In a span of only two days, my life has completely changed into something out of a rom-com anime or manga. Three days ago, I was a part of the go-home club, but now I've been forced to join the service club. See, getting forced to join a club isn't the worst thing in the world, it's just how I was forced in made my skin crawl.

Why should I join a club that's meant to rehabilitate me? I know for sure that I'm not the only student here that has a twisted view of society and youth, so there should be more students in the club than just Yukinoshita and me.

Seriously, I had it with this tyranny, it's time to revolt!

I finished my long walk to the service club and slid open the door and as usual, the verbal abuser is there reading her book.

"…Good afternoon," I said taking a seat in my chair and taking out my phone.

Even though I greeted her, she still didn't answer me, let alone face me. Tch, what a jerk.

I see my opinion of her hasn't changed, but beyond her stiff cold façade was someone that suffered just as I did at the hands of youth. The girls hated her so much that they stole her indoor shoes, like, 80-something times, I think. But that was just scratching the surface of her suffering.

I sympathized with her, and I felt a connection that ran beyond my physical attraction toward her. But in the end, I guess that I was the only one who felt that connection, and my attempt in befriending her were for nothing.

"You gave me a proper greeting this time, I see we're making progress." She didn't look at me, but she obviously directed those words to me as we were the only ones in the clubroom.

"No, I already told you that there's nothing wrong with me, so there's no progress to make."

"From what I observed, you are beyond problematic. If you don't change, then you'll be a threat to society."

"What kind of threat? And isn't this just your perspective on me? Who says it's absolute?" I finished loudly to exert my dominance in the conversation.

"It's absolute because I say it is. We'll also work on your lack of self-awareness, but don't worry, you're in good hands with me."

This woman pisses me off. Even if I provide a logically sound counterargument, I get attacked with some bullshit that doesn't even make sense. Just how can I win against this girl?

"And you need to work on your condescending attitude and your ego! You were here before me, weren't you? You obviously got more problems than I do!"

Again, I provided a good counterargument against her illogical statement.

"Oh, are you looking out for me? I do appreciate your concern, but I don't take advice from a being lower than me."

I see, so it's banter. I was wondering why I can't win against her; I'm taking this seriously while she's enjoying herself to the fullest.

"I'm at the top of the academic ladder here, so watch who you talk to, I'm practically on your level."

A very bold statement came out of my mouth, but it was just a poor attempt at trying to save my soul from damnation.

"Do you believe that, truthfully? It must take an overwhelming amount of confidence to believe that you are on my level. Or perhaps it's just foolishness."

I clicked my tongue in response to her because I had nothing to say to defend myself.

After a moment of silence, Yukinoshita picked up where she left off.

"Even if it appears to be foolishness, I would like to propose a trade with you."

"What the hell do you mean by 'trade'? What you possibly want from me?"

"I shall offer a portion of my self-awareness for a portion of your confidence."

What the hell kind of trade is this? I didn't think she'll humor this kind of talking before, but it felt kind of refreshing.

"Oh, yeah? You want some?"

"Yes, you obviously need it more than I do."

"Here, trade!"

I pinched my fingers together and moved them counterclockwise against my head for a moment before I imaginarily threw my end of the trade at her.

Upon catching it, she repeated the same motion I did.

"Make sure you catch it."

I caught it and stuffed the self-awareness she gave me into my head.

"Strange, I don't feel any different than before. Was I scammed? Shall I call you Scammygaya-kun now?"

"You set me up just to call me that, didn't you?"

"Possibly," She tilted her head ever so slightly, gazing upon me with her beautiful blue eyes.

"You did, didn't you! Ugh!"

I will not be known as Scammygaya-kun, not in a million years!

From the corner of my eye, I could see Yukinoshita release a faint, but unrestrained smile in my direction. I was able to instill the image of her in my head before she turned back to her book.

I was aware of the beauty that was Yukinoshita Yukino. Catching occasional glimpses of her in school was enough for me to label her as the most beautiful girl in school. But these moments when time has stopped in favor of our conversations are always filled with an otherworldly amount of peace.

