Ichin had always liked meat, and snacks like roujiamo—packed full of meat and rich flavor—were right up his alley.
However, during these years in Japan, he hadn't seen roujiamo anywhere. Only when he went back each year could he visit a few familiar shops and satisfy that craving.
He hadn't expected Yukino to spot it today and buy some for him.
Taking one out, Ichin looked at the generous amount of meat sandwiched between the two buns, the texture clearly visible, and turned to Yukino. "Come eat with me."
Yukino shook her head. "I'll pass. If I eat now, I won't be able to eat dinner later."
"Then why'd you buy me two? I'll be stuffed if I eat them both myself. Help me take care of half."
As he spoke, he beckoned Yukino over to sit with him. The two of them split one roujiamo and ate it together.
The flavor was indeed quite authentic—not much worse than what he used to have back home.
After eating half, even though it tasted great, Yukino didn't continue. She left the remaining one entirely to Ichin.
While Ichin happily ate his roujiamo, Yukino took out a book and started reading beside him.
Seeing large sections of text in her book marked with notes, Ichin asked, "This semester's pretty stressful, huh? What do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it for you."
After thinking for a moment, Yukino said, "I kind of want to eat fish. You decide how to cook it?"
"Fish, huh~~"
Hearing that, Ichin smiled and agreed right away. "No problem. Once I finish up this bit of work, we'll go buy groceries."
Yukino smiled and nodded. She didn't disturb him further, took her book over to the sofa, and quietly continued studying.
After finishing the remaining roujiamo and wrapping up his work efficiently, Ichin left the company with Yukino and headed to the supermarket.
They bought vegetables there, but since they couldn't find any good fish, the two of them drove straight to the shopping street near their home.
The seafood shops there had plenty of good options. Ichin picked out a very nice mandarin fish and asked the shop owner to prepare it.
Turning to Yukino, Ichin said with a smile, "How about squirrel-style mandarin fish tonight? And I see the grass carp here looks pretty good too—want some pickled cabbage fish as well?"
Yukino shook her head. "One dish is enough. We can do pickled cabbage fish another day—this fish is really big."
"Alright, your call."
A few minutes later, the shop owner quickly finished preparing the fish, bagged it, and handed it to Ichin. The two of them strolled around the shopping street a bit more, picked up a bottle of ketchup since they were running low at home, and that wrapped up the dinner preparations.
After getting home, Yukino fed the cats and went back to reading, while Ichin didn't let her help in the kitchen and started working on dinner himself.
As for Utaha, who was still busy with work, Haruno went to pick her up today as planned, so Ichin didn't need to make an extra trip.
At five thirty, Haruno and Utaha arrived right on time, just as they had agreed.
As soon as they stepped inside, both of them caught a whiff of a sweet-and-sour aroma—one they loved. Immediately curious, they changed into their slippers and headed toward the kitchen.
Looking at Ichin busy inside, Haruno asked expectantly, "Ichin, what are we having for dinner tonight?"
"Squirrel-style mandarin fish."
Ichin poured the prepared sauce from the pan over the deep-fried mandarin fish that had already been set, asked Utaha to carry it out, and then brought out the other dish himself.
"Yukino said she wanted fish today. When we went grocery shopping, we happened to see a really good mandarin fish, so I decided to make this."
Hearing that, Haruno, who was following behind, nodded in sudden understanding.
Lately, Yukino's studies really had been exhausting—it was only right for Ichin to make something good for her.
Thinking of that, Haruno tugged at Ichin's sleeve and said, "Ichin, I've been pretty tired with work lately too. How about braised pork tomorrow?"
"Braised pork, huh? Sure. Then we'll make braised pork tomorrow."
Ichin didn't refuse. There was still a pack of pork belly left in the fridge from before, and it wasn't troublesome to cook anyway.
"Yay! Braised pork!"
Haruno happily jumped up, then bounced over, took off her coat, and went to wash her hands and get the rice.
Four people, three dishes and one soup. Aside from today's fish being rather large, the portions of the other three dishes were all slightly smaller than usual.
Holding his bowl, Ichin looked at Utaha and Haruno and said, "You two eat a bit more today. I had roujiamo this afternoon, so I'm not particularly hungry right now."
"Roujiamo?"
Haruno picked up a piece of fish and ate it, asking curiously, "They sell roujiamo in Tokyo?"
When she had gone back for the Spring Festival with Ichin before, Haruno had tried roujiamo as well and really liked the snack.
Ichin nodded. "Yukino bought it on her way to the company after class. I was pretty surprised too—this is the first time I've ever had roujiamo in Tokyo."
"Eh~~"
Biting her chopsticks, Haruno looked at her younger sister, who was quietly eating fish, with some surprise. She leaned over and bumped Yukino's shoulder. "Yukino, where's that shop? I'll go buy some to try tomorrow too!"
After taking a sip of soup, Yukino nodded. "Let's finish dinner first. I've saved the shop's location on my phone—I knew you'd be curious, sis."
"Hehe, Yukino really does understand me!"
After a pleasant dinner, since Ichin had already said he'd make braised pork tomorrow, Haruno—rarely—took the initiative to handle the cleanup. She collected the dishes, wiped the table, and took care of everything herself, finishing quickly.
After putting all the dishes into the dishwasher, Haruno even personally brewed tea and brought it out.
"Come have some tea~~"
Ichin, holding Peppa in his arms, looked at Haruno's actions with both surprise and a bit of wariness.
"Haruno-nee, what exactly are you plotting? If you've got something to say, just say it."
Utaha nodded from the side. "Exactly, exactly. Haruno-san, you're being way too enthusiastic—something's up."
Hands on her hips, Haruno said indignantly, "How can you say that? I'm expressing my gratitude! Gratitude, you know? Wait—Yukino, what kind of look is that?"
Sitting beside Utaha, Yukino was holding George in her arms. She shrugged and said, "Nothing. I just think you're a bit abnormal, sis. But then again, maybe you being abnormal is what's normal."
"Even you say that, Yukino."
Haruno sat down gloomily and took a sip from her teacup.
Watching Yukino's movements, Haruno had felt something was off from the start, and suddenly realized—it looked rather similar to Ichin's usual habits, didn't it?
The three of them were sitting in a row, and their movements almost seemed synchronized.
But that was normal enough—they'd been living together all this time, after all.
Shaking her head, Haruno picked up the remote control and waited for the TV drama to start airing.
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