New Year's Eve

Time passed quickly, and a few days had just flown by since Althea's discharge.

During these past few days, I had my work cut out for me. Usually, I would only cook for myself, so I wouldn't mind some inadequacies in my dish. However, since I had to cook for someone else, I put in more effort than usual.

I based my cooking on Althea's overall health needs and pumped out signature dishes after signature dishes. Every day, I would cook the meal and deliver it to her doorstep. At the same time, I would listen to her raving reviews of the last dish I'd fed her.

I don't know if the lack of contact I had over the past few weeks made me crave human contact, but that simple compliment was good enough to make my day.

So even though I was cooking for free, I didn't find it a chore.

And before I knew it… New Year's Eve had come around.

In the past, I would have gone out for a New Year's party with my colleagues or attended a university reunion for New Year's Day. However, the pandemic had forced all of us to stay indoors.

There would be no fireworks, no announcer shouting countdowns.

A quiet New Year…

Sounds delightful.

Well, technically, it won't be all quiet.

I looked at the pot of boiling soup filled with the aroma of the sea. Yesterday, I prepared Sliced Fish Noodle Soup for Althea's dinner. The remnant soup from that meal was used as the base to prepare today's lunch. It was wasteful to throw away a whole pot of fish soup after all. Besides, I had to reserve my cooking skills for the New Year feast that I was going to prepare for myself.

It didn't take long for my seafood risotto to take shape.

"Yeap, still delicious..." I gave myself praise after doing a taste check.

Now, I wasn't at the level of a culinary wizard. Still, I believed that I could stand toe-to-toe with any regular housewife or junior chef. So naturally, I had high standards for food, especially the ones that I'd made with my own two hands.

Just like the days before, I packaged the meal into a wooden lunch box. Usually, I would use this lunch box on days that I had to commute to work. However, since the pandemic had begun, it had been collecting dust in my cabinet. Fortunately, I now had a good use for it.

"Althea?"

"... Coming!"

After ringing on the doorbell, I could hear the quick footsteps of my next-door neighbour rushing towards the entrance. The door swung open, and as per usual, the figure of a young girl who was barely in her twenties greeted me.

Althea was wearing a plain t-shirt with conservative cotton shorts. A typical get-up for a college girl lounging about at home. Still, to look presentable, Althea made sure that her hair was straightened and her face was adequately washed.

"Good afternoon," I displaced my random thoughts about her appearance before extending her a simple greeting.

"Good afternoon! Here's last night's container."

"Thank you, how were the noodles?"

"They were delicious! Just like you said, I could really taste the ingredients of the ocean in the soup. And the noodles themselves were both springy and delectable."

"Haha, thanks for the praise."

I received the clean ceramic bowl with a smile before handing over the wooden lunch box in my hands. That was our arrangement. I would deliver lunch and dinner to Althea, and she would return my containers as clean as an altar. At the same time, she would give her thoughts, mostly praises, about my cooking.

"This is today's lunch. Seafood risotto that I'd made from last night's fish stock. It's a little simple, but I'll make it up with dinner."

"... You really don't have to do that much."

"We've been through this before; it's no trouble for me at all." I chuckled as Althea's face turned into one of a dog expressing its guilt. "Besides, it's New Year's Eve! It's good to let loose for once."

"But wouldn't you have plans?"

"Plans? What plans? We're all stuck at home with nothing else to do."

"Right..."

The country was forced to lockdown due to the mysterious virus, and establishments had yet to open. While it was still possible to visit family and friends in small groups, I wasn't expecting any company.

"I-If that's the case… Why don't we eat together?"

"Together?"

I raised my eyebrow at the sudden request. Since the day I'd escorted her home, Althea had never invited me into her home. And well, it was natural for a young, feeble woman such as herself to be wary of a big guy like me. In fact, if I were in her shoes, I wouldn't even allow such a man anywhere near me.

"Y-yeah…"

"Why?"

