As expected of Ichinose.
After hearing her words, Hikigaya felt even more helpless. No matter how he looked at it, even if Ichinose wanted him to integrate into the class, he still felt like an outsider. Was he not a mber of Class B? Or had he been expelled from Class B without even realizing it?
What did Ichinose an by "integrating into the class," anyway? Was he supposed to act like Juke and the others? That was impossible.
"Also," Ichinose continued, turning to Hikigaya with a gentle but firm gaze, "Hikigaya-kun, you seem to always speculate about the hidden aning behind other people’s words. That’s not good. It makes people sad."
Hikigaya flinched. Ichinose genuinely wanted him to feel included, not trying to manipulate him for personal gain.
"Oh... I’m sorry," Hikigaya replied without much sincerity. It was true that doubting soone’s good intentions could be hurtful. But from his perspective, the real issue was that Ichinose had practically forced him to join this strange gathering.
No matter how beautiful Ichinose was, Hikigaya had no special feelings for her. At first, he thought it was great to have such a kind-hearted leader, but now he just found it troubleso.
Explaining his feelings was pointless, so Hikigaya didn’t bother.
"Well," Ichinose sighed, sounding both frustrated and amused, "You really aren’t sincere at all."
"That’s only because you keep forcing to do things I don’t want to do."
"Hm?" Ichinose tilted her head, looking confused.
"What’s wrong?" Hikigaya asked, also puzzled.
"Nothing. Don’t worry about it." Ichinose rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
Thinking back, Hikigaya had always been polite to her—too polite, actually. He treated everyone with a formal, business-like attitude.
But now, even if his attitude was harsh and unfriendly, it felt more genuine. From her perspective, Hikigaya was finally showing his true self.
Perhaps Hikigaya believed that being true to himself would push people away. But that only made Ichinose more determined to approach him. At least now, he wasn’t pretending. And as long as there was progress, she could handle the rest.
"Alright, it’s settled," Ichinose declared cheerfully. "If you’re free next weekend, let’s go to karaoke. Just the two of us."
Before Hikigaya could protest, she placed another cookie in his hand and returned to join Chihiro Shiranami and the others.
Looking at the cookie Ichinose had given him, Hikigaya felt another headache coming on. Why did she always ignore his opinions?
After about an hour, even the boys started singing.
Hikigaya sat on his small stool, expressionless, occasionally popping cookies into his mouth like a heartless cookie-eating machine.
While chewing another cookie, Hikigaya glanced around the room and noticed sothing strange. Juke was still sitting there, not making any moves to leave.
"Why is she still here?" Hikigaya wondered. "Is she actually upset about sothing?"
Although he disliked these kinds of parties, he had confidence in his endurance. Just sitting there wasn’t too bad.
Just then—
"Juke, are you feeling alright?" asked nlai, a short-haired girl sitting next to her.
"Sorry, it’s my old problem acting up again," Juke said, gently rubbing her forehead with a reassuring smile.
"Oh~ So that’s how you do it? Impressive," Hikigaya thought, inwardly applauding her skill. Pretending to be sick to leave early? Classic.
"Are you okay?" nlai asked with concern. "Maybe you should go back and rest."
"I’ll take her back," Hikigaya imdiately volunteered, hoping to use the opportunity to leave the noisy celebration.
"Huh?" The girls all turned to him in surprise.
Feeling the weight of their stares, Hikigaya instantly regretted speaking up. Didn’t that make it seem like he had so sort of special interest in Juke?
Before he could explain himself, the girls exchanged knowing looks and nodded in approval.
"Well... Shall I go with you guys?" nlai offered hesitantly.
"No, it’s fine," Juke responded with a gentle smile. "Hikigaya can handle it. It’s only a few steps away."
"Alright then, take care," the girls said, though Hikigaya could still feel their subtle suspicion.
As he escorted Juke out of the karaoke box, Hikigaya couldn’t help but reflect on Class B’s atmosphere.
No matter how friendly and harmonious Class B appeared, there was a natural suspicion when soone like him volunteered to help Juke. It was normal. The world wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, no matter how much Ichinose tried to make it seem that way.
As they stepped outside, Juke instantly dropped her sickly act, poking Hikigaya’s side with a playful jab.
"I gave you a look earlier, but you totally ignored ," Juke grumbled.
"I was curious about how you usually escape from these parties," Hikigaya admitted honestly.
"Oh? So you were paying attention to after all." Juke blushed slightly, looking down at the ground. "Pretty smart of , huh?"
"I guess. But why bother faking being sick?" Hikigaya asked. "If you don’t want to join the party, why not just refuse?"
"You think I haven’t tried that?" Juke sighed. "If I say I don’t want to join, people will think I’m too cool for them or sothing."
"I guess that’s true," Hikigaya conceded. "Girls can be really complicated."
They continued walking in silence until Juke spoke again, her tone regretful.
"Actually, I do like karaoke. But when I pretend to be sick, everyone worries about and won’t let sing. It’s annoying."
"Then why keep up the act?" Hikigaya asked, genuinely curious.
"It’s easier than explaining myself. And anyway, I’m already stuck with this persona." Juke shrugged.
"I see," Hikigaya nodded. "You really deserve it then."
"Hey!" Juke jabbed his side again. "If you’re just going to insult , I’ll—"
"I’m kidding," Hikigaya interrupted, laughing softly. "But seriously, if you enjoy karaoke, just go and sing. You can’t always put up a front."
"I guess..." Juke murmured, her expression softening.
The two of them walked into the elevator of the dormitory building. As the doors closed, Juke suddenly stepped closer to him and whispered, "Then next ti, let’s go to karaoke. Just the two of us. I sing really well."
"I’m not going."
Hikigaya quickly exited the elevator as soon as the doors opened, leaving Juke staring at him with a mixture of annoyance and amusent.
Why did everyone want him to go to karaoke so badly?
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