Hey, Best Friend. How About A Kiss Today Too? - Chapter 30: “Huh, lovey-dovey?"

“Huh, lovey-dovey?”

Doki-doki, doki-doki, and doki-doki.

The heart-fluttering lunchtime battle for bento in the room where only the two of us were present.

The chime rang, and we almost got late for class—another round of doki-doki.

I couldn’t concentrate on classes during the fifth and sixth hours, constantly looking at Haruka sitting beside me, causing another round of doki-doki, a triple encore of excitement.

At this rate, my heart might explode someday. While thinking about such things to maintain peace of mind, I somehow found myself in the afternoon.

In a dusty, dimly lit, cramped former warehouse at the edge of the special classroom building that had produced countless thrills, we found ourselves in the clubroom of the Self-Identity Research Society, also known as our volunteer club.

Perhaps due to its former warehouse status, the door, a rare doorknob-style, swung open with a loud bang.

“I-I hate it!! Hate it! Hate it!!?”

Amidst much agitation, our petite president, Yuzuru, burst in. Despite overcoming supplementary tests, she was far from academically gifted and lacked physical strength, evident as she stood at the door, hand on the doorknob, breathing heavily.

“Y-Yuzuru-chan!? C-calm down! T-take a deep breath! Let’s take deep breaths! H-hoo, hoo, hoo!”

Seeing Yuzuru like this, Hasegawa, who had an overwhelming fondness for her, started panicking. Should he tell her to calm down first? Or that those weren’t deep breaths? Or question what good his own deep breathing would do?

“H-hee, heii…uwee…!”

“H-hee, hee, Yuzuru-chan!?”

What are you doing, causing her to choke? You don’t need to do it, Hasegawa. There was a sudden burst of laughter at this moment.

“Uhehe… Yuzuru-chan, are you okay? Want some milk?”

“T-thanks… Sagiri…”

“Ku… I’m so powerless…!”

Joined by Sagiri, what should I do?

I did wonder about offering milk to a tired and parched throat, but since it’s Yuzuru’s favorite and if it helps her calm down, I’ll overlook it.

Now, Hasegawa… what are you doing?

“Kehp… Ch-chug, chug!”

Yuzuru, having finished the milk at an alarming speed, quickly revitalized.

The speed of recovery is like that of an elementary school student, isn’t it? I won’t tell her that though.

“We’ve got a request for a club activity!”

Our president, raising both hands in a victorious pose while clutching the empty milk carton, was full of energy as always.

“W-what!?”

In response, Hasegawa, for some reason, remained kneeling, clutching his head in an exaggerated reaction.

“With this, the threat of disbandment is averted…”

“There was never such a threat in the first place.”

“Huh? Why am I the only one saying it…?”

“Because your idea was the only one derailing the conversation.”

“Waaa!”

Her fair cheeks puffed out in frustration.

Once again, I couldn’t help but find her cute, to my own embarrassment.

“Sagirin! Renji! It’s not the time to be lovey-dovey!”

“Huh, lovey-dovey?”

“Just a verbal exchange.”

“These guys, seriously…”

The three who had gathered at the entrance each took their seats.

Without realizing it, the seating arrangement had turned into a confrontation structure between me, Sagiri, Hasegawa and Yuzuru, facing each other in pairs.

“Anyways! It’s a request, a request! The Club Activity Request!”

Banging the table loudly, Yuzuru immediately stood up. Compared to the table banging from a while ago by Hasegawa, it was a quite cute sound and powerful.

“Yuzurun, is that a request for the Volunteer Club?”

“That’s right, Sagirin! The Volunteer Club will help with the summer festival, but this time it’s not for that. It’s a request for the ‘Selfhood Research Club’!”

Yuzuru excitedly placed her hands on the table and bounced in place. Her high tension was unbelievable.

Now then, our gathering is formally known as the Volunteer Club. However, in reality, it’s a “Selfhood Research Club” whose purpose is to share and solve the unstable worries unique to adolescence about what it means to be oneself.

Since it’s an unofficial activity, it only spreads by word of mouth among students. Therefore, requests were rarely received. That’s why Yuzuru is literally overjoyed, raising both hands.

“Yuzurun, what kind of person is the requester?”

“Hehehe, that’s a secret until the day! The ‘Selfhood Research Club’ is a gathering of people who worry about themselves, so it’s a secret until then!”

“The day? Isn’t it today?!”

“Today is Friday, and the requester has something to do, so it’s next Monday!”

“Which means we won’t see Yuzuru-chan tomorrow or the day after tomorrow…?”

Hasegawa is the only one left in despair.

“So, Yuzurun, let’s start our club activity today too! To make sure we won’t embarrass ourselves in front of the requester who will come next week, let’s pursue our true selves!”

And Yuzuru, who is still high in tension, was unaware of it.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

Nevertheless, Hasegawa didn’t lose his enthusiasm and was still high in tension. I thought that his greatest principle was doing things that would make Yuzuru happy.

“Hey, hey. Renji, Renji.”

“Hm? What’s up, Sagiri?”

Unusually, Sagiri didn’t mix in with the excitement around Yuzuru and instead pulled my shirt.

“Tonight… will you come to my place?”

“What!?”

My peace of mind was shattered in an instant due to her childhood friend’s whisper.