383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5YSbtaHwNG
I don’t even know when it started—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLLt83Rz5q
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—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNpMvti42o
picking up my fallen hair clips,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15iLxtArna
handing me a handkerchief when I cried.
I thought he was smaller than me,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RWnZhPwSH
someone I had to look after and protect.
But at some point—he had grown taller than I was.
When he walked beside me,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHZ3KhMapp
his shadow stretched longer, broader.
His voice had deepened.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwekQ5Rt2hd
His eyes had grown more still.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hnTejzrfc
And he no longer nodded at everything I said—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMGZEuW6QH
he had learned how to say “no.”
It was in that moment I realized—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fM6tVv56M
I could no longer see him as a younger brother.
Because he had become… a man.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzeXxeLYrfc
383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FpKNVJYTT
When he stands too close, I blush.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkV0THLhSml
My heart skips.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qYvvgLG6u
Even just meeting his eyes makes it hard to breathe.
If I go a whole day without seeing him, I get restless, unsettled—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTigHyzqDRd
and my mind keeps replaying his face, his voice, over and over.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoU1jVXOerQ
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And whenever I do see him,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ONM0TNRr3
my gaze can’t help but follow him—
From the tousled strands of his hair,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnIS4POOfz
to his long, dark lashes,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYC5zAUq4P8
to the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathes.
Even the light texture of his skin under the sun,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhN4sHINIR
the curve of his shoulders… and—
That tiny mole on the right side of his neck.
And then…383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbeMUSl9rk
there’s his Adam’s apple.
It moves slightly whenever he talks or swallows—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISCVxoih8M
and every time,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHExEIbPvXO
I find myself wondering what it might feel like383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP52igTZ6tS
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—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjvZnlXIce
and still, I can’t help imagining:
If one day, those lips pressed against my skin…383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4y5nY5x1oD
my forehead,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBZtzfG8w6
my ear,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyRMj8k1A6
the back of my neck…
And finally—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJepc8bFDxO
if they pressed against my lips—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMi2FATGgP
what would that feel like?383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KoaeFTOtz
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It’s like a melody.
A melody I accidentally heard the beginning of,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDj9hM7QUoR
and now can’t stop listening to.
It’s not loud,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDOx3lQNji
but it loops endlessly inside me, quietly—
And before I realized it,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pDsDmXdxN
I was already too deep to escape.
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383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDkcQ3wq4l
That day, he was driving me to school.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoeZY1Y1CK
It was supposed to be just another ordinary morning.
Until a little girl suddenly dashed into the street—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4eVVWrZ52
and he hit the brakes.
The tires screeched against the road,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HMUT814MC
and the car jolted violently.
383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJY4hRR5Qjc
Before I could react—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpyGhWRRrH
his left arm reached across me,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DIO1YtqEi
blocking me protectively across the chest.
Just two… maybe three centimeters more,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1TJdFUNuw
and he would’ve touched me.
That wide hand hovered there, fingers slightly spread,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmi1rHEL1MR
knuckles sharp and veins faintly visible.
It was so close I could almost feel the warmth of his fingertips—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2u1Ein0SHE
and the tremor in the air between us.
His hand was still trembling.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtC6SDqMf5o
Almost imperceptibly.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgG6gcR5ySW
Not out of fear—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjLyGc6Ivx
but from the lingering adrenaline, the instinct to protect.
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383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJVCFKR5UI
And me?383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG78H2JYfk7
I was already blushing to the tips of my ears.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGOBgEbl2p
I felt like lightning had struck me.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknXLDOh44t
I couldn’t move an inch.
“My lady, are you alright?”
His voice was so gentle—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNc8kmYe392
it felt like it could shatter every piece of armor I wore.
383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulH9guidZJ
383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVAUnjLLgE
I quickly turned my face to the window,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3s9ye6XeF
trying to hide the heat in my cheeks and the chaos in my chest.
“I-I’m fine…”383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnwZRBzm0q
The words came out in broken fragments,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRexFA8WgJ
caught in my throat.
I tried to sound calm,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZkCR8eihg
but I couldn’t ignore that hand—
The hand that had nearly touched me,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWShMb2Rskj
and somehow felt even more overwhelming than if it had.
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My heart was in a mess,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7EzmoCQfL
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.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mABuZEvzZ
We were playing hide and seek in the garden.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAU9lUdhz5
He grabbed my hand, sweaty and small, and said:383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5j7977C6Uj
“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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383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnu6mFc1ypU
But now…
I snuck a glance at him.
That hand had long since grown—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXZK1lMwAA
broad and steady, joints defined,383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4G8h0t5Jw
carrying the quiet strength of a man.
If I were touched by these hands now…383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsBjsJDpHm
Would they still make me feel safe?
Or had they changed—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrGUcxbKJx
become something irresistible?
Would his touch still comfort me…383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JrMPOilFs
or stir up something I’m not ready for?
I couldn’t say it aloud.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOtCdPwT3H
I didn’t dare look at him again.
I just let those chaotic, greedy, and shamefully yearning thoughts383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3STZq1qPO
rise like waves in my heart—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtlTuE7hV5
rippling out in silence.
383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EeY7mcIrP
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It was a touch that never crossed the line—383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVwb7RAkwOl
but deep down, I quietly longed for it to.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUUyoDUgnd
383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQLUSEyjMq
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJqrqUjdeL
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87g9xhxiBR
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
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