Chapter 20

“Here you go, dig in~”

In a quiet corner of the courtyard, near the edge of the school building, Yuki sat perched on a concrete block. She handed me a bento box with a bright smile.

When I opened the lid, the simple yet hearty contents greeted me: white rice, tamagoyaki, sausages, and fried chicken, all tightly packed.

“I didn’t have time to add any veggies,” she said sheepishly.

“No, this is perfect.”

“Right~?”

Honestly, I preferred this kind of straightforward meal over something overly fancy.

Without hesitation, I picked up the chopsticks and took a bite.

“How is it?”

“Delicious. Yuki, you’re a great cook.”

“Really? Ehehe, it’s not that big a deal~”

Her cheeks softened, her smile widening into something almost giddy.

Since she’d gone through the trouble of making it, a little flattery seemed only fair. Besides, there wasn’t much to complain about.

The fried chicken was probably frozen food. Maybe it was more “heating” than “cooking,” but I wasn’t about to nitpick.

Sitting across from me, Yuki opened her own bento. It was smaller, maybe half the size of mine.

“Look at the tamagoyaki! Pretty good, huh~?”

Judging by her tone, it seemed like she didn’t cook often. Not that I was one to judge.

“You know, I actually cook quite a bit,” she added suddenly, almost as if reading my thoughts.

She didn’t exactly seem like the type to spend much time in the kitchen, though.

“Really now?”

“Yeah! I told you before, didn’t I? Dad’s not around anymore, and Mom’s always busy with work. It’s like I live alone… just like you.”

“Living alone, huh? What about Miki?”

Her cheerful expression dimmed noticeably.

“Miki’s… around, but we barely talk.”

Her tone dropped as well, taking on an unmistakable heaviness.

From the looks of it, she didn’t know I had been on the phone with Miki last night. If she did, she would’ve mentioned it already—or made a scene.

Now that I think about it, Miki hadn’t brought up Yuki even once during our conversation, either.

“Wait, you two don’t get along?”

“Nope.”

“So quick. Why though?”

This time, she didn’t answer right away.

Yuki paused with her chopsticks mid-air, staring into the distance as though searching for the right words.

“Why, huh… Probably because Miki doesn’t like me?”

“What does that even mean?”

“Like, she talks crap about me to her little entourage or something.”

“Or something?”

“I mean, I haven’t seen her do it, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Anyway, it’s not like I don’t do the same.”

“So, you’ve been talking crap about her? That’s terrible.”

“It’s not crap, though—it’s the truth. Like how she can’t be bothered to change clothes on her days off. Same underwear two days in a row. Sometimes she doesn’t even shower.”

“Wait, seriously? The princess?”

“When I told those guys that, they got all weird and excited, so I kicked one of them. Gross.”

She was completely out of control. I could almost picture the scene.

Letting Yuki’s random chatter flow in one ear and out the other, I polished off the last of my meal. Not quite enough to feel full, but way better than the usual sad bread from the school store.

“Alright, thanks for the meal.”

I closed the bento box and handed it back to her. As I stood, she grabbed my wrist.

“Hold on, where do you think you’re going?”

“Uh, I’m done eating…”

“I’m not done yet. What, you’re just gonna eat and run? Use and toss?”

“Don’t make it sound like that.”

She’d definitely said that on purpose.

Apparently, I was stuck waiting for her to finish eating. But her pace was painfully slow—half the bento still untouched, and she insisted on talking between bites.

“Come to think of it, you don’t have a drink, do you? You can have that one.”

Yuki gestured to a plastic bottle of tea resting on a nearby block. A completely ordinary tea you could find anywhere… except the cap was already open, and I’d seen her sip from it earlier.

“Uh, yeah, no thanks…”

“Hm? Why? Oh, wait, don’t say…”

Yuki’s lips curled into a mischievous grin.

“Are you embarrassed because of the whole indirect kiss thing? After what we did yesterday?”

“Don’t make it sound like it was a big deal. It wasn’t.”

“Aww, trying to act tough? You’re so cute~!”

She was clearly having a blast.

Still, her reaction when we said goodbye yesterday had been a little strange, like she was thinking, did I just go too far? But apparently, a night’s sleep had given her the confidence of someone who’d shed their skin and started fresh.

For me, though, yesterday’s events were more of an ambush than anything else. Completely unplanned and, frankly, unwelcome.

“Look, about yesterday… can we just pretend it didn’t happen?”

“Huh?”

The highlights in her eyes diminished.

Well, maybe that’s exaggerating. She just went deadpan. It was scary.

Then, a few seconds later, her face lit up with a cheerful smile.

“Fine, no problem. Yesterday doesn’t count.”

“Oh. Well, thanks.”

“In exchange, let’s go on a date today.”

That totally defeats the point.

Hanging out had suddenly been upgraded to a full-blown date.

“Hold on. Look, eating lunch together or hanging out—fine, whatever, I can live with that. But a date? That’s a whole different thing.”

“What’s so different about it? You’re already here, eating a bento I made in some hidden spot. Clearly, you’re into me. My obedient little servant.”

“You said you made it, and I figured, hey, free lunch. Why not?”

“So I was never the point, just the food? Wow, you’re totally a dine-and-dasher. A total and use and throw kinda guy!”

“Quit saying that!”

What exactly had I done to deserve this?

Even though we were tucked away in a restricted corner of the school, her voice was getting a little loud. If we weren’t careful, someone on the nearby lawn might overhear us.

“Look, let’s both calm down, alright?”

“Fine, then pay me for the bento.”

She extended an open hand, palm up. Her expression wasn’t joking—it was deadly serious.

“Ugh… Fine. How much?”

“Ten thousand yen.”

“Are you insane? Three hundred tops.”

“Make it thirty thousand.”

“Why is it going up?!”

“Oh, I get it. So to you, I’m just worth three hundred yen. That’s it, huh…”

“I meant the bento.”

Yuki dropped her gaze and stared at the dirt. She began muttering something under her breath like a curse. Great. Now I am about to be cursed.

“Alright, fine. Just for today.”