The Top Idol Next Door Can't Help But Crave My Guilty Pleasure Meals-Chapter 11Volume 1 .2 - The Place Where Sasaki Yuzuki Belongs Is Here

ROUND 11 – The Place Where Sasaki Yuzuki Belongs Is Here 2

“… You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Standing on the other side of the door wasn’t the manager or staff.

I unhooked the chain and pushed down the door lever.

I squinted at the dazzling light coming in through the gap in the door.

“Hey.”

The person who appeared was Mamori Suzufumi, an overly protective male high school student.

☆☆☆

“Suzufumi, why…”

“Explanations later. Let’s go.”

I take Yuzuki’s hand and head straight for the elevator.

“Hey, wait a minute!”

Despite the late hour, Yuzuki isn’t wearing the hotel’s yukata but is in short-sleeved practice clothes.

I wonder how much time she spent practicing in her room.

We quickly got into the taxi that I had made to wait in front of the hotel.

I sat in the back seat and pulled Yuzuki, who was flustered outside.

“Driver, please take us to the ‘Orikita Residence’.”

The place where we should be together is neither a hotel nor a school.

“…How did you figure out which hotel I’m staying at?”

Yuzuki seems to be trying to regain her composure, keeping her voice steady.

I made a triumphant face and held up my smartphone.

Displayed on the screen is the official SNS account of 【Spotlights】.

“I have a friend who’s your hardcore fan. Internet stalkers are scary, huh?”

“Did you figure it out from scattered SNS information? But I haven’t posted anything about my location.”

“Even if Yuzuki is careful, other members might not be. They give away things like, ‘Staying at the same hotel the day before the fan meeting,’ or posting pictures like ‘Sharing the beautiful night view.’ I think it’s too careless. When the information from the past few years pieced together, it led me to that hotel.”

Once the building is identified, the rest is a process of elimination.

I carefully watched the elevator users. I overheard a conversation between two women talking about the entertainment industry.

They must be managers or staff from the agency.

Next, I watch which floor the elevator stops on after they get on.

According to a certain hardcore fan teacher, “If they are of the same gender as the talent, there’s a high chance they’ll stay on the same floor,” so that narrowed down the floor.

“B-but, you can’t move the elevator without a card key, right?”

“That’s where the hardcore fan’s support came in. I had her book a room.”

Support, or rather, it was more of coercion using a certain recording, but let’s not delve into that.

“Ehh…”

As expected, even Yuzuki was taken aback.

She kept her distance from me in the back seat, leaning against the door.

Well, I have no choice but to admit it.

At this point, I am truly a full-fledged stalker.

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

Although I temporarily borrowed a card key from Mikami-sensei, I have to cover the lodging expenses as a form of cooperation.

She must be looking forward to tomorrow’s fan meeting in her spacious room by now.

This plan was only possible because 【Spotlights】 was a rising idol group.

If they were big stars capable of filling domes in the metropolitan area, the entire floor would have been reserved for staff and related parties.

After reaching the target floor, I looked for a room with the lights on from my earlier outside observation and picked one where no TV sound or voices were heard.

If I hear the sound of someone practicing dance steps inside, that’s bingo.

“Add ‘The Importance of Internet Literacy’ to the fan meeting’s discussion points. By the way, that hardcore fan in question seems to be the type who ‘wants to keep a certain distance from their favorite idol,’ so that’s a relief.”

Before long, the taxi arrived at the apartment building.

I paid the driver and got out first.

As I passed through the glass-covered entrance, Yuzuki hesitantly followed at a distance.

We rode the elevator side by side, and I pressed the button for the eighth floor.

Inside, we maintained a gap the size of one person between us.

Exiting the elevator, the darkness of the night spread out beyond the building.

Two sets of footsteps echoed in the midnight apartment complex.

I opened the door to room 809 and invited Yuzuki in.

“Here, take a seat.”

I urged her towards the living room sofa, and Yuzuki sat down with a puzzled look in her eyes.

“Seriously, tell me what you’re up to. It’s going to be a huge scandal if anyone finds out I sneaked out of the hotel late at night. I even left my smartphone back at the hotel.”

“Well, then.”

After washing my hands and gargling, I move to the kitchen adjoining the living room.

On the countertop, various ingredients are laid out already brought to room temperature.

“Don’t tell me… you’re planning to cook?”

“Isn’t it obvious by now? There’s no other reason I’d invite Yuzuki up to my room.”

“…All this trouble, just for that…”

In a way, it was a reasonable reaction.

Stalking on the net and secretly taking her out, the result is only a dinner.

Yuzuki stands up from the sofa.

“… I’m going back. I have to practice at the hotel.”

The sound of footsteps gradually fades away, heading towards the hallway.

I wasn’t going to forcibly keep her if she really wanted to leave.

But before that, I wanted to do everything I could.

As Yuzuki reached for the doorknob, I began narrating my actions.

“First, cut the pork belly into five-centimeter-wide thin slices and blanch them in boiling water. Pre-boiling it like this will remove the excess fat and make even pork belly refreshing to eat.”

No sound of the door opening.

It’s proof that Yuzuki is listening intently.

“Next, heat sesame oil, garlic paste, and ginger paste in a frying pan. When the aroma starts to waft, scatter diagonally sliced green onions and lightly cook them. Once the green onions have softened, add the pork that was boiled earlier and mix it all together with a spatula.”

By now, Yuzuki must have realized what I was making.

Now, it’s time to finish up. I drizzle the special sauce—a mix of soy sauce, mirin, sake, and Chinese seasonings—over the sea of meat.

With a sizzling ovation, an appetite-stimulating flavor fills the room.

Glancing back again, I notice that the distance between Sasaki-san and me has closed by about fifty centimeters.

“Lastly, pour a sauce mixed with soy sauce, mirin, sake, and Chinese seasoning over the frying pan, and once the flavor has blended in well, it’s done. Today’s rice isn’t from a pack but properly cooked for donburi. I made it a bit firmer than usual so that it will soak up the sauce.”

I didn’t forget to layer nori (seaweed) in the middle of the rice and prepare some pickled daikon radish as a palate cleanser.

The Special Sutadon Pork Bowl.

The first dish I ever served to Yuzuki.