Once everything was tidied up and the water began to boil, Aoki dropped in the two hotpot soup bases—and just as that was done, there came a knock at the door.
Kita was the first to arrive.
Since she lived nearby, she'd gotten there almost immediately after receiving the message.
She brought a gift—a box of sweets.
After setting it down and swapping her shoes for indoor slippers, she stepped inside, took a few curious glances around, and then spotted the hotpot setup.
Japan had sukiyaki, which was somewhat similar to hotpot, but still very different in the details.
As for this dual hot pot with two flavors in one—this was clearly Kita's first time seeing something like it.
She shuffled over in her slippers, the sound echoing lightly through the room, and leaned in with fascination.
"This pot's huge!"
"I thought we were going to eat out or something, but you actually cooked, Kei-senpai?"
"Oh—wait, I just noticed! The soup is split in two? One side's red, the other's white. So fancy!"
After gushing for a while, she turned to ask, "Is it okay if I take a picture?"
Kei, already back in the kitchen prepping ingredients, glanced over and gave a short answer.
"Mm, feel free."
Then he went back to work without saying much more.
Following the tutorial video, he washed and chopped vegetables, unwrapped the pre-sliced meat and various hotpot goodies, and arranged them onto plates.
Some ingredients required preheating, so he followed the package instructions and got to it.
Though he didn't have much of a knack for cooking, Kei could follow a tutorial just fine—so nothing was going terribly wrong.
Not long after, Nijika and Ryo arrived together.
Since this was their first time visiting Kei's new place, they also brought gifts—fruit and sweets.
Unlike Kita, neither of them had been to this apartment before, so naturally they were curious about the layout.
After stepping in and changing into slippers, their eyes wandered around, taking everything in.
Ryo stared at Aoki for a moment, to the point that he started feeling a bit awkward.
Then, without saying a word, she strutted into the living room like she owned the place and plopped herself down on the couch.
As for Nijika, she looked like she wanted to ask something at first—but after a brief pause, her eyes caught the half-prepped food on the table, the hotpot setup, and the unwashed greens still in Kei's hands when he came to open the door.
So instead of asking anything, she put down the fruit and offered,
"Still prepping the ingredients? I can help, Kei-senpai."
When it came to cooking and food prep, Nijika was definitely more skilled than Aoki.
Thinking the two of them working together would speed things up, Kei gave her a nod.
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
"No worries! You're the one who went out of your way to make all this, Kei-senpai—that's the real effort," Nijika replied cheerfully.
She picked up the unwashed greens and followed him into the kitchen.
The space wasn't very large, but it was enough for two people to work side by side.
Since Kei's knife skills weren't exactly polished, it didn't take long before Nijika gently took over chopping duties, leaving him to wash the vegetables instead.
Just before the swap, she'd teased him with a laugh, "Kei-senpai, how did you manage to turn julienne slices into paper-thin sheets?"
Silently vowing to seriously practice his knife skills someday, Kei took over the sink.
While the two of them were in the middle of preparing the ingredients, Bocchi-chan arrived—last of the group.
Her timing couldn't have been more perfect.
They'd just finished the last of the food prep.
Kei went to greet her at the door while Nijika used the opportunity to carry the dishes over to the table.
Maybe because it was her first time visiting a boy's home, Bocchi-chan looked absolutely panicked.
In her flustered state, she walked in without removing her shoes.
Kei reminded her, and when their eyes met, she immediately blurted out an apology, then looked away in a panic.
Even though they'd known each other for quite a while, and she could usually talk just fine at the livehouse… why was she acting like this now?
Kei sighed inwardly with a trace of helplessness. "Just treat it like your own home," he said gently. "You'll probably be coming over again sometime, so don't be so nervous."
But that one line clearly wasn't enough to soothe her. Bocchi-chan quickly nodded, then kept her head down without looking up again, following Kei closely into the living room like a lost puppy.
He figured that with enough visits, she'd probably get used to it.
Still, there didn't seem to be any quick fix for the situation.
