Sakura really loved Karasushi. How much, you ask? Enough to eat Karasushi for all three meals if she felt like it. As a Japanese person, she believed you should know how to eat sushi like it’s rice.
Today, she stopped by Karasushi again. In Japan, eating alone meant you didn’t have to worry about anyone else’s judgment. In fact, Japan was probably the country where solo dining culture was most established. From solo BBQ joints to a wide variety of single-serving restaurants, it was all there.
With a cheerful chime, Sakura entered the Karasushi restaurant. The chef, who had seen her often, recognized her and greeted her first.
“Sakura-san! You’re here again today?”
The chef spoke casually while making sushi. He had been making sushi for so long that he could talk without even looking at what he was doing. He was that experienced. The place was famous for its taste. While franchise food might seem the same everywhere, the truth was, the taste varied greatly between locations. The ingredients might be the same, but the personal touch of the chef made all the difference.
“I really missed your sushi, Chef.”
Sakura placed her bag on the table as she spoke. True to her words, she had been craving Karasushi since she woke up. She had been waiting impatiently for lunchtime.
“Haha, didn’t you come yesterday too?”
“A day feels like forever!”
As she said this, Sakura began setting up her table with ease. She poured soy sauce into a small dish, filled a cup with water, and set up her chopsticks. Since it was a conveyor belt sushi place, she could start eating right away.
For her first sushi, she chose the egg sushi.
There was a saying in a famous manga that to judge a sushi chef’s skill, you should order egg sushi. Of course, that was a 90s thing, and nowadays, it wasn’t entirely accurate. Many places used mass-produced eggs for their egg sushi, so there was a good chance you’d end up with something mediocre.
But this place was different. They made their own egg sushi, and the freshness and taste were outstanding. That’s why Sakura always started with egg sushi when she came to Karasushi.
She quickly picked up a piece of egg sushi from the conveyor belt, placed it on her plate, and opened the lid. The fragrant smell of egg hit her nose. Even though she ate it every day, it always felt new.
But today, she noticed something different about the egg sushi. The egg was fine, but the rice was unusually glossy and shiny. Even if it were made with the famous Japanese Koshihikari rice, it wouldn’t be this good. The rice today was exceptional.
With a pounding heart, she picked up the egg sushi with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. Her eyes widened as she tasted it.
“Uh…”
A gasp escaped her lips. The texture and flavor of the rice were unlike anything she had ever experienced. She couldn’t believe she was eating rice this good! It felt like a blessing to be alive just to taste this. She wondered if she would ever eat rice this delicious again in her life.
After swallowing the sushi, she quickly asked the chef, “Chef, did you change the rice today?”
The chef chuckled, as if he had expected her question. “Hehe, you noticed? Our headquarters sent us new rice.”
He went on to explain. At first, he was skeptical. After decades of using the same rice from the headquarters, it was hard to believe it could change overnight. And the fact that the rice was from Korea made him uneasy. There was always a bit of friction when it came to Korea.
But after cooking and tasting the rice, he couldn’t help but praise the Karasushi headquarters. If the rice was this good, it didn’t matter if it was from Korea. In fact, he got excited thinking about how much the customers would love it. After all, he had the heart of a true chef.
Seeing customers enjoy delicious food filled him with pride. The price was the same, but the taste was far superior? From his perspective, there was no reason not to be thrilled.
Since they started using Starlight Rice to make sushi, the customers’ reactions had been explosive. Those who came expecting the usual sushi taste were blown away by the new level of flavor and couldn’t stop eating.
Sales had doubled in less than a month.
Although it was a short time and could be considered a short-term effect, anyone who tasted this Starlight Rice would never think of it as short-term. It was certain that Karasushi would continue to firmly hold the top spot in Japan’s revolving sushi franchise.
Even now, there was a gap with the second place, but this Starlight Rice nailed it. Other sushi franchises couldn’t use this Starlight Rice, after all.
—
“Yah yah!”
I pretended to punch in front of the mirror. I was planning to go watch an action movie today, so it was a pre-practice. I was practicing to defeat bad villains like the protagonist.
*Creak*
At that moment, my door opened, and Haru came into my room carrying a pile of clothes. My face turned pale when I saw the number of clothes Haru was holding. If I had to wear all of that, there would be no time to watch the movie today. I tried to escape while wearing my dinosaur pajamas but got caught. Unless I took the emergency stairs, the only way out of this building was the elevator.
“Hana! You have to wear clothes before going out!”
Haru grabbed me and started giving a long speech. She said I still lacked the mindset of a woman… and not to go outside wearing dinosaur pajamas… etc. Haru carefully explained things that would benefit me, but to me, it just sounded like nagging. I nodded as if I understood and had no choice but to agree.
And then, I became Haru’s doll for an hour. Haru, determined to find the perfect outfit for me, dressed me in the most suitable clothes.
I turned into a cute kid in Haru’s hands. A skirt full of frills and a top that looked fluffy just by looking at it—something I could never have imagined before this body. I used to just wear a simple T-shirt and baggy pants.
“Ugh…”
The reflection in the mirror showed a kid so cute that any parent would die for. The unfortunate part was that the kid who was so cute you’d die was me.
I felt weird if I kept looking, so I turned away from my reflection in the mirror. Then, I grabbed Haru’s hand. This was one thing, but the movie was another. It wasn’t a movie watched on a laptop or TV, but one with vivid sound quality and a huge screen!
I ran to the office. Haru was following behind. I thought I should say goodbye before leaving to be a polite adult. But the office was empty. How could this be…
“They must have gone ahead for today’s company dinner. Let’s go enjoy the movie, shall we?”
Haru grabbed my hand, and we left the building to watch the movie. It was warm enough outside to wear a T-shirt and skirt. Spring weather like this was really nice. I wished summer and winter would disappear. Then, we could live in a perfect temperature—not too hot or cold.
The only downside was that bugs wouldn’t die, which was a bit scary. Even now, in places like Australia where the temperature doesn’t drop much, the bugs are enormous. The size of the bugs there was incomparable to the mosquito I saw yesterday.
“Movie, movie!”
I chanted as I got into Haru’s car. Haru’s car was already full of my traces. I smirked when I saw Lumi’s air freshener hanging in Haru’s car.
I decided to bring more of Lumi’s goods later to decorate Haru’s car. Lumi was a character loved by everyone, after all.
“Let’s see…”
Haru was adjusting the navigation to find the theater. I was blankly staring at the screen.
Once the navigation was set, Haru slowly started the car. It felt like the first time going downtown, and I was excited. It was a different feeling from going to school.
