EP.33 Wrecked dignity

“Wow… that’s amazing.”

I was amazed by the variety of dishes on the table.

In general, there is a strong image that British cuisine is tasteless.

But that doesn’t mean the British are bad at cooking.

In fact, there are quite a few British chefs in the world.

And in my view, Rika’s mother was clearly in the latter.

“Ohoh, I tried my best because I heard a guest was coming.”

While saying that, Rika’s mother raised her chest with a proud expression.

Looking at what she was doing, it was just like Rika.

Would this happen when Rika gets older and becomes an adult?

As soon as I started eating, Rika’s mother approached the study in the living room and asked us to wait a moment, because Kishimoto sensei hadn’t left the room yet.

“Honey! Hurry up and come out! The rice is going to get cold!”

Then, a sad-looking man in his mid-40s opened the tightly closed door and came out.

It was a weak impression in appearance, but I knew exactly who it was.

Because while surfing on the internet, I had seen him several time in magazine interviews.

Musashi Kishimoto, a mangaka.

Sojiro Kishimoto, his real name.

A common name.

Having already been active for more than 20 years, he had been one of the greatest masters in the shonen manga industry.

When Mr. Kishimoto saw me, he looked surprised.

“Are you Yoo-sung? You look just like a manga character from the 80s.”

“It’s an honour to meet you. Kishimoto-sensei.”

I was so happy that I met my respected mangaka rather than my friend’s father, so I used extreme honorifics without realizing it.

“Haha, it’s hard to talk standing up, so sit down. My wife paid a lot of attention to you coming home this time.

“Oh my, really.”

The couple had a good relationship with each other and had no sorrow in expressing their affection for each other.

And so, Mr. Kishimoto sat down at the table, and it was only then that we could start lunch.

“Try this, too.”

“Oh, thank you.”

What was placed on the table was mainly Italian cuisine converted into a light Western style.

It was a little ironic that an English woman married her husband in Japan and made a Japanese-style transformed Italian dish.

When I was admiring the taste while eating the lasagne that Rika’s mother made herself, Kishimoto sensei, who was slicing the tenderloin steak with a knife, spoke first.

“These days, whenever Rika sits at the table, she talks a lot about you Yoo-sung, so I really wanted to meet you. This is the first time my daughter has shown herself to be close to a boy.”

After swallowing the food in my mouth, I spoke in advance to prevent any misunderstanding.

“Rika and I are normal/just friends. On the first day of transfer, she was wandering on the subway, so I helped her a little, and we became close as we are now.”

Then Rika’s mother rolled the pasta with a fork and said,

“In the morning, I didn’t know because I took her near the school by car, but she came home in the evening, she told me she got help from Yoo-sung. It’s because I’m thankful that I’m inviting you to dinner today.”

“Haha… I see.”

Something, something felt uncomfortable.

Obviously, when I first came, I was overwhelmed by the excitement of actually meeting Mr. Kishimoto, but when I ate with Rika’s parents like this, I felt like I was under pressure in an interview.

When I silently swallowed in the food without hiding my trembling voice, Rika, who was watching from the side, intervened.

“How can Papa and Mama keep asking questions to someone eating? He’s going to have an upset stomach while eating!”

Then, Kishimoto’s mood suddenly changed.

“Wow~ Right? I was worried if Papa was doing too much. It’s just that it’s the first time Rika get along with a friend of the opposite sex, and I was wondering if he had bad intentions.”

“Ryu-chan is not that kind of person?!”

In the friendly conversation between the father and the daughter, words of nuance that seemed to keep me in check came out, but I had no choice but to laugh it off.

Because it was one of the regular subjects in love comedy, at first a father with a daughter would be suspicious to opposite sex friends.

If I had a pretty daughter like Rika, I would think that all the men approaching her looks like wolves.

Still, thanks to Rika’s intervention at the right time, the rigid atmosphere of the table was loosened, and I was able to finish the meal with a more comfortable feeling.

