Chapter 23: Hayama Hayoto request?
That night, even though he had stayed up until the early hours of the morning before finally collapsing into sleep, Narumi slept unusually well. While the young man once again met Mr. Dreamkeeper in his dreams, somewhere else in the same city…
In a dimly lit bedroom, the only illumination came from the cold glow of a computer monitor. A long-haired, pink-haired girl sat curled forward in her chair, her hand weakly moving the mouse as a faint, shut-in gloom hung around her.
The serialized manga she had been following a story about a high school girl band had just ended. The hollow emptiness left behind after finishing a beloved work made her scroll aimlessly through other manga.
Eventually, the wandering mouse cursor stopped on the cover of Eri Kashiwagi's newly released book.
"…?"
She didn't know the author, but the art style was so refined that it quietly drew her in. After hesitating for a moment, the girl clicked the cover she normally would have skipped.
Almost ten minutes passed.
"…!"
When she finally closed the webpage, the pink-haired girl remained frozen in her chair. She didn't move, didn't scroll, didn't blink. She stayed still for a very long time, as if forcing her emotions to settle, as if desperately trying to keep her trembling hands under control until she finally stood up and reached toward the guitar hanging in the corner.
Narumi Toru, currently enjoying a small wave of recognition thanks to his creative success, had been living quite comfortably. When a person has something to look forward to, positive emotions push them into a cycle of growing motivation.
School life, however, was another kind of torture entirely.
Narumi wasn't a social butterfly with connections everywhere, nor was he a dedicated member of the "Going Home Club" who avoided interacting with others. He existed in the middle quiet, steady, unremarkable.
He wasn't the kind of student teachers warned others about, nor was he the kind of person who stood out in a crowd. He simply maintained a polite distance from both teachers and classmates, neither close nor cold.
Building relationships with the popular group wasn't difficult, but it was annoying.
Cutting off relationships and becoming a loner wasn't difficult either, but it caused trouble later on.
That was why Narumi Toru had taken the most stable, low-effort strategy in his school life: avoid becoming a key part of any clique, maintain the friendliest relationships with the least effort possible, and never attract too much attention or hostility.
It had worked perfectly so far.
Which was exactly why he was confused
Why on earth was Hayato Hayama, the shining sun at the very peak of the school's social pyramid, standing in front of Narumi's classroom as if waiting specifically for him?
"Yo, Narumi Toru-kun… that's your name, right?"
The handsome boy with slightly wavy blond hair ignored the curious eyes of the surrounding students. Smiling as refreshingly as ever, he walked straight to the curly-haired boy seated near the window.
"I'm in a bit of trouble, and I was hoping to ask your Service Society for help. Are you free right now? If not, we can arrange another time."
"Help… as in a request?"
Narumi nearly choked.
For a second, he seriously wondered if Hayama was one of the people who had kept their simulated memories.
He quickly dismissed the thought.
Narumi raised an eyebrow. It was true that the Service Club had taken on quite a few requests lately.
Like Yui Yuigahama's request to express her feelings to someone important by baking handmade cookies.
Even though her cooking had improved under Yukino's guidance, she never managed to gather the courage to confess.
Or Zaimokuza Yoshiteru's request for critique on his light novel.
Despite receiving Yukino's blunt comment ("nothing like a popular writer aside from the tone)
"—and Hikigaya's weary, honest advice—("as long as the illustrations look good, it'll sell")
Zaimokuza still powered on after Narumi encouraged him to focus on making his story structured and engaging. He figured helping a fellow writer was worth it.
There was also Totsuka Saika's request for the club to help the tennis team improve.
Although Narumi won the practice match thanks to Hikigaya's strange self-taught technique, it left Narumi painfully aware that his novelist physique wasn't built for sports. He made a mental note to start exercising.
In short, the Service Society had been steadily working through a surprising number of wishes, so another client wasn't unusual.
But something else was.
"Hayama-kun… our club does take requests, sure, but… why come to me? Why not ask the president directly? Or at least go to the clubroom and talk to all of us?"
Narumi followed Hayama out of the classroom. Noticing how Narumi glanced at the watching eyes of classmates, Hayama led him to a quiet vending machine at the stairwell landing.
"It's because she mentioned you."
"She…?"
"Mm. I mean Yukinoshita's older sister."
Narumi stiffened.
Even a guy as perfectly composed as Hayato Hayama seemed to show a flicker of bitterness.
"There aren't many people she'd describe that way. So I got curious. What kind of person is this Narumi Toru she singled out? Sorry for suddenly dragging you out like this."
"No, it's fine…"
"That girl Haruno… she definitely did it on purpose."
Narumi's mouth twitched helplessly.
So Yukinoshita Haruno wasn't only a cunning fox in the simulation she was just as unpredictable in reality.
She had only met him once. For her to comment on him so strongly was strange unless the simulation had, in some small way, left behind a faint sense of familiarity somewhere inside her. Just a trace. Nothing more.
If that was the case…
Hikigaya's unusually awkward behavior before finally made sense, too.
"I was wondering what kind of person would catch her attention… but now that I see you, I think I understand."
Hayama still wore his trademark smile, but for the first time, it didn't seem like a smile at all.
"It seems… she prefers someone similar to herself."
Why does the air suddenly smell sour?
Did someone spill vinegar?
"Hm? Hayama-kun…?"
"No, nothing. Forget I said anything."
Narumi acted clueless, but inside,
He already knew exactly what Hayama meant.
"As someone who has dated Haruno before, I can say with certainty that Haruno doesn't actually have a fixed type of guy she likes the reason is simply that she's not interested in you, Hayama-kun."
