The cold winter wind battered the window. The creaking sound echoed quietly in the suddenly silent clubroom.
For so reason, Yuu was at a loss for words.
Faced with the two girls' questions, he suddenly forgot how to co up with his usual perfect excuse.
...No, he understood. The reason was simple.
It was just instinct forcing him to be honest with them.
Simply put, Yuu didn't want to lie to Yukino or keep hiding things from Yuigahama.
So, subconsciously, he asked himself in his heart:
(It's co to this. It's ti to tell them that Haruno was once my girlfriend.)
(Whether they believe it or not, saying what needs to be said is better than hiding it from start to finish, only to be blad later for not being honest sooner, making things more complicated.)
Since Yukino questioned him in front of his house, Yuu should have told them this secret.
But the reasons he couldn't be honest were more nurous than the tissues used by an allergy sufferer.
Take one example-if they knew that Haruno wasn't just one-sidedly crushing on him but had dated him, only to be forced to break up due to so mysterious factor, and now was obsessed with him just to continue their relationship.
It's easy to imagine the countless problems that would follow. Yuu could practically see a future where he'd be interrogated endlessly, and resolving the task would beco even harder.
That was the downside of telling the truth.
Precisely because Yuu didn't want to do sothing with such poor returns, he tried to hide as much as possible in the past.
As for Haruno's feelings, it wasn't that Yuu didn't consider them. He just found it hard to care, sympathize, or pity her. It was as if his sensitivity in this area was completely blocked. Subconsciously, he stood from a rational perspective, analyzing everything related to her.
This might be a side effect of the feelings that were taken-like a wall isolating his forr girlfriend from his heart.
On the other hand, the reasons to be honest with Yukino and Yuigahama were plentiful.
Trying to slowly open his heart to them, sharing the pressure piling up inside; as allies, they should share information. After all, he'd already told them about the task. It shouldn't be an issue to ntion his ex-girlfriend too, and so on...
The reasons to keep hiding grew weaker.
Thus, the answer erged naturally from his heart.
Yuigahama had loved him for two years and was even willing to share her boyfriend with her friend. She was more stubborn than anyone. Yukino was willing to be his girlfriend just because of his request, facing the bizarre task of the ideal boyfriend together. She was softer than anyone.
The two girls before him deserved for him to overco this issue.
Yuu smiled unconsciously.
He could feel his shoulders lighten at that mont. His chest felt filled with sothing warm. Starting from his left chest, it felt slightly hot.
If it was them, from now on, he wouldn't need to hide so much.
Whatever secret he shared, after the shock, questions,
disappointnt, anger, or even sadness, they would sigh helplessly and face it with him.
Yuu was absolutely certain of that.
"Yuu-kun?"
"Tenkuji-kun, what's wrong?"
Amid the increasingly confused gazes of the two girls, Yuu suddenly took a deep breath. His eyes shifted from evasive to serious. Finally, he t their gazes.
And, word by word, he said:
"Because Haruno was my ex-girlfriend."
The next mont.
*THUD!*
"That person... was my ex-girlfriend."
*THUD!*
"Yukinoshita, your sister, was my ex-girlfriend..."
*THUD!*
"I... once..."
*THUD!*
The cold wind outside the window kept blowing. Dark clouds covered
the warm winter sun.
Silence still spread in the clubroom. After the girls' questions, no one
spoke again.
"What's wrong, Yuu-kun? Didn't sleep well?"
Seeing Yuu sitting in his chair with blank eyes, not answering for a
long ti, Yuigahama was the first to speak. She couldn't help but ask
with concern.
"Looking like this..."
Yuki also
ned, observing his expression. Her first
wasn't to suspect he was too embarrassed to answer but to recall the fragile look he showed her in the hallway that day.
That scene flashed in her mind. Subconsciously, her voice softened, as if not wanting to disturb a sleeping cat, matching her gaze.
She asked gently, "Are you rembering the past again?" Amid her question, the light in Yuu's dark eyes slowly regained clarity.
The numbness faded from the depths of his pupils.
As if he'd just returned from another world, Yuu blinked. Seeing the worried looks of the two girls, he paused again. The corners of his lips twitched, and only then did he slowly show a smile.
"It's fine, don't worry... As for your questions, I actually don't know
how to answer. Sorry."
He took a light breath and exhaled slowly.
He looked slightly relieved but also a bit helpless.
Though still confused, seeing Yuu sweating on his forehead and unwilling to say more, they silently suppressed their curiosity, shifting to concern for his physical condition.
"If you're not feeling well, you need to say so. We can go straight to the infirmary and use the afternoon classes to rest!" "Drink so tea and rest. Everyone has monts of feeling unwell."