That said, it wasn't really a big deal.
The important thing was that Bocchi was trying—bit by bit to push herself forward. And in turn, the rest of Kessoku Band was gradually learning to accept her awkward quirks and her strange little panic spirals.
Kei led her to the living room and, while mentally reviewing the tutorial video he'd watched earlier, took a seat at the table.
Nijika sat beside him—she'd just spent time in the kitchen with him.
Across from them sat Ryo, Kita, and Bocchi.
He blinked a few times but didn't say anything right away.
The hotpot had been bubbling for a while now. Technically, they could start cooking the ingredients.
But in that single quiet moment… nobody spoke.
Nobody made a move.
At 6:10 PM.
The apartment's warm lighting gave the room a cozy glow. Steam rose gently from the dual hotpot at the center of the table.
The atmosphere had turned... strangely awkward.
Kita blinked, clearly unsure what was going on.
Bocchi-chan still had her head down.
Nijika, sitting beside Aoki, first glanced at Kita, then a few seconds later shifted her gaze to Kei.
As for Ryo…
Her eyes landed on Aoki.
In those pale yellow irises—calm and unreadable—his reflection flickered.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Aoki finally spoke, breaking the tension in the air.
"There are some energy drinks and cola over there. I'll go grab them."
He stood up, paused for a second, then added dryly, "You know, we can start cooking now. Sitting here like statues is kind of stupid."
Once he brought over the drinks, the mood slowly returned to normal.
The awkwardness faded, and Kei gave a brief explanation about the two types of broth in the dual hotpot.
When everyone learned that one side was a mild clear broth and the other was a spicy mala base, Kita's eyes lit up with determination.
"I'm going for the spicy one!"
The rest—who were admittedly terrible with spicy food opted for the clear broth without hesitation.
Unsurprisingly, the moment Kita dipped some veggies into the spicy side and took a bite, she burst into tears and started gasping, "Sss-ha! Sss-ha!"
As for Aoki… well, he wasn't great with spicy food either.
So given the choice, he had absolutely no shame in picking the clear broth too.
In the end, the spicy side was used just once—by Kita.
During dinner, Kita happily dragged everyone into taking photos together as a memory of the evening.
After persuading the others, she even got Kei to upload one to the official Kessoku Band Twitter account.
Kei had no strong objections to this kind of casual life-sharing post, even if he felt a little helpless about being the one to do it.
So he edited the photo, wrote a short caption, and posted it.
Dinner wrapped up around 8:30 PM.
There wasn't much food left, though a good amount of drinks remained untouched.
It was getting late.
Since Bocchi lived farthest from Kei's apartment, she gave a polite excuse not long after dinner and was the first to leave.
A while later, Nijika also headed out—her older sister had called.
Kita, despite living nearby, glanced at the time—it was nearly nine.
Feeling that it was late enough, she gave a quick goodbye to Kei and Ryo, then left as well.
By 9:00 PM, only Aoki and Ryo were left in the apartment.
There was no way Kei could let her stay the night, and Ryo clearly had no intention of doing so.
She stepped out of the living room and headed to the front door. As she changed back into her shoes, she spoke to Kei, who had followed her to the entrance.
"Well, I'm heading out too, Suki-san."
Kei nodded. "Alright. Take care."
But just as she opened the door and stepped outside, Ryo didn't close it immediately.
Instead, she stood in the doorway and looked back at Kei.
She didn't say another word—just quietly held his gaze.
In those pale yellow eyes, still as unreadable as ever, Aoki's figure was reflected.
Their eyes met for a few silent seconds.
From outside, the cool autumn breeze slipped through the door and brushed against them.
...
Kei looked at Ryo, paused briefly, then let out a quiet sigh.
Ryo's personality was… unusual.
But sometimes, for reasons he couldn't quite explain, he could read her thoughts better than anyone else.
"Want me to walk you to the station?" he asked.
Ryo gave a small nod. "Yeah."
"Alright. Just give me a sec—I'll go grab a jacket."
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