When I Started a Food Delivery Part-Time Job, I Ended up Being Invited to the Home of a Gloomy, Clumsy Beautiful Girl

Chapter 14: Hiyori’s Feelings

Lately, I’ve been feeling strange.

It started when Aizawa began coming to my place.

Or rather… it’s more accurate to say I invited him.

My only friend has always been Ayame.

She’s been like a sister, always looking after scatterbrained me.

When I started modeling and was made to live alone, she checked on me in place of my mom, who never showed up. She’s someone precious to me.

We’ve been together since middle school, and even now in high school. But Ayame’s busy with training at her family’s cake shop, so she’s not always free.

So, the times when Ayame isn’t around feel so lonely.

But recently, the one who’s been filling that loneliness is—Aizawa.

To avoid interfering with my modeling work, I’ve been eating in secret at school.

But Aizawa, who happened to deliver through UberMeats, saw my messy room… and before I knew it, I’d dragged him back the next day.

That’s something that should never have happened.

Yet, from the moment we met, I had this strange sense that Aizawa was safe.

Aizawa was meddlesome.

But not in a bad way—quite the opposite. He seems to like things tidy and cleaned up my messy room with ease.

The organized room felt a bit unfamiliar. But oddly, just having Aizawa there calmed my heart.

—

Aizawa was carried to the nurse’s office.

Apparently, a basketball hit him in the head.

It was the first time I’d ever worried so much about a guy.

That night, I was anxious he might not come over because he couldn’t work, but more than that, I was desperately worried about his condition.

Then, while talking with me, Aizawa fell asleep, as if he’d run out of energy.

“…”

I gently took his hand.

It was large, a bit rough, but his fingers were long and slender, surprisingly delicate.

Though, there were hard calluses in places.

Later, I learned he’d been cooking, and it made sense. Those were knife calluses.

—

The day my mom scolded me.

My heart felt like it would break from sadness, and I wanted to cry.

I should’ve called Ayame, but before I realized it, I’d contacted Aizawa.

I hugged him on impulse, my face a mess of tears and snot… but Aizawa quietly held me.

He listened to me and, in return, shared about himself.

He said he’d run away from his dad. I don’t have a dad, so it was a different situation, but we both carry a distance from our parents—and that made me feel a little closer to him.

My selfishness.

I want to lose weight, but I also want to eat. An impossible contradiction.

Normally, people would say, “Just stop eating.” But Aizawa was different.

“How about I make low-calorie, filling meals?” he said.

Of course, that made me happy.

My heart warmed, and it wouldn’t stop.

I want to spend more time with Aizawa. I want to know more about him.

Those feelings came naturally.

So, please.

I feel bad for Ayame, but I’m rooting for Aizawa. I want him to win.

Ayame will come at this seriously, and I can’t play favorites—but I still want to eat Aizawa’s cooking.

Holding those feelings, I stuffed my mouth with cherry blossom nerikiri, savoring its sweetness.

—

Chapter 15: The Sweets Showdown

Before I knew it, four days had flown by, and Friday—the day of the showdown—had arrived.

Today was the long-awaited sweets showdown with Shido-san.

If I won, I’d officially start cooking at Yukishiro-san’s place.

So, I took the day off from my UberMeats job and headed straight to her apartment after school.

“—Aizawa, it’s time for the showdown!”

The front door opened, and Shido-san, arriving a bit late, was holding a box of sweets in both hands.

She’d gone home first to pick it up, apparently.

As for me, I retrieved the homemade sweets I’d stored in the fridge, with only the final touches left to complete.

“Yeah, it’s on.”

“So exciting…”

Yukishiro-san seemed more thrilled than nervous.

As the judge who just gets to eat, she had an enviable role, I couldn’t help but think.

“So, can I go first and show mine?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Shido-san quietly opened the box and carefully took out a cake.

What appeared was—a massive whole cake.

“Wooow!”

Yukishiro-san’s eyes sparkled with the red and pink hues of the cake.

At first glance, it looked like a shortcake, but the overall color was distinctly different.

“It’s a fraisier. In simple terms, a French-style shortcake.”

“Wow…”

I couldn’t help but catch my breath at its glossy appearance.

The perfectly layered structure, the vibrant red of the strawberries—it was honestly so polished it could’ve been displayed in a shop window.

“Let me explain. The sponge is a genoise—a rich, buttery dough. The filling is an almond-flavored custard cream, but I varied the layers to keep it light. The upper layer leans more almond, while the lower is a lighter mix of crème pâtissière and fresh cream. The top is finished with raspberry jelly. The strawberries… well, you can see them, right?”

Unfamiliar terms flew by, but I was absolutely convinced it’d be delicious.

Just looking at it made my mouth water.

“I’ll cut it.”

Shido-san sliced the fraisier with precision, and I nearly gasped again at the beauty of the cross-section.

“Here’s your piece.”

“Mine too?”

“Of course. Don’t you want to compare it to your own?”

“Well… yeah.”

More than that, I just really wanted to eat it.

“Go ahead, dig in.”

“Here we go!”

“Thank you…”

Yukishiro-san and I dug our forks in at the same time and took a bite.

The moment it hit my tongue, the sharp tang of raspberry raced through, followed by a rich, smooth custard spreading across my palate.

The slightly firm sponge held it all together, keeping the balance perfect.

