chatting, Tanaka had already entered the special building. He aimed the camera at the open door of the Film Research Club and greeted the person drawing inside. ["President, still drawing?"]

Perhaps to create a gloomy feeling, some of the curtains in the clubroom had been drawn.

["Yeah."] President Hojo picked up the blueberry-flavored ramune beside him and took a sip, shifted his gaze away from the canvas in front of him, and glanced at the camera, obvious irritation on his face. ["I heard from Miki. Thanks for the hard work. If you need help, I'll contact the others again."]

Miki walked into the frame with the snacks and waved with a smile. ["I can help too."]

["No need. Is Sasaki in the prop room? I want to use some props."]

["He should be."] Miki wasn't sure either.

["With his girlfriend?"]

Miki shook her head. ["I don't know if she came today either."]

["By the way, have you guys ever seen his girlfriend?"] Tanaka lowered his voice. ["She's always so mysterious. She wouldn't happen to be a teacher, would she?"]

["Don't pry into other people's private affairs."] President Hojo's voice grew somewhat stern. ["Remember to knock when you go. And remember to return the props after you're done using them."]

["Got it!"] Tanaka answered, and the camera began moving in another direction.

P.S. Thanks to [Tsundere Is Already Out of the Meta] for the tip!

Volume Two, Club Activities: Love at First Sight

"Hm?" Dong Yunshan noticed the problem. "The prop room isn't in the Film Research Club?"

"It used to be, but later on, there were more and more props, so they applied for another clubroom," Komachi Hikigaya explained. "But when they applied, the classroom next door was already being used by another club, so they could only use a classroom upstairs."

Tanaka carried the camera to the third floor and knocked on the door whose round window had been covered with paper. ["Sasaki, are you there?"]

A burst of chaotic noise came from inside the clubroom, followed by a low voice. ["What?"]

["I want to add some props and shoot a few outdoor scenes."]

["Wait a second."] Only after a while did the clubroom door open, revealing a boy with his shirt in disarray. ["Come in."]

The camera turned toward the inside of the clubroom, and Yui Yuigahama immediately cried out in surprise.

Inside were piles of twisted blue monsters of all sizes, along with a lot of foam and large sheets of fabric in various colors.

"Those are all props," Komachi Hikigaya hurriedly explained. "Covering the foam with cloth gives it more texture than just painting it blue. There are lots of different kinds of Blue Demons, and their shapes are all weird like this, so they made a lot of them."

The camera swayed, turning toward the back of the clubroom.

Dong Yunshan had partitioned off a changing room at the back of the Service Club, and the prop room was in a similar state, except the enclosed space was larger. A graceful shadow cast on the cloth by someone inside could just barely be seen.

["Your girlfriend's here too, huh."] Before Tanaka could finish speaking, a hand pushed the camera away in another direction.

Clearly, Sasaki was stopping Tanaka from filming.

Sasaki tugged at the cloth being used as a green screen, covering the opened sanitary pads on the table. ["What props do you need?"]

["Just a few Blue Demons will do. I want to try the effect of them hiding in corners."] Tanaka chuckled twice and did not film in that direction again. ["Oh, right, and the fishing line we used before. I want that feeling where it vanishes with a whoosh—do you have time?"]

["I do."] Sasaki was clearly rather annoyed as he straightened his shirt, then carried a few Blue Demon models of different sizes and walked out of the prop room with Tanaka. After setting the models aside, he reached into his pocket.

["I've got the fishing line."] Tanaka shook the fishing line in his hand.

["Mm."] Sasaki nodded, then picked up the props and went downstairs with Tanaka, greeting Hojo when they passed by the Film Research Club.

The two of them fussed around downstairs for quite a while. Under Tanaka's instructions, Sasaki tied the fishing line to a Blue Demon, placed it at a corner of the special building, and gave it a hard tug, simulating the effect of the Blue Demon's figure flashing past and vanishing.

They tried it several times, but Tanaka was never quite satisfied.

["What kind of effect are you even looking for?"] Sasaki was a little impatient.

["Actually... I don't know either."] Tanaka answered awkwardly. ["I'm looking for a certain feeling. You know what I mean, right? Like when you met your girlfriend, that feeling where in one instant, you decided she was the one for the rest of your life."]

["I don't."] Sasaki answered coldly.

