Gimai Seikatsu - Days With My Step Sister

May 5th—6 pm.

It was a time of year when lingering sunlight remained.

Although it's the last day of Golden Week, the Asamura household was functioning as usual.

As Ayase-san and I were third-years preparing for entrance exams, I went to prep school, and Ayase-san was studying at home. Akiko-san was off today and home, but my old man had to work.

Unexpectedly, my old man came home with a souvenir.

On his way home, he'd stopped by a traditional Japanese sweets shop.

"Come to think of it, today's Children's Day."

"It is indeed."

Akiko-san carefully removed the wrapping paper from the candy's box and examined its contents.

"Oh, how unusual."

"Is it... mochi? No, dango?" I asked while peering at the sweets in Akiko-san's hand.

They appeared to be skewered rice cakes that had been grilled with soy sauce.

"These are Gohei-mochi. They're a local dish from the Chubu region, like Aichi Prefecture," my old man explained.

According to him, they were sweets made of glutinous rice shaped into dumplings, skewered, and grilled with a miso or soy sauce glaze. Although he never cooked, he occasionally shared some culinary knowledge since he enjoyed eating.

"I thought we could try something different. Aichi is famous for its miso, but this one is made with soy sauce. It might be more familiar to people in the Kanto region."

"I wonder if it tastes like sweet and salty dango."

My question was met with a reasonable response from my father, "You'll understand once you try it." I suppose that's true.

"But if we eat this now, will we still have room for dinner later?"

"If we all share it, it's just one skewer each. It's not that much, so we should be fine."

Then, glancing around the living room, he asked, "Is Saki-chan in her room?"

"No, she's out shopping for dinner."

"If I had known, I would've offered to help carry the bags."

I had just come home too and thought Ayase-san was studying in her room.

"It's just the nearby supermarket, and we only needed a little soy sauce, so don't worry about it."

Just after she spoke, we heard the door open and someone say, "I'm back."

The door to the dining area opened and Ayase-san stepped in.

"Huh? Everyone's here?"

"Welcome back, Ayase-san."

"Taichi-san brought us a souvenir. Let's all have some tea together."

As Akiko-san put away the soy sauce my old man had given her under the IH stove, she said, "Want some tea?"

"Since it's mochi, I think Japanese tea would be perfect."

Akiko-san nodded in agreement to him, so I got some tea cups ready for everyone.

Ayase-san stared intently at the mochi my old man had brought, probably wondering whether or not she could make it herself. It was likely a habit because she was in charge of cooking everyday.

"Oh, right. They were selling these for half-price as replacement items, so I got some for you, Stepdad."

Ayase-san took out something that looked like a snack from the eco-bag she had used to carry the soy sauce.

"Beef jerky, huh? That's nice of you," my old man said as he took the bag with a half-price sticker on it.

"Wouldn't beer have been better than tea?"

"No, you're not allowed. We haven't eaten dinner yet."

"Too bad," my old man said, laughing as he took his seat.

Ayase-san and I also sat down in our respective seats, and Akiko-san poured some tea from the teapot for us.

"While we're at it, I'll have just a little bit…"

Saying that, my old man opened the bag of beef jerky.

We all drank tea and ate mochi, while also picking at the jerky.

"Yum! This is delicious. Gohei-mochi... was it? Thanks."

As we alternated between eating the Japanese sweets and the jerky, Akiko-san muttered something.

"So, this is basically like a gyudon, isn't it?"

The three of us—my old man, Ayase-san, and I—all tilted our heads, wondering what she meant.

"Well, it's rice and beef, right? And it's sweet and salty, with soy sauce too."

"...I guess you're right?"

"That's just how it tastes to me! You're right Mom!"

So, that night the Asamura family's dinner turned out to be gyudon. When we compared it, the weird combination definitely tasted like gyudon.