The room fell silent for a few seconds.
Suzuran bit her lip.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8oPTtRoLw
She knew she shouldn’t say it.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzYNt0VnM1
But still, in a voice barely above a whisper, she asked:
“Then… can I touch your arm muscles?”
She said it quietly, not quite a joke, not quite a confession—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywzmxiulFL
just a small nudge to see how close she was allowed to get.
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Kouichi turned slightly, his gaze landing on her.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmiv0PcHsz
For just a moment, something flickered in his eyes—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJYpLAuEEc
but he didn’t reply right away.
Seeing his silence, she hurried on, her voice picking up speed and pitch like she was afraid he’d misunderstand… or worse, say no.
“It’s for the exam! Really! Everyone’s practicing palpation in class—biceps, deltoids, triceps… I have to pass too!”
Her face was already red, but she held her ground,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpO85eDlQo
trying her best to look confident.
Kouichi stared at her—stubborn, flustered, determined.
Finally, his gaze softened.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtqKelXDtF
A breath escaped his lips, almost a sigh.
“…Fine. Left arm.”
The words were quiet, calm. But they were permission.
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He rolled up his left sleeve, exposing the clean lines of his forearm and biceps—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqtUufGqZ6
firm, defined, composed—just like him.
“Ten minutes. Palpation only.”
His tone was as cool as ever, as he added:
“No laughing. No daydreaming. No weird thoughts.”
Suzuran's eyes lit up.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jlZ12I2mB
She nodded furiously, like a kid who just got permission to pet a very fancy dog.
“I swear—study mode only!”
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She carefully reached out, her fingertips brushing his arm.
The moment her fingers touched skin, she froze.
“…Ugh.”
A breathy, involuntary sound escaped her.
This wasn’t like anything in the textbook!
No one ever said muscles could feel like this—so springy, so firm, so…40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQjGxkFyt0
temptingly real.
She had expected something hard and static.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoUFcm14CY
But instead—there was warmth. Depth.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRAfWkBnMF
A weight that made her want to touch again.
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Her eyes focused, hands trembling slightly,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUgJjWDU5L
trying desperately to maintain her “I’m being professional” façade.
Kouichi said nothing.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21Ol2SBlXM
He just lowered his gaze and watched—without pulling away.
He let her touch him.
But it was as if he were silently saying—
You can touch me like this.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEh8JkWJOPi
But only like this.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7XqvjDUmO
Only from this distance.
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She glanced at him again.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZaw32FWtr
Still calmly seated beside her, editing her report without so much as a blink.
As if nothing had happened.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBO84Dkz5B
As if her little emotional derailment was part of the routine.
He didn’t scold her.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSuy9woeQIg
Didn’t dodge her.
He simply… carried on.
And somehow, that made her feel—
Maybe it was because he was always so steady…40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjUpVgumi2
that she could inch a little closer each time.
She took a breath.
Then, carefully, she cradled his hand in both of hers.
That hand.
The one that had shot across her chest that day when he hit the brakes.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGps9f6tBPy
The one that had thrown her whole heart into chaos.
Her fingers trembled slightly as they slid slowly over each of his knuckles—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhStOTjqjE
like she was holding something precious, too fragile to grip tightly.
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It was a very quiet hand.
The joints defined, calluses soft at the creases,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkJM4zii2I
fingertips warm and calm.
As her fingertips brushed his index finger,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeavhGCwSuk
she felt the veins beneath his skin—subtle, winding, like strands of strength coiled under a surface of warmth.
So cool…40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNOb6DWhfK
She thought, and immediately her cheeks flushed hotter.
Her heart stumbled up into her throat.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKIHSDfHiO
Her gaze followed the path of her own fingers—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblTxyNVB2a
from the web between thumb and forefinger,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSyVzadmCn
to the back of his hand,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKD1qu3pFF
down to the long, slender bones of his wrist.
There was something addictive in the quiet complexity of it all.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PQU8VDyIT
Something that pulled at her, soft and slow and impossible to stop.
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And then—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamlIbXL8ZB
her fingers moved again.
Not consciously.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8gfBzv4MS
As if her body had decided on its own.
She slowly, almost soundlessly—
interlaced her fingers with his.
One finger.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcTuGK9Qf5
Then another.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2weVVqRGp
And another.
Until their hands fit together—perfectly.
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Ten fingers. Intertwined.
She froze.
She hadn’t said a word.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaIXQCOJ0t
But her body had confessed everything.