["It's that kind of flash of inspiration, love-at-first-sight feeling."] Tanaka shook the camera. ["Can't you see I've kept it on this whole time? I'm just afraid of missing that one instant when inspiration strikes."]

["Then has inspiration struck yet?"] Sasaki pressed impatiently.

["I'm getting a little of the feeling!"] Tanaka turned the camera toward the third-floor prop room. ["If we go up and switch to a slightly smaller Blue Demon, that should do it... Huh? Looks like your girlfriend's leaving."]

Although it was hard to see clearly because of the distance, there was indeed a figure moving inside the prop room.

When the camera turned toward Sasaki, it trembled slightly.

["Sasaki?"] Tanaka's voice trembled a little. ["What's wrong?"]

In the camera, Sasaki's face was extremely dark.

["...Nothing."] Sasaki picked up several Blue Demons and wrapped them with fishing line. ["Let's go switch props."]

When they reached the second floor, Hojo was still drawing in the Film Research Club, but there was now a Blue Demon model in the clubroom.

["Hojo wanted to use a prop to find some inspiration,"] Miki explained a little sheepishly. ["You weren't there, so I went and got one myself. I'll bring it back to you later."]

Sasaki did not speak. He only looked at Miki.

["Oh, right."] Miki seemed to suddenly remember. ["Your girlfriend asked me to tell you that something came up and she left first."]

["...I see."] Sasaki nodded and quickly walked away.

Tanaka hurriedly followed him. When they arrived at the prop room, Sasaki had already thrown the Blue Demon models at the door and walked inside alone.

Holding the camera in one hand and undoing the fishing line with the other, Tanaka spent quite a bit of effort before finally bringing the Blue Demon models into the prop room one by one.

When the camera turned toward the back of the clubroom, the figure on the cloth was already gone.

["This size is just right."] The camera locked onto a Blue Demon model the size of a human head and shaped like a puppy. ["Let's use this one and try again."]

Sasaki did not answer.

["Please, please, this is the last time!"] Tanaka also felt a little embarrassed about troubling him so much.

["Mm."] Sasaki responded coldly and went downstairs with Tanaka to film again.

Only this time, Sasaki was clearly somewhat distracted. He kept holding his phone, as if he were chatting with someone.

Tanaka worked for a while, but still could not find the right feeling. ["Let's call it here today."]

["Okay."] Sasaki picked up the Blue Demon model. ["You go back first. I'll take it upstairs myself."]

["Then I'll just film whatever on my own for a bit... Oh, right."] Tanaka lowered his voice. ["When are you going to introduce your girlfriend to everyone?"]

"...We're breaking up." Dropping those words, Sasaki left without looking back.

The camera lingered on Sasaki's back as he walked farther and farther away, expressing the cameraman's homesickness... no.

After casually filming the surrounding scenery for a while, Tanaka still couldn't stop worrying. In the end, he went to the prop room door, raised his hand, and knocked. "Sasaki, are you okay?"

Sasaki opened the door. "What do you want?"

"I... um... well..." Tanaka stammered. "Let's go back together."

"I still have things to do." Sasaki refused coldly.

"Then I'll wait for you." Tanaka walked into the prop room and found a place to sit.

"...Forget it. I'll deal with it later." Sasaki walked out of the prop room. "Let's go."

Club Activities: Chapter 33 — The Mystery of the Breakup

When they passed by the Film Research Club, Hojo was still drawing.

So Sasaki handed the prop room key to Miki, telling her to put the Blue Demon model back in the prop room before she left and lock the door while she was at it.

After receiving Miki's affirmative response, Sasaki headed outside on his own.

Tanaka followed behind him. In the footage, Sasaki's steps were very slow. Judging by his back, he seemed to be fiddling with his phone.

"Sasaki," Tanaka asked hesitantly, "are you okay?"

Sasaki suddenly stopped. In the footage, he was silent for a long time. "I'm fine. Couldn't be better."

"R-Really?"

"What else?" Sasaki abruptly turned around. In the footage, his face was so dark it was almost vicious, but he soon calmed down again. "It was like having a dream... once you wake up, you're awake."

"Ah... I-I see..." Tanaka replied.

Sasaki's phone vibrated faintly. He glanced at it, then kept walking outside while fiddling with his phone. "Let's go."

"Okay." Tanaka followed behind Sasaki. After a short silence, he began looking for topics again, feeling out Sasaki's mental state in a roundabout way.