Back home, night had already fallen.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7UbU4zwRV
The door to Suzuran’s room closed with a soft click, and the house returned to silence once more.
In his own room, Koichi Kimijima slipped off his suit jacket in one smooth, practiced motion—314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0p8QZbLLp
just like he always did.
But as his fingers reached into the pocket—
He paused, momentarily caught off guard.
His hand touched something unfamiliar: a small, unfamiliar card.
He pulled it out.
It was a dainty card with pink edging—the kind used for the event earlier.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrV6s0YGZE
The handwriting on it was unmistakable—soft and familiar, dancing lightly across the paper:
“Thank you… for staying by my side every Valentine’s Day.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxFfJ1MJEa
You always say it’s your duty…314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyRPICzTq6
But still, I… really, truly appreciate it. Mm.”
He stared at the words, silent for a moment.
Then, almost involuntarily, the corner of his lips lifted.
A soft chuckle escaped him.
“When did she slip this in…?”
He tried to retrace his steps—314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyo3OdjdoJ
Was it on the escalator? While walking to the café?
He could vividly picture her fumbling hands, flushed cheeks…314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWsConEVvK
But couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened.
Yet that sentence—that final “mm”—314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uOJv8G1rX
felt like a breath left lingering on the card’s edge: gentle, but real.
He ran his thumb slowly over the paper, eyes drifting out toward the night beyond the window.
Scenes flooded his mind, unbidden—
Her hand in his on the escalator,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQ5AymEHzf
The way her eyes went wide when he offered her the biscuit,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdbAHMj62R
That flustered cry: “Ｉ might have a heart attack!”,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcirfMcfQOO
The moment she hugged her head, utterly embarrassed…
They were home now.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtld8wjozep
He should be organizing the day’s reports, preparing a summary of the outing.
But his thoughts remained—314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrISgXPYkV
stuck in that single, flickering moment at the mall.
He whispered, barely above a breath:
“My lady… do you realize how many of your little ‘slips’ sound a bit too honest?”
He stood still in the middle of his room,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSj3TLF7RPe
carefully flattening the small card in his hands,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58lAs72lRr
reading it again and again.
Each simple word stitched itself into his chest—314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uq6Bv7Hod
like threads piercing quietly, one at a time.
He gently closed the card, pressing it between his palms.
Then, with a soft bow of his head and hands clasped,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9usqd9eJB
he whispered a silent prayer—
“Ran… may your life be filled with peace.”
314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpkVGqWiIc
Not asking for anything.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPjHwnijQh
Not asking to be loved in return.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMbkmNSCS3
Not asking to be closer.
All he wished—
Was that the girl who always smiled through her fears,
Even if she someday fell in love with someone else,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4K0DAvIHT
Even if she remained forever out of reach—
Would still be treated kindly by the world.
He opened his hands,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlo1k6XpPZ
then lowered his head—314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mO6P3lgCY
and placed the lightest of kisses onto the pink-edged card.
It wasn’t the paper he was kissing.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnaYYcAmcgt
It was her—
Her forehead, her fingers,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX617pEuX7K
the trembling lips that had whispered “thank you.”314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOQkxW4Q6I
314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyMEyP3VSP
He quietly tucked the card into the deepest corner of his drawer.
His fingers lingered at the edge a moment longer,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlDoxopkEQ
as if sealing away a feeling that could never be spoken aloud.
Night fell deeper.
But in his heart,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCI4Zvsdh1K
he was still standing at the very beginning of that love escalator—
The place where she had once held his hand,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PSPfGyFiF
and where the warmth of that touch still burned in his palm.
Meanwhile…
After her bath, Suzuran stepped into her room wearing a long house dress, towel-drying her damp hair.
She was just about to sit at her vanity when—
She stopped.
On the tabletop sat a beautifully wrapped gift box.
A silver-white ribbon she knew all too well was tied into a perfect bow.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPArg7Hv1KE
Beside it rested a small card.
“Wh-what—when did he put this here…?”
Her heart stopped for a beat.
She hurried over, caught somewhere between panic and anticipation,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvWLY9Qoe4
and gingerly picked up the card.
The handwriting—314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrx8KZMEBK
was his.
So familiar it made her fingertips tremble.
“My lady, you are a lily in the valley—314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMT8gD3wIZ
Quietly blooming, yet impossible to overlook.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyogx8HSa9
I admire you.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttWxLetxWn
—in every way I’m allowed to, as your butler.”
She froze.
Her eyes locked onto that line, unable to move.
And then—
Warm tears slid quietly down her cheeks.
Not sobbing—314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccrmGxZ9Kq
Just a silent, breathless stream, as if even breathing too loud might break the moment.
She didn’t know if she was happy… or heartbroken.
Maybe it was because the word “admire” held such gentle weight—
Or maybe it was the way he chose the word “admire”—314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZR2j4hhQUv
a word that framed all his feelings neatly314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBf8IlptLU
within the role he was never allowed to step beyond.
She gently opened the box.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0wzelUuXb
A familiar scent wafted up at once—
It was her favorite perfume.
314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFipZ0SDRM
Penhaligon’s · Lily of the Valley.
314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfaj6z4zMd
The scent of valley lilies—soft, clean, and tender.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfiP1NRqzv
Like a confession that never quite found its voice in spring.
She held the bottle in her hands.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ibFgv7X2G
Her nose tingled, her heart ached, as if the scent had grazed it lightly.
And then, softly, she murmured—
“Why did you have to choose ‘admire’… when you could’ve said ‘adore’?”
Just one word. Just one step closer.
But instead, he chose the one that kept them apart.
Her eyes welled again.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveOVN5zmlM
Her grip on the bottle tightened just a little.
She looked down at the label, her vision blurring slightly.
Then she closed her eyes—
And gently rested her forehead against the glass,314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SZ3doMWyM
as if hoping to hide inside it,
To escape the emotion threatening to overflow.
And in her heart, one quiet thought surfaced:
“What do I do… I like you so much…”314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqDDdpS1He
“So much, I couldn’t even bring myself to go watch the fireworks with you.”314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9qg3ts77u
"Because if I did… I’d fall harder than I already have."
She never did see the rooftop fireworks that night.
But deep down, she knew—
Her heart had already exploded314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSwCnyif6z
on that love escalator314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yl4edEZEG
earlier that day.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KUdpFoFRx
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmjQMyIZTD
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlr5Dtl9oSh
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
and then Add to home screen.