Deep down, I felt a longing for this unknown feeling that I was experiencing. It was peaceful, but there was more to it. It's pitch black to my experience, but I wanted to explore it more, explore this feeling whenever I interacted with her.

I sighed subtly, destroying that train of thought completely. As I did that, someone abruptly slid open the door to the service club.

"I don't think you're ever going to knock even if I keep telling you to…"

"That's right, you might as well let it go, Yukinoshita."

It was Hiratsuka-sensei, and it seemed like she had some business with us.

Yukinoshita sighed and put away her book, while I did the same.

"You need something, sensei?" I asked.

"Here's the thing guys. Two people aren't enough to sustain a club, and this club should've been disbanded a long time ago, but I managed to persuade the higher-ups to give me more time. Well, times up, and we have a few options."

I was wondering how this club was still functioning with only two people in it. Before I joined it was just her here, but I guess my forced participation sustained the life of the club for a bit, but obviously not long enough.

"We can either find another person willing to join the club, which will keep this place running without fear of disbandment. Or community service for the school."

The words community service echoed in my mind at an alarming rate.

"I vote new member!" I blurted.

Before sensei could even say anything, Yukinoshita responded.

"Do you seriously believe that anyone would want to join the club? We're not the most approachable and friendly students here, especially you, so trying to get others to join seems impossible."

She had a point; I couldn't say anything to defend myself because it was the truth.

"Can't you force someone to join the club, sensei? I mean, you forced me to join, right? It shouldn't be too hard."

"A-Ah, well, something like that is against school policy."

What the hell, really? I knew this was tyranny from the start!

"Then why did you force me to join knowing that it was against the rules?"

"Well, I was just looking out for you, you see! I couldn't imagine one of my dear students going through high school without making any memories, so I brought you here."

For some reason, her answer didn't feel like a lie, but it didn't feel like it was the whole truth either.

"How am I going to make memories in this dump? There's no one else here besides Yukinoshita." After I said that, I saw a faint smile form on Yukinoshita's face as if she found my statement amusing.

Hiratsuka-sensei smiled softly as well. "Well, if you want to leave, feel free."

I was taken aback by her words. Initially, I wanted to leave this place because I didn't like having my freedom stripped away from me like that. But now that I'm given the option to leave, I kind of want to stay here.

"… I think I'll stay."

"Oh, really?"

"It's because he likes me Hiratsuka-sensei, why else would he stay in the club?"

"Like hell I do! It's just that I enjoy arguing with Yukinoshita, so I'm going to stay for now."

I managed to convey how I was feeling without exposing anything else.

"Is that so?" She looked over to Yukinoshita.

"I do enjoy talking with Hikigaya-kun as well, so it wouldn't be that much of a burden to keep him here."

Sensei smiled in response to her words. "Well, we still have to do community service to make up for the third club member."

It's inevitable, huh? Labor without pay… damn this school.

"What do we have to do, then?"

"You guys don't know this, but the third years have two field trips this year, and the first one is in less than a month. They'll be going to a cabin hot spring before summer break. You two will work alongside the waitresses there, probably acting as nothing less than an extra set of hands for them."

Cabin hot spring? When did the rom-com gods decide to bless me with such an opportunity?

"Besides us, who else is helping?"

"I managed to persuade your classmates, Yuigahama, Miura, Hayama, and Tobe."

Those lot, huh? I recognized their names because they belonged to the so-called, popular kids' group. I don't interact with them, but they tend to be the noisiest and the spotlight of the classroom.

"Was no one interested in volunteering for the senior field trip, Hiratsuka-sensei?"

"Unfortunately, no. You'll mostly be inside the resort working with the inn staff and depending on how busy it'll be, it might be hard unpaid labor. I had to offer your classmates extra credit to get them to volunteer."

I see. The only merit to volunteering was the possibility of getting a free day to yourself and being able to enjoy the spring or being able to walk around the area on your own. If students were able to have guaranteed free time to themselves, then the school would have more than enough volunteers for the trip, but that wasn't the case, but why? Is the inn that low on workers that they can't even offer free time to their student volunteers? Jeez.

