Be careful with the laid-back beauty who took a liking to me. Otherwise, it will be too late! - Chapter 7: I... Like You

Episode 7: I… Like You

As I returned home, my mother peeked out from the kitchen.

“Welcome back, Hinata. Are you going to make dinner? Did you buy anything?”

“I’m home. I ate at a friend’s house.”

“A friend?”

My mother knew that I occasionally went to Maika’s house for meals. If it were Maika’s house, I would have said “at Maika’s house.” However, today I said “at a friend’s house,” so she was curious about who it could be.

“Yeah, a friend. Her name is Koga-san, and we’ve become close recently.”

I wasn’t sure if I could call her a friend, but it wasn’t a lie that we had become close.

After putting my bag near the sofa and heading to the bathroom to wash my hands, my mother rushed out of the kitchen at an incredible speed.

“C-Could it be… a girl!?”

“Yeah, it’s a girl.”

“A girl… Did you get treated to dinner?”

“Y-Yeah… Koga-san wanted to cook…”

“I see. Hinata, bring this Koga-san over to our house sometime!”

“Huh? Why?”

I was perplexed as to why I suddenly had to invite her over to our house.

“Because I want to meet her. It’s important for a homely girl to get along well with the family sooner rather than later, or she might run away, you know?”

I didn’t understand what my mother was saying anymore. Getting along sooner rather than later, running away… it made no sense.

“Anytime is fine to bring her over. Heck, she can even join us for dinner.”

(Together…)

Remembering her smile when she said she wasn’t lonely, I nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll invite her.”

—

The next day, when I boarded the train at the usual time, Koga-san was there.

She usually arrived at school before me, so she took a different train.

(I wonder if she missed her usual train today?)

She noticed me and waved, then moved over to where I was.

“Good morning, Kawai-kun. What a coincidence.”

“Good morning, Koga-san. Did you miss your train?”

“Yeah, I did… I couldn’t wake up at my usual time… I thought today was going to be terrible because I was so rushed this morning, but meeting you made it a good day.”

As she said that, it did feel like a good start to the day to be able to ride the train with Koga-san.

“Do you always go alone, Kawai-kun?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Although Asahi lives nearby, we rarely go together. Occasionally we do, but Asahi takes the train at the last minute to avoid being late, so we go to school separately.

“Are you not going with Maruyama-san?”

I didn’t know who she was close with or who she went to school with, so I decided to ask.

“I go alone. Our stations are different. Sometimes if we bump into each other at the station, we go together… Kawai-kun, would you like to go to school together?”

Meeting by chance on the train and then going separately when we reached the station felt a bit awkward. Plus, going to school together and chatting with her would be more fun than going alone.

“Sure, let’s go together.”

When I answered like that, Koga-san’s expression brightened.

Her smile was like a ray of sunshine, bringing energy to the morning.

—

After school, instead of going home, Koga-san came to my house.

I messaged my mom that I was bringing Koga-san over, and she responded with a stamp of a bear expressing joy.

When we arrived home, my mother warmly welcomed Koga-san, and the evening progressed smoothly.

As soon as my mother found out that Koga-san liked custard, she brought out custard waffles for her to eat.

At first, Koga-san declined, but my mother started talking about how delicious the custard waffles were, and she couldn’t resist the temptation.

“Mom, it’s almost dinner time, so if she eats too much now, she won’t be able to eat dinner.”

“Oh, you’re right. Koga-san, if you’d like, you can take the rest home with you.”

“T-Thank you…”

Her face lit up with joy at the thought of being able to eat more custard waffles later. It seemed she really liked them.

While my mother prepared dinner, Koga-san offered to help, so she went to the kitchen with her.

Left alone in the living room, I decided not to intrude in the kitchen and waited quietly.

After a while, Koga-san brought the dinner to the table, so I helped her.

Sitting side by side with Koga-san at the table, my mother sat across from us.

Tonight’s dinner was ginger pork, and Koga-san looked extremely happy as she took her first bite.

“Mrs. Kawai, it’s delicious.”

“Oh, please, you can call me Kaori instead of Mrs. Kawai.”

“Okay, Kaori-san. The ginger pork is really delicious.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Before I knew it, my mother and Koga-san had become friendly. Perhaps they had talked while cooking dinner together.

Seeing Koga-san’s happy expression as she ate and enjoying the meal with my mother, I felt glad that I had invited her.

—

After finishing dinner, it was already dark outside, so I offered to walk Koga-san to the station.

“Meals taste twice as good when you eat with someone else, don’t they?”

It was too dark to see her face clearly, but her tone sounded happy.

“I usually eat dinner alone, so I haven’t had many meals with someone else…”

Her parents both worked, and they always had the housekeeper prepare dinner, so Koga-san usually ate alone.

What was normal for me was something she longed for.

“Thank you for today.”

As we reached the station, the bright lights allowed me to see her smiling face clearly.

With her beautiful blonde hair swaying in the wind, she looked stunning in the bright light. As I gazed at her, Koga-san looked straight at me.

“Hinata-kun, I… like you.”