Back home, night had already fallen.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKLYtWqnl6
The door to Suzuran’s room closed with a soft click, and the house returned to silence once more.
In his own room, Koichi Kimijima slipped off his suit jacket in one smooth, practiced motion—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQV4FHwejWg
just like he always did.
But as his fingers reached into the pocket—
He paused, momentarily caught off guard.
His hand touched something unfamiliar: a small, unfamiliar card.
He pulled it out.
It was a dainty card with pink edging—the kind used for the event earlier.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOj3jW1BU8U
The handwriting on it was unmistakable—soft and familiar, dancing lightly across the paper:
“Thank you… for staying by my side every Valentine’s Day.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQovMuf5DW
You always say it’s your duty…16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjhVocIlBe
But still, I… really, truly appreciate it. Mm.”
He stared at the words, silent for a moment.
Then, almost involuntarily, the corner of his lips lifted.
A soft chuckle escaped him.
“When did she slip this in…?”
He tried to retrace his steps—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMdXuDJJ0K
Was it on the escalator? While walking to the café?
He could vividly picture her fumbling hands, flushed cheeks…16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPt4NqrGbX
But couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened.
Yet that sentence—that final “mm”—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0OuznVRD1r
felt like a breath left lingering on the card’s edge: gentle, but real.
He ran his thumb slowly over the paper, eyes drifting out toward the night beyond the window.
Scenes flooded his mind, unbidden—
Her hand in his on the escalator,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDdjqXtTJl
The way her eyes went wide when he offered her the biscuit,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQwBTdtQfk
That flustered cry: “Ｉ might have a heart attack!”,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtG2nPZRsSJ
The moment she hugged her head, utterly embarrassed…
They were home now.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡym3DaDt1l2
He should be organizing the day’s reports, preparing a summary of the outing.
But his thoughts remained—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EY1NmWqDF
stuck in that single, flickering moment at the mall.
He whispered, barely above a breath:
“My lady… do you realize how many of your little ‘slips’ sound a bit too honest?”
He stood still in the middle of his room,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeK75T34dnO
carefully flattening the small card in his hands,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9IUytYXjX
reading it again and again.
Each simple word stitched itself into his chest—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu42PsRUVjf
like threads piercing quietly, one at a time.
He gently closed the card, pressing it between his palms.
Then, with a soft bow of his head and hands clasped,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLhb45DMeL
he whispered a silent prayer—
“Ran… may your life be filled with peace.”
16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTXXJmqBOG
Not asking for anything.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeg0CGxgxw
Not asking to be loved in return.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB269VqcPQA
Not asking to be closer.
All he wished—
Was that the girl who always smiled through her fears,
Even if she someday fell in love with someone else,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8xZoOnv4P
Even if she remained forever out of reach—
Would still be treated kindly by the world.
He opened his hands,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOHS4J2jKk
then lowered his head—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOEobddRbA
and placed the lightest of kisses onto the pink-edged card.
It wasn’t the paper he was kissing.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQHzcWKfzA
It was her—
Her forehead, her fingers,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHDM7vHEqV
the trembling lips that had whispered “thank you.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCY0dT4oODf
16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnx9cLAs9Um
He quietly tucked the card into the deepest corner of his drawer.
His fingers lingered at the edge a moment longer,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARA6D0Bypo
as if sealing away a feeling that could never be spoken aloud.
Night fell deeper.
But in his heart,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9TTB9aPSB
he was still standing at the very beginning of that love escalator—
The place where she had once held his hand,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6xAzb1pZS
and where the warmth of that touch still burned in his palm.
Meanwhile…
After her bath, Suzuran stepped into her room wearing a long house dress, towel-drying her damp hair.
She was just about to sit at her vanity when—
She stopped.
On the tabletop sat a beautifully wrapped gift box.
A silver-white ribbon she knew all too well was tied into a perfect bow.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa11YjiQQeh
Beside it rested a small card.
“Wh-what—when did he put this here…?”
Her heart stopped for a beat.
She hurried over, caught somewhere between panic and anticipation,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyyT5xF2qX
and gingerly picked up the card.
The handwriting—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RxXIGX8tC
was his.
So familiar it made her fingertips tremble.
“My lady, you are a lily in the valley—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFYKFAxBpr
Quietly blooming, yet impossible to overlook.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vcH0N24R5
I admire you.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoZgF9Z6mk
—in every way I’m allowed to, as your butler.”
She froze.
Her eyes locked onto that line, unable to move.
And then—
Warm tears slid quietly down her cheeks.
Not sobbing—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpJKPfudHK
Just a silent, breathless stream, as if even breathing too loud might break the moment.
She didn’t know if she was happy… or heartbroken.
Maybe it was because the word “admire” held such gentle weight—
Or maybe it was the way he chose the word “admire”—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAruml0zj5j
a word that framed all his feelings neatly16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67X59eYycc
within the role he was never allowed to step beyond.
She gently opened the box.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVbNnYofNM
A familiar scent wafted up at once—
It was her favorite perfume.
16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yhDD8RNBM
Penhaligon’s · Lily of the Valley.
16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfkoYn6nGg
The scent of valley lilies—soft, clean, and tender.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVM3VYOPReg
Like a confession that never quite found its voice in spring.
She held the bottle in her hands.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡca9jGbIl9V
Her nose tingled, her heart ached, as if the scent had grazed it lightly.
And then, softly, she murmured—
“Why did you have to choose ‘admire’… when you could’ve said ‘adore’?”
Just one word. Just one step closer.
But instead, he chose the one that kept them apart.
Her eyes welled again.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXtJLfWZ9j
Her grip on the bottle tightened just a little.
She looked down at the label, her vision blurring slightly.
Then she closed her eyes—
And gently rested her forehead against the glass,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURXT4qadVZ
as if hoping to hide inside it,
To escape the emotion threatening to overflow.
And in her heart, one quiet thought surfaced:
“What do I do… I like you so much…”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMVAgjoVTE
“So much, I couldn’t even bring myself to go watch the fireworks with you.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqajUduj8RG
"Because if I did… I’d fall harder than I already have."
She never did see the rooftop fireworks that night.
But deep down, she knew—
Her heart had already exploded16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6CzaSXQU98
on that love escalator16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXXdhEns9P
earlier that day.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiHvAq64Y0
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