"So, we get extra credit too, right?"

"That'll depend on how hard you work. Remember, you two are required to volunteer to keep this club active, so you don't get much in return besides the merit of saving the club."

I guess she had a point. It was either we both volunteered, or the club gets disbanded.

"After we finish completing this task assigned by the school, how long will the club be safe from disbandment, Hiratsuka-sensei."

"That I'm not sure, but we'll be fine for the time being. Anyways! I'll let you guys in on the details another time, I should get back to work." She waved us down without expecting an answer from us. As soon as the door shut, I sparked the conversation up.

"Who would've thought that the great Yukinoshita Yukino would be dropped to the level of the common man in a month."

"If it means keeping the club alive, then I don't particularly mind being on the same societal ranking as you."

"You really don't want the club to disband, huh?"

"Of course not, I told you, didn't I? I want to change the world and everyone in it, and maybe that starts with participating in this club."

"I see…"

"That, and…" A light breeze filled the room as her words trailed off into the silence she created.

"And what?"

"N-No, it's nothing."

I nodded in her direction, acknowledging her words then redirecting my focus back to my book.

Staying at a cabin spring serves as the perfect premise for rom-com development, but this isn't a manga. I'm probably going to bust my ass working over there and nothing will happen over the course of the trip. It's simply a matter of accepting reality, but reality was cold and cruel, that's why we imagine things, things we know will never manifest in this physical reality, but we cling onto them regardless of how delusional they are with the slightest hope that they'll change things.

It happened then, and it's happening now. I wonder if it'll end the same way it did then, with me suffering. I know she rejected me, but I wonder… if it's with her, then maybe…

"What do you want?"

After I finished that thought, she coldly addressed me after I looked in her direction for a quick second.

"My bad,"

She gave me a puzzled expression, probably expecting me to say something after looking at her. But she paid it no mind as she brought her attention back to her book.

But still, I wonder…

As usual, the day went by as smoothly as ever, and I found myself walking toward the clubroom.

It's bad enough that we have to act as handymen for the hot spring, but we have to actively deal with Hayama and his clique. From what I noticed, they are the pure definition of your generic popular kids' group.

Hayama is liked by everyone, and he never fails to bring light to any atmosphere that he's in. It's practically impossible to dislike such a person, I mean, how can you?

Tobe is the loud one of the lot, and he tends to act overly familiar with our classmates, which many people will mistake his behavior as an invitation for friendship.

Miura is feared by all the girls, and I think some of the boys are afraid of her as well. She has top-notch looks, but people paint her in a negative light because of her attitude and the way she treats people outside of her clique.

I think there are a couple more of them in the group, but these three caught my attention the most.

As I slid open the door into the clubroom, I was greeted by the club president for once.

"Good afternoon,"

I was expecting an insult or a smart remark, but she treated me like an equal for once.

"Yo," I said casually making my way to my seat.

As I was walking to my seat, I noticed she shot me a peculiar look.

"What?"

"No, I'm curious if that's your usual greeting because you didn't seem as tense as you were yesterday when you greeted me."

She's surprisingly observant, or my nervousness was plain as day.

"I like to conserve my energy as much as possible, and that greeting is socially acceptable across Japan, so I tend to use it a lot."

"Are you really that lazy? Unfortunately, I'm learning more things about you every day."

"What do you mean by, unfortunately? You should be grateful that you have someone to talk to every day!"

"I can say the same to you. It's not every day that a below-average creature like yourself gets to converse with a girl like me on a daily basis, be grateful."

Tch, damn bitch is so full of herself. I didn't have anything to say to defend myself, so I sat in my chair, pulling out my book and admitting defeat.

So far, the service club seems to be comprised of verbal abuse and silent reading, it doesn't seem like a club that's heavily advertised throughout the school, like the soccer club. It's just a lone room in the special building. But I think that's to be expected, if students had problems going on in their lives, then they probably wouldn't want to share them with other high school students. Besides teacher involvement, how the hell does this place get clients?

