Dimwit || Shinomiya Kojiro

trois

(Ishikawa Juno POV)

"Well, I'd assume you want plenty of rest my dear, so I'll leave you for now," Suzuki waved and headed on.

"Do you know him Jun?" Hinako asked curiously.

"Yes, unfortunately," I curtly replied. "I'm going to head back to the dorm to rest."

[Flashback 1]

"Ah, so this is Juno. Pleasure to meet you young lady," Mr. Suzuki, one of my dad's colleague chefs greeted. "This is my son, Kento, I hope you'll get along."

"Nice to meet you, Ishikawa-san," Suzuki flashed me a grin.

"Likewise, Suzuki-kun," I lightly bowed.

"I have high expectations of you Juno. In 10 years, you'll marry my son and help him take over the underground cooking world," Mr. Suzuki fathomed.

I felt my dad's grip on my hand tighten. "Jun dear, why don't you go get some snacks with Kento-kun? I have something to discuss with Mr. Suzuki."

I told Suzuki to meet me outside while I grabbed my coat. When I passed by the room that dad and Mr. Suzuki were in, I couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"This isn't what I promised you Mr. Suzuki," my dad began.

"Oh but Mr. Ishikawa, you know they'll eventually be together. With the Suzuki and Ishikawa families' cooking abilities combined, we'll be sure to rule the underground cooking world, maybe even the entire world if we wanted.

"I don't want that type of lifestyle for my daughter," my dad confronted.

[Present time]

I laid in bed remembering how I had met Suzuki when I was 8. The events that happened afterwards were still a bit blurry since I had subconsciously buried those memories a long time ago. After hours of thinking and turning in my sleep, I was able to let go of the past for now and rest.

The next day, I headed to get my cooking theme for the finals. "The theme will be potatoes," Shinomiya informed Suzuki and I. We were currently in one of the offices designated for the Elite Ten's use. "The competition will promptly begin in two days at 8 P.M. As usual, any ingredients you will need will be provided by Totsuki Academy. Testing ingredients can be found in the usual storage room from your last competitions in the elections."

"Thanks Shinomiya-senpai!" Suzuki waved. "I'll get my ingredients now if that's ok with you. Ishikawa-san, I'll see you in two days."

As Suzuki left the room, I paused to think of a presentable potato dish that could help me win. Potatoes are usually used as side ingredients, but how could I make it the main ingredient? Also, aren't potatoes usually considered a plebeian dish? I'm surprised the academy chose it as a theme. Wait, where is the storage room again?

"Oi dimwit, why are you still here?" Shinomiya asked.

An irk mark popped up on my face, "I'm just thinking!"

"You probably forgot where the storage room was again didn't you?" Shinomiya teased in a condescending tone, referring to the last matches where I humiliatingly had to ask him where the storage room was.

A surprised look flashed on my face and I immediately tried to hide it. "N-no, I know where it is haha." I stomped out of the office without further conversation.

I spent the next day prepping for the finals; I got new inspiration for the potato dish from a random video that Hinako sent. I tested various mixes of seasoning and what ingredients I could possibly use to create a tasteful story with the potatoes.