The room fell silent for a few seconds.
Suzuran bit her lip.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnPI4XtiVX
She knew she shouldn’t say it.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyNRUaViJf
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—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLpKwC2S2MX
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovo78mTAbB
For just a moment, something flickered in his eyes—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOZfs1k9RE
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,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjygxcduZx
trying her best to look confident.
Kouichi stared at her—stubborn, flustered, determined.
Finally, his gaze softened.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5htp5krIcb
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—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24fNoG2Lt7
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFDp39aIAg
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…41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrBm60JvPq
temptingly real.
She had expected something hard and static.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWZmrWzLgP
But instead—there was warmth. Depth.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6CEtnWbtG
A weight that made her want to touch again.
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Her eyes focused, hands trembling slightly,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIE9VNT8rb
trying desperately to maintain her “I’m being professional” façade.
Kouichi said nothing.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrZs9mdIta
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw97HupzXf6
But only like this.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudSeQG2zj9
Only from this distance.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBA23S1KOem
She glanced at him again.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGAh6A7Itg
Still calmly seated beside her, editing her report without so much as a blink.
As if nothing had happened.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIi4t79ruQn
As if her little emotional derailment was part of the routine.
He didn’t scold her.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVz2pUcSjp
Didn’t dodge her.
He simply… carried on.
And somehow, that made her feel—
Maybe it was because he was always so steady…41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ELosEw5NP
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAXmwugF5e
The one that had thrown her whole heart into chaos.
Her fingers trembled slightly as they slid slowly over each of his knuckles—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IYXG5RhKo
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,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpm2E5nJAB7
fingertips warm and calm.
As her fingertips brushed his index finger,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVVkcoNVmi
she felt the veins beneath his skin—subtle, winding, like strands of strength coiled under a surface of warmth.
So cool…41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWnsBEJTCh
She thought, and immediately her cheeks flushed hotter.
Her heart stumbled up into her throat.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRcu6pbK9Q
Her gaze followed the path of her own fingers—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5RRV73TQw
from the web between thumb and forefinger,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKB4820WVzm
to the back of his hand,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyzJK2xYs1
down to the long, slender bones of his wrist.
There was something addictive in the quiet complexity of it all.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0lUIeGMRa
Something that pulled at her, soft and slow and impossible to stop.
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And then—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIL1Ci0jfs1
her fingers moved again.
Not consciously.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ierb46qCC
As if her body had decided on its own.
She slowly, almost soundlessly—
interlaced her fingers with his.
One finger.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEixOAD1NH
Then another.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5nxrTp3l1
And another.
Until their hands fit together—perfectly.
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Ten fingers. Intertwined.
She froze.
She hadn’t said a word.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFFeAYYvWc
But her body had confessed everything.
There was no way to explain this as "studying."41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQHlKpqxqt
This wasn’t about anatomy.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORyxsSk6ev
This was… the way lovers hold hands.
She stared down at their joined fingers,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcVS86lgQC
her palm burning from his warmth.
And somewhere in her heart, a soft voice whispered:
If only I could stay like this.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIpJ7Rtbqzy
Not just for palpation.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblP0ucExBJ
Not just for ten minutes.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9Iz0Qw3U0
But forever.
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She bit her lower lip.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rBo3mP8xd
Too afraid to look up.
Because what she feared most…41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHkn3AjJ8T
wasn’t rejection.
It was the possibility—
that in his eyes,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwjDJbB0M3
she might see a tiny flicker of indulgent gentleness.
The kind of look that would make her41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdvXA1NghN
lose all ability to pull away.
The kind of look41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3TJQZj7EW
that would make her fall even deeper.
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“…My lady,”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhFlsZvXw2
His voice was low, the calm she always knew.
But this time—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVnXqK0dkt
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAcPJNVVm9
Their fingers laced tight.
Like lovers.
Like a secret promise in the middle of an ordinary afternoon.
Her heart dropped.
“I—I…”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVBAWOmZTj
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—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfBvhqEewP
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwqBH7E0yc
Quietly.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuJu5NUbse
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd45jEuyP6X
As if absolutely nothing had happened.
But only he knew—
That for one second,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyjTbxFwq0
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzMOaQVNlH
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.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6o8bjZwk2q
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
Her brain raced through the names he just listed:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWPSvi5YOV
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…41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡid7p3tZozn
and pressed it flat against her face.
“Idiot.”
Tone completely deadpan.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OQhAL3N9F
As if stating “Your book is upside down.”
Suzuran’s face exploded red.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEiJ2WILkZP
“Wh—Hey!!”
“I was kidding,”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXrP91aaOu
Kouichi muttered, calmly returning to her report.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsrQhy0dtF
His voice dry as ever.
“I didn’t think you’d actually take it seriously.”
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“No wonder your etiquette grades are so borderline…41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJLsyCsroV
You’ve probably been reading shoujo manga under the desk instead.”
“Hey—!”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcriR4xAU6
She exploded, grabbing a pillow and rolling back and forth in outrage.
“You can’t say stuff like that in that tone!!41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYflI92lvw
Don’t forget who your master is!”
Kouichi shot her a glance and deadpanned:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPOOkUT6Vs
“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 twitched41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDs7F2RiRCa
into a small, unmistakable smile.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJF36FRZzg
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You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOkDsxfExw
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwIebu4e9U
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
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