Dinner

Dinner was set at Keyaki Restaurant beside Keyaki Mall on campus.

A row of paper lanterns hung outside the entrance, their warm orange glow filtering through layered tree shadows and falling in mottled patches across the stone path. Miyama Saku pushed open the door, and warm air carrying the aroma of food washed over them. After confirming their reservation, the server led them to a secluded window-side table. Miyama Saku shoved his backpack into the inner seat, pulled out a wet wipe to clean his hands, and handed one to Shiina Hiyori.

"How did you find this place?"

"I looked it up on the school forum." Shiina Hiyori took the wipe, neatly hung her backpack over the back of her chair, and sat down. "I searched for 'restaurants on campus suitable for celebrations,' and this was the top recommendation. The reviews were good, so I made a reservation."

"I didn't think you browsed forums."

"I browse them sometimes, okay? It's not like you." She smiled, folded up the used wipe, and set it at the corner of the table. "Some of the food reviews students post are pretty interesting. This place's beef stew came up the most often, and the photos looked good too, so I wanted to bring you here to try it."

Miyama Saku didn't ask any further questions. He lowered his head, opened the menu, skimmed through two pages, then closed it and pushed it over. "You order. I don't know what's good, and since you browsed the forum, you know more than I do."

"Then I won't hold back." Shiina Hiyori pulled the menu toward herself, her fingers swiftly tracing over the pages before she waved the server over.

She rattled off the appetizers, mains, dessert, and soup in one breath. Even the server couldn't help giving her an extra look before nodding, writing it down, and stepping away.

Once the server had gone, Shiina Hiyori let out a soft breath and wrapped both hands around the glass of water in front of her.

"Actually, I'm a little nervous."

"Nervous about what?"

"I'm afraid the food here might actually be bad." She stared at the surface of the water. "After all, I was the one who brought you here. If it's awful, will you regret coming to this restaurant with me?"

Miyama Saku looked at her and paused for a second. "No."

"Really?"

"If it's bad, we just won't come again next time. What's there to regret?"

Shiina Hiyori smiled, as though a taut string inside her had finally loosened. She lowered her head and took a sip of water. When she looked up again, she seemed much more relaxed. "But the pictures really did look good. One student said the sauce from the beef stew was so good with rice that they could eat three bowls."

"Is it really that good?"

"Then do you want to see if you can eat three bowls?" Shiina Hiyori looked at him with a bright smile.

"As long as it's not too bad, probably." Miyama Saku leaned back. "I didn't eat much at lunch, and now I'm starving."

Shiina Hiyori opened her bag, dug out a small packet of soda crackers, and handed it to him.

Miyama Saku took it, opened it, and bit into one.

Only then did the furrow between her brows gradually ease.

The appetizer arrived—cubed soft tofu drizzled with sesame sauce, with three charcoal-grilled asparagus spears beside it. Miyama Saku picked up one of the asparagus spears, put it in his mouth, and chewed.

"Not bad."

"Just not bad?" Shiina Hiyori tasted the tofu. "I think the sesame sauce is really well made."

"I meant the asparagus." Miyama Saku picked up another spear. "It's grilled just right. I haven't tried the tofu yet."

Shiina Hiyori laughed and used the serving spoon to place a small piece of tofu onto his plate. "You even eat things in order? Here, tofu."

Miyama Saku took a bite and nodded. "That's not bad either."

"You only know how to say 'not bad' and 'all right.'" Shiina Hiyori sighed and lightly tapped the edge of her bowl with the tip of her chopsticks. "One of this place's specialties is the crab cream croquette. Don't tell me it's 'not bad' again later."

"What else am I supposed to do, write a glowing review?"

"Can't you exaggerate a little and let the person who brought you here feel some sense of accomplishment?"

"Fine. I'll try to think of some other words later," Miyama Saku said.

When the croquettes arrived, he did indeed give them a second look. Their golden surfaces were fried crisp. When he pressed one with his chopsticks, thick cream and crab meat spilled out. He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, and one of his brows shifted almost imperceptibly as he chewed.

