Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330665789841745/episodes/16817330665790256267
In the spring of my sophomore year of high school, in the middle of the day on Sunday, I was working part-time at a family restaurant.
I was in charge of cooking in the kitchen.
It’s only been three months since I started, but I think I’ve gotten pretty good at it.
When an order is placed, the name of the dish is displayed on a tablet above the cooking area.
The color of the name of the dish changes from yellow after five minutes to red after 15 minutes, so I cook the dish as quickly as possible and hand it over to the hall staff.
I honestly think it is like playing a game, thinking about which dish to cook and when to cook it to process the order.
“Hey,Yukimi kun~~. We’ve got a crazy order~~.”
I hear a whine from a senior kitchen staff member I work with, even though it is usually a relaxing time of day.
I shifted my eyes to the tablet with the order.
“Whoa. Seriously. Hamburger steak doria, eggplant spaghetti, two stacks of omelet rice, and three stacks of jambalaya……”
And below that, additional orders are lined up like a line.
“Seriously~~why , the peak has passed~~. …..Yukimi kun, can I go home already?”
“What are you talking about, Senpai? Without the power of Senpai, we wouldn’t be able to handle this amount.”
“……Really?”
“It’s true. Only you can do it.”
I was looking at a 25-year-old part-time senior who was blatantly motivated and was thinking about whether there would be enough microwaves and fryers.
I’m going to give it one last try.
A few dozen minutes later, I had finished processing all the dishes and was feeling at ease.
Some dishes were served late, but that was probably okay considering the number of orders.
The senior staff, who had already gone out for a smoke, was still very capable, although he was a bit uneven.
I thought the way he handled the orders with the utmost efficiency was superb.
There were a few times when I couldn’t keep up with his instructions, so I was lightly reflecting on how I wanted to do better next time.
“Yukimi kun, it’s time for you to go up.”
The manager called out to me, so I changed in my locker and prepared to leave work.
I look at my phone and see a RINE from my sister.
Younger sister [I still have a slight fever (´;ω;｀)]
Younger sister [I want some cold pack and pocari (´;ω;｀)]
Younger sister [And I want to eat pudding (^^)/]
(Oh, you’ve got an appetite now, huh. Good.)
My younger sister, who is in the second year of junior high school, is weak from birth and often has a fever.
She has gotten better as she has gotten older, but this week she has been sick all week, and today she was in bed from this morning.
As a single father, my father is busy with work regardless of weekends, so when I am at my part-time job, there is no one at home except my sister.
I felt sorry for my sister, who must be feeling lonely, and replied the RINE.
I turned in my time card and was about to leave when I came across the manager and the hall leader struggling in the backyard.
The manager was a tired man in his forties, and the hall leader was a female college student.
“Don’t be so angry.”
“I’m not angry. Why did you give them a break rotation just as the number of customers was increasing?”
“I didn’t expect the number of customers to increase so quickly at the end of the peak hours.”
“Then, why don’t you have them go back at the same time when the number of customers increases? Why can’t you just follow the manual like that?”
The kitchen side was in a panic over the earlier rush, but it seems that the hall side was also having a hard time as a matter of course.
Sakagami Sakaue san, a female college student, seems to have suffered a great deal from the aftermath and is very angry.
“No, well, you know……. Just before I took a break…….”
“Maybe you should explain the reason. Do you still call yourself the manager?”
The air was tense.
Ah. I can understand both sides of the argument.
It is true that the manager is an indecisive and weak person, so he is unreliable.
On top of that, the staff member who went on break first had a bad relationship with the manager for some time.
I felt it was no wonder that the manager, who was even just weak, could not ask that staff member to go back to the hall again.
And Sakagami san, a college girl, knows that.
I know that she is really a kind person who just has a strong sense of responsibility to keep the store running smoothly.
I don’t want her to be harsh, though.
I try to help her out as much as I can.
“Whoa, today was tough !”
I walked out between the two of them, pretending I hadn’t heard anything.
“Yukimi kun……
“Ah, Yukimin. Good work.”
The manager and Sakagami san look back at me.
Sakagami san is 20 years old and older than me, but she treats me with respect.
“Listen to me, Yukimin. The hall was having a hard time because of the manager’s leadership.”
“No, Yukimi kun, it wasn’t.”
Not good. It seems that Sakagami san’s anger has not subsided yet.
“The kitchen had a tough time too. I wonder why there were so many customers, anyway. It’s always free on a Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.”
I decided to blame the customers. I continued to complain.
“The food order is all crazy, and there aren’t enough fryers and microwaves…… Did a bunch of athletic types come in here at this hour?”
To my words, the manager and Sakagami san, who were out in the hall serving customers, responded to my words.
“It wasn’t an athletic club. It was…….”
“They were a group of nerds. And not just one or two. I wonder if there was an event somewhere.
I see.
Sometimes there are events like handshakes or hand-offs at the big bookstore across the street (TATSUYA).
However, with so many restaurants and eateries nearby, the fact that this restaurant, which is only one of the options, was so crowded suggests that there must have been quite a few celebrities in attendance.
I’m not interested in celebrities, and I don’t even watch TV these days, so I didn’t really feel the need to go see a celebrity.
“By the way, Sakagami kun. A customer asked for a picture, is everything all right?”
Oh, manager. Nice. I’m glad to hear that you are concerned.
“Ah……. Yes. It was because I looked like a Nantokanyan, and I was asked if they could take a photo. I immediately refused.”
Sakagami san’s expression is hard, giving a strong impression, but she is unquestionably beautiful, so there is a possibility that she resembles some idol.
After the manager’s concern, Sakagami san softened a little and continued the conversation calmly.
Peace has come. Let’s go home.
“I’m about to leave. Thank you for your hard work.”
I felt the manager looked at me and said (thank you) with just his face.
When I left the store, a pleasant spring breeze was blowing.
It felt good.
I went shopping for pudding and dinner, which my sister wanted, and then headed home.
I walked toward the intersection and waited for the traffic light.
I was a little dazed because I was tired from my part-time job and thinking about what to buy at the supermarket.
Maybe that’s why I didn’t notice that there were people in front of me.
When I realize, I saw an amazingly beautiful girl in front of me.
The beautiful girl was wearing a white sleeveless knit with a thin cloth over her shoulders.
Her soft, pale blue skirt was swaying softly and small.
I felt as if I had wandered into a movie.
I was just a regular guy, dressed in a plain black T-shirt and track pants, and I felt out of place.
I tried to look away.
But a beautiful girl’s eyes grabbed my gaze and wouldn’t let go.
Or rather, she came closer to me physically.
W-why?
The closer I looked, the more I was horrified by her unusual beauty. Her face was too small.
Then, the beautiful girl said to me.
“I fell in love with you at first sight. I love you.”
“……Eh?”
“Please go out with me.”
The first time I met a beautiful girl, she confessed straight to me.
That’s what I heard. I don’t understand, but I understood.
I don’t know what I’m talking about.
At any rate, I had to answer.
It’s a conversation, a conversation. Let’s answer.
“I’m sorry. I can’t.”
“Eh?”
“Eh?”
The beautiful girl is surprised.
But I’m the one who’s supposed to be surprised.
What is this? Seriously.
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