"Ah, Satou, is it really you?"
Kikuchi Sonoka asked with a look of pleasant surprise.
Hearing that voice that often appeared in her dreams, Hinako Inui also instantly looked up, her face showing an expression of pleasant surprise, but when she saw Satou, her heart inexplicably became flustered.
"Yes, since it's vacation, I had nothing to do, so I came to visit everyone."
Satou said with a smile.
Kikuchi Sonoka was still the same, with her beautiful coral-pink long hair flowing behind her, a small strand tied with a hairband and hanging by her ear, her small face radiating the innocence and naivete of a young girl.
Karasaki Taki still had her usual premenstrual look, with a fierce expression on her face, and among the three, she had the oldest appearance.
However, what surprised Satou was that Hinako Inui was also here.
Although she was twenty-six or twenty-seven, because of her innocent and simple nature and her simple living environment, she looked more like a girl under twenty.
Her long brown hair was tied into a braid with a hairband, resting on her shoulder, and her bangs in front were cut shorter, making her look even younger, revealing a hint of a girl's adorable clumsiness.
As soon as Satou saw Hinako Inui, he couldn't help but recall the scene of him forcefully kissing her that day.
His feelings for this former Instructor were still quite complex.
Seeing Satou looking at her, Hinako Inui's face flushed, and she lowered her head somewhat flustered, but from time to time, she would secretly glance at him, her gaze very attentive.
"Satou, this is great, I'm really happy that you came to visit us."
Kikuchi Sonoka clasped her hands in front of her, a happy smile on her face.
"This girl has always kept your name on the list of sous chefs, and she's been thinking about you constantly, you know."
Karasaki Taki said lightly from the side.
"How... how could you say that, Karasaki-senpai, don't tease me."
A faint blush appeared on Kikuchi Sonoka's lovely face, and she said softly.
"However, I really have been looking forward to you, Satou, returning here and resuming your position as my sous chef."
She suddenly looked up, gave Satou a sweet smile, and said gently.
"Yes, that's why I came this time."
Satou said with a smile, "Because I have time during the holidays, I want to work here."
"Really? That's great."
Kikuchi Sonoka's eyes lit up, and she said with both surprise and delight.
"However, I won't be available every day, and the working hours each day won't be too long."
Satou said, a little embarrassed.
"How could that be? I'm already very happy that Satou can come."
Kikuchi Sonoka said with a soft, gentle smile.
Hinako Inui, who was beside them, hesitated for a while, opening and closing her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.
Actually, she also really wanted Satou to come to her shop so she could see him often, but after hesitating for a long time, she ultimately didn't say anything.
"Oh, that's right, I brought gifts."
Satou suddenly remembered something and took out some ingredients as visiting gifts.
There was beauty tuna sashimi, Shuckle's juice, and some Frozen Wild Buffalo meat.
Once, he had given Alice Nakiri some beef, and Leonora Nakiri really liked it, so Satou later sent a lot more, after all, his Mother-in-law liked it, so he had no choice.
"Such sweet and refreshing juice!"
Karasaki Taki took a sip, and a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes; this was the first time she had ever tasted such delicious juice!
"The texture of this sashimi is truly amazing, it must be a very high-grade ingredient, right?"
Kikuchi Sonoka tasted a piece of sashimi, her face also filled with shock, and then she said somewhat apologetically, "This must be very expensive, right? I'm so sorry to have accepted such a valuable gift from Satou."
"Don't mention it."
Satou said with a smile.
Afterward, everyone chatted while drinking juice and tasting sashimi.
However, Hinako Inui was clearly a bit distracted; even the incredibly delicious sashimi tasted bland to her.
After spending the afternoon with everyone, Satou saw that it was getting late, so he stood up and said, "Well then, that's all for today. If I have time tomorrow, I'll come to work, is that alright?"
"Of course, no problem. I'm just a little worried I won't be able to afford Satou's salary."
Kikuchi Sonoka couldn't help but say with a smile.
Karasaki Taki and Hinako Inui also had to go back to prepare for the evening business.
Because things went smoothly, Satou and Hinako Inui walked together.
However, the atmosphere was a bit awkward; they walked side by side, neither of them speaking.
Facing this former Instructor whom he hadn't seen in a long time, Satou also had a bit of a headache.
After a long while, Satou finally said, "Hinako-senpai?"
"Eh, eh?"
Hinako Inui's face flushed, and she lowered her head in a bit of a panic, saying, "Is there something, Satou?"
"It's nothing much."
Satou scratched his head and said, "About what happened last time, I'm sorry, it was an accident, I hope you don't mind."
He was referring to the time he kissed her.
"An accident?"
Hinako Inui suddenly looked up, her eyes red, biting her lip, and said somewhat angrily, "So, Satou, you didn't mean it? But, you made me, you made me like... like you so seriously..."
Satou couldn't help but glance at her in surprise.
Could it be that Hinako Inui liked him?
He had always thought she was still angry about what happened last time.
Looking at Hinako Inui, who was like a little girl, with red eyes and on the verge of tears, Satou suddenly felt a headache and didn't quite know what to do.
"Uh, actually, it wasn't entirely intentional."
He scratched his head and said, "It's just because I thought you were cute, so..."
"Eh? Satou, you think I'm cute?"
Hinako Inui, who had been crying, suddenly froze, and a captivating blush crept onto her cheeks, her heart suddenly beating very fast.
"Oh, how annoying, to say such things to your senior, it's really troublesome."
She covered her face with one hand and patted Satou's shoulder with the other, both shy and happy.
Satou was quite speechless, looking at Hinako-senpai, who was clearly several years older than him, but whose psychological age was like that of a young girl.
However, after this incident, their relationship became harmonious again, even better than before.
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