Chapter – 49
Somehow, my heart’s pounding.
Opening the lid of a lunchbox someone else made for me makes me more nervous than opening my own.
It was lunchtime, and while everyone else had scattered to eat their bento or bread wherever they liked, I came up to the rooftop alone.
Of course, there were still a few other students around.
Opening Kana-nee’s handmade bento in a place like this is… still embarrassing.
Last time, there had been a heart drawn in the rice—but what would it be this time?
Knowing Kana-nee’s personality, there’s absolutely no way there’d be nothing.
“Man… I’m kind of scared to open it…”
I muttered that while staring down anxiously at the lunchbox.
There was no one right next to me, so it was completely just talking to myself.
“…But no one’s really watching, so it should be fine, right? Okay… here goes.”
There was no point in hesitating forever.
I steeled myself and opened the lid.
“Ugh… this is…”
The moment I saw the contents, I froze in shock.
Last time it had been a heart, but this time, the rice had the word ‘LOVE’ written across it.
Well, the side dishes were varied, nutritious, and clearly high quality.
But there was no doubt about it—this was not a bento I could let other people see.
“Kana-nee… this is… way too embarrassing…”
My face burned bright red.
I was grateful she made me lunch, but there are things you should do—and things you shouldn’t.
Just like the previous one, this bento was something I absolutely couldn’t eat in the classroom.
I didn’t want to complain about something she went to the trouble of making, but couldn’t she make something more… normal?
Even I’m careful to make ordinary lunches for her.
Thank goodness Shin wasn’t nearby today.
If he’d seen this, I don’t even want to imagine what he’d say.
Before anyone else came over, I hurriedly started eating.
Honestly… maybe I should stop exchanging bentos altogether.
I really meant that.
By the time I got home as usual, it was around 9:30 p.m.
On days I have work, it always ends up this late.
When I opened the front door, Kana-nee was there, greeting me like always.
“Welcome home, Kaede. …Dinner’s ready.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
I went inside, put my bag on the sofa, and carried the now-empty lunchbox to the kitchen.
Because of how our households are, Kana-nee is at my house even when my brother and I aren’t home.
Her parents both work, so her house is usually empty.
My parents said they couldn’t let her be lonely by herself, so they let her stay here…
They even gave her a spare key.
It’s been that way since we were little, so to us, she’s practically family.
I guess that’s why I came to think of Kana-nee as an actual older sister.
I never expected her to suddenly start getting so close to me with romantic feelings, though…
She noticed the lunchbox right away and spoke up.
“So? How was today’s bento?”
“It was really good. But…”
“But? What is it?”
Seeing my serious expression, she tilted her head thoughtfully.
There’s no way she didn’t know what she’d done to that lunch, right?
A little irritation welled up as I looked at her.
“…Kana-nee.”
“Hm? What?”
“Don’t you think today’s bento was kind of… too much—”
“Yeah. I put a lot of care into making it just for you, Kaede.”
“I know, but…”
When she says things like ‘just for you’, it makes it hard to say anything.
Even though I want to tell her clearly to stop with the hearts and decorations, the words just won’t come out.
That’s my problem.
I can’t get mad when I should.
I always miss the timing.
She smiled brightly and asked,
“You made mine with a lot of care too, right?”
“Of course. If I’m going to make something, I want it to be good.”
I shrugged.
“Mm-hmm, I get that. —And mine was made with lots of love for you, Kaede, so I really gave it my all.”
“I appreciate the thought, but… you didn’t have to go that far.”
“No. This is for you.”
“For me…? You mean that bento? It was seriously embarrassing.”
Just seeing the word “LOVE” made me panic and look around.
She looked genuinely confused.
“Was it really that embarrassing? I didn’t think it was that bad.”
“That’s not what I mean… It’s not about whether it was good or bad…”
“Then what was the problem? I made sure the side dishes were nutritionally balanced.”
“Yeah, I do that too when I cook, so that part’s fine. It’s just—”
I looked away awkwardly.
“Just what?”
“I don’t really like bentos with hearts or ‘LOVE’ written on them. That’s a bit…”
“Ehh? I was pretty proud of that one. You didn’t like it that much?”
She pouted slightly.
“The food itself was perfect. But eating it where everyone could see was… kind of embarrassing.”
“Honestly, it’d be perfect if I could just feed you myself.”
“You feeding me? Don’t joke around. What would my brother say?”
“Ryuichi-san has nothing to do with it. What matters is how you feel.”
“Hm… how I feel, huh…”
That just makes it harder to answer.
“So? Specifically, how would you feel about me feeding you?”
“I’ve never really thought about it…”
“Just hypothetically is fine.”
Prompted by her, I imagined it.
If Kana-nee did that…
To be honest, I might be happy.
“Normally, I don’t think any guy would hate that…”
“Right? Then—”
“But if you did it in front of people, I’d be too embarrassed to show my face for a while…”
“That embarrassing? It’s just feeding you, you know?”
She looked at me in genuine confusion.
But no matter how she looks at me, no is still no.
“Even if it’s normal for you, it’s super embarrassing for me.”
“I see… Embarrassing, huh. For me, it’d be like a once-in-a-lifetime event. Something I’d really want to do.”
“Oh… I see.”
I sat down at the table and picked up my chopsticks to eat dinner.
Then she suddenly brightened.
“Oh! Then how about I feed you dinner instead?”
“Huh? This?”
“Yeah! No one’s around right now, so it should be fine. What do you think?”
“I appreciate it, but… I’ll pass.”
“Why?”
“If you do that, I won’t be able to refuse whatever you ask for later…”
“Ehh? You won’t? I thought you’d definitely bathe with me if I asked…”
“You always force your way in anyway.”
I sighed.
She snatched the chopsticks from my hand, picked up some food, and held it toward me.
“Come on, Kaede. Say ‘ahh’—”
“Do I really have to?”
“Yes. You need to listen to me properly. I am your older sister, after all.”
“Ugh… when you put it like that, I can’t argue.”
Reluctantly, I ate the food she offered.
“…So? Is it good?”
She asked with a strangely serious expression.
The taste itself was flawless.
“It’s good.”
I smiled—though it was a bit stiff.
Even with no one around, this was still really embarrassing.
But it seemed she wasn’t done yet.
This time she picked up some rice and held it out.
“Okay. Say ‘ahh’…”
Ah… she’s going to make me go through with the whole thing.
If I refused now, she’d definitely sulk.
What should I do…?
“…?”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
She looked at me curiously.
“No… it’s nothing.”
There was no point overthinking it, so I decided to go along with it.
She’d probably barge into the bath later too.
Definitely.
