I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 29

Chapter 29   Morning with Santa 2

As soon as I stepped outside, the dry, cold air hit me hard.

“…So cold.”

I had my outerwear on, but underneath I was still in my sleepwear. I sighed, regretting not bringing a scarf. At least there wasn’t any wind, which was fortunate.

On top of that, I looked a bit unfashionable. I figured it wouldn’t matter since it was early morning, but there were already office workers and high school students walking around. Maybe only students like me still considered this time of day as “early morning.”

I pulled out my phone and saw a missed call notification from earlier. As expected, it was from Ayaka, so I called her back.

Thanks to modern tech, people can make calls through apps like LINE without worrying about charges. It’s something I’ve gotten so used to that I can’t imagine going back.

As I listened to the ringing, thinking about this convenience, Ayaka finally answered after a few moments.

“Good morning!”

Her voice was as energetic as always, even early in the day.

“Morning. What’s up? Sorry, I missed your call earlier.”

“I’m on my way to my part-time job and was bored. Oh, and I wanted to hear your response from yesterday.”

“Yeah, right. You were just bored.”

“That’s not true!”

As I listened to Ayaka’s reply, I pulled out my earphones from my pocket and plugged them into my phone. My hands were cold, so I switched to hands-free mode.

With the phone tucked into my pocket, it felt convenient to just talk into the earphones to keep the call going, but I had to admit, it probably looked like I was talking to myself.

Sometimes it still catches me off guard when I see someone doing it, though I’ve gotten used to the sight lately.

“Were you listening?”

“Sorry, I was plugging in my earphones. What did you say?”

“It’s exam season for high schoolers soon, so I’m heading to the tutoring center to make study materials with the head teacher.”

“Oh, so your part-time today is the tutoring gig? I thought you were heading to the diner.”

Ayaka worked two part-time jobs—one as a tutor and another at a family restaurant. She liked the restaurant gig because, unlike a pub, there weren’t any drinking parties with coworkers, so she didn’t have to worry about extra expenses. She seemed pretty happy with it.

The tutoring job was going well for her too.

“Do you want to join? I could talk to the head teacher and get you on the payroll.”

“No, thanks. I’m taking the day off.”

“Taking the day off? You’ve been doing that a lot lately. Your current job doesn’t give you many shifts, right?”

“It’s better than the last tutoring job, at least.”

I used to work as a tutor too, though at a different place than Ayaka.

But outside of teaching hours, you didn’t get paid, and shifts would get cut without warning. The monthly pay was below average. Like most jobs, tutoring could be hit or miss.

“What part-time job should I do next?”

“You’re quitting your current one?”

“Thinking about it.”

“Wanna work at my diner?”

I hesitated but shook my head.

“Nah, I’m good on the diner. But let me know if you hear of any good jobs. Anyway, good luck with your shift.”

“Got it. But wait! What about the trip?”

I had assumed I could put off my answer for a while, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.

“I’m still undecided.”

“You don’t want to go just the two of us? I can invite some friends.”

“It’s not that. If I’m going, I’d prefer it to be just us. I don’t want to deal with the hassle of friends of friends.”

“I see. Well, I understand. No rush, though—it’s not until March, so you don’t have to decide right now.”

I thought it was odd that she called if it wasn’t urgent, but I kept that thought to myself. I was used to Ayaka’s whims, and knowing she only showed this side of herself to me made it easy to forgive her quirks.

“Oh yeah, Ayaka. There’s a Valentine’s party coming up. Wanna go together?”

I figured I’d invite her while we were on the phone. The party required a pair, one man and one woman, and Ayaka seemed like the best choice. She might have had other plans, but if she declined, I could always find someone else.

“That’s sudden. Alright, I’ll make time for it.”

“…That was fast. You don’t have any plans?”

“Don’t ask unnecessary questions. I said I’d go, didn’t I?”

From her response, I guessed she had other plans. I wasn’t sure what she was giving up, but I felt a bit guilty about it. Still, Ayaka wasn’t the type to cancel anything truly important, so I didn’t worry too much.

“Well, I’m almost there. Talk later.”

“Yeah. Good luck at work.”

After ending the call, I checked the time. It had already been about ten minutes since I left the house. Shinohara had said breakfast would be ready in twenty minutes, and I still needed to pick up a magazine from the convenience store. I realized I was cutting it close, so I jogged over to the nearby convenience store.

◆◆

When I got back home, the smell of something delicious filled my nose. I entered the room, placed the magazine I bought on the sofa, and let out a big yawn.

