After My First Love Who is My Classmate Became My Family, My Childhood Friend Became Really Sweet to Me - Chapter 3

Childhood Friend Again/Soft and Fluffy Omurice/A Sudden Phone Call

I decided to make an omurice with the 99-yen pack of eggs that I bought on the special sale day.

As I live alone in an apartment, cooking is one of my unavoidable chores.

But thanks to my neighbour, I don’t really feel like I’m living alone.

“All right, it’s done.”

They say the secret to fluffy eggs is to add milk. I think it turned out pretty well for me. Then, I poured demi-glace sauce on it and it was done.

I placed my freshly made omurice on a plate with some potato salad as the side dish and went outside.

I stood on my neighbour’s door and called someone out as usual.

“Hey, I brought you dinner.”

The door opened with a clanging sound, and a girl wearing a bulky sweater appeared.

It was my neighbor and my childhood friend, Tsukino.

“Thanks. What’s on the menu today?”

“Omelette rice and potato salad. I bought the salad from the supermarket.”

“Oooh–“

Tsukino’s eyes lit up like a child’s as she received a plate of omelette rice.

“It’s fluffy and thick. You don’t have to eat it to know it’s delicious.”

Because Tsukino and I are neighbors, we have been close friends since kindergarten. Since my father is a single parent, Tsukino’s family has always taken care of me since I was a little boy.

But, six months ago.

Tsukino used to live with her parents and older sister, but her sister went off to college and decided to live by herself, her parents returned to their family home for a while to take care of their relatives. Therefore, Tsukino is living alone just like me.

…so then, this is where she hits a big wall in life.

No one at school knows that Tsukino actually has no life skills at all.

Its okay if she can’t do the cleaning and laundry. She could live on without cleaning her apartment or doing her laundry.

The real problem is her daily meals. Tsukino has never cooked a single proper meal in her life, so it is not possible for her to cook her daily meals.

So, who is going to cook for Tsukino when she has to live alone for a while?

The person who is going to cook for her in a while is me.

“I am glad that Yuto lives next door to me. If it weren’t for Yuto, I feel like I would have lived on bread as my staple food three meals a day.”

“It sounds like a pigeon’s diet… Why don’t you learn to cook or something before that happens?”

“At least I can pour hot water into a cup of ramen, okay?”

Ah.. it’s must be because of this. Tsukino’s mother said “Yu-kun is the only one I can ask.” When she asks me to cook for Tsukino.

Well, I didn’t want Tsukino to have an unbalanced diet as well, so I cook for her meals every day. Tsukino’s parents gave me 30,000 yen every month for groceries and cooking her meal, I refused their money at first, but they were forcing me to take it. So, I feel like that I need to feed her decent meals everyday.

That’s how I became the moon angel’s caretaker.

Tsukino came back into her room and brought the dinner dishes that I gave her yesterday.

My rule was to wash and return the dishes she ate within the next day.

“Thank you for yesterday’s hamburger steak. I’ll have today’s omelette rice, too.”

“You’re welcome. If you have something you want to eat, don’t hesitate to tell me Tsukino.”

“Anything is great you know? Everything Yuto cooks is delicious.”

“It’s the kind of thing that bothers me the most, but it’s also the kind of thing that makes me the happiest.”

Well, it’s time to go back to my room.

When I was about to say goodbye to Tsukino, she said something else.

“Hey Yuto, is your relationship with Hinata okay? I heard she was confessed by a famous upperclassman.”

“I’m surprised Tsukino even know about the rumor. Well, it’s okay.”

Tsukino’s expression is emotionless, I couldn’t see any emotion on her face.

“It’s because Yuto likes Hinata-san.”

“…it’s not like that. Don’t make fun of me Tsukino.”

“I’m seriously worried about you, okay? After the student council meeting, Yuto was called by Hinata-san, right? At that moment, your face looked sad.”

This is why childhood friends are so annoying.

She could easily spot small changes in me that no one could ever noticed.

“Well, I don’t know about that. I’ll leave that to Tsukino’s imagination. But just to let you know, it seems that Hinata is not dating Sagawa-senpai. I heard she turned him down.”