As if they didn't care about why Yuu was suddenly lost in thought, Yuigahama pulled out a handkerchief, gently wiping his sweat. Yukino found a disposable paper cup from the cabinet, pouring so black tea from her thermos for him. She also turned up the heater in the
clubroom.
anwhile, Yuu sat in his chair, eyes slightly closed as if resting, quietly enjoying their care.
His racing heart gradually cald. His foggy consciousness slowly cleared. The events that just happened kept replaying.
-In this world, perhaps only he knew.
During that seemingly dazed mont, he had told the two girls-
"Haruno was my ex-girlfriend."
The first ti those words left his mouth, Yuu's heart exploded in his
chest like an apple in a strong man's grip. Juice splattered in his chest.
He didn't have ti to faint. When he ca to, he was back to the mont before answering.
As usual, the system gave him a second chance.
Yuu, having learned many lessons, should have given up then, finding
another excuse to face them reluctantly.
But he hesitated for less than half a second. Looking into the girls' eyes, Yuu chose to open his mouth again.
Where did that impulse co from? He didn't know.
He suddenly decided to ignore everything, like a passionate teenager
in puberty. Gritting his teeth, he fought the system to the end,
refusing to give up easily.
So, the second ti, he racked his brain and used a different
phrasing.
The third ti, he thought hard and used another language.
The fourth, fifth....
The tenth, eleventh...
The hundredth, hundred-and-first...
In the end, he even used sign language, Morse code, Unown script,
Martian, Elvish, and every thod to make them understand, just to tell the truth.
It was also to prove, again and again, that the current him wouldn't
lose to a system hiding in his soul, cruelly attacking others' hearts. Today, Yuu resolutely chose death.
Until his consciousness couldn't take it anymore, nearly fainting.
The number of tis his heart was exploded, and ti rewound- Total: 131 tis.
No exceptions. The mont they learned this fact, the system would use the crudest thod to fix this tiline.
Yuu could still feel the lingering phantom pain of his exploded heart
in his chest. It was like a warning left to silence him, likely to persist
for
a while before fading.
The pain made him sigh inwardly.
(Jerk... You're really, truly cruel...)
This was reality.
His resistance was futile. His changes were like an ant shaking a giant
tree.
Without a second chance, a fool like him fighting the system would have a cold corpse in front of his girlfriends. Where would he have ti to feel pain?
Even after trying countless tis, the system wouldn't let him say what shouldn't be said.
Yuu understood this truth.
...Even so.
(At least, I won't be like before.) Lowering his head, he couldn't help but grin, chuckling softly with a
stirred and excited heart.
In the past, he lost to the cruel reality imposed by the system, sitting
limply with bent knees, changing his choices with a mature attitude.
But now, Yuu, holding a cup of hot tea with cold sweat wiped from his forehead by a handkerchief, decided from this mont to change the system with his own choices.
The first step was dying 131 tis before it, breaking the record left in the past.
He didn't stop at this number because he gave up, was disappointed, or was desperate, nor because he feared his heart would break from constant explosions-It was just tactical avoidance.
He couldn't think of a way to deal with it now. But that didn't an he had to admit defeat to the almighty system. Whether it was pure unwillingness or helpless anger. Yuu just wanted to tell himself: "From now on, no matter what
happens, don't forget to stand tall and flip off the damn system torturing you."
After all, soone declared war on her family for him. Soone supported him from behind. Soone loved soone like him from then until now.
For these people, he mustn't forget to fight.
Yuu should have realized this.
In front of them-he could lose, but he mustn't admit defeat.
(Hmph... Hahaha...)
Laughing heartily in his heart, Yuu suddenly raised his head, looking at Yuigahama and Yukino, who were still worried about him.
The smile on his face returned to normal and cheerful. He said
happily:
"I told you, I'm fine. Stop looking at like that, or I might end up
liking you both even more."
The practiced flirtation left both girls stunned, as if their hearts were truly shaken.
The next mont, one huffed, the other laughed.
Both girls looked away, skillfully ignoring Yuu's faux-sincere gaze.
"Worrying about soone like you is such a waste of energy. Hurry up and eat."
"No helping it, this is the normal Yuu-kun-" With that, the clubroom's atmosphere cald again. The girls'
expressions gradually relaxed.
Yuigahama suddenly rembered sothing.
"Oh, right, that didn't count earlier. Yuu-kun still owes us an official
love confession!"
Yukino's hand paused mid-bento. She frowned, thought for a
mont, then shook her head.
"I don't need sothing like that." Yuigahama was adamant. "No way! It's a must. Yukinon, don't be shy~"
"What's a must... I'm not shy. Besides, this is just a girlfriend in na.
A love confession would be weird."
Sighing helplessly, Yukino looked at Yuu, saying calmly, "You think so too. I'm different from Yuigahama-san. The goal is only to make you my ideal boyfriend, not a real lover."
