64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxeGUgALice
I don’t even know when it started—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3Ll4mb5jU
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—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMpAFB01gh
picking up my fallen hair clips,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhmsSQ8u2I
handing me a handkerchief when I cried.
I thought he was smaller than me,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjavIOnjbL
someone I had to look after and protect.
But at some point—he had grown taller than I was.
When he walked beside me,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCiLrUnQd5
his shadow stretched longer, broader.
His voice had deepened.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kk3uK70NH
His eyes had grown more still.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pHc94csGn
And he no longer nodded at everything I said—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0Fa9MbiZ7
he had learned how to say “no.”
It was in that moment I realized—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZr7e5LafCl
I could no longer see him as a younger brother.
Because he had become… a man.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EBjWdgnOn
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bTOtw0ep6
When he stands too close, I blush.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qNTFrjMvZ
My heart skips.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Q9ImL3Mxt
Even just meeting his eyes makes it hard to breathe.
If I go a whole day without seeing him, I get restless, unsettled—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGubOdKQha
and my mind keeps replaying his face, his voice, over and over.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPMwmScg2l
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGNlVlT4Jz
And whenever I do see him,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjZsHceYvh
my gaze can’t help but follow him—
From the tousled strands of his hair,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRW7dAOfP5
to his long, dark lashes,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqEzwHG3zl
to the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathes.
Even the light texture of his skin under the sun,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMuJ0kR1DF
the curve of his shoulders… and—
That tiny mole on the right side of his neck.
And then…64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckGYuvWDw2
there’s his Adam’s apple.
It moves slightly whenever he talks or swallows—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JkOkLoHPh
and every time,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMrTbfFubU
I find myself wondering what it might feel like64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5Cp0zJPLU
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—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9kY9hrz3e
and still, I can’t help imagining:
If one day, those lips pressed against my skin…64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2W6nOraBz
my forehead,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2q02I4lfV
my ear,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9512MlOOu
the back of my neck…
And finally—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuALBLTBeH
if they pressed against my lips—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLiIHXCF1KE
what would that feel like?64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8KALC61Wd
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TkZRSpIDa
It’s like a melody.
A melody I accidentally heard the beginning of,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7b5yPzX2E
and now can’t stop listening to.
It’s not loud,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ862YeerZW9
but it loops endlessly inside me, quietly—
And before I realized it,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXetmnKbWIH
I was already too deep to escape.
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzuCM1exNY
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuPrI1YaHl
That day, he was driving me to school.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetRN0B245P
It was supposed to be just another ordinary morning.
Until a little girl suddenly dashed into the street—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoNUkI2VldV
and he hit the brakes.
The tires screeched against the road,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlx8VaQGefA
and the car jolted violently.
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1f07oKecI0
Before I could react—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGswlFLsV2
his left arm reached across me,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvR3hmRGy46
blocking me protectively across the chest.
Just two… maybe three centimeters more,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPt7WUlyzR
and he would’ve touched me.
That wide hand hovered there, fingers slightly spread,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAff3wORA5
knuckles sharp and veins faintly visible.
It was so close I could almost feel the warmth of his fingertips—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdJA4o5Wiz
and the tremor in the air between us.
His hand was still trembling.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPSM4n0XOb
Almost imperceptibly.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJtzEPQk13K
Not out of fear—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0iArbGQHvq
but from the lingering adrenaline, the instinct to protect.
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyLcOk1Kbc
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafTicnrfsf
And me?64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWv6jDdDjqV
I was already blushing to the tips of my ears.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjweR1LhR8
I felt like lightning had struck me.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtupZaOIztj
I couldn’t move an inch.
“My lady, are you alright?”
His voice was so gentle—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19o5FD8zoL
it felt like it could shatter every piece of armor I wore.
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIamBY313Rt
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprLvxfl9eu
I quickly turned my face to the window,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKj5qw3rpk
trying to hide the heat in my cheeks and the chaos in my chest.
“I-I’m fine…”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB27CCcQfFu
The words came out in broken fragments,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvF4GY6xDb
caught in my throat.
I tried to sound calm,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUk7rzcZM7
but I couldn’t ignore that hand—
The hand that had nearly touched me,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12DKm9y3QW
and somehow felt even more overwhelming than if it had.
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzsFgQKtJft
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbFvy2yj1F
My heart was in a mess,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbdKxvJ91B
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypEoVvUuy0
We were playing hide and seek in the garden.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWwE4jlb6X
He grabbed my hand, sweaty and small, and said:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPJQXQr9Sh
“Don’t worry. I’ll pull you along.”
His hand back then was soft and a little damp, still a child’s.
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjV6Bd5h23
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VQN0F9Itr
But now…
I snuck a glance at him.
That hand had long since grown—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KM9cjzd6x
broad and steady, joints defined,64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JHCVAD3HU
carrying the quiet strength of a man.
If I were touched by these hands now…64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcbd2uTqSZ
Would they still make me feel safe?
Or had they changed—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30pta9RIyR
become something irresistible?
Would his touch still comfort me…64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRmNLu25Av
or stir up something I’m not ready for?
I couldn’t say it aloud.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xbBRVsAjL
I didn’t dare look at him again.
I just let those chaotic, greedy, and shamefully yearning thoughts64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7f3P057Xn
rise like waves in my heart—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGo44vuNatQ
rippling out in silence.
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegZo308QH5
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknQ43Y34f7
It was a touch that never crossed the line—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1EDfkSmyS
but deep down, I quietly longed for it to.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBygFXm3V8
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyVt9dthba
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zcefAgJN4
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWur8YBstvM
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
