Episode 12: A Childhood Friend Turning Up At My Part-Time Job Is Just Too Convenient!
“Yotsuka~! Three orders for that table!”
“Coming!”
This is the kitchen of Fujitaka, a ramen shop.
I work here part-time.
Started last summer break, so… it’s been a year now, one way or another.
“Hey, Yotsuka.”
Kisa-san comes over with a suggestive little grin.
“…What.”
“That girl. Isn’t she going to come eat here?”
“No, I don’t think she is.”
“Aww, too bad.”
Kisa-san’s the female owner-manager of Fujitaka, running the whole place solo — a real veteran.
Veteran, but she still looks flashy and young.
What’s going on there. Does ramen fat have some kind of skincare benefit or something?!
Foul-mouthed, easygoing attitude, but her cooking skills are the real deal.
We never crossed paths directly back then, but she’s an alum of my old middle school’s basketball team, and that connection’s how I ended up working here.
…She’s also the only adult who fully knows about my whole romantic situation.
That happened, oh, about six months into working here, during a break…
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“Yotsuka~, go ahead and take your break.”
“Oh, okay, thanks.”
Sitting in the corner of the break room, I absently opened my phone.
The summer photo folder. One shot in particular — last year’s fireworks festival, Makina in her yukata.
Ridiculously cute.
White fabric scattered with a red floral pattern…
No, seriously, no matter how many times I look at it, still absurdly cute.
And compared to that, what am I wearing. A plain black T-shirt.
Come on, that’s way too casual.
“…What are you grinning about?”
“Wha—?!”
Kisa-san had somehow snuck up and was peering over my shoulder.
“Who’s this? Some idol who’s trending right now? Oh, is this your ‘oshi’ or something?”
“N-no… she’s my childhood friend.”
“Huh? Then why are you grinning at a photo of your childhood friend on your break?”
“Wha? No, I’m not grinning—”
“You were. Completely. Grossly grinning.”
“Don’t say gross!”
“So, why were you suddenly looking at a photo of your childhood friend?”
“I mean, that’s… it just came up while I was cleaning up my phone, and I just—”
“Uh-huh.”
Kisa-san stared intently at my phone screen.
“You like her, don’t you.”
“Wh— what?! Wh-what are you talking about?! She’s my childhood friend?! There’s no way—”
“Your eyes just drifted away.”
“They did not!”
“Your voice is shaking.”
“I-it is not shaking!”
“Yeah, yeah, okay, I get it, I get it. You’re so easy to read, Yotsuka, it’s honestly kind of funny.”
“This is some kind of harassment! This right here!!”
Without pressing any further, Kisa-san wandered back to the kitchen, still grinning.
…Ugh. Completely, totally busted.
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“Hey Yotsuka, is she really not coming? Your childhood friend?”
Kisa-san’s needling me again.
“I already told you, she’s not coming.”
“I really want to see this cute girl in person… she’s from your old middle school too, right? That makes her practically my junior. I should spoil her a little.”
“I don’t recall ever being spoiled by you, personally. …Anyway, Kisa-san, customer.”
“Ah, welcome in~!”
The moment the front door opens, the hanging wind chime gives a little jingle.
“Yotsuka!”
I froze at that voice.
“…Huh?”
Because Makina was standing in the doorway, beaming.
“M-Makina?! What are you—!”
“I came for lunch! And I wanted to say hi to the manager who’s been looking after you!”
Kisa-san slid up right next to me instantly.
Staring intently at Makina.
“Yotsuka, is this, by any chance—”
“Oh, hello! I’m Makina Uzuide, Yotsuka’s childhood friend! You must be the manager — thank you so much for looking after her!”
“Ohh…! I— I already get it… what a wonderful girl…!”
Kisa-san’s face twisted with something like genuine emotion.
…My manager is way too easy to win over.
“Ohh come on, a cute girl like this is way too good for Yotsuka…!”
“Hey! Excuse you!”
“Sit, sit! Any childhood friend of Yotsuka’s is welcome here!”
“Thank you so much!”
Makina happily took a seat at the counter.
“But is this really okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“…We’re a ‘mashi-mashi’ style shop, you know.”
Kisa-san says it, sounding a little surprised.
I should mention — Fujitaka looks like a completely ordinary ramen shop from the outside.
But in reality, it’s a genuine, hardcore extreme-portion “load it up” style joint.
The kind of place where an unsuspecting first-time customer takes one look at the size of a normal order and turns right back around in fear.
“Yep! I came knowing that!”
“Oh?”
“Small ramen, extra vegetables, extra extra, no garlic, please!”
An incantation I’ve heard a thousand times over — I never in my wildest dreams imagined I’d hear it come out of her mouth.
Kisa-san froze the moment Makina recited it.
“Hey, Makina… that’s, like, not a portion a normal person can finish.”
“I’ll be fine, Yotsuka. I came here starving.”
“I mean… maybe, but still…”
Ten minutes later, a bowl arrived at the counter with a literal mountain of vegetables piled on top.
At this point it wasn’t so much ramen as it was a Tower of Babel built entirely out of vegetables.
“Are you seriously going to be okay, Makina…?”
“This looks amazing… itadakimasu.”
She pressed her hands together elegantly and split her chopsticks apart.
And then — !
Makina plunged her chopsticks straight down to the bottom of the bowl, yanked out a tangled mass of thick, violently chewy noodles, and brought them to her mouth in one motion!!
With a slurping sound of a volume I had never once heard in my life, Makina powered forward at full speed!!
“Wha— hey, are you seri—!”
She kept slurping nonstop, and then, finally, the moment arrived…!!
“M-Makina-chan, th-that’s—!”
Digging her chopsticks all the way down to the very depths of the bowl, into territory never before seen, she flipped the entire mountain of vegetables and thick noodles completely over!!
“That’s— the Reversal of Heaven and Earth!!”
Both of us said it in perfect unison!
A flawless, not-a-single-motion-wasted technique!
“Sh-she actually pulled it off…!”
I— I didn’t know this side of her existed…!
Makina, a full-blown competitive-eater-tier food warrior…!
Before long the noodles were gone, and the vegetables, thoroughly soaked in broth, made their way down one after another too.
Makina’s pale cheeks flushed pink.
Sweat rolled down from her forehead, down her neck, dripping steadily.
And yet.
Even that sweat looked like it was made of glittering diamonds…!
Unable to contain her excitement, Kisa-san’s voice slipped out from the kitchen.
“Beautiful… you’re beautiful, Makina-chan…!”
◇◆◇◆◇
“Ahh, that was delicious! Thank you for the meal!”
Makina had polished the whole thing off.
She hadn’t finished every last drop of the broth, admittedly, but everything else was completely, spotlessly gone — an empty bowl left sitting on the counter.
Watching this from the kitchen, Kisa-san’s eyes started shining in a way that could only be described as alarming.
“Makina-chan…!!”
“Y-yes?!”
She reached across the counter and took Makina’s hand.
“Want to work here? Part-time?”
“I— I’ll do it!”
…N-no way?!