Head Over Heels From The Scarf I Lent Her Chapter 6

That night, Satsuki dropped by to the convenience store and they walked home together. Tooru sat down on the carpet and waited for the girl in her ap.r.o.n.

The fragrance of her cooking wafts from the kitchen. My stomach even growled, and it hardly ever does.
In any case, this is the first time that a girl has cooked in his home, so Tooru can’t help but stare from across the hall. Hopefully, the kitchen wasn’t too much trouble to cook in.

Tooru has seen his mom cook when he was still living at home. But right now, Satsuki’s cute, pet.i.t frame is in his kitchen cooking for him. That’s not a sight that Tooru would get tired of anytime soon.
It’s probably rice, miso soup, and ginger pork—or at least that’s what Tooru, guessing from the smell, is fantasizing about. He was planning on studying until dinner was ready, but so far, he’s gotten nowhere.
Satsuki uses a small dish to give the soup a taste-test and nodded at the results. Seeing her sweet smile might just have made Tooru’s heart skip a beat.

“Sorry to make you wait.”

Satsuki brings in a tray and on top of it was a steaming hot bowl of rice, miso soup, and a spinach salad.
It was a different scent earlier, so there’s got to be more than this. Tooru clears the table of his books to prepare for this extravagance.

Even the plain white rice looks extra fancy. But, no, the first thing to try is the spinach. Tooru reaches for it with his chopsticks and then puts it in his mouth.

Delicious.
The spinach had been steeping in a broth and soy sauce mixture after it had been blanched. Yet, curiously, the seasoning doesn’t overpower the flavor of the vegetable.
It was even blanched just right—not overcooked, yet no hints of the spinach still being raw. It was made perfectly.

Next is the miso soup. After gently blowing on it, Tooru takes the hot bowl and a sip from it.
This is delicious as well. There shouldn’t be anything special in it, but still, it feels premium for some reason. The hot tofu in the soup warms the cool spinach in the belly. Delicious.

“Miyamoto, this is so good.”

Hearing that, Satsuki was happy and bashful at the same time. Then, she brings in the final dish.
Ginger pork and the fragrance of caramelized soy sauce with neither too much nor too little ginger.
Tooru’s appet.i.te could only go up with the presence of meat. Without so much a hint of restraint, he grabs and bites down on a slice of the pork.
The slight bitterness of the ginger matches well with the savoriness of the pork that was perfectly lean and fatty. That and a mouthful of rice made Tooru all smiles.

“The way you eat makes my food seem so yummy. It’s almost making me feel a little embarra.s.sed.”

The sight of Satsuki being bashful made Tooru embarra.s.sed too, so he looks down while chewing his food.
Finally, after swallowing his food, he looks back up.

“It really is tasty. Thanks for cooking for me.”
“… that’s so unfair.”

It’s adorable how she’s hiding her face with the tray. She’s naturally pulling it off too. How frightening she must be in the future.

“You’ve made enough for two, right? Let’s eat together.”
“Okay.”

Following my instructions, Satsuki sets up her portion across from me.

“Sorry for starting without you.”
“That’s okay, I don’t mind… but I’m glad you thought about me.”

Satsuki then puts her bowl of soup to her mouth. Now that’s unfair, Tooru thought.
Guys are defenseless against lines that cute. But, Satsuki is only like a younger sister for Tooru.

Perhaps it’s weird to be so dedicated for someone you’ve known for such a short amount of time, but it’s probably for the better to think of her as a sister.

Tooru is an only child, so he’s never experienced anything like this before—this sister figure so n.o.bly taking care of him.
As the naïve thought floats in his mind, he suddenly felt a pair of eyes on him.
There Satsuki was, with elbows on the table and resting her chin in one hand.

“What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing. Seeing how happily you’re eating just made me happy too is all.”
“I wasn’t exaggerating when I said your cooking is tasty, y’know? Heck, I might even go for seconds.”
“There’s still more rice, so just let me know.”

There’s even extra, huh? You’re way too thoughtful.
Ironically, Satsuki’s delicious cooking is going to lead to gaining weight. Well, you can’t pig out in front of a girl, so Tooru’s got to exercise some self-control.

“Say, Miyamoto…”
“Yes?”
“When did you start cooking? This is more than a few years’ worth of experience, right?”

Yes, Satsuki’s cooking is on par to a mother with decades of experience in the kitchen. She’s definitely been helping out in the kitchen.
Then, Satsuki casts her gaze downwards. As Tooru panicked thinking he’s said something wrong, Satsuki replies.

“I have been helping out around the house for as long as I can remember. That’s why I needed to learn to cook too…”
“Th-That’s it! For real, your cooking is the bomb.”

He stuffs his face with half of his portion of ginger pork, literally biting off more than he could chew.
Satsuki giggles slight at that. Oh, thank goodness she laughed, thought Tooru.

“Thank you for your concern.”
“Mm-hmm-hmph-mm… it’s nothing like that. Don’t worry about it. Come on, eat up before it gets cold.”

Almost as if she had only just realized it, Satsuki starts digging in again.
Family circ.u.mstances, eh? Tooru silently grumbles to himself.

Tooru’s family wasn’t well-off, but it was peaceful. His dad was strict at times and his mother kind. That was the norm, so he had thought until middle school. But now…
Sure, she’d definitely tell the truth if he were to ask, but he’ll leave it at that for now. No point in destroying the trust they had built up, lest she were to disappear from his life.

That would suck.
Though, that was an unwarranted anxiety.

They had known each other for only a few days, but it would be absolutely regrettable if she were to leave.
Maybe it’s because she’s a total cutie, maybe it’s because she’s so nice to him, but most likely, it was both. There’s just something precarious if he were to neglect Satsuki.
What should Tooru do? The right answer didn’t come easily as it hasn’t been long since they’ve befriended each other.

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