Chapter 97: Ginji's Part-Time Job

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Translator: Soafp

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School had ended, and today Ginji and Sora were planning to have dinner at the Momoi household. After stopping by Sora's place to pick up some smartphone case assembly parts, they arrived at the Momoi home. However, across the low table, Sora was sulking with a puffed-up expression. Ginji scratched his head, unsure of what to do, when Tetsuya came home and peeked into the living room.

“I’m home… What's going on?”

“…Welcome back. It's a long story.”

“Welcome home, Tetsu-kun. …Ginji's turned into a total chick magnet.”

“Calm down, Sora. I'm not interested in anyone but you.”

“Guh… Hearing it said so plainly makes me happy… But now I can't hold back the urge to keep you all to myself. I want to take you home right now…”

Sora inched closer and closer to Ginji. Ginji broke into a cold sweat, sensing he was about to be subjected to a bout of overbearing affection. Jealous Sora could be intense. In a way, it was fortunate that today's dinner was at the Momoi household.

“For now, can someone explain what happened?”

Tetsuya set down his bag and took a seat.

“Ugh, actually—”

After listening to Sora's slightly exaggerated explanation, Tetsuya sighed. Whatever they thought of it, to an outsider, it looked no different than their usual flirting.

“It's okay, Sora-senpai. Aniki may be dense, but he'd never do anything to betray you.”

Sora, who had been spiraling a bit, calmed down and shrank back.

“…Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, Ginji. I do trust you. I just don't have much confidence in whether I'm good enough for you, and I end up clinging too much. I know, but still…”

“You don't need to apologize. I get scared too, wondering if I'm good enough for you. Alright, that's enough of that. Let's make dinner.”

“Okay!”

Ginji roughly ruffled Sora's hair. Watching the happy Sora, Tetsuya nodded approvingly and stood up to go change. Sora headed to the kitchen to start prep, and Ginji followed after Tetsuya.

“Thanks, you really saved me.”

“…It's not like I did anything. You guys would've made up right away anyway.”

“True, but if I'd left her like that, Sora would've taken over every little thing in my life.”

“That does sound tough.”

“It's fun, though. I'll put my all into this meal, so get ready.”

Ginji laughed brightly as he headed to the kitchen, and Tetsuya smiled faintly. Before long, the savory smell of cooking filled the air. When Tetsuya returned to the living room, a large plate of twice-cooked pork was proudly placed at the center of the table. The two stood behind it, grinning smugly. The rice cooker was set up nearby so seconds would be easy.

“This one's a masterpiece. Let us know what you think.”

“Here, a big serving. We've got soup too.”

It seemed to be their way of saying thank you. Tetsuya took a bite of the twice-cooked pork and then, without a word, shoveled in a spoonful of rice. The sweet and spicy seasoning, the crisp vegetables soaked with the umami of pork—it was the kind of dish you could eat forever.

Chew chew… This is amazing. Clearly not the kind of meal you make at home…

“If you prep the ingredients properly with oil blanching, it turns out great. I'm good at judging doneness by the color of the veggies.”

“I've got the pan work covered. Oh, and the sweet bean paste—Sora made that from scratch.”

Seeing Tetsuya's reaction, the two high-fived like an idiotic couple. With a blank expression, Tetsuya continued to eat the twice-cooked pork and rice. After the meal was cleaned up, Tetsuya spoke up as if remembering something.

“Oh right, Aniki. Mom sent an email. Probably about your part-time job.”

“Got it.”

At the word “part-time job,” Sora leaned in close.

“Come to think of it, you help your mom with her work, right? What kind of stuff do you do?”

“Huh? Well, let's see… Mainly sales of factory parts. She works freelance, contracts with different factories, sells and sometimes manufactures products, or digs up demand and connects it to factories as business. It used to be mostly mechanical components, but lately my dad's expanded into selling textiles too.”

“Sounds like a job you don't hear about much.”

“Yeah, my mom used to work as a sales rep at a decent-sized company, but when the economy tanked, she quit to help out some factory owner friends who were out of work. At first she didn't care about profits, but it ended up being successful, so she made that her full-time gig.”

“She turned helping people into her job? That's amazing!”

“…”

“…”

The Momoi brothers averted their eyes. Sora gave them a puzzled look, but Ginji spoke up first.

“W-Well, anyway, my ‘part-time job' is just putting together the paperwork for the deals Mom lines up. Stuff any high schooler could do.”

“I want to help too… but Mom and Aniki won't let me…”

“Because you're still in middle school. You'll probably be allowed once you're in high school.”

“But you started near the end of middle school!”

“I had too much free time, and Dad was swamped.”

Saying that, Ginji placed a laptop on the table and booted it up. He read the email and jotted down some quick notes.

“…Sorry, Sora. Looks like I've got work tomorrow and the day after. We'll have to start studying next week.”

“Okay, I understand. I'll miss you a little, but it can't be helped. Maybe I'll go draw at the art studio for the first time in a while… Is it okay if I message you at night?”

“As long as it's not too late. I'll make it up to you.”

“Okay.”

After that, they assembled the smartphone cases together. Excited to have matching cases, they chatted happily until Ginji walked Sora home.

After returning, Sora flopped onto the couch in her underwear and checked her phone with a sigh.

“The studio's closed tomorrow, huh. That teacher cancels based on mood too much… I guess I'll draw at home.”

Just as she sighed, a message pinged. It was from Suzu.

[Free tomorrow? I need juicy, deep Ginji love talk!]

“Ooh, perfect timing.”

[Understood, master!]

Sora replied, added a sticker, and the two began deciding on a meeting place for tomorrow.