It was just another typical day in Okinawa—at least, as normal as things could get for them. The sun hung high in the sky, casting long shadows across the pavement as Reki and Langa skated back and forth, attempting new tricks and pushing each other to do better. The rhythmic clatter of their boards against the ground blended seamlessly with the distant chatter of pedestrians and the faint hum of cicadas in the background.
Normal girl stuff.
Reki was mid-turn, focused on perfecting a trick, when she suddenly heard an unmistakable sound—Langa’s stomach growling. Loudly.
She skidded to a stop in front of her, raising an eyebrow. “Dude, we just ate.”
Langa frowned, pressing a hand to her stomach as if that would somehow silence it. “But…it’s lunchtime,” she mumbled, looking almost betrayed by her own body.
Reki let out a dramatic sigh, shaking her head before picking up her skateboard. “Alright, alright. Let’s find something to eat. There should be a few places around here.”
Langa perked up at that, glancing around as if she could already smell the food. “Why don’t we go to Joe’s? I think we’re pretty close to his restaurant.”
Reki’s lips curled into a grin. “You’re right.” Without warning, she bent down, placed her skateboard on the ground, and kicked off. “Loser pays for our meals!” she called over her shoulder before speeding off down the street.
Langa barely had time to process her challenge before a startled sound escaped her—half a gasp, half an indignant squawk. “Hey! That’s not fair!” she shouted, scrambling to chase after her.
The two of them weaved through the streets, dodging pedestrians and laughing as the wind rushed past their faces. The warmth of the afternoon sun, the thrill of the race, the sheer joy of the moment—it was all so familiar, so effortless.
Just another normal day in Okinawa.
Langa won easily. She always did. No matter how fast Reki pushed herself, her girlfriend's natural skill and absurd sense of balance gave her an undeniable edge. Still, Reki wasn’t too upset. At least she had enough savings to cover Langa’s never-ending hunger.
As they approached the entrance of Joe’s restaurant, a bright poster caught their attention. The bold red letters stood out against the background, practically daring anyone to take notice.
"FOOD CHALLENGE! WIN AND EAT FOR FREE FOR A MONTH!"
Langa read it aloud, her Japanese pronunciation noticeably smoother than before. Reki couldn’t help but smile at how much she had improved.
Before she could comment on it, excitement took over, and she barged into the restaurant, cupping her hands around her mouth as she yelled, “HEY, JOE! IS THIS SIGN FOR REAL?!”
A sharp sigh followed.
“Can’t you be a little quieter?” a familiar voice chided.
Reki turned and spotted Cherry sitting at a nearby table, his expression twisted into his usual mix of mild annoyance and exhaustion. She hadn't even noticed him before.
“Sorry, Cherry!” she said, waving dismissively before turning back toward the kitchen.
“Don’t call me by that name,” Cherry muttered, more to himself than to her, because Reki had already tuned him out, bouncing on her heels as she waited for Joe to appear.
It didn’t take long. The large man emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel, completely unfazed by Reki’s enthusiastic outburst.
“Yeah, it’s real,” Joe said, his voice thick with sarcasm. “Not that it matters—you two already eat here for free half the time.”
Reki rolled her eyes, about to argue that they totally paid… at least sometimes. But before she could say anything, Langa stepped forward, her eyes practically sparkling.
“I’ll do the challenge!” she announced with unwavering determination.
Reki’s head snapped toward her. “Langa, what are you doing?! This isn’t S! You don’t have to rise to the challenge!”
Langa met her gaze, completely unfazed. “But I want to rise to the challenge.”
Joe sighed, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Sweetheart, you already eat here for free. You don’t need to do this.”
Langa didn’t budge. “Don’t underestimate me, Joe. I once finished an entire turkey on my own during Thanksgiving.”
Reki winced. “I really hope that was a small turkey…”
Cherry, who had been watching with mild interest, finally spoke up. “Just give the girl your challenge, Gorilla.”
Joe shot him a glare but then turned back to Langa, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I have seen you take down an ungodly number of burgers before…” His voice wavered slightly, as if the memory still haunted him.
“Exactly,” Langa said with confidence.
Joe sighed in defeat. “Fine. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll have the challenge ready.” With that, he turned back toward the kitchen.
The second he disappeared, Reki grabbed Langa by the shoulders and shook her. “Are you insane?! You just ate!”
