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 - 4

Chapter 4: In Response to the Kindness of the Hungry Gyaru

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“Actually, I was a loner back in middle school. I transferred halfway through second year because of my family circumstances and furthermore, I looked like this. I was also a lot more prickly than I am now.”

“Ah, right… You’re mixed, right?”

I remembered she mentioned that her grandmother wasn’t Japanese during the class introductions. That explained why she had beautiful blond hair and clear blue eyes. It was all natural. In a way, she was a genuine “white gyaru”.

“Yeah. My maternal grandmother is Canadian, but I was born and raised in Japan, so my English is terrible… Anyway, back to the main topic. Because of my circumstances, I didn’t have a single friend back in middle school.”

“…How do I say it… It’s kind of hard to imagine you didn’t have a single friend back then.”

“I know, right? I changed a lot… Or to be precise, I was helped to change… By Takashi.”

Kushina said. Her eyes narrowed as if she was recalling a fond memory. 

“Takashi kept reaching out to me when I was shutting myself from the world. He was really patient with me, guiding me slowly. Thanks to him, I was able to fit in with the class. And, well… As simple as it might sound, I began to fall for him because of that.”

…I see. So the two of them had that kind of past together, huh. She said ‘as simple as it might sound’, but in my honest opinion, that was more than enough to fall in love with someone. Back then, Yamachi was her only guiding post. He was her precious savior, maybe almost like a saint to her. That must be the reason why Kushina didn’t confront Yamachi right away. Their past made it hard for Kushina to retaliate against Yamachi’s affair. 

“And then? You two started dating in middle school, right?”

“Yeah. I was the one who confessed to him. He didn’t accept me at first. After two or maybe three confessions, he finally said yes. I was so happy. I truly felt like I could fly to the sky because of how happy I was.”

So they didn’t start dating right away even after she had confessed. Though I didn’t show it on my face, but I was a little surprised by that. I didn’t expect that. 

“And then… It’s been a year and a half I think. I worked really hard for his sake. Goodness. Just what did I do wrong? Why did he do that to me?”

“I don’t know. You need to ask him yourself.”

I said that and Kushina shot me a half-lidded glare, making no attempt to hide her exasperation at me. 

“Haaa… Suou-kun, you know… You really need to do something about your cold attitude. This is why people say you’d probably ignore someone if they were to fall right in front of me.”

“…I’ll try.”

I said, averting my gaze from Kushina’s exasperated yet valid criticism.

Time to go back to the main topic. 

“Anyway, even if there was something wrong with you, it still doesn’t justify his action. Nothing justifies cheating. Instead of going behind your back, he should’ve done the right thing by breaking up with you first before dating the other girl.”

I told her my honest and blunt opinion. Kushina’s eyes widened before she suddenly burst out laughing. 

“What? The right thing, you said…! Ahahaha!”

“Hm? I mean, that’s the LEAST he could do, right?!”

“You’re so straight-laced! …But, yeah. You’re right. Thanks, Suou-kun. I feel a bit better thanks to you.”

“Is that so? I didn’t really do anything in particular though.”

In response to that, a small smile appeared on her lips. But then, a low growl came from Kushina’s stomach, breaking the tender moment. Our eyes met and her cheeks immediately flushed red. An awkward and shy smile spread across her face.

“Ahahaha…. Talking about all that suddenly made me really hungry. Alright. Time to eat~ Time to eat lunch!~”

Kushina hummed, as if she was trying to cover her embarrassment. She opened the lid of her bento box. Half of the container was filled with white rice topped with furikake, while the other half had two bite-sized pieces of rolled eggs, two meatballs and a very small portion of macaroni salad. To add some color, some cherry tomatoes and broccoli were placed here and there. It was a pretty good lunch box, both nutritionally balanced and pleasing to the eye. After staring at her own lunch, Kushina clasped her hands together and smiled brightly. 

“Thank you for the food!”

But…

“Hey, I’m sorry for asking this dumb question, but… Is that really enough for you?”

In an instant, Kushina froze mid-smile. This was the person who could devour a three kilogram bowl of chashu ramen, broth included. A lunch of this size wouldn’t fill her, not even by half. A few seconds of tense stillness passed and she turned to look at me. Her expression looked painfully strained before she exclaimed. 

“Of course… IT’S NOWHERE NEAR ENOUGH! In fact, I’m actually really bummed I need to hold out until dinner time! But! There’s nothing I can do about it! I need to keep  up my ‘small eater’ persona at school!”

“Why do you need to pretend to be a small eater though?”

I asked even further and Kushina fidgeted awkwardly. 

“…Because Takashi said he likes small eaters. He said he prefers the slim type too, so I’ve been hiding how much I can really eat from everyone.”

I see. So that’s why. 

No wonder the lunch box she brought looked carefully curated. The portion looked sophistically controlled, clearly meant to emphasize someone’s girlish charm. I knew the reason why now, but that only made me sigh even more. 

“Good grief. In that case, there’s even less reason for you to keep pretending. Wait. You’re not going to keep dating Yamachi, right?”

“Well… Ummm… I don’t know….”

“…Whatever. I don’t care about that. I don’t have any intention to tell you what to do, but since you’re still not sure what you’re going to do next, then just eat like you normally do already. Here. I will give you half of my side dishes.”

I had a one-liter lunch box with me and this lunch box consisted of two containers. I gave her the container filled with side dishes. Although I had already taken a few bites of my side dishes, but there were still plenty of side dishes that I hadn’t touched yet. 

“Really? Are you sure?!”

