Chikasugiru Karera no, Juunanasai no Tooi Kankei [LN] V1 Chapter 5.7

Chapter 5 - The Taste Of Rain And Sweat

My brother parked the car in the parking lot of a yakiniku restaurant located in front of station street. It was after 7 p.m., and the town was wrapped in the dimness of evening. However, perhaps because it was also time to go home, there were many cars, the streets were brightly lit with headlights and red taillights, and there were many people on the sidewalks. High school students on bicycles rode by with their lights on, and businessmen with business bags slung over their shoulders walked down the street at a brisk pace.

"Let's go."

My brother, who had neatly parked the car in the back, pulled out the ignition key and said so. The two girls in the back seat opened the door and I, sitting in the passenger seat, got out. It was a hot and humid evening outside, with heat rising from the asphalt. 

The clouds in the upper layers of the sky turned to sunset colors some time after the sun had set. The city was dim, but there was still a faint blue tinge in the sky, and the clouds that had been drifting high in the sky had turned to a dark red.

The four of us entered the restaurant and were shown to a booth in the non-smoking area by the waitress. My brother and I sat side by side with Yuriko and Izumi in front of us. It was dinner time and there were many customers, and the restaurant was filled with the sound of cooking meat and the savory smell of cooking meat.

The air in the restaurant was slightly smoky. The beer posters on the wall and the menu list had a slight brown grease-like stain on them.

In the middle of the table, a round net is draped over it, with charcoal lying beneath it. Various kinds of sauce, seasonings, small plates, and splittable chopsticks were lined up on the side, and the evening city could be seen through the window.

Izumi let out a small " whoa" as she looked around the yakiniku restaurant, which was the first time she had ever been here. A waitress wearing an apron placed four glasses of water and hand towels on the table and lit the charcoal under the grill in the center of the table. The heat from the charcoal fire was slowly rising. Izumi silently gazed at the reddening coals with interest.

"What shall we have?"

My brother asked, placing the menu next to the grill.

With that, Izumi, who had been admiring the lit coals, came to himself and replied, " Ah, I'll leave it to you," as she pulled herself away.

Yuriko was also fine with anything as long as she could eat meat, so we ordered the "family set," a menu with various meats and vegetables for four people, and a drink bar.

"Kenichi, go get us a drink. Cola for me."

After finishing the order, my brother immediately said so. I nodded my head in agreement, since I was the one who was getting treated for the meal. Besides, if Yuriko gets a part in this, she might do something stupid to me again.

"OK. What do Yuriko and Izumi want?"

"I'll have a cola, too."

"Oh, then, I'll have some kind of tea......"

Yuriko, who had somehow become a bit quiet since the evening, replied modestly, and Izumi, as usual, was reserved.

"Got it."

I left my seat and walked through the smoky restaurant to the drink bar area. I poured drinks for four into glasses, placed them on trays, and returned to my seat.

Yuriko, who had been quiet up to that point, fiercely grilled the meat that was eventually brought to her, and then ate it. She ate the meat with sweet sauce and rice in large portions.

Izumi, who was experiencing yakiniku for the first time, was at first timidly placing the meat on the net with tongs, and was truly surprised whenever the grease fell onto the charcoal and the fire rose, saying "Kyaaa!" My brother found this interesting and said, "Rina-chan, you're too scared," Izumi replied with a laugh, " But," and she seemed to be enjoying her first yakiniku quite a bit.

I looked at Yuriko, the realist girl, thinking bitterly that she might take this kind of thing from Izumi as "flirtatious" or something. But she didn't change her expression and concentrated on grilling the meat. I received the tongs, of which there was only one, from Izumi, the beginner, while the other three grabbed the meat with chopsticks and flipped it on the net.

When the meat was about half eaten, Yuriko said, "I'll have another bowl of rice," and pressed the button to call the waiter. This restaurant offered free extra rice.

"Yuriko-chan, you eat quite a lot."

