I had started to notice Yuuri’s odd excitement throughout the morning.

Usually, when I interact with Yuuri, we’d keep that sort of semi-serious tone in discussion. But today, she seemed unfazed when Yuki almost spilled her soup.

While entering the club room, I couldn’t help but notice several cooking pots, utensils, tools, and even a wide range of ingredients which all fit what Yuuri had cooked during the last time she made Udon.

“Let’s get to work” Yuuri grabbed onto her ladle, smiling at me.

“Of course”

The apron that Yuuri had provided me was… silly. Considering the odd choice of dark yellow and how short it was, especially for my height.

“Have you ever tried making something for lunch or dinner?”

Instant ramen doesn't count… right?

“Nope… I usually order takeout if my parents are working overtime” I responded while washing my hands.

“I understand. But when I was in middle school, I used to cook for my little sister while my parents were absent”

“I see…”

“Anyways, do you have everything?”

“Yep” I turned over, revealing the goofy apron I wore, “What do you think?”

Yuuri gave a small giggle in return.

“Sorry, I didn’t know it’d look good on you”

“It’s alright”

“Anyways, can you please fill the steel pot closest to you with water until it reaches the half mark? Once you’re done, put it at 110 degrees Celsius” Yuuri read from the book.

I grabbed onto the pot, doing as Yuuri instructed. I could hear Yuuri continuing to giggle sporadically.

“I’m finished” I placed the pot on top of the stove.

“Would you want to handle both the meat and the noodles or need my help?”

It’d be best to do all of it.

“I’ll handle both please”

“Suit yourself,” Yuuri smiled, admiring the confidence I had, “So, could you get the canned beef over there and place it in the glass bowl?”

“Sure”

I continued to follow Yuuri’s instructions with little issue. Before I even realized it, I had already managed to go through a decent sum of instructions within thirty minutes.

While stirring the canned beef on the frying pan, I noticed Yuuri looking at the noodles with interest.

“I think you’ll do great as a cook”

“Thanks” I smiled, “Do you think that I can cook anything?”

“I reckon you could do everything fine with instructions. I’m happy that your first time hasn’t turned into a disaster”

“How was your first time cooking?”

“The food was a bit sour at first… my sister didn’t like it”

“I guess the first time doesn’t always end up well”

“Agreed… but I managed to grow better over time. It took a lot of time and practice though”

Time… one thing I’ve always ignored and for good reason…

“Hm, I don’t think there’s an alternative for practice… right?”

“Of course,” Yuuri nodded, “You just need to be the best at it”

“It’s applicable for everything at this point”

“Is that why you’re the best at your studies?”

“No… I just treat every day before the examinations as the last day”

It’s a mindset I’ve had since high school. Every day I had to act to resolve matters within a day or two.

I do blame myself for having such a mindset since it stemmed from my lack of action towards those who bullied Hano. Most of my attributes I could stem from that day.

“Interesting… Why would you do such a thing? Wouldn’t it be better to not put stress over yourself”

“It develops this urge within you to quickly learn and absorb all the information. When you forget something, you end up feeling like you shouldn’t have played around”

“That does seem like an unconventional style. But you do seem naturally smart so I won’t question… after all, everyone has their style to everything”

“I still have to put in some semblance of effort in class from time to time though” I shrugged, placing the beef into a separate glass bowl in the meantime, “You do seem smart so you probably have the same sentiment as me”

“Mhm… it’s a shame we can’t do a bit of study today”

“Well, we do have to continue Yuki’s delusions. We can’t always let Megu-nee do the work”

Yuuri’s expression made me feel like I shouldn’t have given her an idea. But I had thought of that possibility just a moment ago, so perhaps it was my fault for planting it in the first place.

I heard the door slide open beside me, followed by a slight chuckle.

“Ah, good evening Kurumi!”

“Hey,” Kurumi patted my shoulder, “Nice apron”

“You’d look good wearing this…” I muttered to myself.

