Thank you all so much for your support!!
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Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't care less about how others reacted.
However, Kai's reaction was something she cared about immensely—she desperately wanted his validation.
"The club I want to establish is called the Service Club."
"S-Service Club?"
Hitori Gotoh's eyes blew wide open as she stared at Yukino in absolute disbelief.
"That's so bold!"
"..."
"You sure know what you're doing, Little Yukino."
Seeing Yukino rendered completely speechless by Hitori's gutter-minded reaction, Kai wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
Even though he knew full well that her "Service Club" didn't mean 'that' kind of service, it wasn't going to stop him from taking the perfect opportunity to tease her.
"It seems you really don't want to eat lunch anymore."
"Ahem!"
"So, you're planning to help others, and that's why you're creating a club like this, Yukino?"
"?"
Kai's words made Yukino completely freeze in her tracks.
"You guessed that?"
Obviously, even Yukino herself knew that the club's name was incredibly easy to misunderstand. But seeing Kai instantly deduce the true purpose of the Service Club made her pause, a strange, fluttery emotion swelling in her chest.
'He understands me!'
"Isn't it completely obvious?"
Shrugging, Kai looked as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Given your personality, Yukino, this so-called Service Club was probably established with the core principle of lending a helping hand to others."
"..."
Even though she had harbored a tiny bit of hope that Kai might guess her original intention, actually hearing him say it out loud brought an indescribable, overwhelming feeling to her heart.
"It seems there are still some functioning, normal brain cells left in your head after all."
Turning her head away in classic tsundere fashion, she completely failed to hide the brilliant smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Sensing the emotional shift in Yukino, Kai flashed a smug smile. This was the exact effect he had been aiming for.
"Ugh!"
Meanwhile, Hitori Gotoh, sitting off to the side, felt incredibly awkward.
By Yukino's logic, didn't that imply her own brain was filled with nothing but abnormal, filthy thoughts?
"Ahem!"
Yukino obviously noticed Hitori's awkwardness. Clearing her throat, she began to explain in a highly serious, deadpan tone.
"To extend a helping hand to those in need—that is the foundational purpose behind my establishing the Service Club."
At this point in time, Yukino Yukinoshita's personality was still firmly entrenched in her "absolute justice" phase. Right was right, and wrong was wrong.
Because of her childhood experiences with bullying, she could no longer tolerate seeing similar things happen to others, which was exactly why she wanted to create something like the Service Club.
"And you two will be the founding members."
Having said her piece, Yukino looked at Kai and Hitori with a highly expectant gaze.
Although she hadn't explicitly said it out loud, sharing lunch together these past few days had already made her fully acknowledge them as true friends. She naturally cherished these hard-won friendships.
"EH? US?"
Hitori looked completely bewildered, unable to stop herself from glancing over at Kai.
"So..."
As for Kai...
He was currently rubbing his chin with one hand, looking deep in thought.
"Does this mean we don't have to come up to the roof to eat lunch every single day anymore? To be completely honest, it's been pretty windy lately, and I was just thinking about finding a new spot to eat."
"Excuse me?"
'I'm talking to you about something incredibly serious, and you're bringing up our lunch venue?'
"Haha! I'm just joking."
Seeing the deadly glare on Yukino's face, Kai laughed and waved his hands in surrender.
"Well, since it's a club established by Yukino, as a friend, of course I have to show my support!"
Seeing Kai agree, Yukino couldn't help but let out a soft smile. She then turned her gaze toward Hitori.
"Umm..."
Hitori scratched her head awkwardly.
"Are you unwilling?"
Seeing Hitori's reaction, Yukino assumed she didn't want to join. Even though she felt a sharp pang of disappointment, she would still choose to respect her friend's wishes.
"No, no, not at all!"
Hearing that, Hitori frantically waved her hands.
"It's just... I originally wanted to join something like a Light Music Club or a Guitar Club. I never expected to end up in the Service Club, but I'd absolutely love to join!"
Being able to join a club at all made Hitori incredibly happy. Not to mention it was with her actual friends. It was just a slightly bizarre feeling—what was even the point of her practicing the guitar so relentlessly for all those years, then?
"You know how to play the guitar, Hitori?" Yukino looked genuinely surprised.
"..."
'So me walking around carrying a massive guitar gig bag every single day is completely invisible to you?'
"I genuinely thought it was just a fashion accessory!"
Yukino honestly believed that. After all, even though Hitori hauled the gig bag around everywhere, she had literally never opened it or played a single chord.
With that thought in mind, Yukino asked curiously:
"Are you very good at playing, Hitori?"
"I-I guess I'm okay?"
She spoke with feigned modesty on the outside, but on the inside, she was already practically bursting with smug pride.
'It's here! It's finally here! The exact moment I've been waiting for! Didn't I practice the guitar for all those years just for a moment exactly like this? To show off my godly guitar skills under the curious gaze of my friends, blow them all away, and have everyone stare at me with absolute worship and awe! HAHAHAHA!' Hitori's hands were literally trembling with excitement.
"I see."
However, Yukino simply nodded and left it at that.
"Eh?"
'You aren't going to ask me to play? This is completely different from what I imagined in my head!'
Watching Hitori look as if she were slowly petrifying into solid stone, Kai fought down a laugh and smoothly chimed in.
"In that case, could you play something for us, Bocchi-chan? I'd really love to hear you play."
Kai obviously knew all about her secret internet identity as the "Guitar Hero."
"Of course I can!" Hitori instantly agreed.
Inside, she was screaming with sheer excitement. 'Kai, you are my god!'
Seeing Hitori's intense reaction, Yukino seemed to pick up on the vibe. She didn't say anything to interrupt, simply preparing herself to listen patiently.
Whoosh!
The absolute second Hitori pulled her guitar out of its case, her entire demeanor shifted, becoming visibly and overwhelmingly nervous at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This was her very first time playing the guitar in front of her actual friends. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. She continuously took deep breaths to steady herself.
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