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 - 6

Chapter 6: The Hungry Gyaru Makes Her Decision

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“Thank you for the meal.”

Kushina put her hands together after swallowing the last piece of her hamburg steak. The huge amount of food piled on top of her had all disappeared. She left not a single grain of rice left behind. 

“You really can eat, huh.”

“Well, yeah. But Suou-kun, I can say the same to you too.”

“…Yeah, fair enough.”

On my plate, there were only a few pieces of hamburg remaining, topped with grated daikon and only about three spoonfuls of rice remained. Of course, my stomach still had plenty of space left to spare. 

“Thank you for the meal.”

I said a few seconds later after I had finished everything on my plate. Kushina’s face beamed and she asked me excitedly. 

“So? How was it? It’s delicious, right?”

“Yeah. No complaints about it. It was great.”

I had eaten over a kilogram of hamburg steak, but I didn’t grow tired of it. It was clear that they not only took great care in selecting the quality of the meat, but also paid close attention to the spices. As a result, I could continue eating it without feeling overwhelmed by the greasy, meaty taste, even without the sauce. On top of that, they provided us with three types of toppings, allowing us to enjoy a variety of flavors. It was almost hard for me to stop eating because of how delicious it was. Putting the price aside, I could eat this meal again and again. It was just that good… Yes. If only it wasn’t that expensive… 8000 yen for a set was way too expensive, even though their portion size was really big. I had been pressured into ordering it by Kushina, but still… It felt a bit excessive to be treated to a meal that cost 8000 yen by a fellow high schooler. Instead of feeling grateful, I started feeling guilty instead. 

“Kushina, you know…I think it’s okay if you don’t treat me. I can pay for my part myself.”

I told her that I had changed my mind about her treating me, but for some reason, she began looking sad instead. 

“Huh…? Why…?”

“Why? Because it’s too expensive. I can’t possibly let you treat me to that. If it were just a thousand yen or two thousand yen, sure I could overlook it. But I’m not that insensitive enough to let you treat me to an eight thousand yen meal set.”

“B-But…! But…. I won’t be able to repay you otherwise!”

“No. Just think about this logically. It’s clear to see you’re the one getting the short end of the stick here.”

If I were to calculate the total amount of money I had spent treating her at my part-time job and the cost of the side dishes she had eaten during lunch, it would only come to around 5000 yen at most. However, I knew this wasn’t the right timing to be that calculative. 

“Nevermind that. Let me ask you another question hen. Why are you so determined to treat me?”

“Well… Because that’s the only thing I can do for you…”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

There was something a bit weird about the way Kushina said that. It was almost like spending her money on other people was the only thing she could do. 

Maybe… She’s also like this with Yamachi? No, no. I shouldn’t be thinking about that now. I need to find the middle ground in this conversation first. 

“…Alright. Then how about if you just pay for half of it? In exchange, you can treat me to ice cream or something for dessert later. That should make us even.”

“But…”

“Now, why do you look so disgruntled? I’m offering you a compromise here. Anyway, this is the end of our discussion. I’m not going to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

I said and Kushina pouted and nodded before she said,”Alright~”

Then, she added. 

“Then, let me treat you to a jumbo size at least.”

This girl… Why is she so eager to treat me…? She’s going to get sucked dry if she ever gets caught up in the host club business.

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We stopped by an ice cream shop on our way to the station. Then, as promised, she treated me to an ice cream. Of course, the size was anything but normal. The café au lait flavored ice cream came in a paper cup about twice the normal serving size, complete with chocolate chip. It was enough for three people. As for Kushina, she had vanilla ice cream with chunks of strawberries. 

“So delicious!~ Sweet things after a savory meal is really the best!~”

Kushina scooped up her ice cream with a plastic spoon and popped it into her mouth as she hummed happily. Although it hadn’t been that long since she bought it, but nearly half of her ice cream was already gone. I already had my suspicions, but not only is she a big eater, she was also really fast at eating. She managed to finish that hamburg set meal faster than me too. I was staring at her eating the ice cream. We were about to reach the station when suddenly, Kushina came to a sudden halt. At the same time, her cup slipped from her hand and almost fell to the ground. 

“Whoa! That was close…”

Fortunately, I managed to catch it in mid-air. I sighed in relief and turned my attention to Kushina. 

