Chapter 4

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Series: A Love That Lurks at the Dining Table

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It was the day after Hino-kun gave me ten-thousand yen. I was sitting on a bench waiting for him next to the door he designated.

The full cherry blossoms on the ground made a pink carpet and the trees seemed lonely since there was no one to admire the scenery in the sparse courtyard.

It may have been quiet, but that was probably a good thing since I was meeting Hino-kun today. It would be bad if some strange rumors started spreading if someone saw me hand him a bento.

I shrunk in a little and readjusted my grip on the larger lunch bag I was holding.

The bento I made with ten-thousand yen was mushroom okowa, hamburger steak with okara, a parent-and-child roll, pickled spring vegetables, and okra with plum and nameko.

Yesterday I went around the supermarket, the greengrocer, the fish shop, the butchers, and the bookstore before I eventually decided to just cook the usual.

I thought about cooking like a professional, but I couldn’t just give someone a meal I was still learning how to perfect. Lack of concentration for even the simplest dishes would lead to a complete failure! Something like that.

Anyways, Hino-kun should already know that I’m not a professional. So I decided to cook like normal and return the change.

I calculated the calories and nutritional value. I made it with that consideration in mind, but I was particularly worried about the main dish, the rice.

I wasn’t sure if I should sprinkle black sesame seeds, which I would have roasted in a frying pan to release their aroma, or place a pickled plum in the center of the fluffy white rice, or spread bonito flakes seasoned with soy sauce and sugar on a shallow layer of rice, lay out a layer of nori, and pile the rice on top.

After much deliberation, I decided to go with a mixture of rice and mushrooms… But then a new problem occurred: whether to make it soft or not.

The ingredients were maitake mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms, and cheese.

I didn’t have time to make rice so I cut up some rice cake, mixed it all together, and created a simple rice cake.

To make the okara hamburger steak moist, I added mayonnaise and grated daikon when I was mixing the okara and minced meat. I included diced tomatoes for sweetness and lotus root to be chewy.

For the parent-and-child roll, I boiled the onions in mentsuyu until it turned amber, then I finely chopped the chicken thighs and boiled them until the juices were gone, finally adding an egg mixture and baking it.

It took more time to cook than a normal omelet, but the sweet and sour taste of the eggs and meat were exceptional. So I made the side dish refreshing pickled vegetables and plum.

As for the lunch box itself, I found a disposable plastic and paper one at the general store and used that.

The total cost of the bento box, chopsticks, and ingredients was roughly 1500 yen.

So I put the remaining 8500 yen back in the envelope from yesterday and was holding it. Today I would hand him his bento, return the money, and leave. And then I’ll find somewhere else to eat lunch.

I felt uneasy thinking that someone could see us or take a picture or something.

Hino-kun walked out of the entrance while I was imagining it. He had his arms folded together and was wearing a dark gray sweater, unlike yesterday’s blazer.

Today was warmer than usual, so I was also wearing a sweater, but I didn’t know he was wearing that color. He was absent because of work in the morning. I hurried to stand up and he laughed when I bowed.

“You don’t need to bow. More like, I should be doing that.”

“Oh, um, here you are, Hino-kun.”

“Thank you. It must have been difficult making lunch for two, but I’m happy that you did.”

Hino-kun’s face broke out into a smile when I ran up to him and held out his bento. It made me happy to see him happy. I bowed again and went to leave when he grabbed my wrist.

I reflexively took a step back from having my arm suddenly grabbed, but Hino-kun stepped closer.

“Did you have other plans?”

“No…”

“Then can’t we eat together? I want to eat while listening to how you made it, but is that no good?”

Hino-kun tilted his head, but I was just bewildered. He asked me to make him food because he didn’t like to be surrounded by people. If he wanted to know how it was made, I could just write it on a piece of paper. While I was wondering what to do, he looked at the lunch box I was holding.

“It seems like you have your own bento. C’mon, I know a secret place we can go to.”

“Wha-“

Hino-kun started walking while still holding my hand. It would be dangerous to be seen like this. Looking around, there were no other students here, but there was no guarantee it would stay like that so I followed him with uneasiness.