Langa simply pouted, her lower lip jutting out slightly. “But I’m hungry now…”
Reki groaned. “I thought you wanted to save money, not single-handedly put Joe’s restaurant out of business.”
“I thought you’d be more supportive as my girlfriend,” Langa countered, her tone playful but with a slight hint of wounded pride.
Reki sighed, her expression softening. She leaned in close, lowering her voice. “I am supportive, but I just don’t want you to overdo it. Remember the last time you took on a food challenge?”
Langa’s cheeks immediately turned red. “That was because of the spice.”
Reki gave her a knowing look. “The spice that had you curled up in a ball for hours?”
Langa huffed, crossing her arms. “This is an Italian restaurant. No spice. Just pasta. I’ve got this.”
Reki studied her for a moment before sighing. Langa wasn’t going to back down. And honestly, she believed her girlfriend will win.
Reki was starting to have serious doubts.
Because when Joe walked out of the kitchen, it looked like he had cooked everything on the menu and laid it all out on a single table—for Langa’s pleasure, or perhaps, her doom.
Pasta dishes of all kinds, massive plates of lasagna stacked high with cheese, wood-fired pizzas glistening with toppings, golden-brown calzones spilling with melted mozzarella, steaming bowls of risotto, mountains of garlic bread, and even a few decadent desserts sat waiting. The sheer volume of food was overwhelming, the kind of spread meant for an entire party, not a single person.
Reki swallowed nervously, glancing at her girlfriend. “Babe… If you want to tap out, I’m here for you,” she said, resting a gentle hand on Langa’s shoulder.
But Langa just smiled, her confidence unwavering. “Trust me, Reki. I know what I’m doing.”
With that, she reached into her pocket, pulled out a small tube of lip gloss, and carefully applied a fresh coat to her lips.
Reki blinked. What?
Langa caught her staring and tilted her head. “What? Just because I eat a lot doesn’t mean I can’t look good doing it,” she said, echoing something her mother had always told her—A lady should always carry herself with grace, no matter the occasion.
Joe let out a dry chuckle at the sight before crossing his arms. “Alright, you have thirty minutes to finish all of this,” he announced, pulling up his sleeve to check his watch. His expression was amused, but there was a flicker of genuine curiosity—maybe even concern. “And your time starts… now!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Langa picked up her fork and started eating, as if she had simply sat down for a normal meal rather than a battle against time.
Joe turned away, seemingly unfazed. “I’ll check in for the last ten minutes,” he said, already heading back toward the kitchen.
Reki expected to sit and watch, maybe offer moral support or prepare to drag her girlfriend to the hospital if necessary, but before she could settle in, Cherry called her over.
“You weren’t at S yesterday, so Miya told me about a commission he wants from you.”
That immediately got Reki’s attention. “Oh, really? What does he want?” she asked, sliding into the seat next to Cherry, momentarily distracted.
As they fell into conversation about the board design, neither of them noticed that in just three minutes, Langa had already cleared an entire plate of pasta.
And she was just getting started.
Joe was busy prepping ingredients when he instinctively glanced at his watch.
Twenty minutes had passed already?
That meant there were only ten minutes left on Langa’s timer. He figured he should check on her progress—though, given the sheer amount of food he had laid out, he fully expected to find her struggling through the last few bites, maybe clutching her stomach in regret.
But as he turned around, a startled yell ripped from his throat.
Langa was right there, standing silently in the doorway of the kitchen, staring at him with her usual deadpan expression.
Joe clutched his chest. “Langa, sweetheart, what are you doing here?!” He wasn’t sure if he was more surprised by her sudden appearance or deeply concerned for her well-being.
Langa blinked at him. “I finished the challenge.” Her voice was as flat and calm as ever, as if she had just completed a simple homework assignment rather than consuming an ungodly amount of Italian food.
Joe froze. “...What?”
Langa tilted her head slightly, as if she wasn’t sure what part of her statement he didn’t understand. “I finished the challenge,” she repeated, enunciating each word slowly. “Thought you should know.”
Joe opened his mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again. “But… how…?”
He looked past her, half-expecting to see a pile of half-eaten food still sitting on the table, proof that she was joking, or maybe some trick she had pulled to stash it away. But there was nothing—just Langa, standing there with a faint, satisfied glow, as if she had simply enjoyed a nice meal.