“You, just what—”

I was about to scold her when I noticed something was off. The light had completely disappeared from Kushina’s eyes. 

“…Why…?”

Kushina stood there, staring blankly ahead. Following her gaze, I realized she was staring at Yamachi and Katagiri walking with their arms crossed together. The two of them were near the station entrance. 

“—! Kushina, over here!”

Before I could think twice, I immediately grabbed Kushina’s arm and pulled her into an alley to avoid getting caught by Yamachi and Katagiri. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to notice us. They continued on their merry way and disappeared into the station, still looking as lovey dovey as ever. 

“…They’re gone.”

I said after making sure the coast was clear. Then, I turned my attention back to Kushina. She had collapsed right here and there while covering her face with her knees. 

“Are you okay… Nah. There’s no way you’re okay now.”

“…It’s obvious enough, isn’t it?”

She answered curtly, still crouched with her face hidden from view. Her voice made it clear. She was at her breaking point. 

“I kept telling myself over and over… That Takashi would never cheat… Maybe we were both mistaken… Maybe it was just someone who looked similar to him…”

Kushina whispered. Her words sounded feeble and heavy. Just from how weak her voice sounded, I could tell she was forcing herself to speak. 

“…But now, I can’t deny it anymore. It wasn’t a mistake. That was definitely Takashi… He’s… He’s really cheating on me…”

From then on, Kushina started crying. It was a loud cry, full of uncontrollable sobs. She cried without caring about being seen by the passerby. 

This is bad. What should I do now…?

I couldn’t find the right words to say to Kushina. If I could come up with something comforting, I would’ve already said it, but nothing came to my mind. I scratched the back of my head awkwardly and glanced outside the alley. A few passersby were looking at us from a distance, seemingly curious. But that was all. Within a few seconds of staring, they moved on, disappearing into the crowd. At that moment, I almost felt grateful to our society’s indifference. 

Sighing a bit, I sat down beside her. I tried to think of ways to comfort her while finishing the remaining of my ice cream. I pondered for a while, but the only thing I could do was stay quietly by her side until she stopped crying. It took a while for her to stop sobbing. I had already finished my ice cream by then. 

“…I’m sorry about that. Heh. I’m so pathetic, huh?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m the one who should apologize. I couldn’t come up with anything to comfort you.”

“It’s fine. After all, Suou-kun is not good with this kind of thing, right?”

“Well, I can’t deny that…”

She basically told me she didn’t have any expectations from me, but well. I decided to let it slide. She wasn’t wrong after all.

“…Anyway, hurry up and finish your ice cream. It’s going to melt.”

I handed her the cup and she took it slowly. She finished the remaining half of the ice cream while sniffing and sobbing. Her blue eyes were glistening from tears and her eyelids were swollen and red. After she had finished her ice cream, she asked me. 

“Hey, Suou-kun. What should I do now?”

“…Beats me. That’s something you need to decide for yourself. You can call him out and confront him. You can tell everyone about the affair. You can do whatever you want.”

“…You know, I really think you should work on that cold attitude of yours.”

She sighed before continuing.

“But well, that’s just how Suou-kun is.”

She said while sighing and shaking her head exasperatedly.

“…Sorry about that. But, I want to say this. No matter what choice you make, I’ll be on your side until the end. Like I said to you the other day, if it’s getting too much for you, don’t try to bear it all alone.”

“Why… Why are you so nice to me?”

“Why? Well, the answer is simple.”

Isn’t it obvious?

“When someone you know is hurting in front of you, there’s no way you can just ignore them. That’s all. There’s no deeper reason or anything of that sort.”

“..I see. Thank you.”

A short response. Kushina closed her eyes. Then, she looked up and took slow, deep breaths. Then, she nodded firmly, as if she was trying to reassure herself before she stared at me. 

“Suou-kun. I’ve decided. I’m going to break up with Takashi.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she said so. Her expression was the epitome of sorrow. From my perspective, that was the only plausible answer out of this mess. However, I could tell that for Kushina, she had to brace herself to make that choice. That was just how important Takashi had been to her. And so, the least I could do was support her so that one day, she could confidently say her decision wasn’t wrong. Eventually, she would be able to smile again and maybe laugh at this memory.

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