“I’ll just stay with the uniform” She rested on the chair, watching me in the meantime.

“Let’s focus on your work” Yuuri clapped her hands, “You’re close to finishing it”

I noticed that Yuuri had decided to take up this opportunity to discuss something with Kurumi. In the meantime, I had to resort to reading the small note she had left on the counter for me to take reference.

If the beef has a slight pink color, it is a sign of it being well done…

What the hell does that even mean?

I don’t know why, but I didn’t feel like asking Yuuri since she seemed busy with her notebook.

“Kurumi-san, can you please come over and check out the Udon for me?”

“Sure…” Kurumi walked up, taking a glance at the noodles and beef I had left, “Seems about right”

Yuuri followed shortly, taking a glance at the food before nodding.

“Hmm, it seems good”

By the looks of it, the final product seemed quite promising in my opinion.

“Wow!” Yuuri looked over at my Udon, “The beef is a bit overcooked but that’s quite good for a beginner!”

“Thanks… I changed a few things from the ingredients that I’d assume wouldn’t hurt”

“That’s alright! It’s not easy to work with the items we have right now”

“I’ll go get Yuki-san” I walked towards the door, only to be interrupted by the door being opened suddenly.

“Hello everyone– oof!” Yuki ran straight towards me, instantly bouncing back, “Heh, sorry”

“It’s alright Yuki-san, I was about to go get you anyways”

“What’s with the smell?”

“I forgot to slide the windows open”

“Ryu-san has decided to cook some Udon for tonight” Yuuri turned over to Yuki.

“Udon? By Ryu?” Yuki’s face lit up in excitement, with her mouth almost drooling, “What a dream!”

“Anyways, let’s get ready for dinner” Yuuri clapped her hands again.

While preparing the table, I took a quick look at my food for one last time with confidence. Knowing that I had gotten Yuuri’s approval, it shouldn’t be much of an issue.

After all, what could go wrong?

“We’re digging in!” We all announced, including Sakura who had just arrived in time for dinner since she had often tended to her diaries.

Yuki instantly reached for her chopsticks and spoon, grabbing a small piece of beef and stuffing it into her mouth.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

I felt a sense of excitement as everyone followed suit.

The moment of truth.

Yuki instantly fell off her chair.

“Yuki-chan!” Yuuri ran over, “Are you okay?”

“Why… Why is the sauce so salty?” Yuki mumbled while lying almost motionless on the floor as if she died of food poisoning.

The sauce was salty??

“Yea…” Kurumi mumbled as she ate a small chunk of beef, “The sauce you used is a bit… too salty. Also, the beef is overcooked I feel like I’m eating ash… the noodles are a bit soggy but it’s alright”

“Ah, is that so?” I chuckled, “Sorry about that”

Dammit! I screwed everything up! How could this be?

“Ah don’t punch yourself in the face for it Ryu-kun! You did a great job though” Sakura smiled.

“It looked good in my opinion, but perhaps it's just the beef… and the sauce… and the overall noodle…” Yuuri couldn’t contain her distaste for the Udon, “It’s just your first time. Don’t get mad over it”

“I know…” I shrugged, “Well, you can’t win everything”

“Ah you did fine” Kurumi rested her arm on the table, “I had way worse dinners before and it felt like I was eating poison”

“Thanks”

I’ll admit, everything that had happened today felt like Deja Vu.

We eventually finished dinner, although considerably slow compared to others.

For some reason, I had found a sort of liking to my cooking despite the negativity over it, but people have a natural bias over their work.

All of the dishes excluding mine remained half empty.

“You’ll get better next time,” Kurumi rested her shovel over her shoulder.

“You say it as if I failed a test”

“Have you?”

Only once.

“I have…”

“Eh? Someone like you failed a test? Did you oversleep or forgot to study?”

“I was just distracted” I scratched my head.

Kurumi’s pause indicated she wasn’t buying my lie.

