Chapter 2

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Series page: A Love That Lurks at the Dining Table

Previous chapter

“I-I’m sorry Mizuka-chan, is it okay if I go over to where Maki-kun is?”

Lunch break was over and cooking class had begun. While I was standing in front of the counter checking the ingredients, Meina-chan, from my group, kept looking between me and the neighboring group with a pale face.

I followed her gaze to the neighboring group and, like I thought, it was her childhood friend Maki-kun.

His slightly-long black hair shook as he washed a knife while holding the blade. That’s dangerous. To the point where it would be a miracle if he didn’t get hurt. Just looking at him made me anxious.

“Of course! I’ll see you later.”

“Thank you, Mizuka-chan…! I will definitely wash everything afterwards so just leave it once you’re done…!”

I saw Meina-chan off, who apologized with a pale face. Her childhood friend in the neighboring group, Maki-kun, has always been like that since the start of school.

The day before yesterday, he came to school full of leaves like he rolled down a hill somewhere. Yesterday, he soaked himself trying to drink from the tap during gym class.

Meina-chan says that he often falls down the stairs. So she stays by his side to protect him. Those two resembled a straight-laced older sister and her younger brother.

“Alright, time to get to work.”

Turning back to the counter, I grabbed an egg. I cracked it on the side of a glass bowl and dropped the contents inside, stirring with chopsticks.

I set the egg mixture aside and took out some butter.

I put the butter in another bowl and kneaded it with a rubber spatula until it became creamy. I added in the sugar and egg little by little before adding the flour and mixing so it didn’t get lumpy.

Right now the batter was plain, but in this class we had the option to leave it plain or add cocoa to make it chocolate flavored.

I definitely wanted to enjoy the sweet taste of moist, spongy cocoa and the bitterness of crispy chocolate!

I added cocoa powder and crushed chocolate bits, stirring with the rubber spatula so that the dough would bake softly without crushing the chocolate.

After my mixture was evenly mixed, I placed paper cups into the muffin mold and poured the batter over it.

“Alright.”

I put it in the oven and I started cleaning while I waited for it to finish baking. When I glanced at Meina-chan, I could see her wiping powder off Maki-kun’s hands with fervor.

Maki-kun’s whole body might have been covered with powder without Meina-chan.

“Hey, Hino-kun, you live alone, right? Do you usually cook?”

My eyes reflexively moved after hearing a loud voice. Hino-kun was holding an egg with a flower on each arm, or rather, he was surrounded by beautiful girls.

The girls wore dreamy expressions, sifting flour and measuring milk with red faces. I stared at him with admiration, but for a different reason. If it were me, I would have caused a catastrophe.

“I don’t cook a lot. I like to eat but I’m usually too busy with work to cook.”

“What! Then can I make you something?”

“Huh, that’s not fair. I’ll make you something too! Although I can only make omurice!”

“Haha. My agency would get mad though, so I’ll just accept your feelings instead.”

Hino-kun turned his gaze in my direction while talking with the girls. Since I was looking at him, our eyes made contact.

What should I do? If he thinks I’m staring so much… but he’s probably used to it. All the girls… everyone except Meina-chan was always staring at him.

Careful not to give a bad impression, I naturally shifted my gaze from his direction to the surroundings. I looked at the other groups slowly, giving the impression that I was staring at the whole class and then finally settled on looking at the oven.

The muffins rose with the scent of fragrant butter and sweet chocolate.

Thankfully it didn’t seem to be burnt or flat. I sat down in the chair next to me with relief.

There were enough muffins in the oven for Meina-chan too. It’s a different responsibility to make something for other people to eat than just yourself. I was glad it’s baking so well. I’ll be happy if it continues like this too.

As I sat waiting, an electronic timer dinged to announce that the muffins were finished.

I took it out of the open quickly and lined the muffins up on a metal cooling rack. The dough was hardened and swelled to a dark brick color. The chocolate was melted but still hard at the corners.

I took out two for me and Meina-chan to eat during class and went to wrap up the rest. Then I filled the prepared plastic bags with muffins one by one.

If I were eating it at home, I might have made whipped cream with a small amount of sugar to eat it with.

“Um, Igarashi-san.”

While I was packing up the muffins and considering how to organize them, my classmate, Sasaki-san, stood in front of me.

“Hm? What is it?”

She sat in front of Meina-chan. She was a delicate and very cute girl who attracted the eyes of all the girls in class. Everyone called her “Sasaki-chan”. She was showing off her pencil case during break so I had the feeling she was a fashionable girl.

But that’s just what I’ve gathered. I’ve never spoken to her myself. She was also in a different group, so what could she need with me?

“Um, if you’re okay with it, can I have a muffin of yours?”

Awkwardly, Sasaki-san bowed to me, her black hair dropping in front of her.

…Maybe she failed her batch and couldn’t do anything about it? She didn’t seem like the type that just wanted to eat a lot, so maybe something happened with her muffins.

