How To Ruin A Love Comedy

“....Tsuda-kun...”

A sleep-tinged voice tickled my ear.

Something warm was rustling in my arms.

“Mmm...”

Groggily letting out a moan, I lifted my heavy eyelids.

I asked, seeing Miyuki trying to extricate herself from my embrace.

“What are you doing...?”

Perhaps my voice, still thick with sleep and slightly hoarse, was to her liking?

Miyuki’s body shuddered.

“It’s already five o’clock... Time to get up...”

“Is it that time already...?”

“Yeah... Didn’t you hear the alarm?”

“I didn’t.”

I pulled Miyuki close to me, making sure she couldn’t escape. Her body, freshly awakened, was incredibly soft. It felt like touching mochi—a dangerously addictive sensation.

“I-I have to get up...”

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Don’t change the subject... Get up... Ah, why are you so strong...”

Miyuki whined, but she was powerless to move. I chuckled at her helplessness, let her go, and sat up.

With a heavy head, I blinked and started to come to my senses as I listened to the chirping of insects coming from the dark outside. The sound of rain had ceased, but it seemed like a fine mist was still falling.

I turned toward the open window.

Tap.

Miyuki rested her head on my shoulder. I slightly turned my head, feeling her tousled hair tickle my cheek. For Miyuki, it was a rather assertive display of affection. I chuckled.

“Let’s stay like this for five more minutes, then go wash up.”

“Okay...”

We spent a brief moment enjoying the ambiance of the early dawn before heading to the bathroom sink. Like a couple that had just started living together, we caught each other’s eyes and laughed for no reason. After washing up and brushing our teeth, we grabbed Miyuki’s stuff and headed to the car.

Perhaps it had soaked up the night’s moisture, but the inside of the car felt chilly. Miyuki seemed to think the same, rubbing her shoulders as she buckled her seatbelt. Then, noticing my gaze, she began to smooth out her stray, frizzy hairs.

“Hey.”

When I called out to her in a casual tone, her neck creaked as she turned toward me.

“Why...?”

“Let’s eat before we go.”

“Eat? All of a sudden?”

“It’s about time, isn’t it?”

“Are there even any restaurants open at this hour?”

“There are some if we go a little further.”

“Then...”

Miyuki trailed off, nervously scratching her head. I grinned at her, who had stuffed her hands between her thighs, and drove to a 24-hour ramen shop.

***

It was a quiet shop with only a few customers who seemed to be heading to work early. Miyuki looked around the interior as we sat at a straight-line table in the corner. A satisfied smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“The ambiance is nice... I had no idea there was a place like this nearby. But—”

She pointed at the Post-it notes stuck to various spots on the shop’s walls.

“The traditional interior is a bit overshadowed by these Post-it notes.”

“Too cluttered?”

“No... It’s colorful. I didn’t mean it’s bad; it actually makes the place look youthful. Don’t jump to conclusions...”

Even though her intention was clearly to say it looked cluttered, her tone—perhaps wary of the shop owner’s attention—was barely above a whisper. I chuckled at Miyuki’s cautious response.

She gestured, a bit frustrated with my amusement.

“I’ll wash your clothes for you. And also—”

Noticing her hesitation, I realized she was uncertain what to do with the underwear I’d bought for her. Deciding to give her a hand in her moment of indecision, I said—

“Keep the underwear.”

“...Do you have to say it so bluntly?”

“Isn’t it better than beating around the bush?”

“I suppose... Anyway, got it... Thank you.”

“Did they feel comfortable?”

“What did?”

“The underwear. The packaging said they were super comfortable.”

“Ah, seriously...! Matsuda-kun...!”

Miyuki’s voice shot up in a half-giggle, half-groan.

I grinned at her obvious embarrassment, but she didn’t seem annoyed.

Rather, she soon let her expression soften into a smile that said, “There’s no stopping you, is there?”

Having moved past the awkward moment with a mutual smile, I ordered two bowls of miso ramen from the proprietor and rested my elbows on the table.

Miyuki was intently examining the Post-it notes scattered around the shop. Her eyes sparkled as she did.

“Why? Do you want to write something too?”

“Just... I’m kind of intrigued. Do we need to bring our own Post-its?”

“No, they’re behind you.”

As I pointed over Miyuki’s shoulder, she quickly turned around and picked up a Post-it note and a pen. Then, with graceful hand movements, she started to sketch something out.

The shape took form within minutes. Drawing two characters—a man and a woman—Miyuki grabbed a thumbtack from a container in the restaurant and pinned the Post-it to the most secluded corner of our area.

The drawing featured two characters sitting cozily next to each other, seemingly marveling at something.

It reminded me of the doodles I saw in the class before, but this time, there were initials above the characters’ heads.

H.M. and M.K.

Those were the initials for Hanazawa Miyuki and Matsuda Ken.

Looking at it, I couldn’t help but feel pleased; it seemed to reflect what Miyuki was currently feeling. The characters were cute too—just the way I liked them.

As I silently examined the drawing, I asked:

“Why is there no food on the table in the picture?”

“Drawing food is tricky... besides, doesn’t it look better this way—more abstract?”

“Is that so?”

Miyuki giggled and covered the Post-it note with her hand as if telling me not to look anymore.

She always chooses the cutest actions. At this rate, I might just tell her to stay over tonight.

On another note, it’s nice to leave a trace of us like this. It’s heartwarming. I never used to care about such things, but now, whenever I see a Post-it, I’ll think of Miyuki.

I mull over these thoughts as I stare at Miyuki, who’s flushing a lovely shade of pink—just as our ramen arrives, revitalizing my appetite.

