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I don’t even know when it started—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLS01kAiUsa
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—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxIMDKg6Mt
picking up my fallen hair clips,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wOwvu0HnU
handing me a handkerchief when I cried.
I thought he was smaller than me,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZ52Ss361q
someone I had to look after and protect.
But at some point—he had grown taller than I was.
When he walked beside me,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr5Lu5WEMZX
his shadow stretched longer, broader.
His voice had deepened.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZmaAogGAx
His eyes had grown more still.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZErmF42T3
And he no longer nodded at everything I said—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrldSAFolyG
he had learned how to say “no.”
It was in that moment I realized—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNGRnjg8he
I could no longer see him as a younger brother.
Because he had become… a man.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJp6Y4EnAEm
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When he stands too close, I blush.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmIM0IAxvXR
My heart skips.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoNSChcwMV
Even just meeting his eyes makes it hard to breathe.
If I go a whole day without seeing him, I get restless, unsettled—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xNDBitlle
and my mind keeps replaying his face, his voice, over and over.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0y2pRpfeGy
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And whenever I do see him,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl229Lp6R1g
my gaze can’t help but follow him—
From the tousled strands of his hair,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcnbXjiXbwy
to his long, dark lashes,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKxzVXXa9j
to the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathes.
Even the light texture of his skin under the sun,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiyTK0MZQk
the curve of his shoulders… and—
That tiny mole on the right side of his neck.
And then…38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZCeondDiR
there’s his Adam’s apple.
It moves slightly whenever he talks or swallows—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGSFqeQjST
and every time,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMatHZXpzjt
I find myself wondering what it might feel like38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFzx2FTU3Yu
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—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOnhEbumQF
and still, I can’t help imagining:
If one day, those lips pressed against my skin…38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUMuNvNalo
my forehead,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwz7D3fEuD
my ear,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDbfpB77vy
the back of my neck…
And finally—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEUk3DWA32
if they pressed against my lips—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAQMvFTG7A
what would that feel like?38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMIgRkbeoi
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It’s like a melody.
A melody I accidentally heard the beginning of,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzMiMfSJ7A
and now can’t stop listening to.
It’s not loud,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3UkqEeaVs
but it loops endlessly inside me, quietly—
And before I realized it,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYpGfaY9wD
I was already too deep to escape.
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That day, he was driving me to school.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wKYsB6gMr
It was supposed to be just another ordinary morning.
Until a little girl suddenly dashed into the street—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnPvxBCYWJ
and he hit the brakes.
The tires screeched against the road,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWt6S1L0j69
and the car jolted violently.
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Before I could react—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqLYrQ0EDb
his left arm reached across me,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3vbre94lt
blocking me protectively across the chest.
Just two… maybe three centimeters more,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdM4dEOtPxc
and he would’ve touched me.
That wide hand hovered there, fingers slightly spread,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFaT84xwUR
knuckles sharp and veins faintly visible.
It was so close I could almost feel the warmth of his fingertips—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUYk17Aaqw
and the tremor in the air between us.
His hand was still trembling.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTJYGDp00K
Almost imperceptibly.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwj8rRgL6v7
Not out of fear—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsNDXu0qwB
but from the lingering adrenaline, the instinct to protect.
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And me?38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByjItzMdOZ
I was already blushing to the tips of my ears.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4Pf0H0VF7
I felt like lightning had struck me.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvlRFKlP6h
I couldn’t move an inch.
“My lady, are you alright?”
His voice was so gentle—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkf8fSiC7T
it felt like it could shatter every piece of armor I wore.
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I quickly turned my face to the window,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFo2m6DuD4
trying to hide the heat in my cheeks and the chaos in my chest.
“I-I’m fine…”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqICOhG5JK
The words came out in broken fragments,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWS2ghvTo3K
caught in my throat.
I tried to sound calm,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIk61Dm82g
but I couldn’t ignore that hand—
The hand that had nearly touched me,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYos3NY1i8N
and somehow felt even more overwhelming than if it had.
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My heart was in a mess,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5BhL6sSBGc
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kjKMlrdAd
We were playing hide and seek in the garden.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡef8sJo8Yfl
He grabbed my hand, sweaty and small, and said:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7fSU1yY9N
“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—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAadcA30EQD
broad and steady, joints defined,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswDQ4FAdNU
carrying the quiet strength of a man.
If I were touched by these hands now…38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxxuOn1OBA
Would they still make me feel safe?
Or had they changed—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVozvWxcjWW
become something irresistible?
Would his touch still comfort me…38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNP8HyS3VPm
or stir up something I’m not ready for?
I couldn’t say it aloud.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRl3lwcQ6K6
I didn’t dare look at him again.
I just let those chaotic, greedy, and shamefully yearning thoughts38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQfpnYUfI3
rise like waves in my heart—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqegZWlScho
rippling out in silence.
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It was a touch that never crossed the line—38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCxy2lGD2v
but deep down, I quietly longed for it to.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ762pWq4OHj
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUH1qjV7VwY
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu86Vbwd866
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjO11CsRMU9
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
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