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Six years later, Suzuran was now a second-year nursing student at Orinthmus University.
Her daily life was filled with memorizing medical terminology and preparing for clinical rotations.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHs0f71sk4
More often than not, she ended up pouring the wrong sugar into her coffee while flipping through an anatomy atlas.
Meanwhile, Kimijima Kouichi remained a butler for the Hanazono family,19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVjBSaMRy4
and was now also enrolled in business management courses at Orinthmus University.
He had never forgotten that moment years ago—19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyy2wcgSne
the day he was pulled from the shadows and given salvation:19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKRT6mm9pJ
a name, an identity, and dignity by the Hanazono family.
If one day he could shoulder even a fraction of the family’s business burden,19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbRUzsDxpu
he wanted to be strong enough to carry it without faltering.
As for Suzuran—born into a prestigious household,19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkn2jKb6YU6
she was like a greenhouse flower, never forced to bloom anywhere in particular.
Her parents had always been gentle with her, even overly indulgent at times.
“As long as it’s something Suzuran wants to learn, let her learn it.”
She had studied piano, painting, floral design—even taken noble etiquette lessons.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6YkRJTnVb
But she never truly committed to any of them, nor did she excel particularly in any field.
Politics and business held no interest for her.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOfATATR35
It wasn’t fear—just a sense that those worlds were too cold, too far removed. Not hers.
What made her decide on her path was the long-standing instability of her mother’s health.
Since childhood, she had stood outside hospital rooms,19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5DKWLjcie
watching nurses come and go, doctors passing in white coats—19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BJ1cXr26N
while she could do nothing but smile weakly and cry silently.
Maybe, one day, she thought—she could be someone who actually did something.
When she submitted her application and chose nursing,19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1XkVeBszW
the entire family fell into stunned silence.
This wasn’t the path for a sheltered young lady—too exhausting, too painful, full of night shifts and encounters with death.
But she simply said, softly:
“I don’t want to be someone who can only cry beside a hospital bed anymore.”
She had no grand ideals.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFadk28YgF
Just one quiet hope:
“If one day, Papa, Mama, or Kouichi gets sick… I want to be able to help with my own hands.”
It was a modest, simple wish—19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUTvwJxu7a
but so sincere it ached.
In the end, her parents just smiled and nodded:
“If this is your choice, then we’ll support you.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlzSMiRlzX
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“Kouichi~ Can you help me check this report?”
Suzuran hugged her tablet and shuffled over to his desk,19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjzs4DcbnN
looking like a cat reaching out its paw for attention.
Kimijima Kouichi didn’t even look up.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2ln2XznGO
His tone was as calm as breathing:
“Still writing like a disaster, I see.”
“Aw, come on~ Just help me fix it a little!”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz57hf1Cgmx
She pouted and pushed the tablet into his hands.
“I have my own coursework too, you know?”
He finally looked up at her, voice caught between a sigh and resigned sarcasm:
“Do you think I divide my day like this:19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEFjxI0C3E
half for serving you, and the other half for cleaning up the messes you leave behind?”
“But you’ve always been smarter than me…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, tinged with guilt and playfulness,19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFHyzMW6aS
as she twirled her finger around the ends of her hair.
Kouichi looked at her for a moment… then finally took the tablet.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5U1LhOQTMF
The corner of his mouth twitched, like he was trying hard not to smile.
“…You really are impossible, my lady.”
He opened the report and began reading.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDG4d9xyQwx
His pen glided smoothly over the screen.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnmJDQzgFV
The atmosphere was calm—until:
“Hey, Kouichi,” Suzuran leaned in casually,19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxg6BACpnJQ
her tone light, almost too light.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQs5is6YwoM
“Yuzuka told me… a cute girl confessed to you again this morning?”
Kouichi paused mid-mark,19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIWKbCqwHF
but his voice remained steady:
“Yes. I turned her down.”
“Sigh…”
Suzuran tilted her head and leaned on the edge of his desk.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡctsPfGMkg4
Her long hair slid gently over her shoulder.
Her tone was faint, almost teasing:
“You’re eighteen now… It’s the perfect age to fall in love.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAtqaPjvaP
Are you really not interested at all?”
He didn’t look up.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQHp0rN8xV
Eyes still on the screen, voice calm:
“I’m busy serving you, studying, and thinking about how to repay the master’s kindness.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZx5wkTw1X
There’s no room in my head for anything else.”
“Hmm…”
She was completely blocked by the seriousness of his response—19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEw0ntm8RI
like he was answering a teacher in class.
One second. Two seconds.
She looked down at her toes, voice barely a whisper:
“…So those rejections were just… polite excuses after all.”
She didn’t realize her cheeks had turned a faint shade of red.
And though Kouichi kept his eyes on her report—19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Tw95nXbH2
his peripheral gaze had long since drifted19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLd9R2tCACI
to her lowered lashes and those softly blushing ears.
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