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I don’t even know when it started—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xOACpaAd0
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—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYguclelDr
picking up my fallen hair clips,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Q4CVy8iCj
handing me a handkerchief when I cried.
I thought he was smaller than me,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGCS1ZPzCe
someone I had to look after and protect.
But at some point—he had grown taller than I was.
When he walked beside me,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsdYCESK7O
his shadow stretched longer, broader.
His voice had deepened.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZQ2fgKai8
His eyes had grown more still.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqOWHqxxbg
And he no longer nodded at everything I said—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZruPVOv6KA
he had learned how to say “no.”
It was in that moment I realized—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Zx4Jmx5lF
I could no longer see him as a younger brother.
Because he had become… a man.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNo8cU1Jqzp
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAZUSFsASY
When he stands too close, I blush.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqdPTgO17x
My heart skips.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmjiFAY90l
Even just meeting his eyes makes it hard to breathe.
If I go a whole day without seeing him, I get restless, unsettled—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2PpBKm4T8
and my mind keeps replaying his face, his voice, over and over.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsuZs1PqQq
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And whenever I do see him,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZRhVV5ybh
my gaze can’t help but follow him—
From the tousled strands of his hair,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxa6N7nHFS
to his long, dark lashes,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe49GEecz2w
to the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathes.
Even the light texture of his skin under the sun,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uhVAvdlKa
the curve of his shoulders… and—
That tiny mole on the right side of his neck.
And then…85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNDpzyjeC1
there’s his Adam’s apple.
It moves slightly whenever he talks or swallows—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFblurNrrDV
and every time,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpQnRQbmme
I find myself wondering what it might feel like85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZddXCfFYx
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—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCNUBbSleP
and still, I can’t help imagining:
If one day, those lips pressed against my skin…85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluYNGf5pW7
my forehead,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC4q1MPpWe9
my ear,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgw34KRZA2h
the back of my neck…
And finally—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyU80kEmTaS
if they pressed against my lips—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMbMZYitPr
what would that feel like?85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHpxs61xKA
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It’s like a melody.
A melody I accidentally heard the beginning of,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5211cJeBJg
and now can’t stop listening to.
It’s not loud,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2Do8CSsDt
but it loops endlessly inside me, quietly—
And before I realized it,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzAV0Jzx3n
I was already too deep to escape.
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That day, he was driving me to school.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OSUO6ROko
It was supposed to be just another ordinary morning.
Until a little girl suddenly dashed into the street—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivbgNdd6e9
and he hit the brakes.
The tires screeched against the road,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡInZtpX2UsB
and the car jolted violently.
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ScHnLAuAC
Before I could react—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKAFmAhLW4
his left arm reached across me,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8APanWpE4
blocking me protectively across the chest.
Just two… maybe three centimeters more,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbkZ96fbef
and he would’ve touched me.
That wide hand hovered there, fingers slightly spread,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFE2gHPCbZc
knuckles sharp and veins faintly visible.
It was so close I could almost feel the warmth of his fingertips—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRGwXuLsSP
and the tremor in the air between us.
His hand was still trembling.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdAAvHrkeD
Almost imperceptibly.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucy6YYW4WE
Not out of fear—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9ejE9y5Li
but from the lingering adrenaline, the instinct to protect.
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And me?85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZkhhAgFTu
I was already blushing to the tips of my ears.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8GjIxa4bx
I felt like lightning had struck me.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWx4qis6k6
I couldn’t move an inch.
“My lady, are you alright?”
His voice was so gentle—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLdZxiiO4r
it felt like it could shatter every piece of armor I wore.
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGi12g7TcvX
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I quickly turned my face to the window,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQA9oNbTTDU
trying to hide the heat in my cheeks and the chaos in my chest.
“I-I’m fine…”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CU9NmBpqp
The words came out in broken fragments,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGfIDmbaPD
caught in my throat.
I tried to sound calm,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFZfhuVx0p
but I couldn’t ignore that hand—
The hand that had nearly touched me,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxS2cBTY2J
and somehow felt even more overwhelming than if it had.
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My heart was in a mess,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4kvNOtxiB
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.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72lKLP8edE
We were playing hide and seek in the garden.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2v6yN81q0
He grabbed my hand, sweaty and small, and said:85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTTThaytFB
“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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But now…
I snuck a glance at him.
That hand had long since grown—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lBxFSdd4Z
broad and steady, joints defined,85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCVfT6jUr9
carrying the quiet strength of a man.
If I were touched by these hands now…85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6Tknl4ZLN
Would they still make me feel safe?
Or had they changed—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSRrltbFlf
become something irresistible?
Would his touch still comfort me…85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP010y6k8Eg
or stir up something I’m not ready for?
I couldn’t say it aloud.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpJcY0R5dN
I didn’t dare look at him again.
I just let those chaotic, greedy, and shamefully yearning thoughts85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0izjCuPYc
rise like waves in my heart—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7EOyFOZeu
rippling out in silence.
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxehco8IAaA
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLElOEvoW5
It was a touch that never crossed the line—85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBJ33jtR6P
but deep down, I quietly longed for it to.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4Oc62STw7
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHOnJjIhT8
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAELcZBDIL
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ICYiA7pgw
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
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