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 - 60-61

Chapter 60: There Is No Such Thing as “Just One Bite”

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While we were waiting, I started to feel a little hungry, so I went to buy the churros Shizuku had been wanting the whole time, along with some drinks and by the time I got back, Miura and the others had already returned.

I’d had to stand in line for quite a while before I could buy them. So it wasn’t surprising that they’d made it back first. The three of them were gathered around Shizuku, and even from a distance I could see them grinning.

…Well, this was bound to happen. Since I’d had to take my eyes off her while I went to buy the food, I’d made Shizuku wear my rash guard. So I’d been prepared for a bit of trouble if they happened to come back while I was gone, but…

“To think it’d actually turn out like this…”

Letting out a small sigh, I braced myself and walked over to the four of them.

“I’m back.”

“Ah, Suou-kun. Thank—”

Cutting Shizuku off before she could finish thanking me…

“Well now, Suou. Care to explain what exactly is going on here?”

Sasamoto pointed at Shizuku and approached me with a broad, mischievous grin. Anyone could tell she was thoroughly enjoying this. Beside her, Suzuki was silent but giving me an oddly intense, expectant stare, and even Miura, though not as openly as the other two, seemed interested. And Shizuku herself…

Her entire face was red like a freshly boiled octopus.

Trying to cover it up would only make things worse.

I decided to stick to the facts.

“It’s nothing. I just didn’t want any weirdos coming near her while I wasn’t watching. That’s all. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“I see, I see… So you were marking your territory, claiming Shizuku as yours. My, my, quite bold of you, Suou.”

“Marking…?”

It wasn’t completely wrong, but did she have to phrase it like that? While giving Suzuki—who was nodding repeatedly with her arms crossed—a suspicious look, I handed the churros to Shizuku.

“Here.”

“…Thanks.”

Miura, standing beside us, made a somewhat complicated expression.

“…Ahh, so that’s two servings, huh.”

At her comment, I looked down at the churros in our hands again. Shizuku and I each held three churros in different flavors. Cinnamon, caramel, and cocoa. Of course, all three together counted as one serving.

“Yeah. Kushina and I are the type who aren’t satisfied unless we each get a whole one.”

Normally, if you were getting different flavors like this, you’d split them in half to share. But both Shizuku and I would rather eat a whole one ourselves than awkwardly split them. And from experience, if we took just one bite of the other’s, we’d end up wanting the whole thing and buying another anyway. In that case, it was quicker to just buy them all from the start.

“Anyway, sorry. I only bought for me and Kushina.”

“It’s fine. We’re not that hungry… But still, you can really eat three of them?”

“Correction. There are only three.”

Honestly, I could’ve eaten two or three more. I was just holding back because at places like this, the price didn’t match the portion size. As I answered, I took a bite of the cinnamon churro. Instantly, the sweetness of the dough mixed with the sweet yet refreshing spice of cinnamon, filling my mouth with its aroma. It was freshly fried too. Piping hot, crisp on the outside, and fluffy and chewy inside.

…This is better than I expected.

It sounded harsh, but food at places like this usually had pretty average quality. I’d figured it would be good enough if it was just decent… But this? I might’ve bought more. Now I also understood why Shizuku had been so fixated on getting this ever since we arrived.

And as for Shizuku… She was happily stuffing her cheeks full of the cinnamon churro.

“Mmm~ so good! I’ve been wanting to eat this forever! And it’s freshly fried too! This is seriously the best~!”

Her face was still faintly red, but maybe because she was eating something delicious, her mood had completely returned to normal.

Just as I thought, the expression she makes when she’s eating is the best.

That thought crossed my mind again. Objectively speaking, Shizuku was undeniably beautiful. But even setting that aside, the way she looked while enjoying her food—at least to me—was the most captivating.

…Ah. This is what I’m drawn to.

I came to realize this fact again, more strongly than ever. If someone asked what I liked most about Shizuku, I’d undoubtedly point to moments like this. Whether I wanted to date her or not was another matter, but I genuinely hoped I’d be able to keep seeing her like this.

While I was lost in those thoughts, I quickly finished the cinnamon churro. I took a sip of the coffee I’d bought to cleanse my palate, then moved on to the caramel one. We hadn’t planned it, but Shizuku had already taken a bite of her caramel churro as well.

That was probably why…

When I looked up, Sasamoto and Suzuki were both grinning.