“Over what?”

“Are you really that pushy?”

“Ah jeez, just asking” Kurumi placed her hand at the door, looking at me. “Don’t tell me you just messed up”

“You look down on me all of the time Kurumi-san” I reached for a bag of chips, “Could you give this to Yuki? She’s probably starving”

“Sure” Kurumi took it, “Anyways, I’m heading out. Goodnight”

“Good night Kurumi,” Yuuri said.

“See you tomorrow,” I followed.

While Yuuri was focused on washing the dishes, I continued to stare at the cookbook that I had.

“I noticed you put a bit more fish sauce compared to the other sauces instructed”

“I had a natural bias towards it… mainly personal reasons”

“I can understand why,” Yuuri chuckled, “Don’t beat yourself up over it”

“I know” I flicked through the pages, “Did your sister like your cooking when you first made it?”

“Not really” Yuuri shrugged, “I can still remember what she commented about my cooking… it was quite funny”

Hearing Yuuri’s voice, I could feel a sort of guilt within her comments. Perhaps I should stray off that subject.

“I see…”

“Have any of your friends ever cooked for you?”

Back to that same damn question about friends. Why does it always have to be about a friend? Isn’t family a good alternative… well they’re out of the question.

…

What am I thinking? I’m getting riled up over nothing.

“Of course…” I paused for a second, “Do you know Hano Aki?”

Yuuri turned off the sink when she heard that name.

“Hano Aki? The girl people called a loner?”

“Don’t call her that” I stood up, realizing I had almost lost my temper.

“Sorry, sorry…” Yuuri raised both hands instantly upon witnessing me get up, “What’s with the attitude?”

“Nothing…” I withdrew back to my seat, “Sorry about that”

“Are you sure? You seemed a bit different after that failed dinner”

“Please forget about it. I already have plans to be better”

Yuuri nodded, placing the final plastic containers away.

Well, there was a reason why I felt that way.

It was about a year ago since I had met Hano. My parents were out, unaware of the oncoming blizzard, so I had remained home alone with the only option being instant noodles.

It felt like survival.

“Ryu-kun” Are you home?” A voice came from the door, followed by a knock.

“Coming” I unlocked the door, meeting Hano in her usual winter outfit, “Hey Hano-san, What’s with the container?”

“Oh, that? It’s just some food I decided to deliver to you”

How weird yet thoughtful I thought to myself.

“Wow, thank you” I looked inside the containers, “Uh… how do I use this?”

Hano looked at me weirdly.

“Do you not know how to make Udon”

“I’ve never cooked once in my life other than ramen”

“That doesn’t count” Hano looked at me, “May I come inside your house and cook it for you then?”

“No thanks… I’ll manage”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded.

“Suit yourself”

I felt this urge to recall her back. I didn’t know why, but it just felt like denying her this opportunity would be rude of me, even if she had already eaten lunch as it was 1 PM.

“Wait Hano-chan”

Before I realized it, Hano had already set up the stove and all the ingredients were laid out perfectly.

“What’ve you been up to lately?” I stood beside her, observing how she cooked.

“Nothing…” Hano started up the stove, “I’ve just been working on that art piece you sent me online. You’d love what I’ve drawn over it”

“Looking forward to it…”

“I did a bit of drawing on our big board but I think I kinda messed up the lighting you made over your person”

“It’s alright Hano” I smiled, “It’s not like it’d ruin the overall drawing”

“Oh yeah, here’s an image of an independent project I’ve been making”

Her art was definitely better than last time.

“I can’t wait for what you’d have in store” I looked at my phone for a brief second, “By the way Hano, would you like to go out with me during the summer?”

Hano turned over to me with a sort of surprised face.

“There was this really interesting movie I’d like to show you during the summer… you’ve probably heard of it”

“You mean the Darioman movie adaptation?” Hano’s eyes lit up.

“Of course!”

