Chapter 31: Next time
EP.31 Next time
We later took a group sticker picture to keep it as a souvenir and went to the bowling alley.
There, the president and I were going to team up by drawing lots, and the Akagi siblings were a team.
It was quite a fierce battle, but in the end, the Akagi siblings won, so the president and I paid for the karaoke.
Because it was our first-time playing bowling for both of us.
After that, we went to karaoke and sang alternately for about two hours.
What was slightly surprising here was the president’s singing skills high level.
When I asked her how, she said she learned it as a basic skill when she was young.
Basically, it was omnipotent, as expected from the daughter of a noble family.
After staying at the karaoke like that, it was already 6 p.m.We ate ramen around 3 p.m. and had been playing since then.
It was almost sunset time, so when I asked what we should do for dinner, after coming out of Nakano Broadway, Minami suddenly gave an idea.
“How about having a get-together at Yoosung’s house for the first time?”
Then the president opened her fan and laughed.
“That’s a good suggestion. Minami. The last time we went to Kim Yoo-sung’s house was last year.”
The vice-president, who was listening to what they were saying next to him, also agreed by pushing up his glasses.
“I think it’s okay, too. We’ll have to eat dinner anyway.”
When the three people’s opinions were unified like this, it naturally became a flow to eat at my house.
When I appeared to hesitate, the president naturally pulled a black card out of the fan.
“Of course, I don’t want to get it for free like last time. I’ll pay the right price this time.”
“No, I wasn’t worried about that. Just, I thought my mother would be surprised if I suddenly took my friends.”
“…Will it be difficult?”
The president looked at me with pitiful eyes as she said so.
Honestly, when she looked at me with these eyes, how could I say no?
I asked them for their understanding and called my mother.
「What? Of course, you can. Bring them all!」
Mrs. Lee Mi-ja’s generous permission seemed to have been heard around even if it was not in speaker mode.
When the group dinner was decided, Minami immediately called seomeone, and soon after, the limousine we saw was brought in front of us.
I was on my way to the limousine when I asked a question.
“By the way, what did the vice-president and Minami ride to come here?”
Then the vice-president flinched and opened his mouth.
“You mean us?”
“We came here by taxi. I’m not used to the subway.”
Well, both of them said they used to serve the president, so they rarely took the subway.
When all four of us got on board, the limousine began to glide out of the darkened street.
A lot of things happened, but in the end today’s final destination was my house.
***
“Welcome!”
When I opened the door and entered the store, my mother, who was in the hall, welcomed me with a bright smile.
Because I called in advance before I came, side dishes were already set on the table.
“Oh my, it’s been a while. Mother.”
“It’s been a while for you, too.”
When the president naturally stepped forward and greeted her, my mother was very happy and held her hands.
It may have been a coincidence, but my mother and the president’s names were all the same except for one letter.
Lee Mi-ja and Saionji Kumiko1Lee Mi-ja (李美子) and Saionji Kumiko (久美子) are both written with the Japanese kanji 美子 and the one which differ are 李 and 久, the one meant with “except for one letter”..
Maybe it was because of that, that the two of them had quite a good chemistry.
“I heard that the president and his friends from the student council were coming today, so I prepared our representative menu.”
Saying that, my mother, who sat us at a table set up in advance, called my father in the kitchen.
Then, my father came out with a furnace containing charcoal.
“It’s hot so be careful.”
When he gave us a little warning while saying that, the president folded his fan and looked at the furnace in the middle of the table with a fluttering expression.
“This is yakiniku.”
“Is this your first time grilling it yourself?”
“Yes, I’m embarrassed.”
The president said she had still many things she had never experienced before, with a self-help smile.
Well, I thought it would get better soon because she was learning pretty quickly.
Whenever she had time, she continued to experience the common people things, and these days, she was doing things that she wouldn’t have thought of before.
I grabbed the tongs to feed them meat.
“Eat and tell me if it’s not enough. I’ll grill it for you as much as you want.”
Then the vice-president said, flashing his glasses.
“Ohoh- You’re sure you won’t regret it, right?”
“Sure.”
In response, I put the meat on the plate all at once on the grill.
My house was a Korean-style yakiniku restaurant, so it sold menus with names familiar to Koreans such as pork belly, neck meat, seagull meat and pork neck meat.
And it was natural for the son of a meat restaurant to grill meat well.
The meat was sizzling on the grill.
As a result, when the delicious smell came out, the three high school students, who were hungry after playing in the middle of the day, swallowed their saliva.
The best of charcoal-grilled meat were pork belly and pork neck.
Due to the layered fat, the greasy, savoury pork belly, and the slightly dry, yet unique flavour, were grilled back and forth and cut into bite-sized pieces.