“Well, well, well… Rinoa-san, what do you think?”

“Indeed, indeed. They’re perfectly in sync.”

“…You’re exaggerating.”

There were only three flavors. It wasn’t that unusual for us to end up choosing the same order without meaning to. I sighed in exasperation, but strangely enough, I didn’t feel annoyed by the teasing. As Shizuku shot Sasamoto and Suzuki an irritated glare from the corner of her eye, I brought the sweet caramel churro to my mouth.

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Chapter 61: The Claw Marks Are Healing Steadily

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Not everyone gathered here had come with swimming as their main objective. At first, we had taken turns watching our belongings while playing around, but after going for a swim several times, we gradually ran out of things we wanted to do. In the end, all of us stayed by the beachside, doing nothing but chatting idly.

That said, it was still a little early to head home. So while Shizuku and I were eating three different kinds of refill churros we had just bought, Miura—who had been fiddling with her smartphone during our aimless conversation—suddenly muttered.

“Heh, the soccer club made it past the third round.”

“Seriously!? The soccer club’s amazing!”

“Oooh, nice~”

Sasamoto and Suzuki, who had looked at the results on Miura’s phone, let out impressed voices.

Maybe I’ll look it up too.

When I pulled out my phone beside them—

“Suou-kun, lemme see.”

Shizuku, who had been sitting next to me, leaned in to peek at the screen while munching on her churro.

“Sure,” I replied briefly, showing her the screen as I checked the match details. Sure enough, our high school had won with a score of 3–1.

“…The soccer club is pretty strong, huh.”

“Yeah. Our soccer club’s actually a powerhouse, you know. I mean, Suou-kun… you really didn’t remember?”

When their tournament appearance had been decided, the class had gotten pretty hyped about it. Shizuku added that, but unfortunately, I had no memory of it at all. I wasn’t in the classroom during lunch break, and I hardly ever talked to classmates other than Shizuku and the others. Because of that, I still wasn’t even sure I could match everyone’s faces with their names. There was no way I would have been able to keep track of what happened in other clubs or what achievements they had earned. 

Not that it was anything to be proud of, though…

While I was inwardly mocking myself, Sasamoto, who had been peering at Miura’s phone, suddenly raised her voice.

“No way! Naki’s killing it!!”

“…Naki?”

“Suou-kun… he’s our classmate. Naki Masatatsu. You’ve gotta remember him, right?”

“………………Oh, that guy.”

I finally remembered once she said it. Naki Masatatsu, the student who had smacked another boy on the head to scold him when rumors about Shizuku cheating had surfaced and the boy had come to confirm the truth of it directly with her. I vaguely remembered that he belonged to the soccer club, but I had no idea he was talented enough to shine on a national stage.

“That guy is that amazing, huh.”

“Hmm… I didn’t really get that impression before. I mean, he seemed pretty good among the first-years, but…”

Shizuku still didn’t seem fully convinced, but when she looked at the official record I had pulled up, her eyes widened.

“Wait? Hey, Suou-kun. Isn’t this seriously insane?”

“That much?”

“Yeah! One goal, two assists. And all of it in the second half after Naki got subbed in.”

“He totally dominated.”

No wonder Sasamoto had been so shocked. Even I, who didn’t know much about soccer, could tell how impressive that was. It was already commendable just to be selected for an official match as a first-year. On top of that, leading the team to victory felt almost unreal. And the fact that he had come in during the second half while they were trailing 0–1 only made it even more remarkable.

Not only that, but the soccer club had been dealing with a lot of turmoil recently because of the whole Yamachi incident. Despite that, they had steadily advanced to the third round, and with Yamachi gone after quitting the club, Naki had stepped up to take his place.

Looks like everyone else has somehow managed to move forward too.

I closed my phone and tossed the half-eaten caramel-flavored churro into my mouth. Beside me, Shizuku washed down the sweetness and dryness with her second cup of coffee while continuing to eat the last cocoa-flavored churro.

Well, Shizuku’s back to her usual self, so I guess it’s not that strange.

As I watched her with that thought in mind, she noticed my gaze and tilted her head slightly.

“…Suou-kun, what’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Hm? If you say so.”

The claw marks Yamachi had left behind were steadily fading. As I once again felt the weight of that fact, I took a bite of the last chocolate-flavored churro.

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