
50Please respect copyright.PENANAzX0ZzwHn6D
I don’t even know when it started—50Please respect copyright.PENANAHaFQCJfBLC
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—50Please respect copyright.PENANAImB4H7SDbG
picking up my fallen hair clips,50Please respect copyright.PENANAmKJVeklap3
handing me a handkerchief when I cried.
I thought he was smaller than me,50Please respect copyright.PENANAP476UX5Cap
someone I had to look after and protect.
But at some point—he had grown taller than I was.
When he walked beside me,50Please respect copyright.PENANAi1yEh0ng7P
his shadow stretched longer, broader.
His voice had deepened.50Please respect copyright.PENANADSWx0enH5Z
His eyes had grown more still.50Please respect copyright.PENANAtOxU6mRKTm
And he no longer nodded at everything I said—50Please respect copyright.PENANAEvW8QPqPNu
he had learned how to say “no.”
It was in that moment I realized—50Please respect copyright.PENANAIIxFXWRYXR
I could no longer see him as a younger brother.
Because he had become… a man.50Please respect copyright.PENANAsyXNvG3yV5
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When he stands too close, I blush.50Please respect copyright.PENANA3bXiyqG434
My heart skips.50Please respect copyright.PENANANBqv7mBfbd
Even just meeting his eyes makes it hard to breathe.
If I go a whole day without seeing him, I get restless, unsettled—50Please respect copyright.PENANAvyD2TfkmBh
and my mind keeps replaying his face, his voice, over and over.50Please respect copyright.PENANAgwiE4ixvNi
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And whenever I do see him,50Please respect copyright.PENANADg0kMyMDvn
my gaze can’t help but follow him—
From the tousled strands of his hair,50Please respect copyright.PENANAjOsn9keP9E
to his long, dark lashes,50Please respect copyright.PENANA3oi98oWOsQ
to the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathes.
Even the light texture of his skin under the sun,50Please respect copyright.PENANA78dlCuuz6j
the curve of his shoulders… and—
That tiny mole on the right side of his neck.
And then…50Please respect copyright.PENANABSLykbrOTv
there’s his Adam’s apple.
It moves slightly whenever he talks or swallows—50Please respect copyright.PENANAxQkWd7BtbN
and every time,50Please respect copyright.PENANAsED0hxGPj8
I find myself wondering what it might feel like50Please respect copyright.PENANAadwutefpwU
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—50Please respect copyright.PENANAXea4c2RPHz
and still, I can’t help imagining:
If one day, those lips pressed against my skin…50Please respect copyright.PENANAyUQvUslc8m
my forehead,50Please respect copyright.PENANA7d5UHAex4I
my ear,50Please respect copyright.PENANA5jc66oJHI7
the back of my neck…
And finally—50Please respect copyright.PENANAyJWiHMwmGm
if they pressed against my lips—50Please respect copyright.PENANAldbmvWPdVj
what would that feel like?50Please respect copyright.PENANAQLrFh0HWR8
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It’s like a melody.
A melody I accidentally heard the beginning of,50Please respect copyright.PENANAegtfGDaMDc
and now can’t stop listening to.
It’s not loud,50Please respect copyright.PENANAJAqBHDj9G9
but it loops endlessly inside me, quietly—
And before I realized it,50Please respect copyright.PENANAHL50duuOny
I was already too deep to escape.
50Please respect copyright.PENANA1VGpnmnuKq
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That day, he was driving me to school.50Please respect copyright.PENANAhJuF3fnvb3
It was supposed to be just another ordinary morning.
Until a little girl suddenly dashed into the street—50Please respect copyright.PENANAdVhMQ3R17C
and he hit the brakes.
The tires screeched against the road,50Please respect copyright.PENANAjrydS1pJqL
and the car jolted violently.
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Before I could react—50Please respect copyright.PENANAvUfWAbCsS6
his left arm reached across me,50Please respect copyright.PENANAA2lkkNwc3E
blocking me protectively across the chest.
Just two… maybe three centimeters more,50Please respect copyright.PENANAZp5dlSm9vW
and he would’ve touched me.
That wide hand hovered there, fingers slightly spread,50Please respect copyright.PENANAWPfoYQ4SWp
knuckles sharp and veins faintly visible.
It was so close I could almost feel the warmth of his fingertips—50Please respect copyright.PENANAMTVAdk2CND
and the tremor in the air between us.
His hand was still trembling.50Please respect copyright.PENANAoC6mzt9Q4K
Almost imperceptibly.50Please respect copyright.PENANAdD0CeZC673
Not out of fear—50Please respect copyright.PENANASl1dq9csd3
but from the lingering adrenaline, the instinct to protect.
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And me?50Please respect copyright.PENANAlYyRNx8GKC
I was already blushing to the tips of my ears.50Please respect copyright.PENANAhF1dvfUjkW
I felt like lightning had struck me.50Please respect copyright.PENANA3chV7D96N4
I couldn’t move an inch.
“My lady, are you alright?”
His voice was so gentle—50Please respect copyright.PENANANjX6joTHLR
it felt like it could shatter every piece of armor I wore.
50Please respect copyright.PENANAjBhSNytGTF
50Please respect copyright.PENANAaCyvqh1jxB
I quickly turned my face to the window,50Please respect copyright.PENANA574bqEHQT3
trying to hide the heat in my cheeks and the chaos in my chest.
“I-I’m fine…”50Please respect copyright.PENANAc7zwdxMOgW
The words came out in broken fragments,50Please respect copyright.PENANAMksCI0tdXE
caught in my throat.
I tried to sound calm,50Please respect copyright.PENANAya96wdTOkF
but I couldn’t ignore that hand—
The hand that had nearly touched me,50Please respect copyright.PENANACHiDX0aDFR
and somehow felt even more overwhelming than if it had.
50Please respect copyright.PENANAxihL75Vhem
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My heart was in a mess,50Please respect copyright.PENANAQh4P1ws688
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.50Please respect copyright.PENANAVYoEfVkUxk
We were playing hide and seek in the garden.50Please respect copyright.PENANAkUpiuOmDOi
He grabbed my hand, sweaty and small, and said:50Please respect copyright.PENANAc1QY5OC3NB
“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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But now…
I snuck a glance at him.
That hand had long since grown—50Please respect copyright.PENANAjbC4wbd2Gw
broad and steady, joints defined,50Please respect copyright.PENANAaNxiFCvtzp
carrying the quiet strength of a man.
If I were touched by these hands now…50Please respect copyright.PENANAX7zbbSFDUz
Would they still make me feel safe?
Or had they changed—50Please respect copyright.PENANAXqIxxF1073
become something irresistible?
Would his touch still comfort me…50Please respect copyright.PENANAHO0tthiHuN
or stir up something I’m not ready for?
I couldn’t say it aloud.50Please respect copyright.PENANA8WwUjexrC0
I didn’t dare look at him again.
I just let those chaotic, greedy, and shamefully yearning thoughts50Please respect copyright.PENANAf0wMlMIZAY
rise like waves in my heart—50Please respect copyright.PENANA1Nb9v8yz0I
rippling out in silence.
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It was a touch that never crossed the line—50Please respect copyright.PENANAc8x3O74Mff
but deep down, I quietly longed for it to.50Please respect copyright.PENANAPjMg8skMcl
50Please respect copyright.PENANAnpjVILYwCP
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗50Please respect copyright.PENANAm0TTudL9Qv
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~50Please respect copyright.PENANACB97hOUDER
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