Chapter 10
"Seriously, if you remove things like being kind and reliable—stuff that only we need to understand—then I guess it’s that you’re good at cooking and you look really cool when you're playing basketball, maybe?"
Chinatsu thought for a moment before speaking, and both Sakurai-san and Hōjōin-san reacted in turn.
It was a situation where she was listing the good qualities of her boyfriend, me, right in front of her friends. Depending on how you look at it, it’s a pretty intense situation.
"Eh, Sato, you play basketball?"
"Sato-kun can cook?"
Sakurai-san probably said this because she's on the girls' basketball team, and as for Hōjōin-san, I wonder if she has some personal thoughts about cooking.
"Yeah, I’ve been playing since I was in mini-basketball, and I was in the basketball club in middle school too. Right now, I can’t attend practice every day because of my part-time job, but I still play street basketball. Chinatsu has come to watch me a few times... And as for cooking, well, since I live on my own, I have to cook for myself. Chinatsu always eats happily, so lately I’ve been getting a bit more into it."
When I said that, Sakurai-san, Hōjōin-san, and even Chinatsu all made somewhat awkward expressions.
"……Sato, are you actually some kind of amazing guy?"
Sakurai-san asked, almost as if representing everyone, and I shook my head to deny it.
"Hmm, my living situation is just a bit unusual, but I think I’m pretty normal."
"……Honestly, even if Chinatsu’s perspective is in there, so far, the boyfriend of Chinatsu—Sato—seems like an incredible catch. He's kind, reliable, good at cooking and makes homemade meals, works a part-time job, can live on his own with solid life skills, and is even good at basketball. He’s practically a top-tier prize, though."
"No, no, I think you’re overhyping it…"
Sakurai-san looked at me and then at Chinatsu, and for some reason, nodded.
"Somehow, I’m starting to feel like there’s nothing to worry about..."
"I just thought of something—why doesn’t Chinatsu ask him to make her a bento? And then you can eat it together. A guy who’s good at cooking and makes a bento for his girlfriend probably scores some serious points!"
Sakurai-san seemed to be giving up on something, but Hōjōin-san offered that suggestion.
A bento, huh? Honestly, I’ve made one for her before when we were living together, but it was just leftovers from dinner, so maybe I should try to make one from scratch this time.
I quickly searched a few videos for some bento ideas and added them to my favorites.
"Hajime, you’ll make it for me?"
Seeing me using my phone, Chinatsu happily asked, and I nodded.
"Yeah, if you’re okay with it, Chinatsu."
"Hehe, I don’t know if it’s very girly, but I’d be super happy if you made it for me."
Just hearing her say that makes me want to make it for her, and I feel like it’s the kind of weakness that comes with being in love.
"……You two always get lost in your own world so quickly. At this rate, I’m afraid someone might die from envy or jealousy."
Sakurai-san muttered as she thought about something.
"By the way, what exactly is street basketball? A friend of mine mentioned it once, but I’m not too familiar with it. Is it different from regular basketball?"
At that moment, Hōjōin-san asked the question, and I wasn’t sure how to explain it since it’s still basketball, but Chinatsu answered instead.
"It’s not in a gym, but it’s a lot of fun with a good atmosphere. There are a lot of adults too. Do you want to come see it, Reina?"
"Oh, I’d love to!"
"If that’s the case, I’d like to go too. I’m curious to see what basketball outside of the club is like, and I also want to see what level Hajime’s at."
"Hey, Hajime, is today good? Oh, but it’s probably not okay if you skip your part-time job."
"Hmm, I swapped shifts with my senior the other day because of a sudden date, so I think it’s fine if I just let them know."
Now that I remembered about her situation, I should probably send a quick message to let them know everything’s okay.
I checked my phone and saw that Shinji had messaged me, asking if I was going to go since he was planning to head there before the new semester started. I replied that I might go.
"It’s fine. It’s not that far from here, and considering the club activities, there’s not much chance of a good timing, so if you’re interested, we could go."
And so, I ended up taking Chinatsu and her friends to the usual basketball spot.
Thinking back to when I was about to go to my part-time job, it was surprising how things had turned out. But I was really glad that Chinatsu had started to get along so naturally with her friends, and I felt a lot of relief from the fact that they seemed to accept me as well.