Beyond The Bad End - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Haru’s POV

During the summer vacation, I was busy with my part-time at the restaurant and spent my time studying whenever I had the chance, just like the year before.

I studied every morning and spent the afternoon at the restaurant working part-time.

Maki didn’t seem to be studying much, but she always worked part-time at least twice a week.

On the days when she didn’t have part time-job, she hung out with her high school friends.

It was summer break, I really wanted to go out and play with my friends as well, but going out means I had to spend money. I needed to earn some money for my smartphone bill, so I decided to take more part-time hours at the restaurant. Saki-san told me to tell Maki to take her studies seriously as well instead of going out and play all the time.

I spent my summer break pretty much like that, but if me and Maki had holiday on the same day, I took a day off from studying to spend some quality time with Maki.

Since Maki was a bit short on money, I paid for all our dates, meals, rubbers, and other things Maki wanted. I didn’t have anything I wanted so I didn’t mind paying for her at all, and I felt that it was my responsibility as Maki’s boyfriend to make her happy.

Come to think of it, Kataoka came to eat at our restaurant during the summer break.

I never told anyone at school that my family was running a Chinese restaurant, however Kataoka would send me messages from time to time during the summer vacation. I ended up telling her about it.

‘What do you usually do on summer break?’

‘I work part-time at the restaurant.’

‘Your family runs a restaurant?’

‘Yeah, it’s a Chinese restaurant.’

‘No way! Really!? That’s amazing! Now I want to go there! What is the name of the restaurant?’

‘Manpukuken’

‘Ah! I know that Chinese restaurant!’

‘Have you ever been there before?’

‘No, I haven’t, but I really want to go!’

The day after Kataoka messaged me so, she really came to the restaurant.

After the lunch rush hour was over, just as my father was taking his break and I was starting my shift, an eye-catching gal came inside our restaurant.

‘Could it be…’

Out of curiosity, I went out to the customer area and saw it was indeed Kataoka.

Kataoka was in denim shorts and sandals, she looked really out of place in our Chinese restaurant.

‘Hey, you really came.’

‘Oh! Long time no see, Matsuyama-chi!’

‘You seem energetic as ever, Kataoka-san.’

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen my friends.’

‘Really? I thought you’re playing around all the time.’

‘Well, I’ve been studying a lot during the summer break.’

‘I see, me too.’

‘So, which one is the best!?’

‘They’re all delicious.’

‘By the way, are you the one who is going to cook for me?’

‘Yeah, that’s right. My dad is on a break, so I’ll be the one who is going to cook for you.’

‘Then, which ones do you recommend for me? I want to eat your best dish!’

‘Then, I recommend the Gyoza and Karaage, what about the rice? Would you like fried rice or do you prefer white rice instead?’

‘Fried rice!’

‘Okay. Then, wait at the counter for a while.’

It was the first time for me to have friends beside Maki eat my cooking, and the thought of them watching me cook over the counter made me feel a little more enthusiast than usual.

By the way, Maki’s shift started at 5PM, so she wasn’t there.

In addition to the friend rice, Gyoza and Karaage, I also served Kataoka Mapo Tofu and almond tofu pudding for dessert.

‘Matsuyama-chi, I don’t remember ordering this much.’

‘Ah, it’s on the house.’

‘No, I’ll feel bad about it.’

‘A gal feeling bad about being treated, it doesn’t suit your appearance at all.’

‘No, no, no, a gal is more reserved than you think!’

‘I’ve already served it to you, so please eat them. If you can’t finish them all, you can just leave them.’

“Uhh, okay then. I’ll finish it all.’

In the end Kataoka ate it all.

When she wanted to pay the bill, I tried to charge her only for the fried rice.

‘No, seriously no! I’ll pay for all of them!’

‘I told you before, it’s on the house. It’s fine.’

‘Uhh…no, you can’t! If you keep treating me like this, I absolutely won’t come back here anymore, I’ll pay for it all.’

‘I see, my bad. Then you should just pay for the dishes you ordered, fried rice, Gyoza and Karaage. I can’t let you pay for the rest because I was the one who served them to you.’

‘Okay then. Thanks.’

‘No, I’m sorry for serving you that much food.’

‘Not at all, Matsuyama-chi’s friend rice was really delicious. You looked like a completely different person in the kitchen. You looked really cool. I’m so glad I came.’

‘Thanks a lot. Don’t hesitate to come again.’

‘Yeah, of course! Thank you for the food!’

When Kataoka left, my mom came out from the kitchen.

‘What a unique girl.’

‘Despite her appearance, her grades are much higher than mine.’

My mom was surprised when I told her so.