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I don’t even know when it started—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQYwsQrYtl
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—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKKXspnhp7
picking up my fallen hair clips,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡME7avXUu3d
handing me a handkerchief when I cried.
I thought he was smaller than me,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzt1fMRY3u
someone I had to look after and protect.
But at some point—he had grown taller than I was.
When he walked beside me,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0246K8DYqa
his shadow stretched longer, broader.
His voice had deepened.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZDGOpwGrc
His eyes had grown more still.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQud4opyed
And he no longer nodded at everything I said—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMYqFBFrXJ
he had learned how to say “no.”
It was in that moment I realized—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUkcHlinKB
I could no longer see him as a younger brother.
Because he had become… a man.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBTLujyh1k
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When he stands too close, I blush.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyU9u6MB92
My heart skips.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfmwD5fif3
Even just meeting his eyes makes it hard to breathe.
If I go a whole day without seeing him, I get restless, unsettled—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdhIs1jvWy
and my mind keeps replaying his face, his voice, over and over.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB6NY14zTQb
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And whenever I do see him,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JDurqUqCV
my gaze can’t help but follow him—
From the tousled strands of his hair,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsb8tKan9gX
to his long, dark lashes,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehD2Hz2J2i
to the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathes.
Even the light texture of his skin under the sun,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7MOLiy9Cj
the curve of his shoulders… and—
That tiny mole on the right side of his neck.
And then…46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFxfhdF9YH
there’s his Adam’s apple.
It moves slightly whenever he talks or swallows—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUgtBM132m
and every time,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Pvx9Suwqn
I find myself wondering what it might feel like46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dg0NgSSzN
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—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5fSgA7sa0
and still, I can’t help imagining:
If one day, those lips pressed against my skin…46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmK0B94GbM
my forehead,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxue8XMjjL9
my ear,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjd915yDN7k
the back of my neck…
And finally—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1gpv95e6i
if they pressed against my lips—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7WGtpuRXb
what would that feel like?46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRd0E2udsfY
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It’s like a melody.
A melody I accidentally heard the beginning of,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPRylyBckB
and now can’t stop listening to.
It’s not loud,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6p0sugtQd
but it loops endlessly inside me, quietly—
And before I realized it,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoOPi7xssg
I was already too deep to escape.
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That day, he was driving me to school.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUGwFy26p2
It was supposed to be just another ordinary morning.
Until a little girl suddenly dashed into the street—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkuRt18GcX
and he hit the brakes.
The tires screeched against the road,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrDq8qfX3W
and the car jolted violently.
46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacbFXL56yz
Before I could react—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvjx7xaHYc
his left arm reached across me,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3f9Pu3AeC
blocking me protectively across the chest.
Just two… maybe three centimeters more,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNUFSCj0W0
and he would’ve touched me.
That wide hand hovered there, fingers slightly spread,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAon6VSxAy
knuckles sharp and veins faintly visible.
It was so close I could almost feel the warmth of his fingertips—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAvKjl4bKC
and the tremor in the air between us.
His hand was still trembling.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCPxDErx1m
Almost imperceptibly.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZt1gx1v2Bd
Not out of fear—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbKSbazU29
but from the lingering adrenaline, the instinct to protect.
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And me?46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4GGA8Pjk8
I was already blushing to the tips of my ears.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhwOTZn8kg
I felt like lightning had struck me.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5kAncM3y27
I couldn’t move an inch.
“My lady, are you alright?”
His voice was so gentle—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXqMS6Hkjp
it felt like it could shatter every piece of armor I wore.
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I quickly turned my face to the window,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hfrYLurOV
trying to hide the heat in my cheeks and the chaos in my chest.
“I-I’m fine…”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8ruDYfoGf
The words came out in broken fragments,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0mJgRz7l7
caught in my throat.
I tried to sound calm,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8eLim2NMQ
but I couldn’t ignore that hand—
The hand that had nearly touched me,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKrirgidBD
and somehow felt even more overwhelming than if it had.
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My heart was in a mess,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDjgXquYrb
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.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBc11AiBy2Q
We were playing hide and seek in the garden.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2pVokx2g4
He grabbed my hand, sweaty and small, and said:46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCdOM7ERiM
“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—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHpvhpiy0t
broad and steady, joints defined,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4aAJffjzt
carrying the quiet strength of a man.
If I were touched by these hands now…46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tz5thiAiB
Would they still make me feel safe?
Or had they changed—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjGheUMHsc
become something irresistible?
Would his touch still comfort me…46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNksdqchUpN
or stir up something I’m not ready for?
I couldn’t say it aloud.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm14CYKiDsD
I didn’t dare look at him again.
I just let those chaotic, greedy, and shamefully yearning thoughts46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ128e1bvccv
rise like waves in my heart—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeWVj0Tw04
rippling out in silence.
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It was a touch that never crossed the line—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2KoApIPqT
but deep down, I quietly longed for it to.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4EDejsoS4
46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDUsDnXzkn
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CezR73tkd
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ChJpCNBtC
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
and then Add to home screen.