"Hey," I called out to her, grabbing her attention. "Can you be honest with me for a second?"

I decided to ask her something that I've been thinking about for a while now.

"No, I don't have feelings for you, Hikigaya-kun."

"Damn it, no, not that. I was wondering if you're looking forward to the trip, even though we're probably just going to work."

"What a strange question…" She didn't look too pleased to hear what I asked her. "But I do hope we can explore the area even if it's for a little bit."

I see she's not necessarily excited about that possibility, but she's hoping it'll happen. I wonder if she has a cute side to her or something, or if she's super serious and guarded all the time.

"I see,"

"That's all you wanted to ask me?"

"I wanted to see if you were this super serious person that you seem to always be, or you let loose sometimes in certain environments. I didn't know how else to ask you other than giving you that question."

Hypothetically speaking, if her classmates invited her to Destinyland, I wonder if she would let loose and enjoy herself, or would she act as a chaperone and maintain her serious demeanor throughout the trip.

She shot me another peculiar look in response to my strange question, then she reached into her bag then walked over to me, and handed me a book.

"I'm a girl too, so I happen to like things like this." She handed me a book about cats. I carefully took the book from her hands and examined it.

"A cat book?"

"Well, cats are fascinating creatures, so it's natural that I would want to read more about them." The book doesn't look like it contained any factual information about cats, though. It looked like a fictional cat story to me. I wonder if she likes cats, she seemed like the type of person who would turn into a cat lady after a harsh breakup.

"Right," I said handing back her book. She took it and went back to her seat.

"I wonder if there's disinfectant against whatever bacteria your skin carries, and hopefully it can cleanse my book of it."

"How can you say that I have bacteria on my skin when I bathe every night just like everyone else!"

I think every person carries a certain number of bacteria and dirt on them even if they're as clean as a daisy, but I wasn't too sure.

"My apologies, I meant to say life-threatening disease."

"I hope you're the first of my victims then!" I released an evil grin while she closed her eyes and chuckled. While we were absorbed in the moment, the door to the clubroom slowly slid open.

"E-Excuse me…"

A girl with bright pink hair entered the room. The first thing I noticed was her hair, but my eyes immediately went to her chest. Damn.

"Why is Hikki here?!"

"I'm actually a part of this club…"

Was my presence that unsettling? And who the hell is Hikki?

"Yuigahama Yui, class 2-F, right?"

After hearing her name, her face brightened, and she nodded.

Wait, 2-F, this girl is in my class?

"What the hell, you're in my class?" I blurted out.

"How do you not know your own classmates at this point?" She sighed.

No, no, I was being totally serious! I barely interact with anyone in my class, let alone the girls, so it was only natural for me to not know she existed up until this point.

"Umm, yeah… I'm your classmate. It's nice to meet you." She kept her guard up ten-fold while she was talking to me as if I was going to do something to her.

"Yeah, same. Anyways, sit down." I pulled a chair for her.

"Thank you!"

She made herself comfortable in the chair before Yukinoshita continued the conversation.

"What can we help you with, Yuigahama-san?"

"Well, me and my friends volunteered for the cabin trip thing, for the seniors, right? I was worried if we were gonna have to cook for the seniors, so I came here to see if you guys can teach me how to cook."

"No, why would the management team there let the volunteers cook for their customers? That's stupid as hell."

I couldn't understand Yuigahama's worry about this, it was nothing more than stupidity to me.

"I mean, what if they do?"

I sighed heavily in response to her words. "W-What's with your attitude! Is this how you treat your clients, Hikki?"

"Only the stupid ones,"

"Ugh, you're the worst!" She turned her attention to Yukinoshita this time.

"Hikigaya-kun has a point. I don't believe we'll be assigned something that involves cooking food, it'll most likely just be general labor. But since it's not a very unreasonable request, I don't mind helping you."

Yuigahama's eyes beamed with joy after hearing that her request was accepted by the club president. But Yukinoshita wasn't finished, so she looked over at me without saying a word.

