439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUBBHMcXGt
I don’t even know when it started—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyYwn8wudO
this quiet, growing love I have for Kouichi.
When we were little, I always thought of him as my younger brother.
He was always quietly by my side—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28fFk9DBEm
picking up my fallen hair clips,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV77RI2gCYv
handing me a handkerchief when I cried.
I thought he was smaller than me,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkKqz3d5NM
someone I had to look after and protect.
But at some point—he had grown taller than I was.
When he walked beside me,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYEo1mptNK
his shadow stretched longer, broader.
His voice had deepened.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhCyRPTQVZ
His eyes had grown more still.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmswvMEEP3
And he no longer nodded at everything I said—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0KIC30K8w
he had learned how to say “no.”
It was in that moment I realized—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTTWcfzL2X
I could no longer see him as a younger brother.
Because he had become… a man.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VQo8bYH4K
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBBak2iP2M
When he stands too close, I blush.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHNbIk8DPt
My heart skips.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsEBzUJoRt
Even just meeting his eyes makes it hard to breathe.
If I go a whole day without seeing him, I get restless, unsettled—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5jTjZheRP
and my mind keeps replaying his face, his voice, over and over.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVAFWj1O4l
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cCAdxxIzv
And whenever I do see him,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYqR0OObw4n
my gaze can’t help but follow him—
From the tousled strands of his hair,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzsCIdZFKf
to his long, dark lashes,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCWsIiDFxk
to the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathes.
Even the light texture of his skin under the sun,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSdJGpqwrJ
the curve of his shoulders… and—
That tiny mole on the right side of his neck.
And then…439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmwLYcdGfc
there’s his Adam’s apple.
It moves slightly whenever he talks or swallows—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNRYc7tyb1
and every time,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWMfi3NkS6
I find myself wondering what it might feel like439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡca0LIuUzni
if I brushed my fingertips across it.
Sometimes, I even catch myself staring at the shape of his lips.
He doesn’t have to say anything—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmqmomwB2B
and still, I can’t help imagining:
If one day, those lips pressed against my skin…439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTrHv2vsQ8
my forehead,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjWbNbQfTt
my ear,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFx8jzwPdUL
the back of my neck…
And finally—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGZSfH5pVo
if they pressed against my lips—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu08LBTxDRR
what would that feel like?439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2cPqjClVn
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIrCBgRnq5q
It’s like a melody.
A melody I accidentally heard the beginning of,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhVIVB8Zva
and now can’t stop listening to.
It’s not loud,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrcGMN8Rux
but it loops endlessly inside me, quietly—
And before I realized it,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH33BvX02yO
I was already too deep to escape.
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoObezMYFtb
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBygIA1vfx
That day, he was driving me to school.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuvM0GZv7c
It was supposed to be just another ordinary morning.
Until a little girl suddenly dashed into the street—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKdQWoxUoN
and he hit the brakes.
The tires screeched against the road,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1AP7IYI6O
and the car jolted violently.
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8a8RFtT7l
Before I could react—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy42OabdYud
his left arm reached across me,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIZOk7CxzB
blocking me protectively across the chest.
Just two… maybe three centimeters more,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBFWfi8qmg
and he would’ve touched me.
That wide hand hovered there, fingers slightly spread,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjsTpOKcHlY
knuckles sharp and veins faintly visible.
It was so close I could almost feel the warmth of his fingertips—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6eydPG27Z
and the tremor in the air between us.
His hand was still trembling.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7snUmVQp4K
Almost imperceptibly.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrV2eYswyzn
Not out of fear—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKU6oYiRJ5X
but from the lingering adrenaline, the instinct to protect.
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvraFeONas
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3z6YMExJoR
And me?439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSFSbDvY3V
I was already blushing to the tips of my ears.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LcPCLVAeI
I felt like lightning had struck me.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZQW0Papyf
I couldn’t move an inch.
“My lady, are you alright?”
His voice was so gentle—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAetUeBN8b
it felt like it could shatter every piece of armor I wore.
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JPo35nnlc
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3q4QsP2PR
I quickly turned my face to the window,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63Xb3OgnmC
trying to hide the heat in my cheeks and the chaos in my chest.
“I-I’m fine…”439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSkG2hpFsz
The words came out in broken fragments,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTdMbMu9jI
caught in my throat.
I tried to sound calm,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKF8yMZq5eL
but I couldn’t ignore that hand—
The hand that had nearly touched me,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4DvdQZqZ0
and somehow felt even more overwhelming than if it had.
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlD116d2xKn
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYL1Qh7hR4d
My heart was in a mess,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJI4hTqh8wz
but deep down, in some tiny corner of me, I couldn’t help wondering:
How long has it been since he last touched me?
The last time we held hands was when I was twelve.
He was ten.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvgAMaAtmt
We were playing hide and seek in the garden.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4K6rFJbT6C
He grabbed my hand, sweaty and small, and said:439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZq16LaU8pZ
“Don’t worry. I’ll pull you along.”
His hand back then was soft and a little damp, still a child’s.
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439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNq6g4PukV
But now…
I snuck a glance at him.
That hand had long since grown—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDdNMzLiAO
broad and steady, joints defined,439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWr3TLBobv9
carrying the quiet strength of a man.
If I were touched by these hands now…439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIhPXzYShH
Would they still make me feel safe?
Or had they changed—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8f1Dum3D9a
become something irresistible?
Would his touch still comfort me…439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccHKmJeErS
or stir up something I’m not ready for?
I couldn’t say it aloud.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvN5MAzxKX2
I didn’t dare look at him again.
I just let those chaotic, greedy, and shamefully yearning thoughts439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4b1sA7DBv
rise like waves in my heart—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF40BsQZ2KT
rippling out in silence.
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRd9nBUiGA
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKj8I7RFrr
It was a touch that never crossed the line—439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVPLfmPbqX
but deep down, I quietly longed for it to.439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaQbqvVOYz
439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmk959YX5B
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XW95d0R9z
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~439Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy665WRjVae
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
and then Add to home screen.