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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
50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEgfzzWjnV
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
50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGaRSBKNYS
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.
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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.
50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejpyqwkmTZ
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.
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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 💞💭
and then Add to home screen.