My Neighbor Is A Freeloader

Chapter 5 [Pick the Soup]

After dinner with Nayeon, Sana stops by the supermarket to buy the ingredients for tomorrow’s dinner. Frankly, she has half-forgotten what Tzuyu has told her to buy so she just grabs whatever that strikes her fancy. In any case, she is not a fussy eater and will eat whatever he cooks so it should not matter what she buy.

When she knocks on the door of apartment 303, Tzuyu has just finished giving Schrödinger a shower. With water dripping off the tips of its fur, Schrödinger cannot look intimidating even if he wants too, but he still looks very unwilling when Tzuyu tries to blow dry its fur.

When he opens the door, Sana marches in and proceeds to take out her purchases and puts them on his kitchen table. It only takes one look at her purchases for Tzuyu to be displeased. “You have bought too much. It will be wasteful if we cannot finish all these.”

On his second look, he becomes even more displeased.

“These ingredients are not fresh. Don’t you know how to choose vegetables and meats?”

Of course not…. but Sana merely smiles. How can she let him know that she really doesn't know how to choose vegetables. It is too embarrassing for a big girl like her not to know it.

“The supermarket is nearly closing when I reached there and these are all that is left.”

Tzuyu shakes his head although it is not clear if he is more disgusted with the ingredients or with her. “Dummy.”

Looking at his dissatisfaction on such unimportant manners, Nayeon’s words came back to haunt Sana. Suddenly, she can see Tzuyu in her mind’s eye, pointing a lotus finger at her in a sissy pose.

… Mama mia!

Shaking her head to clear her rubbish thoughts, Sana knows that it is time to keep more distance from Nayeon. She is too weird.

Looking at her dazed behavior, Tzuyu assumes that she is feeling guilty. Being a soft-hearted person, he is about to offer some words of consolation when Schrödinger has enough of being neglected and starts meowing and gives Sana the chance to flee his apartment.

XxxxxX

Over the next few days, Sana will pop over to Tzuyu’s place for dinner. Once when traffic is light, and Tzuyu is still cooking when Sana arrives. Now that they are more familiar with each other, Sana decides to wait in his spacious kitchen instead of the living room.

Tzuyu is wearing a hippy head scarf and a sky-blue apron. Despite the awkward combination, he still look pretty good, which, Sana summarizes, goes to show how important it is to have a handsome face. His eye has almost recovered and she may not have known, but some girls of Uni B have started a thread in their school’s forum in an attempt to find the culprit who gave him the black eye.

Looking at his suave profile, Sana suddenly feels jealous of Tzuyu. Heavens can be so unfair. Here is someone blessed with good looks, good built, holds a respectable job – one that does not take up a lot of his time to boot – and as if all of that is not enough, he is a good cook too!

She moves closer to take a better look at him and starts comparing him against Jung Yeeun. One looks gentle and refined, the other manly and cool. Although both are good-looking, they really are good-looking in different ways.

Tzuyu is totally focused on cooking and did not notice her presence until she clears her throat.

“What are you doing here?”

“I am…. just taking a look.”

He is about to cut some washed garlic and points to the garlic accusingly.