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I don’t even know when it started—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYiq2c0hLS
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—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OE7Gv83zj
picking up my fallen hair clips,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Zq9uiVSge
handing me a handkerchief when I cried.
I thought he was smaller than me,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VYwp0AY2L
someone I had to look after and protect.
But at some point—he had grown taller than I was.
When he walked beside me,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0i1jDHPS0
his shadow stretched longer, broader.
His voice had deepened.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4pB8oJR4F
His eyes had grown more still.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1x1Wo7kdaf
And he no longer nodded at everything I said—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwG6dXewgdV
he had learned how to say “no.”
It was in that moment I realized—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhN5tfG801
I could no longer see him as a younger brother.
Because he had become… a man.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1U8neClAE
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When he stands too close, I blush.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74S4yamceK
My heart skips.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu3XJWP28sz
Even just meeting his eyes makes it hard to breathe.
If I go a whole day without seeing him, I get restless, unsettled—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJOyh49Nf5
and my mind keeps replaying his face, his voice, over and over.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMRWTsCyO4
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And whenever I do see him,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXrUY8hYUr
my gaze can’t help but follow him—
From the tousled strands of his hair,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7y8UV46OlN
to his long, dark lashes,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAPKWcvcV7
to the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathes.
Even the light texture of his skin under the sun,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfQkWXUu8q
the curve of his shoulders… and—
That tiny mole on the right side of his neck.
And then…37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfd8k6TvqrX
there’s his Adam’s apple.
It moves slightly whenever he talks or swallows—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRAzr6pFaE
and every time,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtyCizhsL3A
I find myself wondering what it might feel like37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV92JAHMbyt
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—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWS3vxjLV4J
and still, I can’t help imagining:
If one day, those lips pressed against my skin…37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKsTN8EOAs
my forehead,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLswXwBupb
my ear,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuCOKW3l42
the back of my neck…
And finally—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFwrz4aff3
if they pressed against my lips—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIE97MgjJQ
what would that feel like?37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7BGBkGaPv
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It’s like a melody.
A melody I accidentally heard the beginning of,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQiqjZ9eK7
and now can’t stop listening to.
It’s not loud,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNmNeKTlBJ
but it loops endlessly inside me, quietly—
And before I realized it,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4cNhlp4Vj
I was already too deep to escape.
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That day, he was driving me to school.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJqe9O94iy
It was supposed to be just another ordinary morning.
Until a little girl suddenly dashed into the street—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bAQ93rXEZ
and he hit the brakes.
The tires screeched against the road,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU858MWNz60
and the car jolted violently.
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4UciIpa7DQ
Before I could react—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDut7GgsMm
his left arm reached across me,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOvXVk52da
blocking me protectively across the chest.
Just two… maybe three centimeters more,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTRwCHLgBm
and he would’ve touched me.
That wide hand hovered there, fingers slightly spread,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUys2cLRAvx
knuckles sharp and veins faintly visible.
It was so close I could almost feel the warmth of his fingertips—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUIMlBfTVr
and the tremor in the air between us.
His hand was still trembling.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3LjYWcgYp
Almost imperceptibly.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG25iHsKaMi
Not out of fear—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KgGdywJTa
but from the lingering adrenaline, the instinct to protect.
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And me?37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsY9Ksh4Ht6
I was already blushing to the tips of my ears.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztTtNTNd0U
I felt like lightning had struck me.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MIsIt6Xqv
I couldn’t move an inch.
“My lady, are you alright?”
His voice was so gentle—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchHNGpnpBT
it felt like it could shatter every piece of armor I wore.
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I quickly turned my face to the window,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMOwDRhqVQ
trying to hide the heat in my cheeks and the chaos in my chest.
“I-I’m fine…”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JH2NQj2mZ
The words came out in broken fragments,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYutAoURGjV
caught in my throat.
I tried to sound calm,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbgZuOlDSM
but I couldn’t ignore that hand—
The hand that had nearly touched me,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHln5gEY2lD
and somehow felt even more overwhelming than if it had.
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My heart was in a mess,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRP0sgkM6A
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.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVIxnAVvMh
We were playing hide and seek in the garden.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP50j1blN7b
He grabbed my hand, sweaty and small, and said:37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjytYAKm7ka
“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—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjbaGm25Op
broad and steady, joints defined,37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3k3clky7sL
carrying the quiet strength of a man.
If I were touched by these hands now…37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJBXYJDGKL
Would they still make me feel safe?
Or had they changed—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzt3EY164hP
become something irresistible?
Would his touch still comfort me…37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rKFCsVFZe
or stir up something I’m not ready for?
I couldn’t say it aloud.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNUrFWUPhb
I didn’t dare look at him again.
I just let those chaotic, greedy, and shamefully yearning thoughts37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhNaBRcHyT
rise like waves in my heart—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOoSVf2DoNA
rippling out in silence.
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It was a touch that never crossed the line—37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡul4eYCraUx
but deep down, I quietly longed for it to.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwSfsGDDHC
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3cIDcSSx6
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPL25TzPukK
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZldbVvrykl
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
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