My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 442

Even on a winter night, the bicycle warmed up after riding for more than 20 minutes.

With the addition of a scarf and coat, the sweat made the shirt stick to the skin.

I didn't think about anything, I didn't listen to anything, I just kept pedaling until I finally arrived at my doorstep.

I caught my breath, slowly led the bicycle to a corner, squatted down, and locked it. I stood up with some difficulty, brushed away the accumulated fatigue, and shuffled towards the door.

With numb steps, I opened the door, tossed my bag aside, and left my scarf and coat loosely draped to the side.

After unloading all the goods, I stretched and slumped onto the sofa. The warm air in the house gradually replaced the lingering, scratchy feeling on my face, which was itchy and revealed red skin. After a while, the sweat on my shirt dried, and I lingered there uncomfortably.

She shed the extra clothes and strode towards the bathroom.

As soon as the door opened, the scent of shampoo wafted out.

It was so cold outside, but the moist, warm air made me feel like my heart was slowly melting.

I took a deep breath and looked around the small entryway.

……Um

A fogged-up mirror, a hairdryer plugged in, a dazed look hanging on a hook, a bath towel tossed in the laundry basket, and slightly damp air.

It looks like someone just took a shower.

The office worker's parents probably haven't come back yet, and although the dressing room was tidied up quite well, there was a small oversight of forgetting to unplug the hair dryer.

From this, we can conclude that it was Komachi who had just taken a bath.

...Is the bathtub filled with water?

I suddenly felt uneasy.

My younger sister, Komachi, who's going through puberty and experiencing the stirrings of young love, has been rather harsh on me lately. She never wants to bathe in the same tub I've been in, so the "Komachi scent" from the bathtub she soaked in has most likely dissipated. What a shame…

...It's not about lamenting that the hot water isn't Komachi-flavored, is it? Speaking of which, what exactly is "Warm Hot Water Komachi-flavored"? It sounds like this hot drink would sell really well. The beverage industry is about to start a revolution! But as the older brother, Komachi-flavored, we can't let you sell it. So, will all the beverage companies just use "younger sister flavor" as a substitute? But it'll definitely sell very well too!

Well, actually, whether the hot water has a Komachi flavor or not doesn't matter; I just wanted to warm up my cold body...

I took off my socks and walked barefoot on the slightly damp marble slabs.

As I opened the bathroom door, the aroma of steam and bath salts wafted out.

As expected of Komachi, my little sister... you still kept the hot water. My brother's eyes are even wet—mainly because of the steam.

I pushed the sliding door shut, quickly washed my hair and body, and then soaked in the bathtub.

"Well……"

He made a sound without realizing it.

Submerge your head underwater, blow bubbles through your nose, and slowly exhale the air from your lungs.

It's as if some of the things that had been accumulating in my chest have been released.

But even so,

The thing at the very bottom was still stuck there, motionless like a hard lump.

Act III

After showering, I grabbed my clothes, dried my hair, and went upstairs to find a towel to wipe my face. I found Komachi studying by the heater.

"Ah, welcome back, Onii-chan."

Komachi lay on the fireplace, gently shaking her pencil and twirling her ahoge (cowlick) as she spoke.

"Oh, I'm back."

Komachi seemed not to hear me and ignored me, continuing to scribble on the paper. She seemed to be just lost in thought. Normally, I would probably have nagged a bit, but having just taken a shower, I was more easygoing and didn't dwell on such a small matter.

Anyway, leaving the hot water on today is a pretty good point. If they could also ask, "Do you want to take a bath? Or eat? Or... Komachi?" Komachi's stock would hit its daily limit.

Honestly, if the SSR "Little Devil Komachi" could pull this off, I'd probably throw up my entire fortune. I'm the kind of guy who's willing to spend tens of thousands of yuan just to get an SSR! The idea of ​​getting free gacha pulls just by spending a little money is just too perfect.

However, "Warm Soup Komachi Flavor" is one example, as is "Little Devil Komachi." The business opportunity of "little sister" is terrifying, isn't it? Let me express my respect to my father who gave me the existence of my little sister Komachi, and my gratitude to my mother.

By the way, I strongly condemn Chiba, the naughty kid who's been staring at Komachi!

Anyway, first of all, thank you Komachi for running my bath.

I tossed the laundry aside, crawled into the heater, and Ka-kun, mistaking me for a new heat source, slowly climbed onto my lap.

"Thanks for the bathroom."

"Yeah. He got back even later than Komachi, and it's really cold today."