Without bothering to explain further, Langa turned on her heel and strolled out of the kitchen. “I should tell Reki~” she sang in a light, almost mischievous tone as she bounced away.
Joe was still trying to wrap his head around what had just happened when, moments later, a loud, shocked scream rang through the restaurant.
“HOW?!”
Reki’s voice echoed through the walls, filled with the kind of disbelief that suggested she was questioning everything she knew about life itself.
Joe sighed, rubbing his face. He honestly didn’t know whether to be impressed by Langa… or afraid of her.
Langa emerged from the restaurant with triumph in her step, her expression smug as she hopped onto her skateboard. Behind her, Reki followed, still reeling from what she had just witnessed. Her girlfriend—her tiny girlfriend—had devoured an entire feast in under thirty minutes. The sheer impossibility of it left Reki questioning reality itself.
“See?” Langa said, glancing over her shoulder with a proud grin. “Told you I could do it.”
Reki finally managed to shake herself out of her stunned state and sighed, stepping onto her own board. “Yeah, yeah. You freak of nature,” she muttered, still trying to comprehend it all.
The two skated side by side through the streets, the cool evening breeze washing over them as they made their way toward Langa’s house. For a moment, everything felt peaceful again—until a familiar sound broke the quiet.
A deep, unmistakable rumble.
Reki snapped her head toward Langa in disbelief. “Babe, you can’t still be hungry.”
But the moment she saw her girlfriend’s face, all her teasing vanished. Langa had slowed to a stop, her expression shifting from victory to something far less confident. Her brows knit together, her skin paling slightly.
“Darling…” Langa said, turning to Reki with an unsettling slowness, her voice weak. “Have I ever mentioned that I’m… lactose intolerant?”
Reki’s stomach dropped. “What?”
Before she could get another word out, Langa crouched down, clutching her stomach.
“Oh my god, Langa.” Reki stared in horror at the crumpled form of her girlfriend, who was now paying for her sins against dairy. She wasted no time—she scooped Langa up into her arms, board and all, and booked it to the nearest hospital.
Reki sat in the hallway, anxiously bouncing her leg as she waited. She looked up the second the door to Langa’s hospital room opened, revealing Mrs. Hasegawa stepping out.
“Is she—?” Reki asked immediately, her voice tight with worry.
Mrs. Hasegawa let out a sigh, shaking her head with both exasperation and fondness. “She’ll be fine. They want to keep her overnight for observation, but there’s nothing serious to worry about.”
Relief flooded through Reki’s body, but it was quickly overshadowed by guilt. She stood up and immediately bowed as low as she could. “Mrs. Hasegawa, I am so sorry. I should’ve stopped her—I feel like this is my fault.”
Mrs. Hasegawa placed a gentle hand on Reki’s shoulder, smiling softly. “Reki, honey, it’s fine. This isn’t the first time Langa has done something like this.”
That… did not comfort Reki as much as it probably should have. If anything, it only made her more concerned.
Mrs. Hasegawa chuckled at her expression. “You can go in and see her if you’d like,” she offered before walking off to speak with the nurses.
Reki hesitated for only a second before pushing the door open.
Inside, Langa was curled up on the hospital bed, a pitiful look on her face as she clutched her stomach. The sight of her usually unshakable girlfriend looking so small and vulnerable made Reki’s heart ache.
“Hey,” she said softly, pulling a chair up beside the bed. “You okay?”
Langa let out a tired sigh. “I will be,” she mumbled, giving Reki a weak but reassuring smile. “Sorry for making you worry.”
Reki rolled her eyes, though there was no real frustration behind it. “It’s fine. As long as you’re okay.”
Langa’s smile grew a little wider, and before Reki could react, she reached out, cupping Reki’s cheek before pulling her forward, pressing their lips together in a soft, lingering kiss.
Reki melted into it, feeling warmth flood through her despite everything. She smiled against Langa’s lips before finally pulling away, only to press a gentle kiss to her forehead.
“I really need to do a better job of stopping you from taking on these food challenges,” she muttered, brushing Langa’s hair back.
Langa chuckled weakly, already snuggling deeper into the bed. “You can try…” she mumbled, her voice already growing drowsy.
Reki sighed. This girl was going to be the death of her.