◇

“Here it is.”

The classroom Hino-kun took me to was at the top floor of the speciality building – which included laboratories and the cooking class room, seperate from the main building. He took a key out of his pocket and opened the door with practiced movements.

“Welcome.”

The inside looked like a normal classroom, but there were less desks and chairs than our classroom. Was this room being used for storage? Hino-kun locked the door behind us and even closed the curtain on the door window before turning around.

“Sometimes I leave early or I’m late because of work, right? That’s why I got this key for a temporary waiting room.”

There were times where Hino-kun might not be in class. Today he didn’t show up until third period and the girls in class raised a fuss in joy over his arrival. But if he had a place like this, why did he eat lunch in the cafeteria before now? While I was wondering, he turned a seat around so two seats faced the same desk.

“Sit here.”

“Oh, sorry. And thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

He sat down with a satisfied smile and began unwrapping his bento. Beautiful fingers that almost seemed artificial gripped the cover of the box and opened it.

“Wow, it’s so neatly packed. The color of the cooked rice is also beautiful… You even stuck picks in the vegetables.”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t speak through the tension while I watched Hino-kun’s expression as he breathed out. My heart felt like it was spinning… Before this, it was normal, but now it felt like when I watched him eat my muffin on the day of the cooking class.

While I was opening my bento box with a slight pain in my heart, he silently brought his hands together.

“Then, thank you for the meal.”

“T-thank you for the meal.”

I slapped my hands together in a rush. I watched as Hino-kun split apart his chopsticks and started eating the omelet first. His eyes looked like an innocent child’s and I could feel my tension increase.

“There’s ingredients inside the omelet…”

“Y-yes. Kind of like… parent-and-child roll.”

He looked even more interested and finished the omelet with one bite. Then he immediately smiled.

“Delicious. You included the meat and onions inside. You said it was parent-and-child roll… so like a parent-and-child bowl?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you were gonna say something awful when you talked about rolling parents and children. But the fluffy eggs and the taste of the meat was delicious.”

“I-I just seasoned it with mentsuyu.”

“That’s not all. The amount of salt you added was perfect. Whenever I pour soy sauce, I mess up and either add too much or too little. You’re amazing, Igarashi-san.”

“No, that’s nothing, hahaha.”

I could see that Hino-kun wasn’t going to stop moving his chipsticks, so I dug into my mushroom okowa since I was hungry as well. And then he also began eating the mushroom okowa.

“Yep, this is also the best… The gentle flavor is calming… I want more…”

Hino-kun’s movements were very refined as he praised my food many times while eating the okowa. Seeing him eat like that was refreshing, and I was grateful from the bottom of my heart that I could make it for him. I wanted to make more for him if possible. I gasped when I realized where my thoughts were leading. Then I noticed that Hino-kun was eating the hamburger when he exclaimed, “It has lotus root!”

“I like this. The lotus root inside is also delicious.”

“Yeah, because half of it was okara, so I thought I would try making it chewy.”

“You must have thought about nutritional value when adding the okara. Thank you. This is the first time I’ve eaten such delicious food.”

Hino-kun seemed to be speaking sincerely. Even though he must have been eating more delicious food every day. I felt my cheeks get hot from his passionate words.

I should eat. I should focus on my bento box and eat. I moved to the okura and plums when he brought his chopsticks together.

“Plum, bonito, and nameko? Delicious. Where did you learn to cook, Igarashi-san?”

“No… I just tried various things…”

“Did you pickle this yourself, Igarashi-san?”

“Yes, with sushi vinegar and honey…”

“I see. This is sweet and delicious too. What should I do? I don’t think I could eat anything from work or catering anymore after tasting this.”

“It’s okay. The sushi vinegar and honey can be bought anywhere and the catering will definitely taste better since it’s made by professionals.”

I laughed to hide my warm cheeks, but Hino-kun stared me straight in the eyes, his gaze piercing.

“That’s not true.”

His eyes had strong conviction. I didn’t know how to respond, but I found that I couldn’t avert my gaze. He continued speaking.

“Your food is very delicious. The whole time I was eating, I was thinking about how glad I was that I asked you for this.”

“T-thank you.”