Shiina Hiyori stared at his face. "How is it?"

"It's pretty tasty," he said.

Shiina Hiyori's eyes lit up. "You said 'pretty tasty'!"

"Your standards are really low." Miyama Saku shook his head and cut off another piece.

"Your standards are too high." Shiina Hiyori cut into her own half as well. "Still, seeing you enjoy it puts me at ease."

"You seem to have been paying attention to whether I'm enjoying the food."

Shiina Hiyori's movements paused for a moment, and her gaze returned to her own plate. "Because I picked the restaurant. If you weren't happy with the food, that would be my fault."

"That has nothing to do with you. And I'm not unhappy."

The main course was beef stew and grilled mackerel, served with two bowls of white rice and red miso soup. The beef stew came in a small earthenware pot, its sauce still bubbling with tiny bursts. The beef had been stewed until tender enough to fall apart at the touch of chopsticks. Miyama Saku spooned some sauce over his rice, took a bite, then mixed the entire bowl together.

"This really works," he said.

"Almost up to three bowls?" Shiina Hiyori asked with a smile.

"No problem," Miyama Saku said. "Want to give me half of yours?"

"No way." Shiina Hiyori shielded her bowl with both hands. "Order more rice yourself."

Miyama Saku didn't stand on ceremony. He raised a hand and asked the server for another bowl of white rice. Watching him get more rice, Shiina Hiyori smiled until her eyes curved. "I think this meal was a success."

"Yeah, it was."

"Then shall we come again next time?"

"We can." Miyama Saku picked up a piece of mackerel. "Though next time, we could try another place too. You can keep looking on the forum."

"Okay." Shiina Hiyori agreed immediately. "I'll save the post when I get back."

Miyama Saku glanced at her. "You didn't save it before?"

"I was afraid it wouldn't taste good, so I didn't dare."

After the meal, Miyama Saku called the server over to settle the bill and paid without hesitation.

As they rose from their seats and reached the entrance, Shiina Hiyori looked back at the row of paper lanterns. The warm orange light softened her profile, like a frozen frame from an old photograph.

When they pushed open the door, the evening breeze rushed toward them, carrying the clear freshness unique to an April night—not cold, not stifling. There were few people on the stone path outside Keyaki Mall. A few tender green leaves drifted down from the branches overhead, spiraling to the ground by their feet. The streetlights made the stone path gleam faintly, and a light scent of pollen hung in the air. Behind them, the lanterns still glowed, stretching their shadows long and thin until they overlapped at an angle.

"I ate too much." Shiina Hiyori lightly pressed a hand to her stomach and let out a breath. "I really didn't need to order that pudding at the end."

"You ordered it even though you couldn't eat any more."

"Because the menu said it was seasonal." She paused and smiled helplessly. "Those words are a trap."

Miyama Saku didn't respond. The two of them slowly made their way toward the dormitory area along the stone path. The keyaki trees on either side of the road were just putting out new leaves, and the tender green foliage rustled softly in the night breeze. A few late-blooming cherry trees had not yet shed all their blossoms, their petals scattered across the pavement in pale pink and white, like a dusting of snow.

As she walked, Shiina Hiyori deliberately stepped around the intact petals, as if playing a game known only to herself.

Miyama Saku adjusted his backpack strap. "Didn't you say you were going to save the post when you got back?"

"Oh, right." As though she had only just remembered, Shiina Hiyori took her phone from her coat pocket. "I'll save it now, so I don't lose it next time."

She unlocked the screen as she walked, tapped the page a few times with her thumb, then slipped the phone back into her pocket in one smooth motion.

"You saved it?"

"I saved it." She nodded. "And took a screenshot too."

"Was that necessary?"

"Of course it was." Shiina Hiyori said seriously, "Tonight's dinner counts as a successful case. If you ask me to choose a restaurant again, at least I'll have a reliable fallback."

"You'll still be the one choosing in the future?"

"Didn't you just agree that we could try another place next time?" She tilted her head to look at him, her eyes sparkling beneath the streetlights. "Since you agreed, that means you're still willing to leave the choice to me."