An absolute silence. Even the rustling of leaves in the breeze sounded deafening.
Time seemed to stand still, permanently welding Miyazawa Yu's shocked expression to his face.
After a moment, Kōhei Imamura, the person involved, was the first to recover from his daze. He pointed to himself, his expression twisted, and asked for confirmation.
"Wait... wait a minute, you said 'go out with me,' do you mean you and me?"
"That's right! Is there a problem?"
"But I don't even know your name, and we don't know each other!"
How could there be no problem! There were a lot of problems, and he didn't even know where to start!
Kōhei Imamura fell to the ground, scooting backward. He was glad that someone had confessed to him, but...
What the hell was a Cakey! There were no characters or plots like this in dating sims!
"I already told you! Aina Yoshiwara, freshman at Oumi University. Is that good enough!"
Aina Yoshiwara grabbed Kōhei Imamura's collar. She was clearly not happy with his attitude. She frowned and leaned in, adding more.
"No, no, no! That's not good enough at all! This isn't a problem with introductions!"
He suppressed the overpowering smell of alcohol. Kōhei Imamura looked at the Cakey's face so close to his, and his pupils instantly shrank into needles. He quickly turned his head and shouted to the other two jerks. "Hey, Yu, Iori! Don't just watch! Help me!"
"Pfft—"
Seeing Kohei being pinned to the ground by the Cakey, his clothes half-ripped off, Miyazawa Yu couldn't help but let out a small, sorrowful sound. He trembled as he turned around and walked away. He turned his head and said with a righteous tone, "Don't worry, Kohei. I'm going to get help right now. I promise to get you out of the grave of marriage as soon as possible."
"Me too~ Congratulations, Kohei! I wish you a long and happy life together!"
"You bunch of jerks! You're laughing, aren't you, Yu! Iori! Where are you going now!"
A vein popped out on his forehead. The betrayed Kōhei Imamura gritted his teeth and struggled to break free from the Cakey. He then reached out and grabbed Iori's and Yu's shoulders.
"Well~ I just wanted to give you two lovebirds some alone time."
"That's right! A honeymoon for two should not be disturbed by a third wheel!"
"Bullshit! You guys are just trying to run away and leave me here!"
Kōhei Imamura's face turned into a demon's mask. He grabbed the jackets of the two disloyal jerks and pulled them back with all his might.
Of course, Miyazawa Yu was not going to let him. The Cakey wasn't after him. Why should he have to suffer this indiscriminate mental attack?
If Kohei just sacrificed himself and took one for the team, the world would be free from this suffering. It would be a great act of charity, a contribution to world peace!
"..."
Aina Yoshiwara was not an idiot. She could tell that Kōhei Imamura was against her. But then again, anyone would be troubled if a strange woman with weird makeup suddenly confessed to them!
Her hands slowly clenched into fists. Tears ran down her face, leaving a trail in her purple eyeshadow and foundation. She stiffly said, "Well, if you don't want to, then fine!" and then turned and ran off.
"Huh? You three are here."
Shinji Tokita was buying drinks and happened to pass by. He heard a commotion by the road and poked his head out, only to see his three freshmen rolling around and pulling at each other. Honestly, it was a real struggle for him that they were always fighting whenever he saw them. Was this a unique way for young people to make friends?
"So what happened this time?"
"Um... even if you ask that..."
Miyazawa Yu blocked Kohei's uppercut. He rolled around a few times and barely managed to get out of the fight. He then noticed that Aina Yoshiwara had left at some point. He brushed the grass off his body and pretended to be profound as he explained to Ryūjirō Kotobuki, "It's probably the troubles of youth?"
"What the heck?"
"It was a serious incident, anyway. Kohei got his heart broken, that's all!"
"I just don't get you guys!"
In the short ten minutes he was gone with Iori, Kohei had already gone through dating and a breakup? Shinji Tokita frowned, unable to imagine how this could have happened.
But it doesn't matter. They're going to have a drinking party later, and he'll just forget everything!
"Hey, Iori! You two stop fighting! It's time to gather!"
"I got it! Huh? Did the Cakey give up her hunt for Kohei?"
"It seems so."
Miyazawa Yu thought about his own attitude just now. He felt that even a born-for-comedy girl couldn't accept a total rejection from head to toe. She must have given up.
"Hmm? The Cakey?"
Shinji Tokita looked at Miyazawa Yu in confusion. He felt like he had heard that name before.
"She's the funny contestant from Tinker Bell at the beauty pageant. Her makeup was so thick and white she looked like a corpse."