There was no way to explain this as "studying."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM65UjFz8l5
This wasn’t about anatomy.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjrapAjgdH
This was… the way lovers hold hands.
She stared down at their joined fingers,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0dJLBZML6
her palm burning from his warmth.
And somewhere in her heart, a soft voice whispered:
If only I could stay like this.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNHdXbUmRG
Not just for palpation.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡov5g2nnoTV
Not just for ten minutes.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJUgGD9sUN
But forever.
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She bit her lower lip.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9luXWHcLB
Too afraid to look up.
Because what she feared most…40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7maMn3Mi3d
wasn’t rejection.
It was the possibility—
that in his eyes,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBh4kRlKJ1
she might see a tiny flicker of indulgent gentleness.
The kind of look that would make her40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLollEwsUB
lose all ability to pull away.
The kind of look40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKxf4gg1r8
that would make her fall even deeper.
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“…My lady,”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVUf8x1MHe
His voice was low, the calm she always knew.
But this time—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNfcSduhux
there was a faint huskiness to it, like he’d just pushed something down.
“Are you sure this part… is covered in the textbook?”
Suzuran snapped back to reality.
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She looked down—
Her right hand, still holding his left.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡih3bh7Dsss
Their fingers laced tight.
Like lovers.
Like a secret promise in the middle of an ordinary afternoon.
Her heart dropped.
“I—I…”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwr9UWIknW
She couldn’t even finish.
Her face had turned red to the roots of her hair.
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What. Just. Happened?!
She meant to feel his tendons. Just the hand. Just for class!
But somehow—her fingers had just slipped into his without her noticing?!
She yanked her hand back in a panic—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNPKPfapUA
but fumbled halfway, making it seem more like she didn’t want to let go.
Kouichi didn’t release her immediately.
He simply watched her.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzS5onzoWC
Quietly.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ31xnCgKq1
As she panicked like a kid caught sneaking cookies before dinner.
Her lips moved, but no words came out.
And then—finally, he spoke.
“…Time’s up.”
His voice was calm as ever. Composed.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXNjfPb0GU
As if absolutely nothing had happened.
But only he knew—
That for one second,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVHqjIn9LL
his fingers had gently squeezed back.
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“I-I was just checking your muscle tone! That’s all!”
“Mm. Got it.”
He calmly pulled his hand away—unhurried, smooth.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJvh5DfVOv
But there was still a faint warmth left behind in her palm.
He paused for a second.
Then added, as if it were a matter-of-fact follow-up:
“So… would you like to check any other muscle groups?”
“…What?”
“For example—pectoralis major, biceps brachii, wrist flexors…”
“Wait a second.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTExoIB7XJr
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
Her brain raced through the names he just listed:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUQ6sT8T7n
Pectoralis major, biceps, wrist flexors…
Every one of them…
were the muscles you use when you hold someone close.
“Wait—are you saying… I should test them by having you hug me? For accuracy?”
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Kouichi didn’t reply.
He just turned and gave her a look—expression neutral, eyes steady.
Suzuran, meanwhile, lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Yes! Yes yes yes!! Obviously!!”
“….”
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Without a word, he slowly raised a hand…40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3F8FDkriOp
and pressed it flat against her face.
“Idiot.”
Tone completely deadpan.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGXgv7WFmu
As if stating “Your book is upside down.”
Suzuran’s face exploded red.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXchwpaovr
“Wh—Hey!!”
“I was kidding,”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCI3eg7EMcs
Kouichi muttered, calmly returning to her report.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHnVFPRktZ
His voice dry as ever.
“I didn’t think you’d actually take it seriously.”
40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3hn2Wp84W
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“No wonder your etiquette grades are so borderline…40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARGIHgtPS8
You’ve probably been reading shoujo manga under the desk instead.”
“Hey—!”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTjh1bThAJ
She exploded, grabbing a pillow and rolling back and forth in outrage.
“You can’t say stuff like that in that tone!!40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07CcOLfgOt
Don’t forget who your master is!”
Kouichi shot her a glance and deadpanned:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSiL6KHhW9
“You were the one who took it the wrong way.”
“I did not! It’s called hands-on learning, thank you very much.”
“Mm. Real dedication. I’m impressed.”
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He nodded with mock sincerity, then looked back down to continue writing comments, like he was grading some kind of midterm paper.
But in that moment—
facing away from her—
his lips twitched40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oHCeOYzTG
into a small, unmistakable smile.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwV8bDKONK
40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouTAuK90rD
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvQ3idlX6G
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWY2hrGglLw
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
and then Add to home screen.