NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 151: Her Inner Story
Akagi Minami was a descendant of a ninja clan.
Belonging to the Akagi branch of the prestigious Saionji family, she had lived in the shadow of Saionji Kumiko since they first met when Minami was five years old.
Her main duty was to protect and handle miscellaneous tasks for her master, Saionji Kumiko.
Therefore, most of her daily schedule was aligned with Kumiko’s lifestyle.
Naturally, Minami had no days off.
Her only leisure was briefly looking at her smartphone while lying in bed after the lady had retired to her chamber to end the day.
Although she received her salary promptly every month, she had no time to spend it, so the money just accumulated in her bank account.
The only rest Minami could get was barely 15 days of paid vacation per year.
Even this was often left unused, as she was a workaholic.
It was a coincidence that Minami went shopping in Shibuya to buy autumn clothes.But thanks to this coincidence, she met the younger-looking Kim Yu-seong, which could be seen as fate.
Again, Akagi Minami was a descendant of a ninja clan and the faithful shadow of Saionji Kumiko.
This was important, so it was mentioned twice.
Minami dislikes boys her age.
They were noisy, irrational, smelly, selfish, and embodiments of sexual desire.
As strict as she was with herself, her standards for others were equally high, leaving hardly any man up to her criteria.
In this sense, Kim Yu-seong somewhat met Minami’s stringent standards.
However, he was already someone the lady liked, and he had another fatal flaw.
That was his excessively bulky muscles.
For her, who preferred slender, boyish figures, Kim Yu-seong’s combat-like muscles, more suited to macho comics, were a bit too much.
Simply put, his appearance was not to Minami’s taste.
However, the person who sat at the place she arrived after the sudden call was a young boy who completely fit into her strike zone, given her slight inclination towards shotacon.
With his snow-white skin, as if untouched by sunlight, slightly gloomy eyes, black long hair, and slender limbs, he looked like a delicate boy straight out of a manga.
Honestly, she might have been completely off-guard, so the mental shock felt greater.
Anyway, after the shock and eating at the all-you-can-eat meat restaurant, she went on a pseudo-date at a nearby arcade at the invitation of the younger Kim Yu-seong.
The fact that the boy himself seemed indifferent irked her, but she kept her mouth shut as his younger appearance perfectly matched her preferences.
Had the lady at home known about this, she would have exclaimed, “You thief of a cat!” But what wouldn’t be discovered didn’t matter.
After a delightful two hours, they took sticker photos to preserve the memory.
Kim Yu-seong, seemingly taking such photos for the first time, smiled awkwardly.
Though she would have been content just looking at his face, the thought of it being the first and last time made her insist.
“Come closer. That way, we’ll both fit in the frame.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
Kim Yu-seong, with a dazed expression, moved closer to her.
His face was quietly expressive in its rarity.
She happily memorized the younger appearance of Kim Yu-seong in her mental photo album.
“Ready! Cheese!”
Click!
The sticker photo obtained as today’s spoil was meant to be kept a secret from the lady.
The eel rice bowl we ordered arrived after about 20 minutes.
The restaurant staff placed a square lunchbox-like container, a spatula, a smaller bowl, and a tea pot in front of Minami and me.
Opening the container with anticipation, we saw glossy eel with matching tare sauce and white rice underneath.
“Would you like me to explain how to eat it?”
“No, thank you. I’ve been here before.”
After Minami sharply declined, the staff member said to call if we needed anything, then closed the door and left.
The room became quiet again.
Minami, sitting opposite me, looked at me and then spoke.
“You should divide the eel rice bowl here into three parts.”
Following Minami’s instructions, I divided the rice bowl inside the container into three equal parts using the provided spatula.
“Then take one third and eat it as it is.”
Following her instructions, I ate a bite of the eel rice bowl I had dished out.
“Wow!”
Delicious.
It felt like all the eel rice bowls I had eaten before were fake in comparison.
The moment it entered my mouth, the seasoned eel flesh melted like snow.
I was taught to savor such luxurious food, but I found myself eagerly shoveling it into my mouth.
After swiftly finishing the bowl, I looked at Minami sitting across from me.
She hadn’t eaten even half yet, but noticing my gaze, she picked up the teapot with a stoic expression.
“Next, take another third of the rice bowl and make ochazuke with it.”
She said this and poured green tea into my bowl.
The fragrant aroma of green tea wafted from the bowl.
Thinking to truly savor the flavor this time, I carefully took a bite.
“Mmm!”
Even with more calmness than the first bite, it was still incredibly delicious.
The rich protein of eel, combined with the salty-sweetness of tare sauce and the subtle bitterness of green tea, created a harmoniously diverse flavor experience.
As someone who usually doesn’t like ochazuke, it was quite a shocking experience for me.
The only ochazuke I had ever acknowledged was made with barley tea, but today, a second one was added to that list.
I ate it sparingly for my standards, but since the portion wasn’t that large, the bowl of eel rice ochazuke quickly emptied.
Watching this, Minami shared the final third way to enjoy the dish.
“Now, for the last third, just eat it the way you like it most.”
In other words, the choice was mine.
Hearing Minami’s words, I fell into a happy dilemma.
Both ways were delicious, making it hard to give up either.
The stable taste of the original, or the eel rice ochazuke that provided me with a new experience.
Finally, I made my decision and reached out confidently.
Snap!
What I grabbed was the teapot, still half full.
The original was good, but I boldly chose the eel rice ochazuke, thinking it was something I couldn’t get elsewhere.
Tasting the eel rice soaked in green tea again, I realized my choice was right.
‘It’s healing…’
Now I understand why people go on culinary explorations.
After spending nearly a month’s allowance on one meal, we took a stroll in a nearby park.
We had been eating since lunch, so this was to aid digestion and get some aerobic exercise.
Holding her shopping bags, Minami, walking beside me, spoke first.
“I had fun today.”
Hearing that, I inwardly felt relieved.
“Then I’m glad. I was worried it might have been fun only for me.”
Then Minami suddenly stopped.
“Kim Yu-seong, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“What do you think about the lady?”
It was an unexpected and heavy question.
I hesitated before answering.
“I think she’s a good person. Honestly, she’s more than I deserve.”
I couldn’t understand why someone like her would show favor to someone like me, but I definitely liked her.
Being the President’s close associate, Minami probably knew everything that happened between the President and me.
That must be why she suddenly asked me this question.
Then Minami spoke.
“I’m glad. Because the President likes a guy like you.”
She then swept her hair to the side with a slightly bitter smile.
“It would have been nice to meet a little earlier.”
Who? The President?
I couldn’t understand what she meant by that.
“Anyway, that’s it for today. It’s getting late, so let’s part ways now.”
Minami said this and turned around.
She was headed in the opposite direction of the subway station.
I quickly asked her,
“How are you planning to get home?”
“My brother sent a taxi because he was worried about me coming home late. See you next week.”
Bye-bye.
Minami said that, waved coolly, and left.
After seeing her off, I stood in the park for a while until I received a text from my mother asking when I would come home, and then I started walking.
I was hoping for a quick recovery after having eaten plenty of beef and eel, which were said to be good for revitalization.