"What?"

"You're a part of this club too, so what do you think about this request?"

"You're asking me, huh, well…"

If I were to deny her request, Yuigahama can easily say something like, "Oh, can you guys just teach me how to cook? It doesn't have anything to do with the trip!" Even though this request is stupid as hell, if we just have to teach her how to cook then I guess it's fine.

"Let's take it, why not."

"Thank you guys so much!"

"When it comes to cooking, it takes years of experience for it to become second nature. In your case, we will do our best to teach you the absolute basics of cooking."

Yuigahama nodded, acknowledging Yukinoshita's words.

"What can you cook, Yuigahama-san?"

"Umm, I actually can't make anything, you see."

"Seriously?" I blurted out, laughing at her incompetence.

A second year in high school should be able to cook some of the most basic of foods. It's not hard to boil pasta, cut up vegetables, and cook chicken. You can practice with harder recipes after sharpening your basic cooking skills. If she can't cook anything, then that's strange. Has her mother taught her anything?

Yuigahama was clearly irritated at me, but she didn't defend herself because I guess the truth hurts.

"Just to be clear, you can't cook or bake anything?"

"…Yes." She said, almost drenched in shame.

"I see. I'm going to provide you with a small list of ingredients to get, I want you to bring each one of those ingredients the day we practice." Once she finished saying that she pulled out a sheet of paper and began writing the list for Yuigahama.

"Ah, so I'm paying, huh…"

Even though Yukinoshita told her that, I chimed in. "We're not going to help you and pay for the food too. Be grateful, woman."

"No wonder you don't talk in the classroom, nothing nice comes out of your mouth at all!"

I looked at Yukinoshita. "This is nothing compared to what comes out of her mouth sometimes."

"Huh, but Yukinoshita-san seems so nice, though."

I turned away in laughter after hearing her say that.

"I'm nice toward those who deserve my kindness. You, from all people, deserve nothing more than the leftovers from my lunch, and even that's being generous."

"A bitch like you deserves nothing more than a spoiled coffee."

"Is that so? Us tea drinkers tend to be superior to you coffee drinkers, so show your respect by groveling. "As we were about to continue talking, Yuigahama interrupted us.

"Umm, I just have to bring everything on Wednesday, right?"

"That's what I wrote on the note, yes?"

"O-Oh, okay. I'll see you guys' Wednesday, then!" She said, exiting the clubroom rather quickly, almost as if she was in a hurry.

The two of us stared at the door for a moment before she broke the silence.

"That girl seems difficult to deal with, hopefully, I don't need to deal with her anymore after this request."

Nice girl. That was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw her. She reminded me of one of those girls that act all nice and friendly with you, but they only do so to manipulate you so you can give them money and attention.

"While you're not necessarily wrong, I think she's a kindhearted girl, she just needs some help."

She just needs some help, huh?

"Appearances are often misleading, you know?"

"Of course, just look at you for example. Who would've thought that behind your disgusting facial expressions and dead fisheyes, was this somewhat intelligent boy."

Was this her idea of a compliment? I'll take it, but still.

"Is that your idea of a compliment?"

"Yes, it is. I won't be caught complimenting you without breaking your spirit as well, it's very much a personal thing."

"You really are a bitch…" She smiled softly in response to my insult, but she quickly let it go as she opened her book and began to read.

If we weren't bantering with each other, we were reading in complete silence, like how it is now. And it's going to be this way for the next hour or two unless she decides to dismiss club activities early for today, which is probably unlikely.

The smell of baked cookies filled the home economics room, and the iron-willed Yukinoshita began to work immediately on Yuigahama's request. They laid the ingredients on the countertop along with the necessary equipment needed to make whatever Yukinoshita had planned for today.

She put on her apron effortlessly while Yuigahama seemed to struggle in comparison.

"You can't even put on an apron?"

"N-No, I can. It's just that, haha…" Yuigahama laughed nervously, as it was a key indicator that she didn't know how to tie an apron at all.

