Episode 20: “Honeymoon Feelings”
(TLN: Gyoza are a type of Chinese dumplings.)
“Gyoza, huh… I actually wanted to let the filling settle… Well, okay, let’s make gyoza. Can you help me wrap them?”
“Uh, sure. If there’s anything I can do…”
Overwhelmed, I agreed to help with the cooking, even though I had never done it before. Well, I thought I could at least wrap gyoza at that time.
“Alright, let’s go shopping… Oh, wait a moment.”
She stopped as she was about to start walking and took out her smartphone. Then, she began contacting someone.
I just watched her exchange without saying anything… She muttered, “Okay,” blushed slightly, and put away her phone.
“We made too much, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, looks like it.”
Looking at the mountain of dumplings that is more than enough for the two of us, we exchange smiles. This quantity seems to be enough for five people… no, maybe even more.
“It’s difficult to buy ingredients for just two people… and, well, I got carried away because I thought it was for you…”
Blushing slightly with both hands clasped together, she seemed to have made all these dumplings for me… I want to eat them all, but it’s definitely too much.
“you can take the leftovers home as a souvenir. It might be good for tomorrow’s lunchbox.”
And… I can’t think of a good excuse when my parents come back. Why would I, who never cooks, suddenly make dumplings? It’s difficult to explain, especially since we’re keeping our relationship a secret.
“Maybe we can just say we had a dumpling party at Emi’s house?”
She is also keeping our relationship a secret from her family, but she has the advantage of having friends who she can rely on in these situations. Well, I don’t have zero friends, but I have very few, and they’re not particularly reliable, especially in situations like this… I can only think of Shibetsu-senpai as someone I can turn to for advice. Oh, that’s right, I promised him that I would ask Nanami-san to cook as a thank you for the clothes… but I helped out this time. Maybe I’ll fulfill that promise another time.
After that, Nanami-san finished wrapping the dumplings and started cooking them one after another. While I had nothing to do, I prepared plates and wiped the table… doing household chores that I usually never do. It really feels like a married couple.
During that time, the perfectly cooked pan-fried dumplings with a crispy bottom were ready. They had a beautiful color and a delicious aroma.
In addition to the dumplings, we had a soup with seaweed and bean vermicelli, a vegetable salad, and a generous amount of grated daikon radish.
“In our house, when we eat dumplings, we put grated daikon radish in the sauce. It makes it refreshing and easier to eat.”
“Oh, I’ve never tried that before.”