Maintaining a languid posture, Komachi spoke without looking up.

"Yeah"

"Um"

After just a few words, only the sound of the pen moving across the paper remained.

Unconsciously, I touched Card with my hand.

An ordinary conversation.

It has no special significance, and it might not even qualify as a social interaction.

Even if we look in different directions and do different things, we won't dislike each other.

For someone like me who doesn't know how to build and maintain interpersonal relationships, the only exception is my family's younger sister, Komachi.

However, that doesn't mean we never argue—

They often quarrel over trivial matters, such as arguing about who should take a shower first.

Even so, we can still feel the connection between the siblings.

It's not about trust or love, but something simpler: a bond.

more like,

It's something like getting used to it or coming to terms with it.

It's just that I tolerated Komachi's free-spirited way of life, and Komachi accepted my useless place.

what.

It's completely unimaginable.

Being able to build such relationships with others—

My useless state is not something that most people can accept.

Ah, I'm so sorry, Komachi, for having such a useless older brother.

However, even if I can't be accepted, it's still possible for me to accept others. Up until now, I haven't expected anything from others, nor have I tried to understand them; I'm confident in my ability to let go of such expectations.

So, no matter how incompatible, incomprehensible, or unacceptable things may be, it should still be possible to get through them smoothly.

However, in that case...

They must also bear a lot of pressure.

He reached into his school uniform behind him and took out his phone.

"what……"

Thinking about what I was going to do next, I couldn't help but sigh deeply.

"Oh dear, what a tired sound!"

Komachi, sensing my sigh, looked up, and Ka-kun followed suit, looking up at me as well.

He asked me silently what was wrong. I shook my head and gently flicked his ear to indicate that nothing was wrong.

Our little sister is smart and adorable, and not only that, she's also gentle and sensitive. If I were to voice all my grievances now, I'd probably just shrug and accept it all, like there's nothing I can do about it.

However, you can't keep acting cute towards Komachi all the time.

In any case, I don't think I can explain the problems between him and me to anyone else.

Even the parties involved have refused to speak or define anything, so it's definitely not right for me to make decisions on my own and then impose them on others.

At least, take some action first.

There has been no issue of touching upon it or getting close to it.

At the center of this series of problems is Hayato Hayama.

Whatever you say, go and clash with him, twist his clear, seemingly insightful face.

I don't want everything to end the way he said it would.

Anxiety focused on his fingertips as he opened his phone's contacts, entered a name, and began searching.

Then, suddenly, I realized...

...I don't know how to contact that guy.

Finally, Hachiman Hikigaya made his decision.

In order not to disturb Komachi, she quietly climbed out of the heater and returned to her room.

Looking at the clock, it's not too late yet.

That's so strange, it feels like a lot of time has passed.

Perhaps I was too tired.

Or maybe,

It's probably because I feel powerless.

While it might be a bit late to contact someone now, email shouldn't be too bothersome, right? After all, email recipients can easily respond with things like, "I was asleep and didn't notice," or "My battery died."

Regarding this, recent messaging apps are really unreliable. If you simply read and ignore it, it immediately sparks discussion in other groups:

"Has Hachiman ignored it?"

"I can't stand it!"

"That guy does this all the time."

"Yes"

And so on. Some social networking sites also display login times, such as "You're logged into the social networking site, why aren't you replying?"

What?! This surveillance society is terrifying! Is everyone here like Hiratsuka-sensei? That's so scary!

That's why I don't want to use software to contact others, even though the internet is now almost a necessity in student life.

So, I picked up the old email system and started typing.

However, sending emails is also a difficult task.

Wrapped in a blanket, I slowly tapped on the touchscreen. Sending an email took more than ten minutes.

"Ye, Shan, de, contact, method, send, to, me"

Why does it take so much time to write just ten words?

The reason is very simple—

Whether it's an email or a messaging app, once it's sent, it can't be retrieved, and it leaves a record, so you have to spend a lot of time checking it.

Unlike face-to-face, where you can cover up a mistake later.

Another reason is that you can't immediately tell the other person's expression.

Even after spending so much time checking, sometimes I still regret looking at the sending history... I should have sent it this way in the first place, etc.

As I sighed at the message I had posted, my phone vibrated. Compared to the time it took to send the message, the reply arrived in just a few seconds.

then.

"why?"

Just three words.

Well, a few seconds is definitely enough for such a short time...

However, answering this three-word question might take a long time.

Just as I was thinking about how to explain, my phone vibrated again.