Even though they don't have complicated instructions, they're not that hard to put on. Her difficulty shows that she has zero cooking experience, otherwise it would've been easy for her to put it on.

"Here, let me do it."

"Thank you, Yukinoshita-san." Her face was slightly flushed after having Yukinoshita tie her apron for her.

"Let's begin, shall we?" She declared, with Yuigahama nodding her head enthusiastically.

Even though I'm present in the room, I don't seem to have an active role in this request. Can I leave? I wonder if I can leave.

"As a beginner, you need to know a few things. I'm going to teach you how to dice an onion, how to boil pasta, and how to cook a perfectly good chicken. Learning how to do these perfectly will allow you to experiment with harder recipes that will require more time and ingredients."

"Got it!"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Oh, right, you're here as well. I guess just stand there and not get in the way for now."

Was she being sarcastic or was she being serious? If that's my active role here, then I should be able to go home.

"If that's all I have to do, can I just go home?"

"I said for now, so you may be useful later."

"Ah, alright."

She finished talking to me and got straight to handling the request. "Dicing an onion is simple, anyone can do it with practice, so watch me carefully."

Yukinoshita quickly directed all her attention to the onion, emitting an aura of precision and concentration. She cut the onion in half, then masterfully cut through the onion without any errors. Diced onions were multiplying on the cutting board as Yukinoshita cut through the onion one last time. Yuigahama was clearly impressed by her skills, but dicing an onion is considered a basic cooking skill, so it's nothing special.

"I bought extra onions so feel free to give it multiple attempts."

"R-Right…" She nervously gripped the knife and approached the onion trying to mimic how Yukinoshita cut the onion. After successfully cutting the onion in half, she began to cut through the onion, but she was slowly losing confidence after each cut.

"What's the matter?"

"I-It's just, how do I get them to be all diced up?"

"Did you not watch me?" She sighed. "Push the onion together then cut it halfway through." After she said that, Yuigahama resumed her attempt at cutting the onion. She was about to cut it halfway through until the knife glided upwards, missing the halfway mark by a mile. She then looked at Yukinoshita with a "Did I do it?" look.

"It's not diced."

"I-I know but I don't know what I did wrong."

"Rather than trying to cut it halfway through in one stroke, slowly cut it back and forth as I did. If you can't dice an onion, then I might reconsider teaching you how to cook the chicken I brought."

"No, no, I can do it!"

After going through the onion she brought, and two of the onions Yukinoshita brought, she finally managed to dice an onion that was labeled acceptable by Yukinoshita.

"Now onto the pasta. Boiling pasta is extremely easy, so you shouldn't have too much trouble completing this task."

"Alright, let's do this!"

She seems to be a little too enthusiastic about boiling pasta, it was kind of cute, but sad at the same time.

"Just fill the pot with water and bring it to a boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, throw your pasta in and reduce the heat. After 10 minutes, check the pasta and see if it's cooked thoroughly or not."

"Wow, that's it? Seems pretty simple."

So simple that even you should do it.

"Boiling pasta is the easy part. But making the sauce, and adding different ingredients is what brings it to life and adds flavor. Anyway…" Yukinoshita told Yuigahama what to do in order to boil a perfectly cooked pasta, and that was all the help she was going to get for now.

After about 25 minutes or so, Yukinoshita successfully fulfilled Yuigahama's request by teaching her some basic cooking skills. But this alone won't make you a cook, now it'll come down to practicing by yourself and sharpening your skills so you can confidently cook meals without the worry of failing.

"This was fun! I didn't think cooking would be so easy, you know?" After acknowledging her words, Yukinoshita looked at me.

"Now to make use of you."

"I don't like the way you said that…"

"Oh, don't worry, you'll just be tasting the dishes we'll make for you. It's something so easy that someone like you should be able to do."

I guess my time in hell was worth it. Trying some of Yukinoshita's food, it must be a dream come true. But I also have to try Yuigahama's as well. I guess I can't have the good without the bad, huh?

"So, you two are cooking, right? Not just you?"

"Correct."

