CH 3

I was driving around on my day off.

“Wow, Matsuo-san. I can’t believe you have a car.”

“Hahaha, It’s a used one, I bought with a loan.”

“But I’m really sorry. For my sake…”

“It’s okay. I’m the one who wants to do it for you, Ando-san.”

“Matsuo-san …”

Then we arrived at Ando-san’s apartment. …

“……T-this. It’s quite terrific.”

It couldn’t even be called a good place to live by any stretch of the imagination.

The building was probably quite old, and it seemed to be titled a bit. It was really unfortunate that a young blossoming college girl was living in such a place.

“I-It’s kind of embarrassing. …”

“No, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’ve done a great job so far.”

“…Yes.”

Ando-san was about to burst into tears again, so I gently patted her back. Then the two of us loaded Ando-san’s belongings from her room into the car. Since there was so little stuff, the move was completed in just one trip back and forth.

“Um, Matsuo-san.”

“Hmm?”

“I know it’s a little late for this, but are you sure you want to do this? I’ll be imposing on you, Matsuo-san…”

I gently put my hand on her head.

“It’s really no problem for me. Besides, I can’t leave you alone.”

“…Thank you.”

Then we set up her stuff in my room.

“I’m sorry, I have limited storage space in my one-bedroom apartment. If it was possible, I would have made a proper division.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Ando-san waved her hand hurriedly and said,

“Well then… are you hungry?”

“Ah, shall I make it?”

“As much as I’d love to eat Ando-san’s delicious home-cooked meals, I’m pretty sure you are tired after moving and all.”

I went to the kitchen and opened a cabinet there.

“Sometimes, this is good, isn’t it?”

“Ah, cup noodles. …”

Ando-san widened her eyes slightly.

“You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s not like that. It’s just I haven’t eaten cup noodles for a long time.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Ever since I entered university…because cup noodles are actually expensive.”

“Huh? Isn’t it rather a cheap meal?”

“Well, that’s true. But if you divide it by the day, the rice ends up being cheaper as a result. I think one meal is roughly 20 to 30 yen.”

“That’s certainly cheaper. Ando-san, how do you know such things?”

“I am really poor, so I learned a lot.”

“I see….Then, shall we splurge a little today?”

I shook the cup noodles and said a little jokingly.

“Yes.”

Ando-san nodded with a smile.

“I’ll be back in a minute.”

I quickly boiled water. I poured the boiling water into a cup of noodles and brought it to Ando-san.

“Which one do you prefer, soy sauce or seafood?”

“Matsuo-san, which one do you prefer?”

“Which one do you prefer, Ando-san?”

I returned it with a question,…

“…, then soy sauce.”

“Here you go.”

I offered it to her, and Ando-san bowed her head.

“Ah, it’s been three minutes,”

I said.

I flipped the lid, and the aroma of savory seafood tickled my nostrils.

“…. Ah, it smells so good.”

Ando-san also mumbled,

“Well then, Shall we eat?”

“Yes.”

“Here’s your chopstick.”

“Thank you.”

And then we both clasped our hands together,

“Itadakimasu.”

I was really hungry, so I slurped the noodles quickly.

“Yeah, it’s really delicious.”

Ando-san, on the other hand, was slurping her noodles a little more carefully, as it had been a while since she had had a cup of noodles.

“…… Delicious.”

“Good to hear.”

Churuchuru, slurping the noodles.

Ando-san’s eyes filled with tears again.

“Are you okay?”

“… I’m sorry. The taste of these cup noodles is very gentle.”

“After all, isn’t it good once in a while?

“…… yes.”

“Oh, Right.”

I got up and headed for the fridge.

“Here’s a little something to add on top.”

I handed Ando-san an egg.

“It’s really bad for your body, but it’s delicious if you put it in.”

“I’ll try it.”

Ando-san cracked the egg and put it into the noodle cup. After stirring a little, she slurped the noodles again.

“…Ah…it’s even delicious and tender.”

“Eggs are great, aren’t they?”

“Do you like eggs?” She asked me,

“I like eggs.”

“Then, shall we have omelet rice tonight?”

“Eh? You can make omelette rice? Isn’t it quite hard?”

“I can make it.”

Ando-san smiled at me.

“Then, I’ve got something to look forward to tonight.”

“Umm, what will you do for the night?”

“For the time being, let’s tidy up the room a little more. We need to divide the space so that you can live comfortably.”

“You don’t have to worry about me. I prefer not to interfere with Matsuo-san’s life.”

“Ando-san.”

I placed my hand on her slender shoulder..

“You need to rely on me more.”

When she opened her eyes, more tears spilled out.

“…I Thank you for everything.’

She will probably shed tears for a while,

Still, someday.

I’ll be happy if she shows me a smile from the bottom of her heart.

“Hey, Ando-san. Hey, can I have your cup noodles?”

“Ah, yes. Here you go.”

“You can have mine instead.”

“y-yes. …”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“N-no … it’s nothing.”

For some reason, Ando-san’s cheeks were flushed and she turned her face down.

I ate the cup of noodles she was eating, tilting my head.

“Yes, it’s delicious. Soy sauce is delicious, too.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Here, don’t be shy, Ando-san.”

I said, and Ando-san sipped my cup of noodles, hesitantly.

“…W-wow.”

“Seafood is good too, right?”

“Yes, it is,….”

For some reason, Ando-san kept blushing the whole time.