After lunch, when I was eating the fruit that Rika’s mother cut for dessert, Kishimoto suggested first.

“I heard from Rika that you’re my fan. If you don’t mind, why don’t you just eat this and then take a look around my studio?”

“If I can do that, of course I’d be happy!”

When I said so unconsciously with excitement, Mr. Kishimoto nodded with a slightly softer face than the first time.

“You can look forward to it. My studio after I moved to Tokyo has never been released to the mass media.”

“Thank you! Sensei!”

I couldn’t believe I could see the studio of my respected Kishimoto sensei with my own eyes, as a respected fan, I would have no regrets even if I died.

***

Sojiro Kishimoto was a very popular mangaka who was turning 45 years old this year.

Since he first won the prize at the age of 20 and entered the manga industry, he has been actively engaged in his work for about 25 years, specializing in shonen manga.

He was so successful that he was said to have achieved a price in one field, he boasted that he had an extraordinary eye for people.

Since he was young, he had been running on the road of success, so there were many people approaching him for his money.

In that sense, the first impression that the mangaka Sojiro Kishimoto had as soon as he saw his daughter’s friend Kim Yoo-sung was “he’s big.”

In middle school, he was not very short because he joined the basketball club, but there was something about the young man in front of him that looked huge beyond his original height.

It was a unique atmosphere, just by being there he felt an unprecedented power that could make a person surrender on its own.

He thought he might be a bully who approached his daughter by looking at her daughter’s appearance or her background, but after having a conversation while eating, it didn’t feel like that.

He didn’t know if contrary to his appearance, he unexpectedly was a naïve young man.

Still, when his daughter was admiring herself, saying she thought she had a good eye for people because she looked like him, and choose him as her first friend of the opposite sex, his wife suddenly started talking.

“In the morning, I didn’t know because I took her near the school by car, but she came home in the evening, she told me she got help from Yoo-sung. It’s because I’m thankful that I’m inviting you to dinner today.”

Because of the nature of the weekly series, he didn’t even know it had happened between the two because he was always going back and forth between his house and his studio.

When he heard that this young man took care of his daughter in a place he didn’t know, he felt grateful.

Since then, he asked the young man a few more questions.

What are your parents doing, where do you live, and if their Rika was doing well in school.

They were questions that you could ask your daughter’s friend, but it seemed that it was not the case for the daughter next to him.

“How can Papa and Mama keep asking questions to someone eating? He’s going to have an upset stomach while eating!”

It seemed to be embarrassing for everyone.

Sensitive to the emotional state of his wife and daughter, he soon realized.

He realized that Rika really liked this young man.

Probably because his wife knew it right away, he intervened more actively between the two.

He was touched that his daughter was already old enough to know love, but he felt a strange bitterness.

Because Rika, who used to say she will marry her father when she grows up since she was young, brought a young man who would become her boyfriend before he thought.

Still, Sojiro Kishimoto said with a smile, because he wanted to be a good father to his daughter.

“Wow~ Right? I was worried if Papa was doing too much. It’s just that it’s the first time Rika get along with a friend of the opposite sex, and I was wondering if he had bad intentions.”

“Ryu-chan is not that kind of person?!”

He didn’t they were in that kind of relationship yet, but it was cute to see her actively defending him as if it was her job.

Sojiro Kishimoto smiled happily at her daughter’s fresh appearance and suggested to the young man who did not seem to have noticed her feelings yet.

“I heard from Rika that you’re my fan. If you don’t mind, why don’t you just eat this and then take a look around my studio?”

Then, a visibly bright expression.

“If I can do that, of course I’d be happy!”

The fact that he was a fan of his was not a lie to ingratiate himself with his daughter, and he seemed genuinely happy, so he eased his expression without realizing it.

“You can look forward to it. My studio after I moved to Tokyo has never been released to the mass media.”

“Thank you! Sensei!”

Since it was like this, He was definitely going to help his daughter, who was an amateur in a relationship.

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