"So why on earth would you put sugar in tomato and eggs? That's just, just heresy!"
"Who says? Not putting sugar in is the real heresy!"
"You!"
It was lunchtime, and we'd gotten into an argument over whether to put sugar in tomato and eggs.
We'd always discussed how to make certain dishes, but this time we seemed even more, much more stubborn than usual.
After all, for me, my insistence on putting sugar in tomato and eggs came second only to my love for Arisu.
If Arisu said so, I could leave the sugar out.
But I still wanted to put up a fight.
"Either way, you're not putting sugar in this dish."
"No."
Arisu turned her head away and pressed her wine-red lips together.
"What did you say?"
She leaned in and held my shoulders down. Her warm breath brushed against my ear.
I swallowed.
"Hm?"
She gently tugged on my ear.
"N-no, I don't mind."
I put down the sugar I was holding.
"That's more like it."
Arisu let go of my ear.
It was less like a tug and more like a caress.
She hadn't used any force at all.
After we'd fooled around for a while, Arisu sent me out of the kitchen.
"Go wait outside. And don't pretend you're helping with the cooking when you're really just distracting me. If you hadn't distracted me last time, the food I made would've turned out fine."
Arisu blushed and shot me a glare.
Well, last time, we'd almost burned the food because of a kiss.
Arisu bustled about in her apron, but her clumsy fumbling made her look a little awkward.
She was a complete novice at cooking, yet she still did her best to follow the steps in the cookbook.
Maybe it was because she loved me that she wanted to do something for me to show it.
Even though she wasn't good at it, she still put her whole heart into it.
I was a little curious about what kind of surprise Arisu would have for me this time.
The deliciousness of food was a physical response. Just seeing something tasty could make you salivate—it was entirely involuntary.
Regardless of how it tasted, this dish was filled with Arisu's affection for me, and that alone was enough to make me lose myself in it.
After all, to me,
Arisu was the one and only person in my world.
Just as tasting delicious food could make happiness spread from the body into the heart,
simply sitting at the table and watching her adorable figure bustling about in the kitchen
could fill me with an indescribable joy that welled up from deep in my heart and flowed through every part of my body.
A little while later, Arisu came out of the kitchen.
Her eyes darted around. She scratched her cheek with her cute little hand, then cleared her throat as if to look serious.
She came over to me.
"Seisuke! Um, do you know how to fix something if you put in too much salt?"
"Huh? Why are you suddenly asking me that?"
"Ah, well..."
Arisu lowered her head, her hands fidgeting together in front of her chest.
"Um... I just wanted to learn a little more about that sort of thing."
She dragged me back into the kitchen, and I picked up a spoon to taste the miso soup.
Mm... Hm? It was so salty!
For a moment, I wondered if something was wrong with my tongue, so I tried another spoonful.
Yep! It was the kind of salty that reached the very back of my tongue.
Even so, I managed to keep my expression under control.
"What's wrong? Why do you look so strange?"
"Nothing. It's pretty good. Just a tiny bit too salty."
She was about to taste it too, so I pretended to lose my grip and knocked over a small jar of salt on the kitchen counter above us.
I looked down at Arisu, who was leaning against my chest.
"Looks like we can't drink this miso soup anymore. How about we make another batch together?"
She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then nodded.
"I guess that's the only thing we can do."
"Then you can cook, and I'll take care of the seasoning."
I gently wrapped my arms around her slender waist and buried my face in her hair.
Her hair carried a faint, lovely scent, and I couldn't help getting lost in it.
I rubbed my face against it softly.
"Stop it. That tickles!"
"I want to..."
"Hm?"
One of her hands came around and lightly pinched my waist.
I had no idea who Arisu had learned that trick from, but it was a fatal weakness for guys.
We carried the finished miso soup to the table.
"Mmm! Seisuke~"
"What is it?"
"I love you so much..."
We'd been together for so long, but I'd hardly ever said sweet things like that to her.
That was something I should be doing. I was the one who should take the initiative.
Every girl liked hearing the person she loved tell her how much he cared for her, whether through words or actions.
I decided to return her affection.
I cupped her face and gently kissed her.
"Mmph."
She responded awkwardly.
I didn't pull away until she was a little out of breath.
"All right, go sit back down."
"I want to feed you."
Arisu's pretty face suddenly turned red, and she lowered her head without saying a word.
I carried her over and sat down with her in my arms, then scooped up a spoonful of miso soup.
I leaned in, kissed her lips, and gently fed it to her.
The light touch of our tongues made me close my eyes without thinking.
Our tongues entwined. The miso soup mingled with her taste, imprinting itself clearly in my heart.
My blood rushed upward, and my mind, lost in the moment, began to suffocate from lack of air.
I love her.
The last trace of clarity I had told me so, unmistakably.