I looked at Sasaki-san’s group only to see no one there. It seemed like everyone was crowding around Hino-kun. But I could smell a burnt scent so she might have been in charge of baking the sweets and failed.

If so, I felt really bad for her. I’m not some food demon that would monopolize my whole share and leave my classmate without anything to eat.

“If you’re okay with mine, then here.”

When I handed Sasaki-san a wrapped muffin, she smiled with relief. I felt happy when I saw it.

“Thanks, you really helped me.”

“No problem.”

Sasaki-san went back to her group with lighter steps than before. I also felt satisfied from being able to help someone. She relied on me and if she thought the muffin was delicious… or something like that? That would make me happy.

“Sorry for making you do everything alone, Mizuka-chan…! I’ll wash up now… Whoa, they baked beautifully… They look delicious!”

Meina-chan came back, looking at the muffins I made with pride. She looked in Sasaki-san’s direction and tilted her head. “What was that about?”

“Sasaki-san came to ask for a muffin.”

“Well, that group did burn theirs. At first I thought it was Maki-kun and I was really worried!”

“It looked like you had your hands full. Good work.”

“Thanks. But I’m so glad… that there was no fire…”

Meina-chan smiled weakly. It really must be hard for her. I looked at Maki-kun to see that he was stooped over his desk in exhaustion. I grabbed Meina-chan’s muffin and handed it to her.

“Eat this muffin to get rid of your tiredness. ‘Cause sweets are good when you’re tired.”

“Thank you…! I’ll savor it. …Mmm, it smells so good…!”

Meina-chan looked delighted as she took the muffin. It really was nice to share the food I made with others. Thinking about it, I could choose my meals freely, but it’s difficult to eat it all alone.

Well, there were some restrictions so I couldn’t exactly eat anything. Plus, things will be more perishable next season so there was even less I could eat.

“Mizuka-chan?”

I seemed to be caught up in my thoughts. Meina-chan looked at me in concern and I quickly shook my head.

“Yeah, it’s nice to have someone eat what I make. Both of my parents are on a business trip so I’m living alone.”

“That sounds so hard. You can tell me if something happens.”

“Thanks.”

Meina-chan smiled gently when I thanked her. We went to our seats to eat our muffins. Yes. I’m glad I made such a good friend. I’ll get used to the loneliness. I should make lots of delicious food and eat it tonight.

I held the baked muffin and unwrapped it with excitement.

◇

Cooking class was a success and as I was rushing to go home after school so I could make food, I ran into a situation.

“Actually, Hino-kun,” Sasaki-san said with a cute, idol-like smile. And the one in front of her… was Hino-kun. While heading down the stairs to get home quickly, I saw Sasaki-san and Hino-kun on the landing talking with a strange atmosphere.

This stairwell wasn’t frequently used because it was far from the classroom, but you could run down it easily, so I thought it would be the fastest. Now I’m faced with the usual time loss. I even wanted to leave early so I didn’t miss the supermarket sale… Would going back the other way be faster? But if they finished talking soon, then this way would definitely be faster…

While waiting, Sasaki-san took out a muffin from her bag.

“I worked hard to bake this muffin for you. I know you probably can’t because of your agency, but could you eat this…?”

Sasaki-san held out the muffin for him charmingly. I felt my mind go blank from that action. There was no mistaking that the muffin she held out was the one I made. I could tell from the roasting, rise and color that it was my creation.

S-Sasaki-san didn’t eat it herself…? She offered mine because she didn’t want to offer her burnt ones…?

While I was getting frustrated at my growing distrust for her, Hino-kun accepted the muffin. Even though he shouldn’t have been able to accept homemade things according to his agency.

“Wow, this is really well made.”

He smiled in delight. Did he have a special relationship with Sasaki-san? If so, then maybe I should leave here…?

“I wonder if I can eat it now? This muffin looks so good.”

Hino-kun opened the wrapping and took it out. I watched as he stuffed it in his mouth and nodded with a smile. Seeing his expression, I felt a discomforting feeling, different from before. For some reason, my throat felt like it was being squeezed and my chest felt uncomfortable. I was in a daze until the two left and then I ran down the stairs.

◇

The next day, I spread out my bento on a bench near the entrance. I was eating lunch alone today. Maki-kun was on day duty so Meina-chan said she would help him. I didn’t feel like eating in the crowded cafeteria, so I arrived here while looking for a place to eat.

But for some reason, my chopsticks wouldn’t move.

Yesterday my chest felt painful and my head was in a daze, so I missed the supermarket sale and ended up eating boiled udon with croquettes I bought at the butcher’s shop.

I soaked the fried croquettes in bonito broth and sipped the udon. The crispy batter, the potatoes, the soup and the chewy noodles all suited each other and it was very delicious.

I usually ate two soft-boiled eggs because just one wasn’t enough, but yesterday, I was fine with one.

