Yukinoshita’s Method of Correction [11]

"Please, have a seat," Kaori stood and led Higashigumo Sugi to the tidiest corner of the room. "That depends—what exactly do you want to do?"

The Crafts Club was filled with tools and materials. Even though it was well-organized, the space still felt cluttered. So, they'd deliberately cleared a spot near the door for interacting with students outside the club.

"Honestly, I haven’t quite decided yet." Higashigumo lowered his gaze slightly, speaking to Kaori while discreetly observing the other club members.

"But say I wanted to give something to a cute girl like you—any recommendations?"

The room instantly fell silent.

The two boys and two girls who had been quietly working only moments ago all stopped what they were doing and looked at Higashigumo. Amidst the stunned stares, the boy furthest from him was glaring with something close to open hostility.

And Kaori—the only one who wasn’t looking at Higashigumo—just so happened to be staring at that boy.

“Sorry.” Kaori quickly withdrew her gaze and gave a polite smile.

“There are all kinds of cute girls out there. I can’t really give you any useful advice. Maybe you should take your time and think it through before coming back.”

“Fair enough.” Higashigumo pulled out his phone.

“How about we exchange emails? That way, once I’ve made up my mind, it’ll be easier to get in touch.”

Kaori hesitated. “Um…”

“My bad—too forward of me.” Higashigumo acted as if he’d just realized his misstep.

“Maybe I’ll exchange contacts with one of the other members instead. Easier to talk, guy to guy.”

He walked straight toward the boy he’d been watching earlier. “Hey, mind if we swap emails?”

“Ah… sure.” The hostility in the boy’s eyes faded. He took out his phone, exchanged contact info with Higashigumo, and even sent a test message.

His name was—Satou.

Things were starting to come into focus.

But he still needed confirmation.

“Nice to meet you, Satou. I’m Higashigumo Sugi. Guess we know each other now,” he said with a wink.

“If you ever run into any trouble, feel free to drop by the Service Club.”

“Trouble?” Satou’s gaze shifted slightly. “…Sure.”

“Well then, I won’t keep you.” After saying goodbye to the members of the Crafts Club, Higashigumo headed back to the Service Club.

Opening the clubroom door, he found Yuigahama Yui sipping strawberry yogurt, Yukinoshita Yukino seated nearby, and Hiratsuka Shizuka leaning against the window.

“Higashigumo-kun!” Yuigahama put down her drink and fished out a coin from a small coin pouch shaped like a mini purse.

“Thanks for grabbing drinks for us!”

Higashigumo waved her off. “Told you, it’s a perk.”

“Next time, knock before you come in.” Yukinoshita had clearly heard about his errand from Hiratsuka. “So? You went to the Crafts Club. Did you find anything to refute my claims?”

“She wasn’t in a bad mood. She was jealous of you.”
“If he really didn’t want to return it, he’d hide it—not leave it where you’d see it.”
“It’s just some dumb boy’s way of trying to get attention.”

Recalling Yukinoshita’s words, Higashigumo sat back down in his usual seat. “Your assessment was spot-on.”

“Just point out how immature that behavior is. Once he sees you’re not amused, he’ll hand the plushie over.”

After straightening out the mess of thoughts in his head, he added, “And the solution you proposed—it was correct too.”

“Victory is mine.” Yukinoshita swirled her drink carton slightly. “I was going to make you stand in the hallway like a statue for a week, but… I guess this strawberry yogurt will do.”

After all, Higashigumo had originally gone out to buy drinks just to break the awkward tension.

So Yukinoshita had chosen to treat the drink he bought her as the “reward” for winning.

Hiratsuka tilted her chin toward Higashigumo. “Told you I wasn’t wrong.”

“You weren’t,” Higashigumo smiled.

“Yukinoshita-san is just as kind and upright as expected. Which is why—I think I’ll lower the bar for my own win condition a little too.”

Yukinoshita’s gaze sharpened. His words hinted that he already considered himself the eventual winner.

But he’d just said her judgment and methods were both correct.

Which meant…

“Just to be clear,” Yukinoshita set her drink aside, crossing her arms, “If you try to guide Yuigahama away from the issue with clever words, or twist things with sophistry, I won’t accept it.”

“I only have one question. One I already know the answer to.” Higashigumo swept his messy black hair behind his ear.

“And once I ask it, Yukinoshita-san, you’ll concede.”

“Fine.” Yukinoshita’s eyes lit with a cold, icy fire.

“If you can actually manage that, I’ll count it as you winning twice.”

Originally this was supposed to be a once-per-semester thing… Hiratsuka grumbled internally, but her expression showed only amusement. She was clearly enjoying the confrontation.

“Alright. As the referee, I approve. If Higashigumo can get Yukinoshita to concede with a single question, he wins twice. But if he fails—that’s two losses.”

“If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn’t have noticed. But you, Yuigahama—I believe in you.” Higashigumo tapped his temple twice with his index and middle finger.

“Think carefully. Was Sagami always cold to you? Or did she only become more distant after you told her about the missing plushie?”

Yuigahama had been worried she might let him down—but once she heard the question, she relaxed immediately.

To most people, distinguishing between "cold" and "suddenly cold" might not be so simple.

But for Yuigahama Yui, someone used to reading others’ moods, the difference was crystal clear.

So she answered without hesitation.

“Sagami seemed kinda down from the start…” Yuigahama recalled the scene. “But after I mentioned my plushie went missing, she definitely got colder…”

“Or rather,” Higashigumo added, “she started showing clear hostility—specifically toward you.”

Yuigahama gave a small, solemn nod.

Yukinoshita’s brows furrowed. Her lips pressed into a thin, pale line, and—for the first time—uncertainty flickered in her gaze.

As if trying to hide, or needing space to think, she closed her eyes.

Her pale fingers clenched tightly into small fists. Her lashes quivered.

And then, after a long silence, she opened her eyes once more.

“…I…”

She bit her lower lip lightly. Her icy blue eyes rippled with complex emotion. Her voice, when it came, was as clear and cool as a mountain spring.

“…I concede.”

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T/N: ummm is it because kaori likes satou? and satou is using that jealousy IHAFIOASJAJF IDK

This is a fan translation of 雪之下的矫正方式 by 微凉温热 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!