Actually, the Hungry Gyaru Who Eats a Lot Was Being Cheated On, so I Decided to Win Her Heart (And Stomach) From Her Jerk Boyfriend - 30

Chapter 30: The Hungry Gyaru and the Secret Promise (Again)

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“You had cooking class today, right? How was it?”

My older sister asked me as I was making dinner right after coming straight home from school. 

“…Big Sis, how do you even know about that?”

I never told her that we had cooking class today. Sure, she could’ve guessed from the apron and bandana in the laundry, but she wasn’t the type to pay attention to small details like that. So… How did she know?

It turned out she knew about it from an unexpected source. 

“Shizuku-chan told me. She said you two were in the same group.”

“Ah, right. Now that you mention it, you two exchanged contact information, didn’t you?”

It seemed Shizuku and my older sister exchanged LINE contact while I stepped out of the room to take a bath when I brought Shizuku over to our house last month. I knew about that, but judging by how things went, it looked like they were in touch more often than I had initially expected. 

“So? How did it go for you, Gaku?”

“…Well, I’d say it went pretty good? It was my first time making curry from powder instead of a roux, but the powdered curry turned out to be quite delicious.”

“No, no. That’s not what I’m asking about… No. Wait. Wait a second.”

For some reason, my older sister suddenly looked flustered. She quickly stood up from the sofa, looking panicked for some reason. 

“Gaku… You… Don’t tell me, you actually mixed the spice from scratch?? I’m not trying to be mean to you here, but you really need to listen to me about this one. Guys who make curry spices from scratch are not popular.”

“I didn’t, but that’s a pretty awful stereotype.”

“No, no. It’s not a stereotype, it’s the truth. Guys like that are usually way too obsessive with stuff. They’re overly particular about small things and tend to blow ridiculous amounts of money on their hobbies. I don’t want you to become those useless guys who can only make women cry in the end.”

“The heck with that…”

But well, hearing her say that, I could somehow understand her point. Of course a guy like that wouldn’t be popular with women. In other words, my older sister wasn’t talking about mixing curry spices from scratch itself, but the implications about that guy’s personality and lifestyle that would make women avoid dating him. 

“Anyway, that’s not important right now.”

My older sister, brushing  off the topic aside as she leaned against the kitchen counter and continued on. 

“Gaku, you…”

With an unusually serious expression on her face, she stared at me straight in the eyes and asked. 

“When are you going to bring Shizuku-chan to our house again? It’s been almost a month since then and there’s nothing! Nothing at all! The heck with that, Gaku???”

At that, a sigh escaped me. A big sigh, to that. 

“How should I know? We don’t have any plans to do something like that anyway.”

“Then make some! Right now! Make a plan with Shizuku! Hurry up! I’m dying to hang out with Shizuku-chan again!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Now let me finish making Ichika’s dinner first. Besides, if you’re dying to hang out with Shizuku, why don’t you invite her yourself? You have her LINE contact anyway.”

I said so to my older sister, but all I got in return was an exaggerated sigh, as if she was trying to say,”What stupid things are you spouting now?”

“You just don’t get it, do you? Gaku, you don’t understand anything.”

“…What don’t I understand?”

“Precisely! That’s exactly what I mean when I say you don’t get it! At this rate, you will never.. No. Forget it. Good grief. To think my own younger brother can be this pathetic…”

“Well, I’m sorry for being such a bad younger brother.”

I muttered, disgruntled at her comment as she dramatically buried her face in her hands, making yet another exaggerated motion like she was in utter despair. My older sister gave me a look of what could only be described as a pure disappointment before she turned her gaze to Ichika, who was busy watching soap operas on TV. 

“Hey, Ichika. Ichika, would you like to have Shizuku-chan come over to our house again?”

At that, Ichika whipped her head around at an incredible speed. 

“REALLY??? Shizuku-oneechan is going to come over again?!?!”

“Well, that depends on Gaku…”

My older sister said and Ichika  quickly trotted over from her seat in front of the TV to stand near me, who was busy cooking in the kitchen. Her eyes were sparkling with immense hope as she looked up at me. 

