The Story of A Beautiful Girl I Rescued From An Attacker Who Became My Seatmate. - Chapter 7

Saturday. It is known as a day off in general society.

However, in a prestigious school like ours, we still have classes on Saturdays as a matter of course. Though they are shorter than usual, there’s no denying that school goes on until 2:30 in the afternoon.

Hoshino was complaining in the classroom, saying things like, “I want Saturdays off!” But I felt like retorting, “Hey, you have exams next year, you know?” In reality, Hoshino was busy talking with the popular kids, so I couldn’t interject with my retort.

“You guys better remember that we have regular assessments coming up. If you slack off just because it’s Golden Week, I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Our homeroom teacher came up with a threat during the closing remarks. I thought to myself, “There’s no one who won’t study, right?” But Hoshino’s image suddenly popped into my mind.

…So, there are indeed people who don’t study, huh.

Sorry, that was a tangent. But surprisingly, Hoshino is the type who diligently studies. Since Hoshino has helped me with exam preparation before, I can’t speak ill of them.

“Hey, Kouji. Can I come to your house during Golden Week?”

Somehow, the closing remarks seemed to have ended without me realizing it. I absentmindedly stared out the window.

Come to think of it, Hoshino came to my house last year too.

“Ah, well, I guess it’s fine. Are you planning to stay overnight?”

“If your dad is okay with it, I want to stay and pull an all-nighter.”

“Ah, well, my dad has been absent a lot lately, so it should be fine for that day.”

“For real? Your cooking is delicious, so treat me to a feast.”

I suppose Hoshino is talking about the fried rice I make. Every time he comes over, I feel like I end up making fried rice.

***

School is over, and I walk through a sparsely populated residential area. While the other side is thriving, this quiet scenery during the daytime on a holiday is personally very calming.

Now, when I get home, I need to go to the supermarket. The ingredients in the refrigerator are running low, so I know that Hoshino and his gang, I mean, their visit is imminent, so I’ll buy extra supplies this time.

The essential ingredient to buy is eggs. I’m making fried rice, so I definitely need more than usual. And also kamaboko. There might be those who say, “I only accept char siu in fried rice!” But the char siu sold at the supermarket is kind of ham-like and not delicious.

However, if I were to make char siu from scratch, I would have to wrap blocks of pork belly with cooking twine and simmer them for a considerable amount of time after searing the surface. Homemade char siu is undoubtedly delicious, but it takes too much time, so I’ll pass.

As for the other things to buy, regular pork slices and vegetables. Pork slices are versatile and can be used in curry or stir-fries… they can be used in various dishes.

Among them, my favorite is salted pork rice bowl, with a strong lemon flavor.

While thinking about such things, I suddenly noticed a small park. It’s just a park with a slide and a swing. I wouldn’t have paid it any attention, normally.

The problem is that there was a familiar face sitting alone on the swing, looking empty.

Yes, it was Kirishima. Moreover, there was a different atmosphere about her than usual.

The usual Kirishima had the image of being the class’s soothing presence, always spreading smiles to everyone, but now, the Kirishima I see has none of that aura.

Well, I don’t know what happened. But the first thing that comes to mind is heartbreak. She must have been rejected.

So, I decided to ignore it. There’s no need for me to meddle in a place where she’s presumed to be heartbroken.

“I’m home~. Hm?”

I thought no one was home, but there were leather shoes lined up in the entrance.

“Oh, you’re back, Kouji.”

“Huh, Dad. Were you supposed to come home this early today?”

“Well, about that, Kouji. Dad has a business trip to Sydney starting today. I came back about an hour ago.”

“Huh? Starting today? I didn’t hear about that.”

“Don’t worry. Dad didn’t hear about it either. Well, that’s how it is. I’m sorry to ruin the Golden Week for us.”

Dad looks apologetic. But I have no right to blame him.

But it really is sudden. That’s why he’s wearing a suit. Anyway, I’ll go to the living room and put down the luggage for now.

“Well, there’s no helping it. What time is the departure?”

“Let’s see. The flight is around 8:30 p.m., so I want to arrive at Haneda around 7:30 p.m. Wait a moment. Let me search for it.”

Saying that, he sat on the sofa and started searching on the smartphone that was placed there. He should have looked it up in advance…

“Dad, I’ll go change clothes real quick.”

“Sure.”

Saying that, I headed towards my bedroom on the second floor.

A few minutes later, I came back down to the living room, wearing casual clothes.

“Kouji, it seems like I should take the 5:50 p.m. train. Sorry, but please have dinner by yourself.”

If it’s the 5:50 p.m. train, he’ll have to leave the house around 5:30 p.m., which means he won’t be there for dinner.

“Oh, it’s fine. Dad, should I make some onigiri or something?”

“Oh? You’re willing to make them? In that case, I’ll leave it to you. What flavor would you recommend?”

“In that case, the chef’s recommendation.”

When I imitated a chef, my dad smiled and placed an order.

It’s around 3 p.m. right now. But if my dad is going on a business trip, I should help with the preparations. He’s probably not finished preparing yet, and he must be tired as well.

***

“Kouji, are you keeping up with your school studies?”

While preparing the meal in the kitchen, my dad suddenly called out to me.

“W-Well, thankfully Hoshino is helping me out.”

“Hoshino-kun is in the same class, right? I see, if you’re keeping up, then I can rest assured. When I heard you were hospitalized for three weeks, I was worried. I should thank Hoshino-kun next time.”

“W-Well…”

I am grateful to Hoshino, but I wish I could change his easily carried away personality. He can be really troublesome when he gets carried away.

“Oh, I’ll leave this month’s food expenses and such on your desk.”

“Thank you.”

Bleep bleep

It seems the rice cooker is done. I immediately open the rice cooker and start mixing the rice.

Then I take out the plastic wrap from the drawer and sprinkle some salt.

I spread the cooked rice on top and place the ingredients in the center.

The fillings for the onigiri are kombu simmered in soy sauce and salmon flakes. The reason is that they were in the refrigerator.

After placing the fillings, I shape them into onigiri. Since the rice is freshly cooked, my hands are hot.

“Dad, I’ll leave the onigiri on the table.”

“Sure, thanks.”

Um, it’s around 4:50 p.m. now. Since I’m going shopping anyway, it’s a good idea to go together with Dad. I think it’s nice to see him off occasionally, and I’ve already made a shopping list, so I’ll just laze around in my room until it’s time.