I sighed. "Alright, but if Yuigahama's food poisons me, I'll be expecting compensation from you."

"Hey!" We both acknowledged that the voice was Yuigahama's, but we paid almost no attention to her.

"At most you'll get a stomachache, but I'll be watching over her so try to keep an open mind, alright?"

"Whatever, I'll be in the hallway if you guys need me." She didn't seem to care, so she immediately began to work with Yuigahama while I walked out of the room.

For some reason, this request was a bit of a wake-up call for me. After I graduate and move on to university, I don't know how long I'll survive if I'm living off instant noodles and Maxx coffee. Maybe I should expand my skills, so I won't be living off curry every day, but that doesn't sound that bad now that I think about it.

After about 15 minutes, Yuigahama came outside to tell me that they were done with their meals. As soon as I walked into the room, I was greeted with a fresh smell of tomato sauce and fresh herbs. They made spaghetti, huh?

Yukinoshita's plate looked like it was cooked at a five-star restaurant, while Yuigahama's barely looks appetizing at all. Her plate didn't have anything going for it besides the pasta, which I hope isn't undercooked.

"Please try our food."

As soon as I was given the okay, I picked up a fork and decided to taste Yuigahama's first.

"It's fine,"

"It's not good?"

To say it was good, was a bit, you know? Regarding the taste, her food fell within an acceptable range, but it was just acceptable at best.

"Even though it's just spaghetti, it's kind of bland, but it's edible, to say the least." She sighed after hearing my words, then I continued. "Why does her food taste like this if you were watching after her?"

"H-Hey!"

"She actually wanted to cook it herself, so I didn't help her at all."

"I see." As soon as I said that I went over to Yukinoshita's plate.

Just by smelling it, you can tell that she used fresh ingredients and a quality recipe to produce this dish. As soon as I swallowed the food, I gave my opinion on it.

"When did you learn to cook so well?" I said taking another bite.

"When you live by yourself, you need to know how to feed yourself, after all."

"Wow, you live by yourself? So mature…"

"I don't think that's the case, but today is about you, Yuigahama-san. Do you feel like we fulfilled your request?"

The two of us looked at Yuigahama awaiting an answer. She took a second to think about it before answering.

"I think so, yeah! It's just that, well…" Her words trailed off, as she was struggling to find the right words to say, but she continued moments after. "I requested your guys' help because one of my friends kept messing with me coz I couldn't cook, you see. I-I just used the trip as an excuse coz it was kind of embarrassing." She laughed awkwardly.

She was better off telling the truth because her initial reasoning didn't make much sense to me.

"Miura, right?"

"Yeah— wait, you knew?"

In the classroom, Miura tends to get a little hostile with Yuigahama whenever it came to her cooking. It never looked like two friends messing with each other, it looked like straight-up bullying with Miura masking it as, "Y'know I'm just kidding, right? Lighten up, Yui."

"You guys can be loud sometimes."

"I-I see…"

After observing our conversation, Yukinoshita chimed in. "So, what will you do?"

"I'm going to make the best bento ever and I'm going to speak my mind!"

Interesting. When you get bullied for something, let's say your weight, if you lose weight then confront your bullies, it can be a good opportunity to either destroy them or make amends with them. But let's say you try confronting them without losing weight, no matter what you say they'll still overpower you simply by using your weight as the power source.

If Miura can't bully Yuigahama anymore for her lack of cooking skills, it will either be the birth of a friendship or the start of a war, there's no in between.

"I see, I wish you the best of luck, then."

"Yes! Thank you guys so much for today!" She bowed, then went for the door.

"I'm curious to see what will happen with that girl. Can I rely on you to keep an eye on their group and tell me what happens?"

"Get me a coffee and I'll consider it."

"Deal. But don't miss out on a single detail, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Since the request has been fulfilled, I decided to start cleaning the room so I can get home as soon as possible. Following my lead, Yukinoshita decided to clean the sauce-covered countertops and discard of any leftover ingredients.

AN:

I got creative and I wrote this. It might be cool, who knows.