“Hmmm, I see.”

“You don’t seem to be very surprised.”

“I had a feeling about it. Hinata-san is so serious about her relationship.”

Yeah, I totally agree with that.

“But I’m glad Hinata-san doesn’t have a boyfriend yet.”

“I told you, its not what you think, it’s true that Hinata was troubled when she was confessed by Sagawa-senpai. Well, thanks for trying to cheer me up.”

“…? Why do you feel grateful?”

What comes to Tsukino’s face is a faint smile, a smile so cute that it reminds me of an angel.

“I am Yuto’s childhood friend. It’s only normal for me to comfort Yuto when he feels down, right?”

” …I see. I guess you’re right.”

The boys in my class and Yarihara’s class said Tsukino is mysterious and amazing- that may be true, but I think people just don’t know Tsukino.

She could put on such a gentle smile for others.

I went back to my room and ate dinner. Then, it’s free time. I could do whatever I want.

But there was something I have to do.

I sat down at the table in my room and opened my math reference book. My first semester’s final math exam was a disaster. So, if there was any chance for improvement it was here.

Since Hinata ranked 6^th her class, my goal is to be in the top five.

To be a man that Hinata would turn to, even if only a little.

“All right, let’s do it.”

I’m sure I don’t have the right to like her. Even Sagawa-senpai, who is good-looking, athletic, and popular among students, was rejected by her. I think it’s probably wrong for an average guy like me to wish to be in a relationship with someone like her.

But she is my first love.

Even if my mind told me to give up, my heart wouldn’t understand it at all.

Even if I was only a good classmate or a good secretary to Hinata – right now, I just want to move forward to fulfill my dream.

…Phew, I’m done for now.

I looked at my watch and saw that I had been studying for an hour and a half. So much for studying math, I took my phone for a short break.

I was so focused on my studies that I didn’t notice there was an incoming call. Even though it was the middle of the night, the person on the other end of the line was…

“Father?”

My dad was supposed to be in Antarctica right now for a business trip. I don’t think it was just small talk.

When I called back, my dad picked up the phone right away.

“It’s been a long time, Yuto.”

“You rarely called me. What’s up?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve got something I’ve got to tell you.”

It was as if he were talking about tomorrow’s weather, his usual tone.

“I never told you this, but you have a half-sister.”

“Heh, I see. My sister, huh? Wait? What?”

…

What?

“She said she wants to live with you. So, I thought I’d take her to see you sometime.”

“Ok, wait, wait a second. What makes you think I’m just going to quickly move on to the next part of the story? I just found out that I have a half-sister. I mean, why would you want me to live with her?”

Oh no, my head is about to overheat from all this information.

I mean, I have an older sister? Are you kidding me?

“Well, I understand that You’re upset. …do you remember when I told you I had been married once before you were born?”

I heard about that from my dad when I was a kid. He said it was quite a rough time for him, he ran away with my mom even though he had someone he was committed to at the time.

“I had a child with the woman I left, but I didn’t tell you about it. That’s your sister, your half-sister.”

“I don’t know that happened. But why are you telling this to me now?”

“Because your half-sister wants to see you, and she wants to live with you as a family. So, I’ve decided to stop hiding things from her.”

To live under one roof with someone you don’t know as a family.

It’s like a movie or a drama. This must be a dream.

“I don’t think it’s such a bad story. You’ve always been a caretaker of others, but you’re always too careless with yourself. This is a good opportunity for you to have a girl take care of you.”

“It’s none of your business. I’m a high school student to begin with, and suddenly living together is…”

“That’s why I’m asking you to clear your schedule for this Saturday at one o’clock. The girl will visit you at your house. Well then, see you.”

“What? wait a minute–”

He hung up… I have so many questions I want to ask.

Then I have to meet in her on Saturday – wait, Saturday?

“That’s tomorrow!”

What should I do? I’m not prepared at all. Oh my God, my dad is always so abrupt!

…after that, needless to say, I was so preoccupied with my sister coming that I didn’t get to study at all.