“Let’s eat.”

“Okay.”

I should come back here again.

It would be perfect to return the day after I finalize things with Miyuki.

***

Upon seeing the state of the main entrance, I couldn’t help but scowl. Fallen leaves were the least of the worries; there were snack wrappers, cigarette butts, gum, and even discarded shoes and shattered liquor bottles. Overnight, a whole assortment of things had accumulated, making the area look like a disaster zone.

“What a mess...”

It’s not like there was a flood or anything, even if it did rain a lot.

Guess I’ll have to find some other form of community service. Just as I was thinking this,

“Matsuda?”

I heard Renka’s voice from behind and immediately relaxed my face. I greeted her formally, and when she reciprocated, I asked,

“You’re here early. What about Nanase sunbae-nim*?”

“She slept in, so I came ahead. She said she stayed up until dawn watching a drama. Are you going to clean all of this up by yourself?”

“No, the guard-nim and I have to clean it together. Why, are you offering to help?”

“No.”

“Wow, such a blunt refusal. It hurts, you know. Even an insincere offer would have been nice.”

On my playful grumble laced with humor, Renka chuckled.

“Aren’t you using an umbrella? It’s raining.”

The misty rain from early dawn had now turned into drizzle. It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t endure it, so I offered a smile, implying it was alright.

“Alright then, good luck.”

With a cool word of encouragement, she headed towards the school gate without looking back. We were still a long way from being close, but at least it felt like I was slowly gaining her approval.

Today, both Miyuki and Renka... Their reactions have been particularly good.

As I watched Renka’s retreating figure, her long legs striding away gracefully, the security guard arrived with brooms in hand. I exchanged some trivial chatter with him as we cleaned up.

Later, I walked into the classroom in time for the lesson and half-heartedly returned the awkward greetings from my classmates before flopping down at my desk.

“Matsuda, class is about to start.”

It’s almost like a law of the universe: whenever I’m having a particularly good day, Tetsuya has to butt in and ruin it.

Without lifting my head, I extended a hand and flipped him the bird, savoring the few remaining moments of rest time that I had.

***

“Matsuda hubae-nim*, thank you so much for yesterday.”

At Chinami’s polite greeting, feeling a little playful, I drew my wooden sword the moment she finished her bow.

“Then teach me Sangdanse.”

“I can’t do that. I plan to teach you gradually, starting from Jungdanse.”

“Alright.”

“Hmm...?”

Chinami’s eyes widened in surprise. Just yesterday, I had been clamoring to learn Sangdanse, so my sudden acceptance caught her off guard. Her eyes subtly changed as she looked at me.

“You’re not planning to self-study, are you?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Matsuda hubae-nim, you mustn’t rush! Every form of learning has its stages.”

She’s firm when it comes to student training. Then, all I will have to do is prove that I have a talent for Sangdanse.

When will the sparring matches start? I’m itching for a challenge. It’d be great if I could spar with Tetsuya.

I wish the coach would recognize my skills soon and officially admit me as a team member.

But what would that mean for my role as a manager?

I can’t put a damper on my budding friendship with Chinami. Even if I become an official member, I’ll have to continue as the manager.

I have ample time alone with Chinami right now; letting this opportunity slip through my fingers would be foolish.

I shrugged my shoulders as I locked eyes with her, arms crossed.

“I heard from president-nim* that you overslept because you were watching a drama?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What drama was it? Can you tell me?”

“Umm...! I’ll tell you if you promise not to learn Sangdanse until your basics are solid. You’ll have to pinky swear.”

Pinky swear? That’s what I said to Miyuki yesterday. How coincidental.

“Do you dislike the idea of me learning Sangdanse that much?”

“It’s not that I dislike it, I’m just concerned. Come on, promise.”

Chinami extended her tiny pinky finger towards me. As her kendo robe’s sleeve slid down, her slender, pale wrist came into view.

I barely resisted the temptation to leave a kiss mark there. Instead, I shifted my wooden sword back to its belt loop and changed the subject.

“First, let’s clean the equipment room. I turned on the dehumidifier yesterday, but it rained all night, so the room is probably damp.”

“Hubae-nim...! Your thoughtfulness is admirable, but let’s make that promise first... Ah! Where are you going? I haven’t finished talking yet! Wait, just a moment...! Slow down a bit...! You’re too fast...!”contemporary romance

As I strode toward the equipment room, Chinami hurriedly followed. It felt as though a surprised puppy was running after its owner, who was about to leave it behind and go home…

So cute.

︵‿︵‿୨ * ୧‿︵‿︵

(Club President = Ino-oh Renka)

{ Devil: Firstly, I apologize for the delay. I was busy reading the latest chapters of this . By the way, while reading the latest chapters, I noticed an important thing on comparing my translation with what the author wrote - my translation is quite inconsistent. Basically, I write whatever comes to my mind at the time of translating without thinking too deeply. To make reading experience better and less confusing, I’ve decided not to do such things from now on.

Some terms I’ll be using from now on are below(I’m just jotting down honorifics for now as they repeat quite a lot)

-Nim: To show respect

-Sunbae: For seniors (Commonly Sunbae-nim will be used to address a senior respectfully)

-Hubae: For junior (Chinami uses hubae-nim cause her speech is more polite and she shows ‘unusual’ respect to her juniors. But, it’s only unique to her[As much as I’ve noticed])

-Sensei: ‘Master’ (Only when Matsuda calls Chinami Master[for now])

P.S. I chose these terms cause these are the only ones that do not compromise the real meaning while simultaneously being familiar to English readers.

You can support the translation and read ahead on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/Devill

Thank you for bearing with me,

Devil }

done.co