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Six years later, Suzuran was now a second-year nursing student at Orinthmus University.
Her daily life was filled with memorizing medical terminology and preparing for clinical rotations.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLw0GEHIVVM
More often than not, she ended up pouring the wrong sugar into her coffee while flipping through an anatomy atlas.
Meanwhile, Kimijima Kouichi remained a butler for the Hanazono family,48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNfyxhNyv7
and was now also enrolled in business management courses at Orinthmus University.
He had never forgotten that moment years ago—48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnRVpsGW3a
the day he was pulled from the shadows and given salvation:48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6c6y5WNsOx
a name, an identity, and dignity by the Hanazono family.
If one day he could shoulder even a fraction of the family’s business burden,48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bf2EgcwJ8
he wanted to be strong enough to carry it without faltering.
As for Suzuran—born into a prestigious household,48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qnDoTZpjd
she was like a greenhouse flower, never forced to bloom anywhere in particular.
Her parents had always been gentle with her, even overly indulgent at times.
“As long as it’s something Suzuran wants to learn, let her learn it.”
She had studied piano, painting, floral design—even taken noble etiquette lessons.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCZAFCZOEr
But she never truly committed to any of them, nor did she excel particularly in any field.
Politics and business held no interest for her.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMeD3vwT3S
It wasn’t fear—just a sense that those worlds were too cold, too far removed. Not hers.
What made her decide on her path was the long-standing instability of her mother’s health.
Since childhood, she had stood outside hospital rooms,48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoGWsKqs6f
watching nurses come and go, doctors passing in white coats—48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQQu1bJBP8
while she could do nothing but smile weakly and cry silently.
Maybe, one day, she thought—she could be someone who actually did something.
When she submitted her application and chose nursing,48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTjNNvl8NL
the entire family fell into stunned silence.
This wasn’t the path for a sheltered young lady—too exhausting, too painful, full of night shifts and encounters with death.
But she simply said, softly:
“I don’t want to be someone who can only cry beside a hospital bed anymore.”
She had no grand ideals.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIw5xPLs670
Just one quiet hope:
“If one day, Papa, Mama, or Kouichi gets sick… I want to be able to help with my own hands.”
It was a modest, simple wish—48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oJ4jhlUB0
but so sincere it ached.
In the end, her parents just smiled and nodded:
“If this is your choice, then we’ll support you.”
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“Kouichi~ Can you help me check this report?”
Suzuran hugged her tablet and shuffled over to his desk,48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27tjeoZd5n
looking like a cat reaching out its paw for attention.
Kimijima Kouichi didn’t even look up.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3qrEzzaxa
His tone was as calm as breathing:
“Still writing like a disaster, I see.”
“Aw, come on~ Just help me fix it a little!”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmafKbSJLqP
She pouted and pushed the tablet into his hands.
“I have my own coursework too, you know?”
He finally looked up at her, voice caught between a sigh and resigned sarcasm:
“Do you think I divide my day like this:48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA31mNu0Jw4
half for serving you, and the other half for cleaning up the messes you leave behind?”
“But you’ve always been smarter than me…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, tinged with guilt and playfulness,48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2bN5soZpq
as she twirled her finger around the ends of her hair.
Kouichi looked at her for a moment… then finally took the tablet.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswjkWO3bF7
The corner of his mouth twitched, like he was trying hard not to smile.
“…You really are impossible, my lady.”
He opened the report and began reading.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JJ817wab7
His pen glided smoothly over the screen.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3btpwkhtuc
The atmosphere was calm—until:
“Hey, Kouichi,” Suzuran leaned in casually,48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuCRv2dPHp
her tone light, almost too light.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiACm4kO6G7
“Yuzuka told me… a cute girl confessed to you again this morning?”
Kouichi paused mid-mark,48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKa062LCt9o
but his voice remained steady:
“Yes. I turned her down.”
“Sigh…”
Suzuran tilted her head and leaned on the edge of his desk.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6z0Um1iBOh
Her long hair slid gently over her shoulder.
Her tone was faint, almost teasing:
“You’re eighteen now… It’s the perfect age to fall in love.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1d29KEocej
Are you really not interested at all?”
He didn’t look up.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMI3ZFNyut
Eyes still on the screen, voice calm:
“I’m busy serving you, studying, and thinking about how to repay the master’s kindness.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7exyw6PMIO
There’s no room in my head for anything else.”
“Hmm…”
She was completely blocked by the seriousness of his response—48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGBPYXTA3s
like he was answering a teacher in class.
One second. Two seconds.
She looked down at her toes, voice barely a whisper:
“…So those rejections were just… polite excuses after all.”
She didn’t realize her cheeks had turned a faint shade of red.
And though Kouichi kept his eyes on her report—48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJLNWX7dXP
his peripheral gaze had long since drifted48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TRrn4ZYO4
to her lowered lashes and those softly blushing ears.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowz6JMxeCH
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You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡce5JilEhVN
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyGUDVndTp
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO83jRkFszb
and then Add to home screen.