However, stating such a cruel truth seemed a bit out of character for Narumi's current easygoing and oblivious nature, so he let Hayama figure it out on his own.
How did I even end up here? I really don't want to talk about my ex-girlfriend with the handsome guy who obviously has a crush on her.
Just as Narumi was inwardly lamenting his predicament, a cool and elegant voice drifted down from the stairwell above as if it had been summoned by his frustration.
"You took my member away without a word, but kept talking to him about my sister. Did you come here to request help, or just to catch up, Hayato-kun?"
The person descending the stairs, hand sliding lightly along the railing, was none other than Yukino Yukinoshita expression cold, composed, and unmistakably displeased.
Yukino Yukinoshita's secret, something she never told anyone, was that she always secretly observed a certain curly-haired boy during club activities.
Despite her aloof demeanor and the chill she projected that said, keep your distance, Yukino had noticed something deeply inconvenient: whenever Narumi stepped into the room with a simple "Good afternoon," some part of her expression would soften.
It wasn't intentional. She hated the vulnerability of it. But her heart traitorous as always reacted before her mind could suppress it.
To confirm whether Narumi Toru was truly the same Narumi as in the simulation—and because his every action intrigued her far too much—Yukino had launched her own personal "covert observation operation." Every club activity was her chance to watch him.
But today… he never showed up.
Even Hikigaya Hachiman, who always arrived exactly on time, was present. But Narumi, who was never late, was missing.
Where is Narumi? Where is my Narumi? How can such a big idiot vanish?
Yukino hated the unease rising in her chest. She had already experienced losing someone once. She didn't want to experience it again.
And then she discovered the culprit: Hayama Hayato had intercepted Narumi after school, pulling him away before club time.
No wonder the look she gave Hayama now could freeze the air.
"If it's a serious matter, you can bring it to the clubroom. If you're here for unrelated conversation, please choose another time and stop wasting my member's valuable club hours."
Arms crossed, posture crisp with cold displeasure, Yukino faced Hayama someone she had known for years with a level of chill usually reserved for strangers.
"I can feel it. Yukino is definitely angry. This isn't my imagination," Narumi thought, rolling his eyes internally. He assumed it was the lingering tension from their messy elementary school incident the one that fractured things between Yukino and Hayama.
Though… maybe she's also upset because he kept asking about her sister.
But Yukino's mood wasn't rooted in any old history. It came from something she herself had not yet realized.
"Hmm… Yukinoshita-san, you're right. I didn't think this through."
Hayama scratched the back of his head, embarrassed yet quick to admit fault.
"If you really need our help, then please move to the activity room."
Yukino gestured gracefully toward the hallway. Hayama chuckled weakly and followed her toward the Service Club.
"President, you're really fierce," Narumi said casually as they walked.
Yukino paused, looked at him, and raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm? Narumi-kun, do you perhaps want to continue discussing my sister with Hayato-kun?"
Her tone was cool, but the emotion behind it was something Narumi immediately sensed his metaphorical fox ears stood up.
"No, no. After all, I'm not familiar with Yukinoshita-senpai at all."
He distanced himself from Haruno almost instinctively survival instinct in human form.
Of course… that was a lie.
He knew Haruno Yukinoshita far too well the simulation had engraved every detail into him. He remembered her laughter, her tricks, her cruelty, the warmth of her touch, the exact location of the small mole on her…
Everything.
But Haruno had forgotten it all. She looked at him like a stranger. And strangely, that made him want to meet her again someday—even if it was only to bicker like before.
Humans were complicated like that.
"Since Hayama-kun has gone to the activity room, then we should—"
Narumi turned to leave, but stopped when he realized Yukino was not moving.
She simply stood there, staring at him with a cold, unwavering gaze that made Narumi, who was used to lying without blinking, feel strangely cornered.
"...It seems you haven't noticed anything amiss, Narumi-kun."
After a long silence, Yukino sighed softly, a faint frustration in her voice.
Under Narumi's confused stare, she lowered her head and quietly reached for her collar, unbuttoning the first button—
"?"
Narumi froze.
For a moment, the image of a similarly composed girl undressing under dim bedroom lights flashed before him a perfect mirror of the Yukino he had once held in the simulation.
But instead of continuing, Yukino stopped after the first button. She reached behind her neck
And removed the pendant hanging around it.
Narumi instantly recognized it.
"…My whistle?"
"You left it on the counter while helping with Yuigahama-san's request. It seems you really didn't notice at all."
Yukino handed it to him calmly.
"If it isn't important to you, then I understand your carelessness."
"Well, it's not that it's unimportant. I did spend quite a while using it."
The whistle was warm still holding Yukino's body heat. When Narumi took it, the warmth seeped into his palm.
"I just feel that you don't need to return it to me. You can keep it," he said.
Yukino always kept it in the simulation.
Even if she didn't remember what they had been through, the fact that she had held onto this item even unknowingly gave Narumi a small, quiet comfort.
"Why? Do you want me to take it?"
Yukino's tone sharpened—she was unusually sensitive to this.
"Ah… it seems inappropriate to give her something so personal, given our current relationship."
She would probably say something smug next, like, 'I know I'm cute, but I'll have to decline this sudden confession.' If she said that, he would be speechless.
So he attacked first.
"What, does President Yukinoshita really want to keep it?"
Narumi blinked innocently, playing the harmless idiot while launching a counteroffensive.
"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to carry around a boy's personal belonging? And you were wearing it around your neck too. I thought you hated touching anything from strangers… Could it be that you've already fallen for me? Oh no, this is bad, this is bad, I'm too popular!"
A perfect, classic, infuriating performance.
END OF CHAPTER.