Liar's Lips Fall Apart in Love - Volume 1 Side Story 1

Happy Valentine Day

“…Hey, do you like sweets?”

“Sweets?”

After the fourth period class ended, Nanase came to me with a surprisingly serious look on her face and asked.

What’s with the sudden question? I frowned, puzzled.

“Uh, like chocolate, or……”

Although I occasionally eat sweet bread for its energy efficiency, I’m not particularly fond of buying sweets. It seems that Nanase sometimes buys chocolate snacks at the convenience store where I work part-time.

“No, not really.”

When I answered honestly, Nanase said, “Is that so…” and looked down dejectedly.

Did I say something weird? What’s going on here? Seeing her like that makes me feel down, too.

Nanase dropped her shoulders and left the lab. Watching her walk away, I stood alone, scratching my head for a while until I suddenly realized the meaning behind her question.

Am I an idiot!? Thinking about it, chocolates this time of year could only mean one thing! I grabbed my shoulder bag and chased after her at full speed. Skipping the last two steps of the

staircase, I dashed across the lawn next to it and made my way to the bicycle parking area. When I arrived, I saw her bright red bicycle…

I spotted her unlocking her bike and shouted loudly, “Wait, wait a sec!”

Nanase looked up, her eyes wide as she saw me. After catching my breath as best as I could, I said, “…Actually, I think I do like them! Chocolates!”

***

To me, up until a year ago, Valentine’s Day was an event far removed from myself. Watching the girls in class get excited, and the boys getting antsy, I would sit in a corner of the classroom with a look of “I’m not interested at all” on my face.

But truthfully, I too wanted to exchange chocolates with friends and give handmade chocolates to a boy I liked.

February 14th, Valentine’s Day. Satchan and I were in my room, making a gâteau au chocolat.

We put butter in a bowl, added finely chopped black chocolate, and melted it in a bain-marie.

The sweet aroma of the chocolate gently wafted through the air, filling the apartment room.

“Hey, Sacchan. Do you think gâteau au chocolat is too classic?”

While carefully stirring with a rubber spatula, I asked Satchan, who was standing beside me. The small kitchen space was cramped with the two of us in it.

“Now that we’ve started making it, what are you talking about? Classic is good,” she said.

“But maybe we should have gone for something more unique to stand out from the others!”

“Don’t worry, Sagara isn’t likely to receive chocolates from anyone other than Haruko.”

Sacchan said this with a look of exasperation. I wonder, while thinking about Sagara-kun’s sulky face.

He might be plain, but to me, he’s the coolest and most wonderful boy in the world. There’s no guarantee that other girls haven’t noticed his charm.

I have to do my best and give him the best Valentine’s chocolate… Sacchan is probably going to give hers to herboyfriend she just started dating. The usually indirect Sacchan turned bright red and screamed, “It’s not like I’m doing it because I want to! Haruko just dragged me into this!”

This year, I too will hand-make true-love chocolates and give them to the boy I like!

I added sugar to the egg whites, making a fluffy meringue. I don’t own anything as fancy as an electric mixer.

So, I have no choice but to do my best manually. As I stirred desperately, little white peaks slowly began to form. Hard work will eventually be rewarded.

Just like with my usual cooking, imagining someone enjoying something delicious that I made is a happy thought. Even tasks that feel tedious when done for myself don’t seem so bad. And when it’s for someone I love, especially when making it with a friend, it feels even better.

“Haruko, why are you grinning like that? You’ve got chocolate on your cheek,” Sacchan said with an exasperated look, wiping my cheek for me. Since she had chocolate on her cheek too, I laughed and said, “You’ve got some on you too, Sacchan!”

What we finished was a cute, heart-shaped gâteau au chocolat. Clearly, blatantly, it was a declaration of love chocolate. It was as if it was screaming, “I love you,” like something written with a permanent marker.

We packed the gâteau au chocolat into a cute box and wrapped it beautifully with ribbon, which we bought from the shop together with Sacchan. Satchan said to me, fussing over the ribbon color, “Does it really matter? Any color would do,” but appearances are important after all. What matters is not what Sagara-kun thinks, but whether I can give it to him with absolute confidence. Yeah, choosing pink was definitely the right decision!

His part-time job ends at 21:00. I open my makeup box and carefully touch up my makeup, so I can present him the best version of myself, the cutest me in my own eyes. As I draw on my rose-colored lipstick, I smile brightly at myself in the mirror.

This is my first time ever giving Valentine’s chocolate to someone I like. I wonder… will he be happy to receive it? …I hope he will be.

As I look out the window, hoping he’ll come back soon, I spot him. There he is, Sagara-kun, wearing a black down jacket, illuminated by the streetlight.

I take one last look in the mirror, then grab the wrapped gâteau au chocolat, and dash out of my room. As he comes up the stairs, instead of saying welcome back, I greet him with the brightest smile I can muster.

“Happy Valentine’s!”

Tln : Someone just requested me on discord, thanks to No Name. this side story is available in GA Bunko Twitter. if u guys like my works please consider of donating me to my ko-fi