Chocolate de Familia 2
After parking his bicycle in a suitable spot, he rang the intercom, and before long, Chika’s voice came through the speaker.
『Hello.』
“It’s me. I’m here.”
『I’ve been looking forward to your visit!』
Her voice was full of excitement.
Sōma was also thrilled. Meeting professional pastry chefs!
Ever since Chika invited him to her house, that was all he could think about.
It wasn’t often that a high school student had a chance to meet professionals in their dream occupation.
He had so much he wanted to talk about and ask. He had been contemplating it all along.
Last night, he even made a list of things he wanted to ask, which kept him up late.
“Welcome——”
The front door opened, and Chika greeted him with a smile.
She wasn’t wearing her school uniform or the mature clothes she had recently bought.
Instead, she had an oddly childish outfit that didn’t quite match her age.
It probably wasn’t her style; Miki must have had a hand in her outfit choice.
“I’m sorry for being late, I got a bit lost on the way.”
“Oh no, it’s alright. This area is an old residential neighbourhood, so it’s easy to get lost. Miki-chan got lost the first time she came here too.”
“If I didn’t have my smartphone, I would have gotten lost even worse.”
“Is that so? I wanted to see Sōma-san, who got lost and almost cried.”
“Hey!.”
Half glaring, Sōma retorted, and Chika chuckled softly.
“I was just joking. Well then, please come in.”
“Seeing you these days, it doesn’t sound like a joke. Anyway, I’m coming in. Thanks for having me.”
Sōma stepped inside the Satomi house.
As soon as he entered, the familiar scent of someone else’s home greeted him.
It seemed they used air fresheners or something, as a refreshing citrus scent filled the air.
“Ah…”
He felt the tension and his muscles stiffening as he realized he was nervous.
In the narrow entryway, an elderly couple was standing side by side.
Both had beautifully gray hair, and they appeared to be in their fifties, possibly even in their sixties.
Sōma had been informed that they were Chika’s parents, so he didn’t mistake them for grandparents, but without prior knowledge, he might have assumed they were grandparents.
These people were patissier and the patissière…!
That thought alone straightened his posture.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ichinose Sōma, a classmate of Chika… no, Satomi-san. Thank you for inviting me today.”
Sōma greeted them as politely as possible, bowing his head.
It might be far from perfect, but for a male high school student who had little knowledge of formal manners, he thought he did his best.
” …… “
Despite his efforts, the couple remained unresponsive.
“Welcome. Our daughter has told us about you.”
Despite those words, they just stared without saying anything.
‘….? What’s wrong?’
Sōma was puzzled by their unexpected lack of reaction.
“Um, are you her father? And you her mother?”
Chika, seemingly unsure as well, glanced back and forth between Sōma and her parents’ faces.
Finally, they murmured,
“A boy…”
“It’s a boy…”
They mumbled as if they had witnessed something unbelievable from Sōma’s appearance.
‘…Ah, I see.’
Understanding the meaning behind their lack of reaction, Sōma realized——that to them, he was neither their daughter’s classmate nor a student who admired them.
He was the first boy Chika had brought home.
Perhaps Chika had only mentioned inviting a friend without specifying the gender to her parents.
That’s why they were surprised.
‘…Isn’t this bad?’
Their doting daughter had invited a boy to their home without any prior notice.
In all likelihood, Sōma would not be warmly welcomed under normal circumstances.
“Um, well, Chika-chan…”
The first to recover was the mother.
With a puzzled expression, she said,
“So, the friend you invited today is a boy. I was so eager to prepare everything on my own, I thought it was Miki-chan coming.”
“Yes, today’s guest is Sōma-san! Lately, we’ve been spending a lot of time together!”
Chika nodded innocently, causing her mother to become even more bewildered.
“Oh, is that so? You’re close friends, then. What do you two usually do together?”
“We go shopping for cute accessories, try on clothes, and go to cafes to eat parfaits together!”
Yes, that’s true. She’s telling nothing but the truth.
However, there are some explanations missing.
“That’s… you’re close friends with him…”
With a troubled look on her face, the mother just repeats Chika’s words.
Meanwhile, her father, who had been silent the whole time, was emanating an aura of intense anger.
He glared at him with a dark, menacing expression.
It was honestly scary.
‘…This isn’t going well.’
There’s no way they will listen to what he has to say in this atmosphere.
If he tries to talk to them, he might get punched.
Squeezing the list of questions he had thought about so hard the previous night, Sōma decided to give up on them silently.
“I’m begging you, please explain everything properly to your parents later,”
He couldn’t help but say as he followed Chika up the stairs with a rhythmic thumping sound.
“Explain what? “
“Our relationship. Your parents completely misunderstood.”
When Chika declared, ‘We’re going to my room, so absolutely don’t come in,’ her father’s expression at that moment was absolutely terrifying.
He didn’t look like a pastry chef anymore; he seemed like someone with a history of confrontations.
Today, Sōma’s plans were completely ruined.
He could only sigh as Chika turned around and looked at him at the door.
“Misunderstanding, what kind of misunderstanding?”
It was a mature-looking Chika peering out.
“What kind of misunderstanding, you say…?”
He hesitated, and she leaned even closer to him.
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“What kind of misunderstanding do my parents have?”
Her large eyes reflected his face.
With a perplexed expression, she stared straight into his eyes.
Feeling nervous, he felt pathetic.
Trying not to be noticed, he let out a small sigh and then lightly chopped Chika on the top of her head.
“Ouch! …that hurt! So mean!”
“Shut up. Anyway, explain everything to your parents later.”
“Well, alright. Don’t worry, my mom and dad are the kind of people who listen properly.”
Feeling like she had teased her too much, Chika led him into her room without making any bitter accusations of violence.