“Yeah, that is, if you’re okay with my cooking.”

“I’m okay! I’m totally okay with it! Thank you so much!”

Kushina took the container from me and immediately picked up a large piece of fried chicken and gracefully popped it into her mouth. Her eyebrows grew lax and a smile bloomed on her face. 

“Mmh!~ So delicious! This is amazing, Suou-kun! Did you really make this yourself?!”

“Yeah. I did. Actually, I was the one who cooked everything there.”

“For real?! So this braised burdock root, this spinach with sesame dressing and the simmered pumpkin were all made by you too?! Wow! Are you a genius at cooking?!”

Why is she only picking up the vegetables?

“You’re exaggerating. Anyone could make it as long as they learned the recipes and maybe practiced for a bit.”

“Uwah… There it is… The typical phrase you’d expect from someone who’s naturally good at cooking! Geez! Suou-kun, you sound just like my mama!”

Grumbling, Kushina glared at me. Her frustration was palpable. Then, as if she was trying to vent her frustration, she quickly picked up another side dish. Soon enough, her expression shifted to one of pure happiness after she brought the food to her mouth. She was eating her food happily, exactly like how I had seen her at my part-time job. Watching her eat warmed my chest. A soft, pleasant sensation blossomed in my heart. Perhaps… This was the reason why I ended up saying my next word without thinking it through first. 

“Kushina, although I said you could only have half, but I guess you can eat more if you want.”

“Huh?! Really?!”

“Yeah. Your stomach is going to growl again if you don’t eat enough and I’m sure you’ll be embarrassed if that happens during class, right?”

I said it half-jokingly and Kushina’s cheeks turned bright red.

“Geez! Suou-kun, you really have no tact! Try to think about a maiden’s heart once in a while!”

Kushina protested, but just a moment later, she began eating her lunch happily again. Seeing the rapid change of her expression made me chuckle in return.

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“Phew~! Thank you for the meal! It was really delicious, thank you so much!”

“It was nothing. Was it enough to fill your stomach?”

“Yeah! With this, I think I will be able to make it through the afternoon class without any problem!”

“Glad to hear that.”

So, that amount of food could only last her until the end of school, not until dinner. 

I lightly teased her in my head as I took the empty container from her hand. 

“By the way, is it really okay? I ate everything…”

“Yeah, I don’t mind it. After all, I was the one who told you to eat as much as you want. Besides, I got to see something good in return.”

“Something good?”

“Yeah. I got to see you eating the food I made so blissfully. It makes all the effort worthwhile when someone eats the food you made so happily like that.”

“Ehehe… I see.”

Kushina shyly scratched her cheek with her finger. Watching her like this, I was once again reminded that this girl was indeed a beauty. She was beautiful inside out. She had a good physical appearance. Her personality wasn’t annoying and more importantly, she carried herself so gracefully. The way she ate was so satisfying to watch. If only Kushina weren’t dating Yamachi, she would’ve garnered the attention from many other guys by now. Hence why, I couldn’t help but wonder. 

Why did Yamachi throw Kushina away only to get infatuated with Katagiri?

Well, maybe Katagiri was more of his type. Both Kushina and Katagiri were equally beautiful, but they gave off a different vibe. If Kushina looked more like a gyaru, Kushina gave off the impression of a pure, traditional beauty. The two of them were frankly speaking, on the opposite ends of the spectrum. But still, just because the two of them had the completely opposite charm, that didn’t mean Yamachi could string Kushina along like that. 

…No, there’s no need to think about the reason why. The main issue here is the cheating. Cheating is never acceptable, no matter the circumstances. 

I thought to myself when suddenly… 

“AHHHH!!”

Kushina suddenly shouted out of the blue, causing me to jump up in surprise. 

“…You scared me. Don’t shout all of a sudden like that. What’s wrong?”

“I left my wallet in my bag! Ugh, I’m such an idiot!”

“Your wallet? Why do you need your wallet now?”

“Why? Of course to repay you for sharing your lunch with me.”

“No need. I didn’t share my lunch with you because I was expecting something in return.”

I said, but Kushina refused to budge. 

“So you said, but I have to thank you properly for the last time too. I will feel bad if I don’t.”

“The last time?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t remember! You secretly paid for my extra large chasiu ramen the other day!”

“…Oh, right. I did do that.”

Of course, I remembered. When I was finishing my shift at my part-time job, I gave the shop manager the money to pay for the chasiu ramen Kushina had ordered. I felt bad if she had to pay that much when she was already feeling down. And, well, I was also moved by how much she enjoyed the meal. 

I told the shop manager to keep it a secret from her, but I guess no secret was safe from Kushina. 

“That’s why, Suou-kun. You’re free after school today, right?”

“Well, I guess.”

I didn’t have a part-time job today, but I checked my schedule just to be sure before nodding. 

“Great! It’s decided then! Let’s meet at 6 at the station, then!”

“Huh? Wa—”

But before I could finish my sentence, Kushina already turned on her heels and walked back into the school building without even waiting for my response. 

“…Geez. How inconsiderate. She completely ignored my opinion.”

I didn’t mind it though. I was glad to see she was doing so much better now. At least, on the surface. Although she couldn’t let Yamachi go yet, time would heal her heart. In due time, everything would work itself out. 

I just hope she will meet a good person next. Well, putting that aside…

“…Alright.”

I lowered my gaze to my lunch box. Inside the lunch box I had in my hand, there was a large amount of white rice left. Kushina had already finished all the side dishes after all. 

I need to finish all of this first before returning to the class.

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