“Tadayanan, cut it out already, okay… hahaha. I mean, you did make me laugh. But that joke really isn’t funny.”
Yuigahama laughed.
“I’m really fine. I just lost a friend I didn’t even talk to that much anyway. See? I’m doing just fine~”
As she said that, Yuigahama spun around in front of Tadayana as if to prove she was in perfectly normal spirits.
“Mm. Seeing you like this puts me at ease.”
Since Yuigahama herself said there was nothing seriously wrong, Tadayana didn’t press the matter.
Though she did still wonder what the gloomy guy was thinking right now.
At this point, it looked like she needed to go to the Service Club herself and find him.
Of course, she only meant to ask whether he still intended to be friends with Yuigahama. If not, then so be it.
…
The moment Tadayana pushed the door open, she saw a teacher-looking woman nearing thirty sitting in the clubroom, chatting with Yukinoshita and Hikigaya.
“Oh? A rare guest. Are you here with a request? Don’t mind me. Go ahead.”
With one glance, Hikigaya had already figured out why Tadayana had come, so he cut in, “She’s not here to make any request. She’s probably here because of what happened between Yuigahama and me.”
“Oho~ I see. Then have a seat. Yuigahama didn’t come today, so their club’s back down to two people again. I was just talking to them about that. If it stays at two members, I’m going to disband the Service Club.”
“Hello. You’re a teacher, right?”
“That’s right. I’m this club’s faculty advisor, and also the homeroom teacher of that dead-fish-eyed boy over there. And you are?”
“Oh, I’m a student from Class 1-C. I mainly came here today because I wanted to say a few things to the gloomy guy.”
“You don’t need to say anything to me. I wasn’t wrong about that. Yuigahama can still come to the Service Club as usual. It’s just that my relationship with her will probably stay at the level of club members who only keep things on the surface and chat once in a while.”
“All right. I understand.”
The moment Tadayana said that, she turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
“Hey… she really just left like that… That girl, could she not have stayed and talked a little longer? White hair like that’s pretty rare, and with looks that striking, she’s probably pretty famous among the first-years, right? Do you two know her name?”
Watching Tadayana actually leave after saying only a single sentence to Hikigaya, without lingering for even a moment, Hiratsuka-sensei couldn’t help but comment.
“Tadayana Volkova. That’s her name.”
Hikigaya didn’t answer. Yukinoshita supplied it instead.
“So that’s her. I’ve been wanting to find a chance to talk to her for a while now. But seeing her just now, doesn’t she seem a little cold? Was it because I was here? Is she like that with you two in private too?”
“No. She isn’t like that with us in private.”
“I see… Then I guess I was the one who made things stiff by showing up without warning.”
“No… I don’t think it had anything to do with you, Sensei. When she confessed to me and got turned down before, she left just as cleanly and decisively.”
Recalling how that confession had gone the first time they met, Yukinoshita said so aloud.
“Wha? Turned down what?”
“That’s a private matter between us, Sensei. Please don’t concern yourself with it.”
“What is with you people? Every last one of you is so secretive. You too, and Hikigaya too. You had a falling-out with Yuigahama and didn’t say a word about it, just let it end up like this. Fine, whatever. I’m leaving. But you two need to find a third person and get the numbers back up.”
Just before stepping out, Hiratsuka-sensei deliberately turned back to emphasize that point.
“Yes. We know.”
Once everyone else had gone, Yukinoshita said to the Hikigaya sitting across from her, “So what are you going to do? Let things stay awkward between you two like this? All because of your psychological issues? I’ll remind you of one thing first: Yuigahama-san’s birthday is in a few days. If you still want to make up with her, it would be best to do it before then. Or at least on that day.”
“Got it.”
After saying that, Yukinoshita left as well. Only Hikigaya remained.
“…Sigh.”
…
Tadayana received an invitation from Yukinoshita.
[Yukinoshita]: Tadayana, Yuigahama-san has been with you lately, right? Then… would you help me celebrate her birthday with me? Even if she may never come to the Service Club again after this, I still want to do it.
Tadayana was silent for a long while before finally replying.
[Tadayana]: Mm.
It was true. Without the Service Club to give Yukinoshita and Yuigahama a point of connection, the two of them—people who otherwise never would have had anything to do with each other—probably wouldn’t have talked much for the rest of their lives. Then they would slowly drift apart, and after graduating high school, they would become total strangers.
Tadayana remembered the scene from just a few days ago, when the three of them had gone shopping together and tried on Yukinoshita’s clothes.
Who would have thought things could change so fast, never going the way people expected.
The close girl friends who were together yesterday might already be scattering today.
In that case, she really ought to accompany them for this final stretch.
In the worst-case scenario, once Yuigahama’s birthday celebration was over, she might never again see Yukinoshita and Yuigahama chatting together or going out together.
“What are you looking at? Your eyes are full of that melancholy people our age can’t understand again.”
Isshiki, still sounding like her irritation hadn’t quite faded, looked at Tadayana’s uneasy expression and spoke up.
“Yeah. Because we’re completely different from certain people. If one of us gets mad, the other will always be the one to apologize and ask to be forgiven. Those people aren’t like that.”
“Who? Yuigahama-senpai?”
“Yeah.”
“Then whoever wants to deal with that can go deal with it. Wasn’t that what you said?”
“Mm, true enough.”
“If you promise me that, for a little while, you won’t talk to Yukinoshita-senpai or Yuigahama-senpai, then I’ll forgive you for what happened today.”
As if she had realized there was no point staying angry about it any longer, Isshiki made that proposal.
“All right. Here, pinky swear.”
Tadayana held out her hand, and after looking at that pale, slender hand, Isshiki hooked her finger around it without hesitation.
What Tadayana didn’t say was how short that little while might be.
Maybe just one second later.
And Isshiki, tacitly understanding, didn’t bother pointing that out either. She knew Tadayana’s social circle couldn’t be—and shouldn’t be—restricted by her.
If she did that, wouldn’t that make her the petty one?
This is a fan translation of 拒绝我啊，可恶的女人 by 帝国の咕咕鸽. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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