The Boss Queen (Izana Kurokawa) COMPLETED 👑

TWENTY-THREE

Akari thought for a second then shook her head at the inquiry. "I don't think so. Why, Auntie?"

"N-nothing! Just asking," her aunt said rather dismissively and quickly changed the subject. "Are you done arranging the goods?"

"Almost. What about the eggs? Should I place them in the fridge?"

"Ah, no. Leave the tray there. I need some of those for baking later. Have you bought flour?"

Akari nodded. "Yup. It's right here."

"Alright. I'm almost done with the cooking. Can you set up the table for me? And also, call Takemichi and Hinata-chan upstairs. Tell them it's lunchtime."

"Okay, Auntie."

"SO HINATA-CHAN, what do you like about Takemichi?" Akari queried her cousin's girlfriend inquisitively as the pink-haired girl volunteered to lend her a hand in washing the dishes right after the four of them had an enjoyable lunch together in the dining area. Takemichi already went back to his room to continue his homework whilst Chiako was resting for a moment in the living room.

Hinata was startled at her sudden query. "W-why do you ask, Akari-chan?" she only asked in return.

Akari only shrugged off her shoulders. "Just curious," she responded briefly in a nonchalant manner. "I mean, what do you see in my cousin?"

Hinata's cheeks turned bright red. "Well... u-uhm, Takemichi-kun is cool. There's nothing not to like him," she answered shyly while tucking a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "He's an amazing person."

Akari only hummed at her lovestruck words and grinned. She didn't need any rocket science to figure that one out. She could already tell from the beginning that Hinata was genuine with her feelings for her cousin, not just by some mere infatuation with her crush. Akari saw the way her cheeks blushed adorably and how her face radiated brightly with blissfulness as she spoke to Takemichi during their lunch. Not to mention, her pink eyes also twinkled with stars as she looked at him with adoration.

Takemichi was one hell of a lucky guy to have such a wonderful and cute girlfriend like Hinata who was very much in love with him.

Ah, young love.

"What about you, Akari-chan? Do you have someone you like?" Hinata asked her.

Akari blinked at the familiar question and then giggled. "You and Take-chan both asked the same question. You guys are meant for each other," she teased, making Hinata a blushing mess. How cute. She was now drying the washed plates with a clean towel. She took a deep breath. "Honestly, I don't know."

Hinata looked at her in confusion, eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't know the difference between love and like." She looked at the pink-haired girl, her innocent blue eyes locked with the latter's quizzical gaze. "How do you know if you like someone? I mean... what does it feel to be in love...? Like you with Take-chan?"