A Book Can't Be Judged By The Cover Chapter 38: Homecooked Meal

Relief and ire were written all over Haji’s face as he gently closed the door. His every being wanted to slam the door before screaming at gumi for being so casual despite her family being worried sick about her. Regardless, he breathed and maintained his composure, grabbing a handful of peanuts and eating it in front of gumi. "And, what are you doing here?"

"What do you an? I’ve been staying here since morning." gumi asked. "How about you? Why did you run straight here after school? I thought you always waste your ti at the nearby park?"

"And how did you know that?" Haji’s brows furrowed, his gaze piercing through gumi’s soul like a sharp two-edged sword.

"Eek~"

’Well, whatever, at least she’s not in any trouble.’ Haji said to himself, inwardly relieved. ’It’s not like I’m worried or anything.’

As if reading his mind, gumi’s lips slowly curved upward as her eyes turned into slits. She was smiling mischievously, emphasizing her gesture by gently patting her lips with the tips of her fingers. "Oh, were you worried about ?" She asked.

"Why would I be?" Haji rebutted, averting his gaze from gumi. "I’ll be calling Franz-san later on so you should be ready." Before gumi could tell him that he didn’t have a phone, Haji showed her what Franz-san gave him earlier.

"Mou~ fine. But let stay for a bit and eat dinner with you. That’s my way of thanking you for letting stay here. Oh, and also, I already cleaned everything so you can head straight to sleep later."

Haji didn’t really say yes or no to gumi’s request as he headed straight to the kitchen. There, he was greeted by a very warm and hospitable scent— a scent that he had never slled for more than a year now. It was the sll of curry, of a ho-cooked al. ’No wonder there were still embers in my coal stove. She must’ve cooked it a few minutes ago.’

Unbeknownst to Haji, gumi actually planned everything so she would stay for dinner. Of course, now that everything’s set and done, there’s no chance Haji would deny her request. That would be ungrateful for him after all. With dinner cooked, the only thing Haji could do was concede and eat with her. Besides, she cooked more than enough for Haji and herself.

There’s no way Haji could eat all of it, and it’s not like he has a refrigerator in the first place.

"You already cooked, how can I say no." Haji sighed. "What didn’t you understand when I said not to get involved with so much?" His second sentence was spoken a wee bit quieter, causing gumi to wonder what he just said.

"What did you say?" gumi asked, curious.

"Nothing," A sigh left Haji’s mouth. "You even cooked rice?"

"No, I bought it at the convenience store." She continued. "Who would’ve thought they sell cooked rice there. I wasn’t planning to cook curry at first but after I saw the rice for sale... I just had to do it. Perfect timing though, since I was craving curry."

"Yeah, right."

Ever since gumi interacted with him, Haji had been experiencing a series of firsts that brought back warm and nostalgic mories. Although he wasn’t expecting her to do anything at all, she would always get involved, a busybody, for the lack of a better term. Despite sticking her nose in Haji’s business, she doesn’t really exceed her boundaries, and sohow, Haji never felt uncomfortable around her. Starting from his first date, first visitor, first dinner, and now a ho-cooked al, everything was like new mories. A part of Haji’s mind told him that he didn’t deserve any of this, that he didn’t deserve gumi as a friend. Although he wanted these monts to last a little longer, he knew that he couldn’t give them back to gumi. There’s really nothing he could offer her, and that’s why he was trying his best to push her away. At this rate, she would just get exhausted about this one-way friendship— or so that’s what Haji thought.

What he didn’t know, however, was that gumi actually enjoyed the peace she experienced at his place, the solitude, as if she had a ho of her own. It was like a breath of fresh air from all the pressure and the expectations she felt back in their household and at school. Of course, she didn’t tell her what she felt to Haji since he would most definitely cut her off and be angry at her. That would be indifferent of her if she told Haji that she enjoyed the experience of living alone since Haji never enjoyed his life full of difficulties.

Haji returned to the living room, carrying two bowls on hand and a set of chopsticks. He didn’t speak a word when he set them on the table. "If your parents, and I an your parents, not the butler, get angry at you for staying over at soone else’s house, I’m done for. You know that, right? I’m a guy, you’re a girl, that’s pretty straightforward, don’t you think?"

"Don’t sweat out the small stuff. Besides, it’s not like I wanted to stay over. It couldn’t be helped." She lightheartedly said. She acted that way so Haji wouldn’t ask her why she missed out on school.

After two more trips to the kitchen, Haji finally set everything on the table, clapped his hands, and said the usual ’let’s eat’ phrase before digging in. gumi let out a sigh of relief since Haji seed to have forgotten that she missed out on school.

"Let’s eat," gumi said after Haji. A mouthful of curry was all it took to rejuvenate her. Nothing beats curry when one has a craving for it. Well, nothing really beats any food if you crave it.

"So, why did you miss out on school? It’s unlike you to be absent, you know." Haji asked out of the blue. "Did sothing happen?"

"Urk~" gumi almost choked on the curry.