"Oh..."
"What happened? Did she confess to Kohei?"
"Yeah. Iori and I have already agreed to the marriage on his behalf."
Miyazawa Yu was in a great mood as he explained the situation to the two seniors as they walked to the party room. He finished his story just as they were about to enter.
"Yo! We're here!"
"What's the matter? You guys took so long."
Shinji Tokita pulled the classroom door open and explained to the others who were complaining, "I couldn't help it. We had a problem that only the youth would have!"
"Huh? What problem?"
"Ah! Nothing! Hurry and drink! Drink! Senpai, we want oolong tea!"
He absolutely did not want what had just happened to get out!
Kōhei Imamura saw that the other seniors were also interested. He quickly shot out, trying to dilute their curiosity with alcohol. But this time, the trick that had always worked on the Pab Club's seniors failed!
"I got it, I'll get you some oolong tea in a second. Hurry and tell me, Shinji!"
"Well~ it was just earlier..."
Kōhei Imamura watched as Tokita-senpai spread his embarrassing story. He stood there, dazed, even wondering if he had walked into the wrong classroom. The Pab Club's seniors were not drinking but choosing to listen to gossip instead? This was something he wouldn't even dare to dream of! Were the seniors having a change of heart and quitting alcohol?
"I see, Kohei, you're really unlucky. Have a beer to cool down!"
"Huh? Yes, thank you."
Thankfully, the seniors were much more humane than Miyazawa Yu and Iori. After hearing his story, they didn't laugh but even gave him a beer to comfort him. Although he was still a little confused, Kōhei Imamura was mostly relieved. He took the beer and hid on the outskirts of the party, observing the situation!
"Hey, Yu! Can you have Kohei's oolong tea?"
"Has he had a sip? It's fine, just give it to me."
Miyazawa Yu was discussing with Tokita-senpai what pose to strike for the "hard root" contest. He heard the senior call him, so he casually took the oolong tea he was given. As for whether Kohei had already had a sip...
Are you kidding me! As embarrassing as it was to say, the other two jerks had thrown up on him many times when they were drunk. If he had a problem with that, Iori's and Kohei's graves would have been covered in grass by now!
"That's how it is. The judges are all non-picky bodybuilders. As long as you can show off a good physique, you'll definitely win!"
"That's easy then. I've been feeling like the fat on my stomach has been a little out of control these past few days. I hope it won't affect the contest..."
He lifted his shirt and pinched the little bit of fat on his abs. Miyazawa Yu sighed and brought the oolong tea to his mouth.
But to his surprise, as the liquid swirled in his mouth, a strong aroma of black tea rushed to his head, and his stomach immediately rejected the unfamiliar drink!
"Ugh— cough, cough, cough! Pwah!"
He knelt on the ground, covering his mouth and coughing violently until his eyes filled with tears, and all the liquid in his mouth was gone. Miyazawa Yu then squeezed the paper cup, destroying the rest of the suspicious liquid. He then looked at the senior who had given him the drink with a look of terror and angrily shouted.
"What did you give me! This isn't oolong tea at all!"
"What are you talking about, Yu? That's oolong tea!"
The innocent senior hurried over to pat his back, his face full of confusion as he argued.
"You're lying! How could oolong tea not have alcohol! And it has the smell of tea! Don't lie to me!"
Miyazawa Yu waved his hand dismissively. How dare they try to trick him with such a lame excuse? He knew exactly what oolong tea tasted like!
The only oolong tea he knew was a spicy, brown drink that made you tipsy! The liquid he just drank was just the same color! Did they think he was a fool who judged drinks by color alone?!
"..."
They all looked at each other in silence. Finally, Shinji Tokita sighed. He took an unopened bottle of oolong tea from a plastic bag and put it in front of Miyazawa Yu.
"Here you go!"
"..."
Suddenly realizing something, Miyazawa Yu's body trembled. He opened the oolong tea with trembling hands and took a sip. The familiar aroma of tea hit him again.
"...I'm sorry, senpai."
"It's okay. You have to take care of yourself, Yu. Specialty drinks are great, but don't lose your common sense from drinking them!"
"I know..."
Tears welled up in his eyes. Miyazawa Yu hugged the oolong tea with a bitter smile. He held his head at a 45-degree angle to the sky, not wanting his tears to fall.
But unfortunately, self-deception couldn't change the fact that he had been so conditioned that he could no longer drink normal oolong tea.
He was completely lost.