When My Younger Brother Stole My Girlfriend, I Began Living Together with My Beautiful Childhood Friend Almost As If We Were Married

Episode 26: Let’s Serve A Home-Cooked Meal

The movie ended.

Just as the reviews on the website said, the latter half of the movie was all about a macho guy beating up sharks.

The finishing scene, where he threw a pointed log and hit the shark’s head as it tried to escape, making it die, was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help bursting into laughter from my belly.

This really is a decent B-movie after all. It’s frustratingly entertaining.

“You enjoyed it, didn’t you?”

“I never thought I’d enjoy a shark movie this much.”

Reina smiled satisfied.

We faced each other, laughed, and when I checked the time, the clock was about to strike three.

Reina stretched her arms overhead.

“Alright, I should get going to work.”

“You’re on shift today, right? Where are you working again?”

“Today, it’s at the supermarket. I also work at a café.”

“Wow, sounds tough.”

“Not really. Both places have nice managers, and I don’t work too many days. Where do you work, Hayato?”

“I work at the supermarket too. I’m on shift the day after tomorrow.”

“I see. Good luck!”

I guess she means good luck to me.

Reina grabbed her bag and headed to the entrance, where she gave me a kiss on the forehead as a goodbye.

“See you when you get back!”

“It’s a promise! Oh, I might be late tonight, so just have something simple for dinner, okay? You can even order takeout!”

Waving her hand, Reina left.

Now, what to do?

Reina said I could do whatever I want for dinner tonight, but honestly, it feels awkward to just order takeout and be done with it.

Plus, not knowing when she’ll be back, it would be troublesome and lonely to cook and eat after she arrives. Back at my parents’ house, where I didn’t plan on returning, I often ate alone. Well, almost always.

So, when we started living together and I got to experience the joy and happiness of having someone to eat with, I didn’t want Reina to feel the loneliness of eating alone. So, tonight, I’ll cook. And I’ll wait until she gets back. If it gets cold, I can always reheat it in the microwave.

Once I decided that, I acted swiftly.

I don’t have much repertoire in cooking, so I’ll have to make do with something simple.

I left home with just my eco bag and credit card.

The supermarket is a six-minute walk away, so I really am blessed to be living in such a convenient place. Even if it gets a bit heavy, I can quickly come back with frozen food.

I checked the specials at the storefront and then decided what to cook and what ingredients I needed.

“Chicken is cheap. And there are potatoes, carrots, and broccoli. Oh, and mackerel is on sale too. Maybe I’ll make yakitori, German potatoes, and miso soup.”

Yakitori might not be as good as the one Mikage makes, but if chicken is cheap, there’s no need to force myself to buy pork or beef. To be honest, I can hardly cook fish dishes, so grilled mackerel wasn’t even an option from the start.

I headed to the meat section and crossed my arms in front of the chicken packs, pondering.

“This one’s too much… and this one’s not a good color… hmmm…”

I’m no expert, but I can’t seem to find the perfect meat I’m looking for. For now, I guess having too much meat is closer to what I want, considering everything, but if I freeze it, would it be too much? On the other hand, if I use it all, I might need to adjust the portions for dishes like German potatoes.

Well, whatever. Reina might be tired, so having a bit more won’t hurt. At least, I want to believe that.

Putting the pack back into the basket, albeit in a different order, I moved to the fresh produce section. There, I threw potatoes, onions, and other items into the basket one after another.

As for the main dish and side dishes, these will do. Now, what about the miso soup? Since we have miso and tofu at home, I’ll make tofu miso soup. Do we need seaweed? Personally, I’d prefer to have it, so I’ll also grab some dried wakame.

Oh right. Scallions are important too.

I wandered around the store, picking up various items, and then lined up at the cash register.

After paying and transferring the items into my bag, a thought crossed my mind.

“Isn’t this where Reina works? Or is it the supermarket near the station?”

This supermarket is close to home and a major company’s store, but I think my senior said that the supermarket near the station is more employee friendly.

Actually, I wanted to see Reina working even just a little, but thinking about it, it would have been intrusive. It’s probably for the best this way.

I carried the heavier eco bag on my shoulder and headed home.

Now then, let’s cook something that will make Reina happy, even if just a little.