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 - 9

Chapter 9: The Curious Sisters

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“I’m back.”

I was coming home after finishing my part-time job. It was already night time and my older sister, Mio, greeted me back. 

“Welcome back, Gaku~ I’m starving. Make dinner for me.”

“…Good grief. That’s the first thing you say? Go make it yourself. Besides, you get hom earlier than I do on the days I have a part-time job.”

“But Gaku, your cooking tastes so much better than me. Plus, I made dinner yesterday since you were out enjoying a fancy meal. It’s only fair that you cook dinner today.”

“What kind of logic is that…?”

That being said, arguing whether I should be the one cooking or not was too much trouble. With a tired sigh, I tossed my bag and phone onto the table and headed to the kitchen. I checked the fridge and picked out some ingredients randomly.

“I’m feeling lazy, so I will just make pasta and a simple soup.”

Without waiting for a response, I began processing the ingredients. Before long, I heard the sound of the front door opening, followed by the sound of someone’s footsteps. Then, my younger sister, Ichika, came trotting into the living room. 

“Ah! Gaku-nii! Welcome back!”

“I’m back. Sorry, dinner is going to be a bit late. I’m going to start cooking now, so wait for a bit.”

I said while preparing the ingredients.

“Okay! Got it!”

Ichika said while flashing me a bright smile. 

Good grief. How can my sisters’ personalities be this different?

It was often said the younger brothers tended to be dominated by their older sisters and our family was not an exception. Just like now, I was getting dragged around by my older sister, forced to do her biddings. But that only made Ichika’s innocence feel even more heartwarming to me. 

If only my older sister could learn one thing or two from Ichika’s kindness…

I thought to myself when Ichika suddenly said. 

“Hey, Gaku-nii. You’ve got a message.”

Ichika said while looking curiously at my phone on the table. Then, she continued on. 

“Is it from your friend?”

“Probably from my part-time job. I will reply later.”

“But it says ‘Thank you for the lunch today!'”

In that instant, my older sister, who had been lounging on the sofa, sprang up. She grabbed my phone with incredible speed and stared at the screen with wide eyes.

“Gaku? Has a friend?! And it says Shizuku… Could it be… A girl!?!?”

With a look of utter shock etched on her face, my older sister dashed to me.

“Gaku! Just what is going on here?!”

“You’re in the way. I’m cooking dinner right now. Can we talk about this later?”

“Nooo! I’m asking you NOW! What’s your relationship with this Shizuku-chan?!”

Don’t just open my phone without asking… I know I’m the one who has given her the passcode to my phone, but still. This kind of forceful attitude only works because I’m the one she’s doing it to.

I thought to myself while I reluctantly answered. 

“…Nothing. She’s just a classmate.”

“There’s now way nothing is going on between you. I mean, you barely had any friends all through elementary and middle school! And now, you suddenly exchanged LINE contacts with a girl?! This is definitely not nothing!”

I know. I agree with you on that. 

In fact, I was only able to exchange contact information with Kushina precisely because something big had happened. However, I didn’t have any intention to tell her that. 

But before I could say anything back, my older sister started shooting a barrage of questions at me. 

“Hey, hey, what Shizuku-chan is like?”

“Who knows. We don’t have anything in common, so I don’t know her that well.”

“Come on~ Stop pretending you don’t know~ There has to be something! Like, is she the bright type? Or the quiet type? What is her personality like?”

“…She’s a gyaru and a big eater. Probably a bigger eater than me.”

“Whoa… Amazing! She can eat more than you?! That’s something!”

My older sister was rendered speechless because she knew how much I could eat. Ichika too. She was standing next to me and her eyes were sparkling.

“…Wait a minute. Could it be… When you were eating out yesterday… You were actually on a date with Shizuku-chan?!”

“It wasn’t a date.”

“Hm. So in other words, you had a meal with Shizuku-chan. Together. I see, I see.”

…I just dug my own grave. I tried to find an excuse, but she was right on point. I couldn’t say anything back in return. Then, my older sister asked again. She looked a bit hesitant this time. 

“Don’t tell me… I mean, I know I’m pulling my own leg, but… Are you dating her or something?”

“No way. Of course not. First of all, she still has a boyfriend.”

“Still.. STILL has a boyfriend…?”

Ah, crap. I messed up. I completely messed up. I regretted letting those words slip out of my own, but the deed had been done. My older sister squinted her eyes and stared at me with a mischievous grin on her face.

“Hooo~ So that means… You’re targeting Shizuku-chan, huh? Wow, Gaku, you’re quite the bad boy, aren’t you?~ I can’t believe you want to snatch a girl from her boyfriend like that… If Dad and Mom found out about this, they’d be so heartbroken~”

“I’m not targeting her! And stop saying it like that!”

Sure, I might be helping her to break up with her boyfriend, but my older sister’s imagination was wrong. It wasn’t like that at all.

“Really?~”

“Stop doubting me like that. Why are you trying to make out your little brother to be the bad guy?”

“Well, I mean… It’s a bit unusual for YOU, out of all people, to be talking with a girl.”

“Oi.”

The way she was grinning made it obvious that she didn’t trust me, but still… I’d better stop letting her tease me or things would get a lot worse in the future.

“Mii-nee…Is Gaku-nii a bad guy?”

“Huh?”

My older sister froze in shock. 

“I-Ichika…?”

“Because… Snatching… It’s like when someone is trying to steal Mom from Dad, right? Is Gaku-nii trying to do something bad like that?”

Ichika looked at my older sister with unshed tears in her eyes. Ichika looked so anxious, rendering my older sister speechless. 

“U-um, well, that is… It’s just that—”

My older sister was pretty coercive when it came to me, but… Well, maybe because of that, she was completely weak when it came to Ichika. 

Unlike me, who had a twisted personality, Ichika was still innocent and pure. Not to mention, there was a ten years age gap between my older sister and Ichika. It was only natural that my older sister’s fangs lost all their sharpness in front of Ichika. Thanks to that, Ichika was reigning the top of the pyramid hierarchy among the three of us. A university student couldn’t stand up against a fifth grader…

From an outsider’s perspective, the dynamic between us siblings must be amusing to watch, but leaving it be like this wouldn’t do anyone any good, so I decided to step in and help out.

“It’s okay. Big Sis is just teasing me. You don’t need to worry, Ichika. Right, Big Sis?”

“Yes, just like what Gaku says..”

“Really? I’m so glad…! Mii-nee! You shouldn’t be so mean to Gaku-nii!”

Ichika placed her hands on her hips and scolded my older sister. 

“…Understood.”

My older sister lowered her head, looking defeated. At least Ichika had scolded her, so there was nothing more I needed to say to my older sister. With that, I decided to wrap up the conversation and get back to cooking.

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