"Yuu-kun!"
Yuigahama looked at him with hopeful eyes, signaling him repeatedly.
But she saw Yuu nod in agreent with Yukino, showing no intention
of siding with her.
"Yeah, like Yukinoshita said. Our dating has a purpose. No need for unimportant stuff like that."
Yuu also looked at Yukino, spreading his hands helplessly and smiling.
"Be it a love confession or a kiss, those are Yui's rights as the official girlfriend. It has nothing to do with the current Yukinoshita. As for what an ideal boyfriend should do, that's another matter to discuss." "Mm-!" Yuigahama narrowed her eyes, looking slightly upset at Yuu, as if blaming him for saying that.
Yuu didn't intend to mind her. He just carefully observed Yukino's
expression.
"Mm, I've thought about this too. For now, I don't have many clues or know where to start."
The long-haired girl by the window didn't change her expression, remaining calm and indifferent, seemingly unshaken by the words. Her long eyelashes lowered slightly. She avoided eye contact with Yuu, pursing her cherry-colored lips slightly, and said casually, "This weekend, we'll go out as a trio. Maybe we'll figure it out then." Yuu, who had just agreed with her, now contradicted her as if picking
a fight. "But shouldn't we speed things up? Is it okay to be this
relaxed?"
Yukino frowned slightly, raising her gaze with mild displeasure.
"Then give a suggestion. I don't have a habit of acting recklessly." "Giving suggestions is fine. But we've been dating for a while. Have you really never thought about things related to being lovers that you want to do with ?"
The mont those words ca out, Yukino's body visibly stiffened. Her blue eyes soon glared with a mix of embarrassnt and anger. Her white teeth bit her lower lip slightly. A faint blush colored her
snow-white cheeks.
"You utterly tactless person. You really dare ask that... Do you want
to take the initiative and tell you to do couple-like things?" "Why not? It's your right!"
As if finally hearing the answer he wanted, Yuu sighed in relief. He
took the initiative to et the girl's cold, sharp eyes, smiling gently. "Yukinoshita, I want to know your thoughts. I also want to know what you'll do to fight back after declaring war on Haruno."
""
Yukino was slightly stunned, unconsciously opening her mouth. Words seed to rise in her throat, but she quickly suppressed them. "You're not clueless. Yukinoshita-san, who never lies." Yuu didn't miss
her reaction. He narrowed his eyes at her, his smile slowly turning
mischievous.
"Don't be shy now... The tables have turned. I'll let you know what a
true lie detector is. Hiding is useless."
(So, admit it honestly, Yukino.)
(What do you want to do as your boyfriend that ets the
standards in your heart?)
"...Truly embarrassing."
Under his gaze, after just a few seconds of silence, Yukino sighed as if
giving up. A trace of mockery and helplessness crossed her face.
Then it all vanished, replaced by a serious, commanding expression.
She said undeniably:
"Fine, I'll be blunt-I thought of a few steps for the Boyfriend Project
last
night. I also know that starting now is the most efficient choice...
But I had slight hesitation about actually doing it. That's why I lied
about not having clues. I'm sorry." Her tone was heavy, her expression quite serious. Yet the blush gradually spreading from her ears to her cheeks made
this cold-aura girl look anything but serious. She was like a child
trying hard to mimic an adult, cute in her pretense.
"You really made a plan... What's the first step?" Yuigahama couldn't
help but ask.
Ignored by them earlier, she wasn't just unangry-she even watched
the guy flirt with the girl.
If she weren't genuinely curious, she might have waited for them to
finish before jumping in to summarize.
"The first step, well, the first step... Ngh..."
Rarely, Yukino showed a wavering expression.
She unconsciously avoided their gazes, biting her lip slightly, looking
at the ceiling, then the table. Her eyes road the entire clubroom
until she realized there was nothing left to see.
Only then did Yukino take a deep breath, as if preparing herself. Her fingers gently touched the hair by her ear. Her slender back
straightened. She tried to shed her weak, shy aura. Then, the girl spoke to them in an elegant, mature tone, her voice
barely louder than a mosquito's. She said calmly, "Calling each other
by first nas. Then, holding pinkies for one minute. Get used to each other's presence first."
"Mm, that's the first step of my Ideal Boyfriend Formation Project..."
After finishing, she thought again and asked uncertainly: "There shouldn't be any issues. Though it's a bit conservative."
Once those words were spoken, the entire Service Club was
enveloped in a silence so profound you could hear a pin drop. Yuu and Yuigahama exchanged glances with odd expressions,
thinking nearly the sa comnt.
...If this is what she calls a bit conservative, what were they doing this morning?
Reviews
All reviews (0)