“I loved reading the Darioman manga… and I’ve heard a lot of good things about it” Hano swiped through her phone, continuing to cook, “What about our art piece though?”

“We’ll still do it. But with the start of high school and the fact that we’re close to finishing the art piece, perhaps we should reward ourselves with something”

“Good point”

“So… you wanna go?”

“Yes, please! I can pay for the tickets if you want… oh right… I’ll have to borrow from Ayama”

“No, no, I’ll pay for it. I have some pocket change I’ve been saving up forever since the festival…”

“Lucky…” Hano pouted, “Do you want to stop by this ice cream parlor close to the cinema?”

Ice cream wasn’t exactly my favorite, but I couldn’t deny it.

“Lots of people say it's the best out of the entire region, no way are we skipping that” Hano spoke with an unsuppressed passion in her voice.

“Of course, I have no problem with that”

“Yes please”

Hano gave out a radiant smile before proceeding on with the Udon noodles, which had a sort of smell I had started to fall in love with.

She had an exact liking for fish sauce, so I would often place a tad bit more on the noodles compared to soy sauce.

“We’re digging in” Hano and I said after staring at the Udon that we made.

After one bite, I had already fallen in love with it.

“Stunning…” I mumbled.

“You like it?” Hano looked at me with interest.

“I love it,” I smiled, “I love everything about it…”

“Thanks, it took me years to practice perfecting this Udon I had made”

Honestly, it was nice to see her creating her original style.

“I see… perhaps I could take up cooking” I looked at the bowl with a sort of interest.

“How about when we enter High School, we could work together in Home Economics in cooking. Perhaps we could get a high mark! After all, the curriculum for computer science seems… vague”

“Are you sure? It’s not like we can surpass the entire school–”

“You must have faith! Just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you’re confined to academics!”

“... sure” I shrugged, “We can win”

“Yea! I heard Megurigaoka High School has a competition for Home Economics cooking”

“Do you want to do your specialty Udon”

“Of course! That’s my best recipe out of everything!”

“Hmm, most people don’t usually start cooking until High School. Perhaps we have a chance” I leaned back on my chair.

“Yea! That’s why I know we’ll win”

“You’re very confident…” I smirked, “I like it”

“Sorry… I’m not usually this confident around people…” Hano looked away.

“I understand…” My mind wandered towards something else, “I’d like to apologize for something”

“Hm?” Hano looked at me weirdly, “I don’t remember you doing something wrong”

“No… it’s just that I’ve noticed you’ve been teased around. Even some of the Council members know… And I’ve been mainly unaware until recently”

Hano tried to keep this sort of strong face as if the teasing had unfazed her. Yet through it, I could somehow tell she hated it ever since the beginning of Middle School.

Hano had endured it for so long yet I had been ignorant.

“It’s alright! Don’t worry!” Hano waved her hand around dismissively, “You’ve gone so far within the Student Council in such a short span you can’t just look back and slow down”

“But–”

“No buts!” Hano interrupted, “You’ve always dreamed of becoming the best in school so why stop now?”

I had only wanted to become the best because I wanted to set my future up. Yet by continuing on this path, I’m sabotaging Hano’s life. Was it worth it?

“... Fine… but can you promise me that if it truly has broken you, you’d tell me?”

“I already know you’ve tried! They’ve laid off me during the last two weeks until Christmas. I know it’s definitely because of your doing”

It’s a short-term measure. Eventually, they’ll do it again…

“Yeah… however–”

“Just focus on what you do best, alright? I’ll be fine”

“I understand… It's just that I’m starting to get busy with the Student Council work. I may often forget, but if I do realize that you’re getting bullied again, I may ask you”

“I understand… thank you for the offer though” Hano smiled.

“Anyways, let’s continue eating. We wouldn’t want to spoil the food over something like that, right?”

“Agreed”

Unfortunately, we didn’t meet most of the time other than briefly in school. As a matter of fact, after Hano's departure, I eventually chose Computer Science over Home Economics.