Chapter 16: Hikigaya's Sad Past
Over here, Yuigahama was still trying.
She was like a copy of Yukinoshita just now, doing the exact same actions.
However… it didn't take long before Yukinoshita was slumped over the table, with a look on her face like she had lost all hope in life.
Turns out, during the earlier "war," Yukinoshita got flustered. By the time she finally got the dough into the oven, she was already exhausted and panting, and her usual poker face was now covered in sweat.
When she opened the oven, a similar smell wafted out like before. But…
"It seems kind of different…" Yuigahama said, feeling a bit disappointed.
After actually tasting it, everyone realized that the flavor really was noticeably different from the one Yukinoshita had made.
Still, at least it reached the level of "edible," a big improvement from the charcoal-like batch the first time. If judged just as normal food, there really wasn't much to complain about.
But Yuigahama and Yukinoshita both didn't seem very satisfied.
"…How should I teach you so you'll understand?" Yukinoshita muttered with her head down, racking her brain.
Seeing her like this, Duan Shiji suddenly realized—precisely because Yukinoshita was a total genius, she couldn't understand Yuigahama's situation.
Actually, Duan Shiji did notice something wrong. Saying "just follow the recipe" was like saying "just use formulas" in math.
Yukinoshita always thought to demonstrate it once and then have Yuigahama copy it.
But that seemed to be a bit too hard for Yuigahama...
"Why can't I bake it right? I did exactly what you said…" Yuigahama said, genuinely confused as she picked up another cookie.
Some say: a truly smart person can explain things so even the dumbest person can understand.
But that's nonsense—ever heard of playing the lute to a cow?
"Mmm~~ It just doesn't taste the same as Yukinoshita's." Yuigahama looked pretty down.
Yukinoshita also had a headache.
"Yukinoshita…" So Duan Shiji decided to use his own method.
"How about this, Yukinoshita—teach Yuigahama one step at a time. I think she's confused about the specific steps."
"…Alright." Yukinoshita stayed quiet for a moment, then finally nodded. "Yeah, it's worth trying."
What followed was another round of chaos, and finally, two trays of cookies were freshly baked.
This time, the taste really was a bit better.
"Seems like it's fine now." Hikigaya nodded, feeling it was good enough.
"Yeah, I think so too." Yuigahama also thought they were okay.
But Yukinoshita still didn't seem too happy. "Hmm~ This doesn't make sense… I followed the exact same steps. Why is there still such a difference?"
"Alright, Yukinoshita. At this level, with some more practice, it'll be totally fine," Duan Shiji said gently to comfort her.
"Wait a second, Yukinoshita. Why do you care so much about how the cookies taste?" Hikigaya asked.
"Hikigaya-kun, if you're asking that kind of question right now, I have no desire to answer," Yukinoshita replied coldly, shooting him a glare.
Hikigaya twitched a little at the corner of his mouth. "I mean, you guys are setting your standards too high."
"In a hurdle race, the goal isn't to jump over the hurdles, it's to reach the finish line in the shortest time. And there's no rule saying you must jump over the hurdles, so maybe—"
"Enough. I get your point." Yukinoshita quickly cut him off. "You're saying we confused the method with the goal, right?"
Hikigaya was choked by her words, then finally nodded with a sigh and added,
"These cookies are something you made with your own hands. If you don't emphasize the handmade part, then it's meaningless. Even if they tasted like something from a bakery, the other person wouldn't be especially happy. It's actually better if they taste a bit worse."
Yukinoshita looked unconvinced. "It's better if they taste worse?"
"Exactly. If you tell them, 'Sorry it's not very good, but I really tried my best,' the other person might think, 'She went through all that trouble for me…' or something like that…" Hikigaya nodded.
Duan Shiji gave him a pitying look. "How pitiful…"
"Mind your own business." Hikigaya glared at him without hiding his irritation.
"It's not that simple…" Yuigahama looked at Hikigaya with doubt.
"…This is my friend's story. Back when he had just started his second year of middle school."
"At the start of the new term, the class had to choose class officers during homeroom. But since everyone was in their 'chuunibyou' phase, of course no boys wanted to be class rep, so they ended up deciding by drawing lots."
"Because my friend is naturally unlucky, of course he got picked as the rep. After that, he had to help the teacher run homeroom and choose a female class rep. For a shy and socially awkward boy, this was a heavy burden."
"Dude, that's way too much backstory…" Duan Shiji interrupted.
"Just listen quietly," Hikigaya grumbled and continued. "Back then, a girl volunteered to be the rep. She was really cute."
"Just like that, the male and female reps were decided. The girl shyly said, 'Please take care of me this year.'"
"After that, she would sometimes talk to the boy, and he started thinking, 'Huh? Could it be that she likes me? Come to think of it, right after I became class rep, she stepped up too, and she talks to me a lot. She must like me!'"
"Within about a week, the boy was convinced."
"That's way too fast!" Yuigahama, who had been nodding, suddenly cried out.
"Idiot. Love doesn't care about age or time. Later, one day after school, the teacher asked the rep to help hand out papers. The boy decided to confess his feelings then."
'U-um… do you have someone you like?'
'Huh~~ nope~'
'That kind of answer means you do! Who is it?'
'…Who do you think it is?'
'I dunno! Give me a hint, come on!'
'How should I give a hint?'
'Ah, just tell me the first letter in romaji. First or last name, anything's fine. Please!'
'Hmm~~ I guess that's okay.'
'Really? Awesome! So what is it?'
'…h.'
'Eh… could it be… me?'
'Huh? What? No way. Gross. Don't say weird stuff, okay?'
'Ah, haha, y-yeah, just joking.'
'That joke sucked… I'm done here. I'm leaving.'
'O-okay…'
"After that, only I—uh, I mean, my friend—was left in the classroom, crying while watching the sunset. And the worst part? The next day, the whole class already knew about it."
"What a tragic story…" Yukinoshita said while glancing at Duan Shiji.
"Hey! Why are you looking at me?! Back then, we didn't even know each other! This has nothing to do with me!!" Duan Shiji started sweating as he noticed her gaze.
"I see… so it's the story of a shut-in boy…" Yuigahama looked away with some sympathy.
"Hey, are you stupid? When did I say it was my story?" Hikigaya shouted.
Yukinoshita ignored his protest and sighed in annoyance. "Just saying 'a friend's story' already gives you away. You probably didn't even have friends back then…"
"W-what did you just say?!" Hikigaya gasped in shock.
"All those emotional scars don't matter. What were you even trying to say?" Yukinoshita said casually, even though her words were incredibly cruel.
Even Duan Shiji, who wasn't even involved, found himself staring at her mouth.
How can a 36°C mouth say such cold things?! …Still looks nice though… cough, cough, that's evil! I meant the words, I swear!