V2 - Chapter 9

Volume 2 - Me, Her, and that Feeling's Name 

Chapter 9

"Welcome, it's almost ready... Sorry, did my mom say anything strange to you?"

I headed to Minamino's house from the hospital and was greeted with those words when I arrived. The scent of delicious spices wafted all the way to the entrance and I could feel my stomach grumbling just from the smell.

"Thanks for having me. Also, we just had a normal conversation, nothing else. Are you cooking curry? It smells so amazing that it's making me hungry."

I said while placing my hand on my stomach. I had no intention of bringing up what happened with his father earlier.

"Yes, it's a delicious meal that anyone can make just by adding in some chopped vegetables, sautéed meat, and curry roux into boiled water."

Anyway, Minamino continued as she said those words with a proud smile while nodding.

"How do I look?"

Minamino twirled around elegantly, and her clothes fluttered lightly. She was wearing a slightly casual-looking sweatshirt, jeans, and over that, a simple apron with a pale pink motif.

To be honest, the only words I can answer to her question was, she looked incredibly cute. Just the sight of a high school girl in an apron would be enough to leave anyone flustered, but Minamino, who was undeniably a beautiful girl, made it even more adorable.

"Ah… um, honestly, you look really cute," I said after hesitating for a moment. One of the reasons why I could say it was because Suzuka-san had told me that I should compliment Minamino because she was quite enthusiastic.

However—

"..."

She fell silent.

"I bet you fell silent because you thought I sounded creepy. I'm gonna go cry now."

"No, um... I mean, I'm happy, you know?"

She said, but with a question mark at the end.

"...I'll go lock myself in the bathroom and cry for a bit."

"Wait, wait! I'm sorry! It just caught me off guard because I didn't expect you to compliment me so easily! Please don't suddenly give off a depressed aura and lock yourself in the bathroom!"

Complimenting someone can be quite a challenge, just saying.

　◇◆

The curry was delicious to the point that I couldn't resist having seconds, which surprised even Minamino. Still, it had been quite a while since I had eaten curry with chunky pieces of meat, and not something from a retort pouch. Plus, the fact that Minamino made it made me even hungrier.

After satisfying our appetites, I offered to help with the dishes. I squeezed out the used sponge and left it in the kitchen before taking a seat at the living room table.

"Thanks for doing the dishes... By the way, although I know I sound like an overthinker, did my mom say anything strange? I messaged her earlier and asked what she talked about with you, but she told me to ask Hajime-kun, or rather you, Satou... Plus, she also sent a 'good' sticker, so I was just worried if she had told you something unnecessary…" 

Minamino said as her thumbs moved quickly under her phone, seemingly replying to messages.

"Is it from Suzuka-san? Hmm, I guess she didn't say anything too strange... I think."

"That pause really worries me... Ah, but before that, there's something else I'm curious about, or rather, I can't quite accept."

As I replied to Minamino, she looked at her phone with a complicated expression before glancing at me.

"Um, did Suzuka-san say something to you?"

Minamino was wearing a displeased expression, and I was puzzled.

"That..."

"That?"

"Why do you call me 'Minamino', but call my mom 'Suzuka-san'? Plus, mom calls you 'Hajime-kun' too—-"

She said while staring at me.

As the saying goes, 'one can say more with a look than with ten thousand words.' And yes, Minamino's eyes were indeed saying a lot. Even someone like me could understand what she wanted to say, but as an inexperienced high school boy, calling her by her first name instantly would be too embarrassing.

"Hajime."

However, as if she could see right through me, Minamino's lips formed my name. She just said my name yet it carried a certain pressure that seemed to extend beyond mere words. Nevertheless, I could faintly see her ears turning a shade of red. Seeing that, I hesitated before cautiously calling her by her first name.

"...Um, Chinatsu…san?"

Yes, I'm a wuss.

"..."

Minamino didn't say anything. She simply toyed with the tips of her beautiful black hair.

"Chi… Chinatsu..."

"Mm, what is it? Hajime."

I managed to say it, suppressing my embarrassment. Minamino, or rather, Chinatsu, smiled contentedly as she nodded. In terms of having a good appearance, a normal expression emphasized her beauty more. However, whenever she smiles, her cuteness always shines through.

This is dangerous, I thought to myself without making excuses to anyone. How do I put this, uhh, calling each other's first name like this, and being in this room right now, made me suddenly realize that everything was real. We knew that Suzuka-san wouldn't be coming back, and that there were no family members to reprimand us. Once I became aware of that, it made me feel incredibly nervous.

"…I'm a bit scared that things might turn out as Suzuka-san said."

"...Yep, that. That's what I exactly wanted to know. Mom hasn't really told me anything, you know… Rather, part of it might be because she's been so busy with work that we haven't had much time to talk with each other. Now that she's slowly getting livelier and better, I didn't expect that she was the kind of person who could say things like that... I mean, it's also probably because I haven't paid much attention to my mom."

"Then I guess it's fine if I tell you. You see, Ch-Chinatsu, what Suzuka-san told me was... Uh, how do we go about splitting the food expenses equally, about where my house was located, how we'll stay in touch... and, yeah, that's all, and like I said earlier, there weren't really any strange things, right?"

"You're clearly lying."

I wasn't really good at keeping secrets.

[Hajime-kun, I'll say this because I trust you. You know that I've been too focused with my job, and honestly, having a kid like you around her is a blessing for both the loneliness she felt and security reasons—if you'd like, you could even stay over sometime, just kidding... Well, I don't know how she acts whenever you're around, but I'd be happy if you two get along more from now. As long as you both show restraint, I won't say anything. So, feel free to relax.]

Suzuka-san's words came to mind.

I had a feeling that certain parts of her words were strangely emphasized, and it left me silent as I couldn't say anything especially while she was smiling while saying it. Still, I didn't want to convey this exactly as it was to Minamino.

(Or rather, what did she want by making Minamino ask me what we talked about…)

Slightly scratching my head, I managed to evade Minamino's probing questions and spent some enjoyable time together.

To clarify, there were no significant events during our time together, and I safely returned home.

—-As for the definition of "restraint," I didn't know exactly what it meant. When I looked it up, it said something like "appropriate moderation." That information turned out to be utterly useless, though. But let's just keep it to ourselves.