It was… flawless harmony.

“…So?”

Shido-san narrowed her eyes, watching us closely.

The answer didn’t need thinking.

“Delish…!”

“So good…”

I sipped the coffee prepared to counter the sweetness, and the interplay of bitterness and sweetness made me feel like I could eat it forever.

This was… dangerously addictive.

“—Alright, your turn.”

“Yeah, give me a sec to prep. It won’t take long.”

Honestly, my dish strayed from the spring theme.

It ignored seasonality entirely.

I doubted it could match hers in taste—but it was something I’d carefully thought through and crafted.

I pulled out the ingredients and simmered them in a pot.

While waiting, I arranged the prepped components from the fridge into dishes.

“…Alright, that should do it.”

I poured the simmering mixture into the dishes and topped them with the decorative pieces I’d prepared.

Tiny cherry blossom-shaped garnishes added a cute presence to the dish.

“W-What… is this…!?”

Shido-san let out a surprised gasp.

No wonder—it looked a bit unusual.

“So cute…!”

Yukishiro-san’s words were the validation I needed.

“—Snowman oshiruko.”

In the steaming bowls of oshiruko, I’d arranged nerikiri shaped like snowmen.

Above their heads, pale pink cherry blossoms adorned the dish, blending spring and winter in one bowl.

“The snowmen are nerikiri. Since they’re filled with anko, and oshiruko uses anko too, I thought they’d pair well. Also, oshiruko is traditionally served with mochi, so I made these nerikiri with a bit of mochi mixed in for a lighter flavor. …Though, my family might laugh and call it heresy.”

“Huh…”

“It’s too cute to eat…”

Yukishiro-san’s voice was soft but carried an excited lilt.

I’d aimed to make it as adorable as possible. Girls are drawn to cute things, I figured—and that’s how I approached it.

“And… oshiruko is said to be eaten with wishes for good health throughout the year. Yukishiro-san, you said you want to lose weight, right? So, I made this with that wish in mind.”

“Aizawa…”

Her eyes wavered for a moment.

A professional wagashi artisan could’ve made something far more refined. Mine was clumsy, barely above amateur level.

But—this sweet was made for one person alone. I wanted Yukishiro-san to enjoy it. That was my all.

“Come on, give it a try.”

“Okay…”

“Fine, I guess.”

They both reached for the snowman oshiruko. Scooping the broth carefully to avoid breaking the snowmen, they brought it to their mouths.

“So good! The oshiruko’s amazing!”

“…It’s delicious… and warm…”

Yukishiro-san’s cheeks glowed like a child’s, while Shido-san murmured softly, her eyes softening.

Unlike Western sweets, it wasn’t flashy. But if it conveyed warmth and kindness, that was enough for me.

—

And now, having tasted both sweets, it was time to decide the winner.

“Hiyori, pick the one you liked best, honestly.”

“Yukishiro-san, don’t hold back. Just say what you feel.”

“Okay… I understand.”

Shido-san and I waited silently for her answer.

After a tense pause, her lips trembled as she spoke.

“…Ayame’s… was tastier…”

I nodded quietly at her hesitant words.

—I lost, as expected.

But I was glad she’d been honest.

She didn’t lie to spare my feelings—she answered straight.

“Got it. Thanks. …Honestly, I agree. Shido-san’s was way better. The moment I tasted it, I knew the difference in quality.”

Shido-san’s fraisier was a work of art. My oshiruko couldn’t compare. The result felt inevitable, and I was genuinely convinced.

“—Hold on a second.”

But then Shido-san spoke up.

Despite the verdict, she looked at me with a serious expression, as if unsatisfied.

“Why’re you acting like it’s over?”

“Huh…?”

Yukishiro-san blinked in confusion, and I couldn’t help but question her.

“This time, I lost.”

“What? Why?”

Her words, denying her own victory, made us both widen our eyes.

“I… went all out to make a delicious cake, absolutely sure I’d win.”

“That’s… obvious from looking at it.”

“But that’s all it was.”

Shido-san took a deep breath and looked straight at me.

“You thought about Hiyori and made something for her. …But I just brought a cake I was proud of. In a way, I wasn’t even thinking about Hiyori.”

Her quiet confession hit me hard.

—That’s not true. Shido-san’s always cared about Yukishiro-san. There’s no way she wasn’t thinking of her.

“But it was delicious, wasn’t it?”

“…Food stops mattering when you stop thinking about the person eating it. I knew that, but I got caught up chasing pure deliciousness. The cake I brought was my pride, but in the end, it was just self-satisfaction. …But you, Aizawa, you were different. You thought about Hiyori, made it cute, and even gave it meaning. That’s something I couldn’t do.”

Her quiet words resonated deeply.

She was right, in a way. But—I’d only done it that way because I knew I had no chance otherwise.

“I… challenged you because I didn’t want a guy like you getting close to Hiyori.”

“…”

“But in the end, I was the one who wasn’t really seeing her. —So, you win this showdown. No objections, right?”

“Uh… well…”

As I hesitated, Yukishiro-san spoke softly.

“Ayame’s cake was really delicious. But… my heart felt warmer with Aizawa’s.”

“Yukishiro-san…”

I was at a loss for words, and she tilted her head slightly.

“But one thing. Why snowmen?”

“Well… your Line icon is a snowman. I thought you must like snow.”