Chapter 18 – Miso Soup
Monday, the day I decided to give my all at work for the upcoming weekend.
“Hey, it’s been a while.”
“…Ah, yeah, it’s been a while.”
When I went to the company, my ex-boyfriend whom I parted with three years ago due to being assigned to overseas work was back after finishing his overseas assignment.
His name is Daiki Domoto.
When he asked me to quit the company and come abroad with him, I was engaged in a major project and couldn’t make up my mind to go with him.
No, that’s not it…
“If you come with me, you could master your favorite Italian cuisine in its home country, right? I believe you could become skilled at cooking, Miko.”
I was taken aback by those words.
I ran away from the obsession of having to cook
I escaped using work as an excuse.
“What happened afterward?”
“…Are you enjoying yourself, Daiki?”
“Doing alright, I guess? Let’s get along starting today.”
What does “let’s get along” mean?
Looking, there were bags on the desk in front of me that should be empty.
“Oh, did you join the Planning and Development Department?”
“Yeah. Let’s have fun again.”
“…”
What does “have fun” mean?
“Good morning, Iwabuchi Senpai!”
“Good morning, Hayama. Get the proposal I asked for out first thing in the morning.”
“…”
“Wait until 9 o’clock.”
“Thanks.”
After Hayama returned to his desk, Daiki chuckled and handed me a box of chocolates.
“You like sweet things, right?”
“Yeah, I do.”
I opened the lid of the box and took one, putting it in my mouth.
An overwhelmingly sweet taste spread in my mouth.
Aren’t overseas chocolates too sweet?
I want to eat the sweets Aoi-san makes.
Daiki is smiling brightly.
I can’t say it’s not good.
“Thank you.”
“I’m glad if Iwabuchi is happy; it makes me happy too.”
Well, I’m not happy.
“Iwabuchi senpai, what about you?”
“Nice to meet you, Hayama? This person is Daiki Domoto, he used to be the ace of the Overseas Department.”
“Hello! I’m Iwabuchi’s ex-boyfriend! Nice to meet you!”
“Daiki, stop… I’m already attracting attention from female employees because of Ishiyama senpai and Hayama, and now with Daiki added to the mix, won’t I be stabbed? My relationship with Daiki is a memory to be forgotten.”
“…Iwabuchi, you have a boyfriend, huh?”
“Is that bad?”
Daiki looked surprised.
I’m being rude.
“I see, what kind of guy is he?”
“A kind person.”
“So, he’s someone who gets to enjoy Inochi’s homemade cooking.”
Kind = someone who eats my cooking. What kind of cycle is that?
For now, I decided to ignore it.
“Starting today, I’ve become the head of the Planning and Development Department. I’m Daiki Domoto. I’ve recently returned to Japan, so there might be things I don’t understand, but please take care of me.”
It seems that Daiki has returned and taken up a managerial position.
The girls in the same department are all giggly.
If they find out he’s my ex-boyfriend, I’ll definitely be in trouble.
For the time being, I tried my best to avoid making eye contact with Daiki, so that it doesn’t seem like we’re close.
Or at least, I thought I did.
During lunch break in the cafeteria, as I was eating a fried horse mackerel set with my friend Misato, Daiki suddenly sat down in front of me.
I could already hear gossip about that woman from various corners again.
“Daiki-kun, it’s been a while. You’re annoying, so go somewhere else.”
As you might have noticed, Misato dislikes Daiki.
“Did I do something to you, Misato-chan?”
“Don’t use familiar language with me! And don’t get near Iwabuchi.”
“Even though we’re in the same department, ‘don’t get near’?…”
“Shut up, just be quiet.”
Misato stuffed her mouth with curry and then spoke.
“Leave that aside, did you wear that sexy underwear?”
Miso soup went down the wrong way.
“I think you should set that erotic lingerie selfie as your wallpaper.”
Cough, cough, cough… “Misato… cough… Are you telling me to die?”
“If you receive a sexy selfie, it’s common courtesy to send one in return.”
Cough, cough… “I can’t… cough…”
“Then why did you buy it?”
“It’s definitely not for taking selfies.”
“If you keep talking stingy like that, you’ll get dumped!”
“I’m not the kind of guy who’d be dumped over something like that.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I do!”
“Then call and ask!”
“Fine! I’ll call and ask!”
I began to call Aoi-san.
After a few rings, she answered the call as usual.
“What’s up?”
“I have a question for you, Aoi-san. You wouldn’t break up with me just because i wouldn’t let you take my sexy lingerie photo, right?”
“Um… what do you mean? Could you explain in more detail?”
“That’s what I’m saying! The other day, when I was shopping with Misato, I bought some sexy lingerie… Wait, what am I even talking about?”
“You’re just realizing this now?”
“Jitsumi tricked me into it!”
As I held my head in my hands, I heard Aoi-san’s voice from my smartphone.
“Is that for my sake, Iwabuchi?”
“Noo~ Please forget about it!”
“Well, I can’t. I’m looking forward to this weekend.”
“It’s not like that, I didn’t say I’d wear it.”
“Then why did you buy it?”
“Um… I’ll call you later after I come up with a calm excuse.”
“Got it. I’ll have a clever argument ready to convince you to wear it. See you.”
After Aoi-san hung up, I grabbed Minori’s neck.
“Misato, you idiot~ Think of excuses together with me~”
“Just wear it, okay!”
I was seriously choking her!
“Okay, okay!”
“Should I bear this grudge and get my revenge?”
I’m definitely going to have to wear it! An unpleasant confidence surged within me.
“I don’t want to…”
“I’m going to die…”
I went too far with this for real. I quickly let go in a panic, and Misato was coughing.
“Sorry, I seriously thought I was going to kill you.”
“I don’t think you’re sorry.”
As I buried my face in my hands, Daiki started stroking my head. I got goosebumps, though.
“Don’t touch me!”
“Who would’ve thought Iwabuchi would buy sexy underwear? You’ve really become an adult.”
“It’s irrelevant.”
“…Misato-chan, have you ever met Iwabuchi’s kind boyfriend?”
“…No, but based on the picture I saw, he’s like a sexy handsome guy I wouldn’t mind being embraced by once.”
“What kind of description is that?”
“Well, he has a good body, to the extent that he’s confident enough to approach you, right?”
“Don’t make it sound like I’m sexually frustrated!”
I buried my face in my hands again.
“…Iwabuchi, you really like that guy, huh?”
“You’re so annoying~ Just be quiet.”
“…”
Once again, he stroked my head and it irritated me.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Back in the day, you used to like getting your head patted.”
“I still do. When it’s my lover touching me.”
“Don’t say that. It’s lonely, you know.”
Annoying.
Oh, I want Aoi-san to pat my head.
Wait, am I really frustrated?
“Aaaaah!”
I let out a huge scream in the cafeteria out of embarrassment.
itsyoii note: Hello~ Actually, this chapter is quite long, and usually, I would split this chapter into two parts. But for this chapter, I won’t split it, so this chapter remains long. So, enjoy it~ Happy reading!