332 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

### Chapter 332 "Let go of my hand." I said, attempting to pull my hand away from Sendai-san's grasp. But she pulled back, holding on even tighter. "Sendai-san, aren't you going to eat?" Upon returning from my part-time job, I found Sendai-san sprawled over the table in the shared space, lost in thought. I couldn't fathom what was going through her mind. She hadn't eaten dinner, seemed to be in a bad mood, yet clung to my hand and refused to let go. "I'm eating." "Then let go. How do you plan on eating with one hand?" "I'll eat if Miyagi says so." Despite her words, she showed no signs of releasing my hand. It was as if her hand was a magnet clinging to mine. "Using one hand for dinner is bad manners. Let go and sit over there. Is cup ramen okay for dinner?" "Will Miyagi eat with me?" "Didn't you ask me to watch you eat, Sendai-san?" As if she had forgotten what she had just said, her foot presses against mine, and only then does her hand finally detach from mine. Without a response about cup ramen, I turn away from her, fill the electric kettle with water, and start boiling it. After placing the cup ramen in front of Sendai-san, I also line up chopsticks on a black cat chopstick rest. Telling her to open the lid of the container, the water heats up. I pour hot water into the cup ramen, set the kitchen timer, and hand it over to her. "Eat when the timer beeps." I convey the obvious, sitting across from her as she intently watches the timer. I still don't know what she's thinking. Three minutes pass; the timer beeps, and, as I instructed, she begins to eat the cup ramen. Yet I remain clueless about her thoughts. Sendai-san seems less spirited than usual. Like a drenched dog. Not entirely despondent, but she does appear more pitiful. "It's delicious." Noticing my gaze, Sendai-san says with a smile. "It's just cup ramen." "Isn't food prepared by someone else just delicious?" "...It is, but." Even if I can't understand what she's thinking, I get what she's saying. When someone else prepares food for you, it somehow tastes better, even if it's as simple as pouring hot water into cup ramen. Somehow, it just happens. When I'm with Sendai-san, everything tastes better. Maybe it's the same for her. With me here, even ordinary cup ramen becomes delicious. If that's the case, then I should stay here a while longer. "Miyagi. How long is the part-time job again, a month?" Sendai-san murmurs. "That's the plan. Mio-san asked me to work until the end of summer vacation, though." "...Do you plan to?" She pauses her eating, looking up at me. "I don't." "I see." With a sigh of relief, she sounds like a dog waiting for its owner to return. I don't dislike this version of Sendai-san. She focuses solely on me, and only thinks of me. I want her to always be like that, yet it causes unease. Part of me wants to confine her here, truly making her see nothing else, but another part wants her to return here from outside, wherever she goes. "Sendai-san. When I work, don't wait—just eat dinner." "Why? Watch me eat like today." She responds from across the table, her voice a bit lower. "I'm watching now, hurry up and eat." At my words, she begins to eat, though somewhat sulky. She's truly different today. Sendai-san always seems more mature, beautiful, and composed than I am, yet today she isn't. Watching her eat the cup ramen she claimed to be delicious without satisfaction, I'm endlessly entertained. I want to keep watching Sendai-san like this. But cup ramen vanishes in an instant, and Sendai-san cleans up the empty container, washing the chopsticks and rest too. "Miyagi, what are you going to do next?" Instead of returning to her seat, Sendai-san approaches my side. So I turn towards her. "...Paw." Though I didn't say it loudly, when I held out my hand, Sendai-san, without a word of complaint, offered her hand like a dog. "Miyagi. What's next?" The talking dog naturally demands another command. "Sendai-san, do you want to be a dog?" "I'm a Borzoi, aren't I?" I had indeed told her that once. Long and slim, with fine, sleek hair, she's like a large, beautiful dog. But not entirely. "A Borzoi seems smarter than Sendai-san." "That might be true." She accepts my less than flattering words without much reaction, prompting my curiosity. "…Sendai-san, if I told you to wait, would you just wait here like a dog without eating your food?” “If Miyagi tells me to do so. -- If you want me to be a penguin or a shoebill instead of a dog, I'd be happy to become one of those instead.” "You're not as cute as a penguin, Sendai-san." "Isn't that harsh?" "It's not. And you're not as amusing as a shoebill." "That's still harsh, isn't it? Not cute nor amusing?" "That's not it." Sendai-san is "beautiful," not "cute," and I don't seek amusement in her. "Then what is it." "Just be human. Eat without waiting for me when I have work. Knowing someone's waiting at home without eating would distract me at work." Sendai-san has waited at home before, but waiting today without eating is different. Work makes me inevitably late, and I've told her we can't eat together then. If I knew someone was waiting without eating, I wouldn't be able to focus. I fear I'd only think about Sendai-san, even more than today. "Think of me at work." She says in a strangely serious tone, eyes fixed on me. "I'm afraid I'll mess up." "I don't mind if you mess up and quit." Her reckless words escape, and I step on her foot. "Don't say that. Promise you’ll eat alone on my workdays." "And if I don't?" "I'll be mad." I glare at her, and for good measure, I poke her stomach. "...Alright. I'll promise, so stand here, Miyagi." With a resigned voice, she pulls my arm. Reluctantly, I stand and face Sendai-san, who tucks my hair behind my ear. Her lips brush against my plumeria earring and then pull away. "I promise to eat alone on days when you have work." Saying this, she kisses the earring again and embraces me tightly. "It's fine to promise on an earring, but I didn't say you could do things like this." "I'm marking you," Sendai-san replies, earnestly, which sounds utterly ridiculous. "Enough with being a dog. Revert to a human." "Maybe if Miyagi gives me Sunday, I could revert. You don't have work this Sunday, right?" "I don't have work, but what would you do if I gave you Sunday?" "...What if I said 'a date'?" Still hugging me, she proposes something that seems too ridiculous to be true. She really does say the most absurd things. "No," I state firmly, pushing against her. Her arms tighten around me. "Then how about chatting at home?" "I don't mind if you do the talking." "Then it's settled." With that, Sendai-san kissed my earring again.