“Welcome back! It’s ready.”

“Perfect timing. I left the magazine on the sofa.”

I pointed to the sofa, and Shinohara stretched from the kitchen to glance at the magazine behind me.

“What kind of magazine did you get?”

“A weekly manga magazine. I read it every week.”

“Oh, some girls read those too. Let me read it later, okay?”

As Shinohara brought over plates in both hands, I cleared the table by sweeping everything onto the floor to make space.

“You always throw things around like that, which is why your room gets messy so fast,” she said.

“Well, it’s the easiest way. Besides, it’s my room,” I replied.

“How many times do you think I’ve cleaned up after you already?”

She pouted her cheeks. I couldn’t remember the last time I cleaned, but now that I thought about it, Shinohara had been doing most of the cleaning recently.

“Fine, I’ll do it later. Let’s eat for now.”

“You always say that and never do it. Well, I’ll eat anyway.”

On a large plate, there was ham and eggs along with a hot sandwich. Two smaller plates held tamagoyaki and salad. Now I understood why she said we were running out of eggs.

Next to the food were a café au lait and a glass of milk.

“You get café au lait, since you like it, right?” she said.

“Love it! You’re so thoughtful.”

“Well, of course. I’m quite capable, you know,” Shinohara said without any trace of embarrassment. Since she really was capable, I couldn’t argue.

Instead of replying, I put my hands together and said, “Itadakimasu.”

“Itadakimasu,” she echoed.

After our little ritual, I picked up the hot sandwich. Butter was spread inside the bread, with ham and cheese sandwiched between. One of my favorite breakfasts. I took a bite and washed it down with some café au lait, feeling spoiled. It was the first time Shinohara had made me breakfast, and with food this good, I might have to consider letting her stay over more often.

“Eating a delicious breakfast really motivates me for the day!”

“Then let’s put that motivation into cleaning.”

“…Yeah,” I muttered reluctantly.

Shinohara gave me a wry smile.

“I’ll help, don’t worry.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best.”

As I ate the tamagoyaki, I started feeling even more energized, so I agreed. Ever since Shinohara started coming around, my life had become much more health-conscious.

“Hey, Shinohara, if you ever have the chance, could you make breakfast again?” I asked.

She glanced at me for a moment before answering, “Sure. Breakfast doesn’t take much effort anyway.”

“Seriously? Awesome! I’ve unlocked a healthy and cultured lifestyle!”

“Healthy and cultural, you mean. Get it right.”

“Such a stickler for details. It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

I tried to cover my embarrassment by taking a sip of the café au lait. Since I didn’t have any instant café au lait, she must have mixed milk and coffee from the fridge. I could taste a slight sweetness, meaning she had also added sugar. To make all this in just ten minutes required quite a bit of skill.

“Is it good?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s perfect.”

Shinohara smiled contentedly and took a bite of her ham and eggs. Watching her, I suddenly noticed something different. It wasn’t a bad change—quite the opposite.

“Did your eyes get prettier?” I asked.

With her mouth full, Shinohara focused on chewing. I felt a little guilty for rushing her, but she casually responded after swallowing.

“I used an eyelash curler.”

“Oh, that’s the thing to curl your lashes, right? It really makes a difference.”

“It does, but it’s not usually noticeable right away. I’ll put on some foundation after breakfast, and that’ll make a bigger change. But props to you for noticing just from the eyelash curler.”

She gave a light clap of her hands.

“Do you always carry makeup with you?” I asked.

“Just enough for touch-ups. Most girls carry it around, though.”

I remembered how Ayaka had once shown me a new makeup product, saying, “Isn’t it cute?” The designs of those products were often stylish, so I figured carrying them around didn’t feel like a chore. Still, from a guy’s perspective, it seemed like a lot of effort.

“Must be tough,” I said.

“Not really. I can’t speak for other girls, but on days I don’t care, I don’t even bother bringing it.”

“I see, so you adjust depending on the day.”

That would certainly make things easier. But something still bugged me, so I asked again.

“Were you out with friends before coming to my place yesterday?”

“No, I was just out for a bit.”

“Then why were you carrying makeup for such a short trip?”

Shinohara tilted her head as if the answer was obvious.

“Well, because I was coming to your place, of course.”

Caught off guard, I nearly dropped the ham and eggs I had been holding.

“Wha—what do you mean by that?”

“I’m saying I put in a little extra effort,” she replied with a playful smirk.