
46Please respect copyright.PENANAO36T3bUzUa
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
46Please respect copyright.PENANAtUkxVPKyfc
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.
46Please respect copyright.PENANAZ1JDcg02x2
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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.
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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.
46Please respect copyright.PENANAhp1ERB843z
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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.
46Please respect copyright.PENANAvFXEAS4ooH
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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.
46Please respect copyright.PENANALVStVjYGE3
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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 💞💭