I nervously met Hino-kun’s gaze and then lowered my head. “Don’t mention it,” he responded shortly and continued digging into his bento with delight.

Eating with Hino-kun was bad for my heart.

I felt like I could kind of understand the girls that desperately chased Hino-kun around with sparkling eyes.

I went back to eating my delicious lunch while sneaking glances at Hino-kun.

◇

“Igarashi-san.”

While I was packing up my empty bento after eating, a cool hand rested over my own. I looked up to see Hino-kun touching my hand with a serious expression.

“W-what is it?”

“How about we eat lunch together tomorrow too? Just for the trial period.”

“Um, i-if you’re okay with it, then I am too…”

This week Maki-kun has been taking supplementary lessons during lunch break, and Meina-chan has been tutoring him. He had a lot of red marks… or more like, there seemed to be mistakes in all of his answer sheets so Meina-chan wanted to help him just in case. So I didn’t have any other plans.

“Then please tell me your email or phone number. Or your ID in a talk app. So I can contact you if we can’t meet up.”

“Eh, b-but didn’t your agency say it’s not okay to…?”

“It’s okay if you don’t tell anyone or sell my contact information.”

“Oh, o-okay…”

If I refused, then it would seem like I was a person who wanted to sell his contact information. Quickly nodding along to his words, I took my phone out of my pocket.

“Um, is just my phone number good for now? And then Hino-kun’s–“

“Can you lend your phone to me? You’ve been putting up with my selfishness for a while now, so I can do it myself.”

“Eh…”

“Can’t you let me do this much? You made my bento and even went out shopping for me yesterday.”

He tilted his head apologetically and I nervously handed my phone to him. He broke out in a smile.

“Thanks. I’ll be quick.”

Hino-kun worked on both my cell phone his own with dexterity. I found that I couldn’t calm down while staring at his long eyelashes drooped down to stare at my phone. After a bit of waiting, he lifted his head up.

“Thanks. I registered everything. Contact me immediately if anything happens.”

I took back my phone and saw Hino-kun’s contact information displayed across the screen. I had to make sure not to drop my phone. His name was clearly listed as “Hino Yousuke” in the registration, so I should definitely never lose this. I did have a password, but I should make sure to not lose my phone just to be safe.

“That’s right. Here’s your payment for tomorrow.”

While I was staring at my phone, Hino-kun held out an envelope to me. Oh yeah. I needed to return the money.

“Hino-kun, you seemed to have accidentally given me ten-thousand yen yesterday. So I wanted to return it…”

“It wasn’t an accident, though?”

I moved to grab the envelope but froze at Hino-kun’s natural tone. He looked down at the envelope and me calmly.

It wasn’t… an accident? This amount? While I was caught up in surprise, he handed me the envelope for tomorrow.

“Well, it took you two hours to go shopping, plus the time it took for you to go home, think up the menu, and actually make it must have taken another two hours, right? Plus the cost for the ingredients and the trouble of having to bring two lunches, I think that’s a suitable amount. Is it not enough?”

“No, more like, this is too much for me to accept. This is five times the actual cost -more, including tomorrow’s amount- so there’s no way I can accept this.”

Stunned by his words, I tried to hand the envelope back to Hino-kun. But he just stared at it and muttered, “Ohhh.”

“Is it because of the taxes? That would certainly give you a lot of trouble.”

Taxes?

This wasn’t about taxes. I was just trying to say how this was too much…

“Um, that’s not it, Hino-kun. I was saying that the amount was too much…”

“Okay, I’ll make sure to properly readjust it. So don’t worry. I wouldn’t want to burden your parents.”

Hino-kun took the envelope back from me, took out his own wallet, and started transfering something from his wallet to the envelope. He turned back to me afterwards.

“Alright, here you go. The amount for today and tomorrow. I have no intention of lowering the amount I give you. Thanks for making a delicious bento for me today. I’ll come by for lunch tomorrow, so come here and open up.”

After saying such pressuring words, Hino-kun left with a smile. Left behind was my stunned self, the key for this room, and…

“No, this is far too much, Hino-kun…”

…the envelope with a strangely large amount of money inside.

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