I mean, I honestly didn’t even remember how I got home yesterday. I only remembered eating udon.

I was still in a daze this morning. I even ended up burning my omelet.

I sighed and stared at the bento in my hands.

Today’s bento was made of green shiso rice, fried egg and chopped wakame, an asparagus meat roll and steamed broccoli. Perhaps it was the right choice to give up on adding many side dishes.

The shiso rice was mixed with Chinese dressing. The rolled egg was made like tanuki udon and the asparagus roll had a hidden honey flavor. It was a delicious menu like usual.

But my chopsticks wouldn’t move. Somehow, Hino-kun’s expression from yesterday came to my head.

…But why? It was his expression from when he ate the muffin yesterday. It was an extremely happy expression, like he had achieved a life-long wish of his. Even though he had no such feeling when eating that sweet bread, only moving his hand to his mouth… I wondered if he just didn’t like that sweet bread? As I sat there, just holding my chopsticks, suddenly a shadow appeared to the side of my feet.

When I looked up, there was someone who looked like a slender model — Hino-kun was standing there. His sun-drenched hair looked silky and his slightly brown eyes stared down at me.

“Can I sit next to you, Igarashi-san?”

“E-eh, s-sureh.”

I squeezed to the side quickly in response to Hino-kun. He sat next to me and thanked me in a very sweet voice. I heard people say that his voice was cool too, and it certainly was. It was neither too high nor too low.

What was going on? What could he possibly want from me? Did he need help with presentation materials? Was he in charge of the committee…? I couldn’t think of any reason. I didn’t know much about him in the first place. I looked at him nervously as he faced me with a serious expression.

“Igarashi-san, can I buy some of your time?”

“Huh?”

I couldn’t understand his words so I was left momentarily speechless. “W-what do you mean?” I asked, and he pointed to my bento.

“I want you to make my bentos.”

“W-why? W-what exactly…?”

“You made a muffin. For Sasaki-san.”

Again, Hino-kun’s words left me shocked. Oh, did he see me hand it to her? Or did he ask Sasaki-san himself?

“When I was eating that muffin, for the first time in a long time, I could taste it. I thought that I wanted to eat more of your food. And there are a few other reasons I want you to make lunch for me…”

“…Reasons?”

“Yeah. You use the cafeteria too, so you know about what’s going on around me, right?”

I thought back to how he was in the cafeteria. He was surrounded by people and in an environment where it didn’t seem like he could enjoy his food. And when switching classes, sometimes the girls surrounding him blocked the corridor and made it hard to get through. But me making bentos for him didn’t fit into that.

“…I did see, but…”

“I can’t buy a meal ticket because everyone would crowd the machines and it would be a nuisance to others. I eat the same bread and even if I buy it outside, people will take videos and pictures of me without asking.”

It’s true that the meal ticket machines were all lined up together. If he brought his crowd there, they would get in the way. So I could understand him not enjoying his bread. I’m sure Hino-kun got tired of it.

“There was nothing I could do because of work. …Even though it was getting painful. But when I ate your muffin, for the first time in my life I thought something was delicious and felt happy. So that’s why I want to buy your time, Igarashi-san.”

He stared at me with a strong conviction.

Meals should be enjoyable. All three meals, every day. It’s too painful to suffer every day. It sounded outlandish, but his story made up my mind.

“Could you make me bento boxes for a week as a trial period? And then you can decline if it’s too much of a burden.”

“Are you fine with me…?”

“Ah, will you accept?”

His eyes widened from my response. When I nodded, suddenly his dark expression brightened, almost as if he never looked down, and he took my hand.

“Really!? I’m glad! Thanks!”

“B-but I can’t make anything fancy, okay? I can only make ordinary things…”

“Oh, that’s perfect. What you usually make will be fine. …Oh, I’ll give you payment for one day ahead of time. This is for tomorrow.”

He took out an envelope and handed it to me with sparkling eyes. While I was glad he was so happy, I was also confused why he was so happy at the same time. Upon receiving the envelope, he pointed at it.

“Is it called a disposable box? I put in money for a bento box too. Let me know if it’s not enough.”

“U-um, o-okay…”

“Okay, I have work now, so I’ll see you here next lunch break. See you.”

“B-bye bye.”

He stood up and left after I accepted the envelope. I watched him walk back to the school building and my head cooled back down.

I will make food for Hino-kun.

It really affected me when I heard that meals were painful for him. Just what should I make for him? He was a model and there’s also that drama he’s starring in. He was a person from a completely different world.

I opened the envelope he gave me. There was one bill, with four zeros…

“Ten thou…! Whaaaaaat!?”

The contents left me speechless. This was the amount I would get for my New Years allowance. What, just what, is with this amount of money? This was obviously strange. This was the amount for an expensive full-course meal. Just what should I make for his bento tomorrow? Or rather, why did Hino-kun give me this much money…?

I was stunned, just staring at the strange envelope with so much money.

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