My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected: After Story ―And So, the Snow Falls Quietly― - A Frozen Room

Mid-February. A cold wind faintly rattled the window. Inside the classroom, an odd stillness hung in the air. Just having me, Hikigaya Hachiman, here was enough to drop the ambient conversation by a full notch. That feeling of being handled like something fragile. A quality of isolation different from my loner days. Curiosity, and just a sliver of pity. The stares prickled and stung. (...This is uncomfortable.) From my seat at the very back by the window, I surveyed the classroom. Yuigahama Yui was laughing with her friends. But it wasn't like before. Her voice was a little too loud. She was forcing her smile too much. You could tell she was pushing herself, plain as day. Her hair, tied up in its usual bun, looked painfully fragile to me. Yukinoshita Yukino was by the window, reading a paperback. Her long, beautiful black hair hid her pale profile. She didn't look at Yui even once. The page of her book hadn't been turned in about ten minutes. I can't say anything. A month ago, I cried out that I wanted something genuine. And I chose Yukino. I shook off Yui's tears. An invisible wall had formed between the three of us. The bell rang, and I fled the classroom. My destination is always the same. The first floor of the special wing. The former empty classroom at the very end of the hallway. The Service Club room. When I opened the door, no one was there. A single long desk. Three folding chairs. By the window, an electric kettle and a tin of tea. Outside the window, the zelkova tree in the courtyard. Its winter branches stretched toward the sky, looking cold. I sat in the seat furthest back. This is my designated spot. (I ended up coming here again.) I remember what happened half a year ago. The graduation prom consultation brought in by my kouhai, Isshiki Iroha. I completely wrecked it. I forced it to an end by making myself the villain. Self-sacrifice? No. I just chose the easy way out. Back then, and now, nothing has changed at all. I keep running away. I haven't properly faced Yukino, or Yui. The door suddenly opened. "Senpai, I knew you'd be here." When I looked up, a petite girl with flaxen hair swaying softly at her shoulders was standing there. Her large eyes glinted mischievously. Isshiki Iroha. The student council president of this Sobu High School, and a first-year. Despite her small frame, she has a strange presence. She pulled out the chair next to me and sat down with a little plop. A faint, sweet scent drifted over. "...What do you want?" I said it while still looking out the window. "Am I not allowed to come if I don't have a reason? You're so cold, Senpai." Iroha pouted her lips slightly. But her face quickly turned serious. "Hikigaya-senpai. Won't you do the graduation prom?" The graduation prom. My heart thumped loudly at those words. "...It got canceled half a year ago, didn't it." "That's exactly why! I want to do the thing we couldn't do back then, this time for sure. Senpai, please join the executive committee. As the vice-chair!" Iroha leaned forward and stared intently into my eyes. Her large brown pupils reflected my own dead, fish-like eyes. "I refuse." "...Are you running away?" Iroha's voice suddenly turned serious. I felt like I glimpsed her true feelings from behind her calculating smile. "I'm not running—" "You are running, Senpai. From Yukinoshita-senpai, from Yuigahama-senpai. And from your own feelings." I had no words. She sees right through everything. "...I hate that you seniors are all scattered apart. I want to see the three of you drinking tea in that clubroom again." Iroha's voice trembled slightly. She looked down, gripping the hem of her skirt tightly. I let out a sigh. "...Fine. I'll do it. The executive committee." Iroha's face snapped up. Now she was back to her usual impish, devilish smile. "As expected of Senpai! So reasonable! Well then, I'm counting on you starting tomorrow, Vice-Chair!" Saying that, she left the clubroom with a step that almost looked like a skip. Around that time, near the school gate. Hayama Hayato stood still in his practice clothes. He had just finished soccer club practice and was still slightly out of breath. His light brown hair swayed in the wind. His green eyes, which usually held a gentle light, were now fixed on a single point in the distance. At the end of his gaze was Yuigahama Yui. After parting from her friends, the moment she was alone, her smile vanished. She looked up at the sky, lost in thought. Her profile looked like she was about to cry at any moment. (Yui...) A sharp, stinging pain ran deep in Hayama's chest. The one making her wear that expression is Hikigaya Hachiman. Hayama had liked Yui for a long time. But he couldn't say it. To avoid hurting anyone? No. He was just scared. Scared of his perfect image being shattered. And so, he couldn't do anything. On the other hand, what about Hikigaya? He chose Yukinoshita, even if it meant hurting Yui. Without hesitation, he walked the path he believed in. (...He's amazing, Hikitani.) Hayama bit his lip. A bitter taste spread through his mouth. Admiration, jealousy, and an unbearable sense of inferiority. Without calling out to Yui, he left the spot. His clenched fist trembled faintly. Leaving the clubroom and walking down the hallway, Yukinoshita Yukino came walking from the other end of the corridor. She noticed me too and stopped. A cold air flowed between us. I felt I had to say something. Like, it's cold today. Or, the prom talk came up again. But my voice wouldn't come out. Her clear, blue eyes wavered slightly. What was there was her feelings for me, and her guilt toward Yui. Even though we're supposed to be dating. More than the warmth of lovers, only the weight of the sin we share sits between us. Yukino gave a small bow of her head. And then, without a word, she walked past me. The sound of her footsteps faded away. (I can't even manage to stay by her side.) A feeling of powerlessness covered my entire body. That night, in the Hikigaya family living room. "Onii-chan, are you properly facing Yukino-san?" My little sister Komachi, holding our cat Kamakura in the kotatsu, stared intently at me. "...What's this, all of a sudden." "Because, Onii-chan, you've been even gloomier lately. Even though you finally started dating. Komachi thinks your points are pretty low~" Komachi's innocent question pierced my chest. Am I facing her? There's no way I am. I keep running from Yukino, from Yui, from my own feelings. "...It's complicated, a lot of things." Saying that, I escaped to my room. From my room's window, I could see the cold winter night sky. The stars were almost invisible, drowned out by the city lights. It's just like this half-baked town of Chiba. Not the countryside, not the city. Just like me. The prom executive committee role, forced onto me by Isshiki. (Maybe there's nowhere left to run.) It's just like Isshiki said today. I was running away. Once the prom preparations start, I'll inevitably come face-to-face with Yukino and Yui. With Hayama too, and the others. Maybe the time has come to properly face the weight of my own choices. That was a terrifying thought. But. I remember those words of Iroha's. "I want to see the three of you drinking tea in that clubroom again." (If possible, I'd also...) I don't think a broken relationship can go back to the way it was. But maybe something new can begin. On the stage of the prom, can we all try again? My face reflected in the window glass still had eyes like a rotten fish. But deep within them, I felt like a small fire was faintly, quietly burning. Looking up at the cold night sky, I quietly let out a breath. My white breath dissolved into the darkness.

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Episode 1

Name: My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected: After Story ―And So, the Snow Falls Quietly―
Author: Novelia

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