“Gaku-nii, Ichika… Ichika really wants to play with Shizuku-oneechan gain…”

“… Fine. I will message her after dinner, okay? You need to wait for her answer until then.”

“Okay, got it!”

I had a feeling I was dancing in the palm of my older sister’s hand, but, well… since Ichika had asked me, I might as well give it a shot, even if the chances of Shizuku accepting my request were slim to none.

＊ ＊ ＊

After dinner, I spent several minutes agonizing my fate in my room before I finally mustered the courage to call Shizuku. Barely two seconds into the call and…

『Helloooo! Suou-kun! It’s rare for you to call me!』

Shizuku’s cheerful voice came from my phone. Just like always, she responded to my call at lightning speed. 

“Sorry for calling you out of the blue like this.”

『It’s totally fine!~ I was feeling a bit bored, so your call came at the perfect time!』

“I see. I’m glad to hear that. Hey, Shizuku….”

『Wha-What is it?』

“Well, you see… It’s just…”

Upon hearing the hesitation in my voice, Shizuku asked back. She sounded puzzled.

『Suou-kun? What’s wrong?』

Geez. Don’t chicken out now. Come on. You’ve already made up your mind, haven’t you?

I pulled my phone away from my face for a moment and let out a deep breath. 

…Okay. 

After renewing my resolve, I said to Shizuku. 

“Shizuku, if you’re okay with it… How about coming over to my place eit—”

『I WILL COME!』

But before I could finish speaking, Shizuku already voiced her enthusiasm to come over to my place. The sudden loud response startled me so much that I instinctively moved the phone away from my ear.

“Don’t start yelling out of nowhere like that. My heart can’t bear it, okay?”

Somehow, this exchange felt oddly familiar. 

『Ahahaha~ Sorry, sorry~ I just…』

“Well, it’s fine. But still, I’m glad to hear you said yes. Botch Ichika and my older sister are dying to see you again.”

『For real?! I’m dying to see Mio-oneechan and  Ichika-chan too! So? When should I come? How about in the upcoming long weekend?』

“Ah, sorry. I have a part-time job. I’m fully booked on the weekend.”

I said while glancing at my shift schedule on the table. I was booked from noon to evening during Saturday, Sunday and even Monday (the national holiday).

『Huh?! Seriously?!』

“Yeah. Sorry about that. My workplace has been very accommodating to me during the test period, so this is the least I could do for them…”

『I see… It can’t be helped then…』

Shizuku said. Just from her voice alone, I could tell she was feeling really dejected. And so, I quickly offered an alternative suggestion.

“How about next Wednesday instead?”

『Wednesday…? Ah!』

She finally realized.

『Summer holiday!』

“Yeah. Ichika’s summer holiday starts next week, so I figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to come on Wednesday.”

『Yeah! That sounds great! Alright, I will keep my schedule open for you on that day!』

“Understood. I will tell my sisters about this.”

I said, breathing a sigh of relief, and then… I asked another question to Shizuku. 

“One more thing. Shizuku, is there anything you’d like to eat when you come over?”

『Something I want to eat?』

“Yeah. During cooking class today, you kept staring at the leftover curry I was eating with envy. Since you had to hold back today, I thought I could make something for you as a replacement for that.”

『Really?~ Ah~ But I’d feel bad~』

So she said, but her voice sounded happy. I could tell she was ecstatic by my suggestion even over the phone. However, it seemed she was seriously pondering what she wanted me to make since our lively conversation suddenly fell silent for a moment. She took her time—well over ten seconds—to think it through and when she finally came to her decision…

『…Then, I’d like the curry we made in cooking class today. I want a super big portion!』

“Got it. Anything else?”

『I want lotsss of topping! Can I have some stuff that we didn’t get to make today? 』

“Sure. Just let me know if there’s anything else you want. 

『Understood! 』

After hearing her positive reply, I was about to end the call, but…

『Suou-kun. 』

“Hm? What is it?”

『…See you tomorrow at school. 』

“Yeah.”

I ended the call while feeling as if I could see Shizuku’s gentle smile on the other end of the line.

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