Yuriko was a bit embarrassed and put her hand over her mouth when my brother said, as if he was impressed.

"I studied a lot today and I'm starving."

"Meat and carbs are a fattening combo."

I blurted out, and she looked annoyed.

"Shut up! After the test, I'll kick a ball in the club too!"

"Okay."

While we were exchanging such words, Izumi was smiling, holding a bowl of rice and chewing it.

After an hour or so, we ate all the meat that had been heaped on the platter. There was nothing left on the plate but grease and vegetable scraps.

My brother and I ordered mini bibimbap at the end of the dinner, and Izumi ordered small ice cream for dessert. Then Yuriko asked,

T/N : bibimbab, korean rice dish

"Can I have some extra meat?"

"You still want to eat meat?" I said, feeling astonished, or perhaps amazed in a certain way, at Yuriko, who was being a carnivore in the very sense of the word.

Yuriko replied, "Because I like meat," and looked at Ryuu-kun. He seemed amused and laughed, saying, "Oh, sure, eat up, eat up."

"Thanks, Ryuuichi-kun,". Yuriko, looking as if she had no fatigue on her face, pressed the button to call the waiter and added a portion of kalbi, along with her third bowl of rice.

After we finished our meal, we left the restaurant. A cool night breeze was blowing, with a faint scent of plants in the humidity. The night air of early summer was pleasant to my body, which was burning from the yakiniku.

Yuriko and Izumi said to my brother, "Thanks for the food."

"You are welcome. It was more fun than going with Kenichi alone."

Saying that, my brother unlocked the car door.

"Yuriko-chan, do you want me to drive you home?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you. I'd be happy if you would."

"Okay."

I sat in the passenger seat and the two girls sat in the back seat, just as we had come. My brother started the engine, turned on the headlights, and pulled the car out into the driveway.

After passing through the streets in front of the station, which was bustling with lights leaking from illuminated billboards, stores, and restaurants, we entered a quiet residential area with only a few streetlights, and when we arrived in front of Yuriko's house, my brother stopped the car.

"Here we are."

When my brother looked back at her, Yuriko said, "Yes," and slung the tote bag that was on her lap over her shoulder and opened the car door.

"Thank you, Ryuuichi-kun."

Saying that, she went down outside. Izumi opened the window and said,

"Thank you for today, Mori-san. See you later."

Yuriko gave a graceful smile, which was unusual for her, and waved her hand to Izumi.

It is a short drive from Yuriko's house to ours. My brother drove slowly down the narrow road and entered the car in our roofless parking lot next to the front yard.

"Well, I guess we're breaking up here. Kenichi, give the car keys back to Mom."

When I got out of the car, my brother handed me the car keys with the leather key chain. Beside me, Izumi bowed her head slightly.

"Ryuuichi-san, thank you for the food. It was fun."

"Yeah. Let's go out together again. Do your best in studying for the test."

My brother replied smilingly and waved his hand lightly.

Izumi bowed one last time before entering the house, and I was about to follow her when my brother called out from behind me, "Kenichi."

"What?"

I looked back and my brother sat down on the seat of his moped with his helmet in his hand. Then he looked at me with a serious expression on his face and said,

"You should pay more attention to Yuriko."

"Huh?"

"An advice from big brother. That girl is no longer the girl you played soccer with."

"I know that."

We've been together since elementary school. I have spent much more time with her than my brother. I've noticed that she's changed over the years.

"I hope so. But do you really understand?"

"I've been with her longer than you have."

"......Well, that's true. But there are things you can't see when you're in close proximity. Think about it."

He put on the helmet in his hand. I was about to ask what he meant, but my brother turned the engine of the moped. The lights illuminated the plants in the garden, creating an intricate pattern of shadows on the white walls of the house.

"I'm leaving, then. I'll come back."

With these words, my brother lightly tapped me on the shoulder and walked out onto a narrow residential street. The cheesy exhaust sound of the cheap-looking moped echoed around the area, then moved away and quickly disappeared.

☆ ☆ ☆