"What the hell?" the class shouted in unison, their eyes widened to impossible proportions. Right before their eyes was a scene so odd, so preposterous and so unnerving that their jaws were almost ready to unhinge from their mandibles "Master Chapelle is smiling!"
Standing in front of the strangely smiling teacher, Haru gave his partner a "thumbs up" and grinned when she tried to ignore him in her usual Tsundere way, but failed to conceal her smile of satisfaction.
Being acknowledged as a worthy chef was her life goal. It felt good to be praised for something she had spent some semblance of effort on; especially when that particular something made a man known for never smiling… smile like a child in a candy store.
As Haru had said, he had stayed out of her way without complaints. He had only helped with cutting some of the vegetables needed for the simmered beef, and to be honest, she was grateful to him for respecting her wishes.
Much to her surprise, he had even stopped perving on her! Needless to say, she had gotten permission to go outside and see if the sky was falling or not, because even if she knew very little about him, she knew that he was the biggest pervert she had ever met.
Him stopping his perversion was like saying the sun has stopped its brightness! It was impossible, yet she had become a witness to that particular miracle!
Though he had vented out all his frustration after completing their dish. The blond had the audacity to slap her rear, compliment its firmness and ask if she worked out much! She had been so shocked that she hadn't even brought her righteous female fury upon his perverted ass!
Nevertheless, she had bonked him on the head when the teacher had been in a daze after eating Soma Yukihira's dish.
However, despite how much she loathed to admit, despite how much she verbally admonished him for his perversion, it felt good to be the center of attention, especially of someone so handsome. Being so focused on proving herself to the world, she had adversely decreased any chances of being in touch with her feminine side.
She had refused dates left and right at first due to being discriminated by her people for being of the opposite gender. But after a few months of hard work and nonstop experimentation on improving her culinary knowledge, she had noticed the lack of proposals.
Looking around, she would see different boys admire her from afar with lust, admiration and genuine affection, yet no one seemed to have the guts to approach her, too afraid of her rejection. While she hadn't shown it, it had lowered her self-confidence to some extent.
However, Haru came along and changed her very perception of the world. He approached her without any hesitation, neither afraid of her rejection nor her cold exterior. Granted, he wasn't asking for a date, but still, the fact that he didn't even blink when she outright rejected his help said much about his character.
By discarding his pride to leave her to her devices, he showed that he was willing to respect her wishes of wanting to prove herself. His compliments seemed genuine and to the point, not filled with any false hopes of getting on her good side.
Needless to say, Haru took the top spot on her "Barely endurable boys" list and that was saying something, considering he was the first boy on the list and also the first boy she had ever allowed to even stand beside her, let alone talk.
The fact that he had groped her rear end was purely accidental and did not count! He would not be doing that again, unless he wanted to have his arms chopped off!
Though, she could certainly do without his perverted compliments, his ridiculous nicknames and constant groping.
"Ok, now I understand why the old bag of bones doesn't smile." Haru stated sagely and nodded his head, inwardly pleased with his findings.
An exceedingly contented and thrilled Miyoko, being in a good mood decided to humor the enigmatic blond and arched an eyebrow. "So why doesn't he?"
Haru gave her a deadpan look. "Just look at him, doesn't it creep you out? The old dude somehow knew that his smile was creepy, that's why he never smiled. My respect for him is trifled!"
"Ok… sure." she muttered unsurely. Though she had to admit, the smile did look a little on the creepy side.
Unaware of the conversation that was going on in front of him; Chapelle scrutinized the almost perfect simmered beef and hummed in appreciation, getting his smiling frenzy under control. "Chef Miyoko and Chef Haru, you get an A."
"See, Sugar plum, we made it!" Haru announced passionately and draped his muscular arm over a scowling but pleased Miyoko. "So are we gonna kiss or what?"
Before the Chinese girl could retort, the French chef coughed into his hand. "However, it's a shame zhat I do not have zhe authority to give you a grade even higher zhan an A, for the dish was perfect"
"While I admit I didn't help much, unless you count watching cutie's ass sway in that tight dress as help, she deserves the praises, Chef Chapelle!" Haru declared enthusiastically, smugly ignoring Miyoko's burning glare as he gripped her slender waist and neared her to his muscular body. "You can do something else instead of giving us a higher grade."
So the blond pervert was watching my ass the whole time I was cooking? Miyoko mused in irritation, her eyebrows twitching madly as she tried to ignore the soothing feel of his scent overwhelming her senses. That's why he was giggling every time he would get behind me to get the ingredients!
"Oh," the French chef probed with a raised eyebrow, overlooking the blond's crude language. "Let's hear it, zhen."
"Promise you will never ever and I mean ever smile in front of me again." Haru muttered weakly and shivered like a leaf. "I am still trying to find ways to erase the mental image from my brain."
"Agreed."
The temporary partners blinked in surprise when the docile chef nodded in agreement. Huh? The old chef wasn't offended by his words? That was a pleasant surprise!
Haru smiled genuinely and extended his hand towards the calm chef, immensely surprising him by his bold move. The chef got his respect and acknowledgement. If it had been anyone else, he/she would have been offended by his rude request, yet this man took it seriously and even agreed.
"Chef Chapelle, it will be an honor to study with you."
Not understanding what the blond was trying to accomplish, Laurent Chapelle smiled nonetheless and shook hands with the tall blond. "Likewise, Monsieur Haru."
Pleased with his response, Haru reverted back to his perverted personality and groped Miyoko's ass with a wide grin, causing the contemplating girl to jump in surprise and bonk him on the head. "You really should look up the laws on domestic violence, Baby Cake, that's hurts!"
"And you should look up the laws on public molestation, you perv!" the purple haired girl retorted with a scowl as they exited the class.
Haru blinked as he rubbed the bump on his head. "Fair point, but still when you dress like that, my hands gets minds of their own and get the 'Grab Them Cheeks' syndrome."
"It's my business what kind of dress I wear!"
"Well then, it's my business where I grope you… ouch hey!"
Shaking her head, Miyoko sighed disappointedly at the painfully perverted blond and started to walk away.
Discarding his façade for a few moments, Haru smiled gently and stopped her by putting his hand on her shoulder "Your dish was amazing, Miyoko, those who do not acknowledge you needs to have their minds and eyes examined, for they are stupid and blind."
Her eyes widened in surprise, her cheeks gained a healthy shade of red. "W-what?"
Without giving her much time, Haru smiled softly and gently pecked the flustered girl on her cheek before walking away with a nonchalant wave over his shoulder. "This cold and Ice Queeny stance doesn't suit you, a smile would look much better on your angelic face."
The purple haired girl was left standing in the corridor with her eyes widened to impossible proportions; jaw dropped to the ground in shock, heart thumping like crazy and face resembling a fresh tomato.
"I really hate that blond!" she muttered under breath, desperately trying to control her flaming face and thumping heart. He couldn't just drop a bomb like that and leave? He would pay for that! She didn't need his compliments even if it felt goo…! NO, it didn't feel good, not in the slightest!