There was often a rumour that it was better to turn the meat upside down only once when it was grilled, but it was okay if it was grilled golden brown.
Thanks to the firepower of charcoal fire, the grilled meat was moved to the edge of the grill in an instant, and new meat was put on top.
I gave a signal that they could eat to the three people, who were just holding chopsticks and swallowing their saliva, and everyone started eating meat.
“Take your time. There’s still a lot of meat left.”
Maybe it was because everyone went on vacation, but there weren’t many customers at the store that day.
In the midst of that, there were three high school students, who were hungry, so there was no worries about meat remaining in stock.
Once I started eating, I tend to eat a lot.
I explained various side dishes to them.
“It’s called Myeongi herb and perilla leaf pickled vegetables, and it’s delicious if you wrap it with meat. Oh, that’s Ssamjang, it’s a sauce mixed with red pepper paste and soybean paste. It goes really well with meat.”
Still, unlike the Akagi siblings who seemed to have eaten a lot of yakiniku, the president seemed to be wandering a lot because it was her first experience, so I wrapped a wrap myself and gave it to her.
“Go ahead, president.”
Then the president said, blushing.
“How shameless of you to do such a rude thing in public!”
“My arm is falling off. Come on.”
Then, the president hesitated and ate the wrap I made.
Munching-
“How is it? It’s good, right?”
The president nodded shyly to my question.
Minami, who was watching from the side, suddenly brought it up.
“Yoo-sung, don’t you need to eat too? I think you can hand over the tongs to me.”
I appreciated her meticulous consideration, but I decided to be stubborn for today.
“No, thank you. It’s better if it’s someone who’s good at grilling meat, right? Don’t worry about me and eat a lot. I’m eating well on my own.”
When I picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks and put it in my mouth, Minami nodded with a reluctant look.
“Hahahahaha! I can still eat more! Kim Yoo-sung!”
“Please eat slowly vice-president. I feel like someone is chasing me.”
Even if he was criticized like that, the speed at which the vice-president ate meat did not decrease.
Because of this, I was constantly putting meat on the grill.
The president, who was looking closely at me, suddenly made a wrap and gave it to me.
“Uh, I can wrap it up.”
“You keep saying that, but you don’t eat.”
As she said that, I had to eat it when she gave it to me again.
When I ate the wrap, the president asked with a nervous look.
“How is it?”
I chewed up everything in my mouth and raised my thumb.
“It’s delicious.”
That’s when she laughed shyly.
“Ohoh, of course. I’m the one who made it.”
For the first time in a long time, the student council spent a pleasant night together.
***
“Goodbye!”
“Come again~”
Saionji Kumiko and the Akagi siblings left the store, receiving a farewell from Kim Yoo-sung and his mother.
The sky was already dark.
Considering that she went to Asakusa from the early morning, she was outside almost all day.
Although her body was tired, Saionji Kumiko felt that something warm remained in her heart.
On the way back to the mansion by car, Shinjiro Akagi and Minami Akagi, who sat on the opposite seat of the limousine, bowed their heads at the same time.
“I’m sorry, miss. We should have left you in the middle.”
“I was so focused on playing that I couldn’t get out of it.”
At the sincere apology of the two, Saionji Kumiko shook her head with a subtle smile around her mouth.
“No, I’m fine. I’m already satisfied enough for today.”
Saying so, Kumiko recalled what happened today.
She waited for someone for the first time in her life, ate ice cream with Kim Yoo-sung in Asakusa, they laughed and chatted with each other while choosing things, and she showed herself wearing a kimono to Kim Yoo-sung who told her that she was beautiful.
It wasn’t just that.
“It’s been a long time since we spend time together like this, so I recalled a lot of old memories.”
The student council basically revolved around Saionji Kumiko.
It was quite natural, but she felt strange loneliness from time to time.
Because she thought they didn’t treat her like they used to.
But it was all an illusion.
“It was fun to find the wrong picture with Minami today. It was fun to play a game called bowling, and it was a good memory to go make sticker photos and to sing together at the karaoke.”
The date with her beloved Kim Yoo-sung was good, but today’s day spent in a group under the name of the student council meant more than that.
“Thank you for always being with me. Shinjiro and Minami. I will always be thankful.”
When Saionji Kumiko lowered her head slightly as she said so, the two became disconsolate.
“…I’ll follow you for the rest of my life.”
“Miss….”
When a strangely warm atmosphere flowed, Saionji Kumiko, who could not overcome the awkwardness, said while clearing her throat.
“Anyway, I’m satisfied with this much for today. This won’t be my last chance. Of course, you’re going to help me, right?”
Then the two nodded at the same time.
“Of course!”
“Sure.”
The first night of such a memorable Golden Week ended with three people, once again, consolidating their ties.