60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkE52GJ8wtp
I don’t even know when it started—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fnMY81acd
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—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0n5O65KP8j
picking up my fallen hair clips,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBAhu4vv3h
handing me a handkerchief when I cried.
I thought he was smaller than me,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSnXjXg00N
someone I had to look after and protect.
But at some point—he had grown taller than I was.
When he walked beside me,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpe4lVFODb
his shadow stretched longer, broader.
His voice had deepened.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6HVwjMZBW
His eyes had grown more still.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZuCLQoAi2
And he no longer nodded at everything I said—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbaZTiekTeh
he had learned how to say “no.”
It was in that moment I realized—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjdknAiLQS
I could no longer see him as a younger brother.
Because he had become… a man.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUBeNE8tCC
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When he stands too close, I blush.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMOd11HnfQ
My heart skips.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsDvOqHDb6
Even just meeting his eyes makes it hard to breathe.
If I go a whole day without seeing him, I get restless, unsettled—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3SL6p9uHM
and my mind keeps replaying his face, his voice, over and over.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGDeefTyfU
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And whenever I do see him,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEX2y5kmBSn
my gaze can’t help but follow him—
From the tousled strands of his hair,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodRHim80Ih
to his long, dark lashes,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRRlPycY4I
to the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathes.
Even the light texture of his skin under the sun,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyAZ3alWoBP
the curve of his shoulders… and—
That tiny mole on the right side of his neck.
And then…60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxncWlrOIr5
there’s his Adam’s apple.
It moves slightly whenever he talks or swallows—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXM4chIyQ6o
and every time,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DJ3ikt9hw
I find myself wondering what it might feel like60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeybIgJItT
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—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJInNMKiZ1e
and still, I can’t help imagining:
If one day, those lips pressed against my skin…60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaaueK33nRZ
my forehead,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7SdSuifwn
my ear,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17DjsvWa00
the back of my neck…
And finally—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmaIbtafUIm
if they pressed against my lips—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSS66OJ0Vx
what would that feel like?60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdS5ku2sGZ
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvtiVj7bK2
It’s like a melody.
A melody I accidentally heard the beginning of,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1HdaeRUzO
and now can’t stop listening to.
It’s not loud,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVQNHLRqNe
but it loops endlessly inside me, quietly—
And before I realized it,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5reOf7rgqD
I was already too deep to escape.
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60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUSWL0zDS4
That day, he was driving me to school.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDa5EE0x22
It was supposed to be just another ordinary morning.
Until a little girl suddenly dashed into the street—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzR6ygxCGl
and he hit the brakes.
The tires screeched against the road,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK3yYh5Umx0
and the car jolted violently.
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQIYLC9SPd
Before I could react—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJwTelwaEq
his left arm reached across me,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQg0hUPzem
blocking me protectively across the chest.
Just two… maybe three centimeters more,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn47Ja9tNeK
and he would’ve touched me.
That wide hand hovered there, fingers slightly spread,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ15lZlkP7f
knuckles sharp and veins faintly visible.
It was so close I could almost feel the warmth of his fingertips—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtntU5u10jB
and the tremor in the air between us.
His hand was still trembling.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlMOruWgPO
Almost imperceptibly.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWG8PmYx0p
Not out of fear—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0F0lqFb9t4
but from the lingering adrenaline, the instinct to protect.
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gLhBUvYwY
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And me?60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETGgmJgRSC
I was already blushing to the tips of my ears.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgkptU5xd9
I felt like lightning had struck me.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEgitx58UR
I couldn’t move an inch.
“My lady, are you alright?”
His voice was so gentle—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkf9W74adZC
it felt like it could shatter every piece of armor I wore.
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfuhkJNCxL
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuwgzhuJKW
I quickly turned my face to the window,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UHJXkM1u4
trying to hide the heat in my cheeks and the chaos in my chest.
“I-I’m fine…”60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fUl2NlviB
The words came out in broken fragments,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNOpcVO0vj
caught in my throat.
I tried to sound calm,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaiVnBC0JE
but I couldn’t ignore that hand—
The hand that had nearly touched me,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnnnA4e0no
and somehow felt even more overwhelming than if it had.
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My heart was in a mess,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPARMmwSJB
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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfdflXdaEf
We were playing hide and seek in the garden.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLXSApJ2oe
He grabbed my hand, sweaty and small, and said:60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOc5Z1mU2tP
“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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60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAcCKjDP5I
But now…
I snuck a glance at him.
That hand had long since grown—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU4vJhpoxe8
broad and steady, joints defined,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoQk0ycynf
carrying the quiet strength of a man.
If I were touched by these hands now…60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTq6HlKYHR1
Would they still make me feel safe?
Or had they changed—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIGiMIGG4J
become something irresistible?
Would his touch still comfort me…60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphiNX0fg6m
or stir up something I’m not ready for?
I couldn’t say it aloud.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIG93XwNXb
I didn’t dare look at him again.
I just let those chaotic, greedy, and shamefully yearning thoughts60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35uW2I7KNu
rise like waves in my heart—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovJ54kxtWm
rippling out in silence.
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60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnBrgozqOA
It was a touch that never crossed the line—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkN17c07SOu
but deep down, I quietly longed for it to.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNSaHnQUnV
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndGTgogpOa
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQcsBJl7BI
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEjHLi1RcI
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