"W-Well… It's like you said, it's New Year's Eve, so..." Althea fidgeted about like a little squirrel trying her best to hide the tender blush on her face. "It would be lonely to eat alone… right?"

Oh, right… She's just a young university student whose family was far from the country. And over the past few days, I hadn't seen any of her friends visit at all. Perhaps they were all unable to leave due to the lockdowns.

"Alright, I don't see why not."

There was no benefit in denying her request. So I went back to my apartment and brought my share of the risotto over. Once I returned, I saw Althea seated on the carpet floor with a low round table right in front of her. She poured her meal into a plate and prepared some utensils for both of us to use. Furthermore, she had a large jug of water with two glass cups laid out.

Evidently, Althea was anticipating our little lunch together.

"Excuse me," I softly muttered before finding my spot opposite the young woman. "Alright, let's eat?"

"Y-Yeah!"

I took a big mouthful of my risotto and gulped it down after a few chews. It had cooled down just a little, so it wasn't piping hot and yet, it retained all of its earlier flavour. It still possessed the hint taste of fish and scallops, but it wasn't overpowering the risotto rice. In my opinion, it was perfect.

At the same time, I could see Althea nibbling away in bliss. She wasn't able to take huge mouthfuls like I did, but she enjoyed the meal in her own way.

"How is it?"

"... Once again, I'm blown away."

"Great! How does it compare to the other risottos you've tried?"

"... I don't think I'd eaten a risotto before."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah… Most of the time, I would eat whatever my parents cooked, but since I'd started university, I've only eaten fast food or meals prepared at school."

"You know… It's not my place to lecture you, but you should really learn to cook."

"I-I'm working on it!"

Flustered, Althea's body twinged before taking one large mouth of the risotto.

"Haha, don't worry. You have all the time in the world to learn. I'd also begun cooking when I was in university. It took me years to get this good."

"Makes sense. If you have a decade of experience under your belt, your food would be delicious."

"Eh? Decade? HAHA, how old do you think I am?"

Althea was stunned by my sudden bellow. She shivered a little before shyly replying: "Ermmm… Aren't you in your thirties?"

"... Huh?"

I was unable to muster up a response. Before, I'd thought she was joking, but looking at her innocent puppy eyes… this girl was dead serious.

"... I'm only twenty-six."

"Eh? EHHHH?!"

This time, it was Althea's turn to holler out in shock. Her pupils shook violently, and her jaw dropped till it hit the table.

"I was certain that you were in your thirties..."

"... No worries, it's not your fault."

I struggled to hold back my tears as I replied to the girl who meant no harm. No, it made sense that Althea would think that I was in my thirties. People often said that I looked older than my age, and due to the pandemic, I hadn't shaved in weeks. Though I didn't have a magnificent beard, the dirty hair on my face really made me look ten years older.

Back when I was underage, it was a blessing to look the way I was. I could get into bars, and buying alcohol was much easier. Now, on the other hand… It just hurts.

That's it when I'm back home, I'll shave off this age-enhancing beard of mine!

"Hah… enough about me. Let's talk about you."

"Me?"

"Yeah," I replied nonchalantly. "We've been neighbours for almost half a year, and yet I know nothing about you. I know you're a university student but that's about it."

"Ah, there's nothing much to know actually..." Althea took one more bite of her risotto before saying: "I'm a third-year business student studying at the University of Kofuku."

"Ah, University of Kofuku? That's where I went too! Though, I didn't take business."

"Oh, what did you major in?"

"Computer science," I replied blandly.

"Wow! You must be really smart then. So what do you do now?"

"I don't know if I must be smart, but I'm currently working as a programmer."

"Programming… I took a mandatory module on it and failed badly. I can't imagine doing it for a whole degree."

"Haha, it's just a matter of practice and interest, I guess?"

Perhaps it was because we hadn't seen another soul for the longest time; Althea and I quickly became lost in conversation. She talked about her university studies while I spoke about my programming work.

It became an endless loop of us learning new things about each other.

And thus, we didn't even notice our risottos turning cold right before our very eyes.