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"That was so embarrassing," Nino muttered, appeared to be angry, cheeks still tinged with crimson as she quietly resumed eating the pancake on her side of the table.
I, on the other hand, was completely absorbed in my phone. A satisfied smile spread across my face as I admired the photo the waitress had sent us—a perfectly timed shot of Nino and me feeding each other. It had turned out far better than I expected.
Unfortunately for Nino, the café staff had already decided it was worthy of being framed and displayed on the wall. Much to her everlasting embarrassment, that moment was now destined to become a permanent part of the café's decor.
"Really?" I replied absentmindedly, only half paying attention.
Nino froze mid-bite, a frown forming on her face as she stared at me in disbelief.
"You aren't?"
There was a clear note of incredulity in her voice.
I locked my phone and set it on the table before meeting her gaze, a smug grin creeping onto my face.
"Not really," I admitted with a shrug. "If I'm being honest... I actually had a little fun."
"You're unbelievable..." she muttered under her breath before falling silent, as though she'd suddenly lost her appetite.
"I'm leaving now."
She pushed her chair back, ready to leave, but I stopped her.
"Wait."
She turned to me with a faintly irritated frown.
"What is it this time?"
I didn't bother beating around the bush.
"Do you really have no intention of graduating from high school?"
My tone turned serious.
One of the reasons I'd been trying to keep Nino with me a little longer was because I wanted to have this conversation with her.
"Why are you asking that out of nowhere?" she asked, a puzzled look crossing her face as though she couldn't understand what I was trying to get at.
"I mean, at the rate you're going, you won't even pass the midterms this semester."
She fell silent for a moment before quietly pulling her chair back into place and sitting down again. Crossing her arms beneath her bosom, she lifted her chin with practiced confidence.
"Why do you care?" she shot back. "I hate studying anyway."
That wasn't exactly something to be proud of, but... I couldn't deny that I liked this side of her too.
"Why do you hate studying?" I asked.
"You don't know?" she shot back, a sarcastic smile tugging at her lips. "Mr. Stalker."
I didn't react. My expression remained calm.
"I have a pretty good idea," I said, "but I want to hear it from you."
With that, I picked up my fork and started eating the leftover pancake.
Nino watched me with an awkward expression before speaking up.
"You're... actually eating that?"
"Yeah. It was meant to be shared anyway."
"Between lovers," she corrected immediately.
"We're pretending to be one right now."
I refused to back down, and that only made her more flustered.
She lightly slammed her palm against the table and glared at me.
"How can you say something like that when you have Miku?" she demanded angrily.
My hand paused halfway to my mouth, the piece of pancake hovering in front of me.
"Relax," a brief silence. "It's not like I'm eating from the same side as you."
I popped the bite into my mouth before continuing.
"Besides, friends share foods too, don't they?"
"Who said I'm your friend?!" she fired back without missing a beat.
The opportunity to tease her was simply too tempting.
"True," I conceded with a nod. "You're my future sister-in-law instead."
Nino stared at me, utterly dumbfounded. For a moment, she looked as though her brain had completely shut down trying to process the sheer audacity of what I'd just said.
"Do you ever get embarrassed saying things like that?" she asked, genuine disbelief written all over her face.
"I do," I replied casually. "When it actually matters."
"Oh? And when was that?"
Resting my cheek against my palm, I lazily twirled the fork between my fingers as I thought back.
"The last time was when I walked to school holding hands with Miku."
"Stop!" Nino cut me off before I could continue, face palming herself in exasperation. "It's my fault for asking."
Ironically, she looked far more embarrassed listening to my story with her sister than I ever had while telling it.
"Haha." I couldn't help but chuckle. "You can act really cute sometimes."
The compliment slipped out as naturally as breathing, and I casually took another bite of the fluffy pancake, completely unfazed by what I'd just said.
Nino, however, was the exact opposite.
Her face flushed a brilliant shade of red. She tried her best to hide it, turning her head away and pretending to compose herself, but it was a hopeless effort.
Normally, she was no stranger to compliments. Her social media was flooded with comments praising her looks, her friends often called her cute, and she was fully aware of her own charm.
Yet this time, it felt different.
Maybe it was because of the awkward situation they had just been through. Maybe it was because the compliment had come so unexpectedly.
Whatever the reason, those simple words—ones she had heard countless times before—didn't feel ordinary anymore.
For some reason, they felt... special.
Watching her react like that, I couldn't resist teasing her a little more.
So I decided to play with a few carefully chosen words.
"Ah... my girlfriend is really cute~"
A playful, almost flirtatious smile tugged at my lips as I rested my cheek against my palm, looking straight into her eyes.
Nino visibly flinched.
My tone.
My smile.
The look in my eyes.
None of it felt like a joke.
For a fleeting moment, it almost sounded as though I genuinely meant every word.
Then, all at once, embarrassment gave way to disappointment and outrage.
"Did you just seriously flirt with me?"
Until now, she'd been willing to go along with my antics because they were still within the bounds of their little act. But this...
This crossed the line.
How could I flirt with her so naturally while dating her sister, Miku? The thought alone made her blood boil.
A grin spread across my face.
"I think you misunderstood," I said innocently. "I was talking about my girlfriend, Miku."
Nino narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced. Even a child wouldn't have bought that excuse.
But I wasn't finished.
"I hate putting it this way because the five of you are all different people," I continued, raising my fork and pointing it at her. "Still, Miku has an incredibly cute face, and she's especially adorable when she gets embarrassed. Even though each of you has your own unique charms, a cute face is still a cute face."
Nino wasn't stupid.
She pieced it together almost immediately.
Since the five sisters were quintuplets, they all shared nearly identical features. If Miku—my girlfriend—had a cute face, then by that logic, Nino does as well. The same goes for Ichika, Yotsuba, and Itsuki.
In other words, what I was really saying was that seeing Nino's flustered expression reminded me of Miku.
She clicked her tongue in annoyance before muttering under her breath,
"...You're so annoying."
Then she stood up, this time fully intending to leave, no matter what I said.
I didn't stop her.
Instead, I made one final remark.
"Being metathesiophobic isn't a good thing."
My words made her halt for the briefest of moments.
But she neither looked back nor lingered. After a short pause, she quietly walked out of the café.
I watched her retreating figure with a faint smile.
"There's no need to rush..."
I murmured under my breath.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, I cut off a piece of the pancake from the side Nino ate and popped it into my mouth.
I was going to finish the whole thing before leaving anyway.
Just then, my phone buzzed with a LINE notification.
There was only one person I expected it to be from.
As expected, it was Miku.
"I noticed you read my message. Did you get a new phone?"
I replied almost immediately.
"That's right. What are you doing right now?"
I'd really missed this feeling—casually texting Miku.
A few seconds later, her reply arrived.
"I just finished studying. Remember that guy named Futaro? The one Father hired to tutor us? I attended his lesson for the first time today."
So she got help studying from Futaro.
For a split second, a faint pang of jealousy crept into my heart.
Still, it wasn't something worth making a fuss over.
"Good girl. You worked hard."
It was half praise, half teasing.
There was a brief pause before the typing indicator appeared again.
"What are you doing right now?"
"I'm in the shopping district."
Another pause.
Then her next message appeared.
"I want to see you."
My eyes widened ever so slightly before a warm smile spread across my face.
She was being surprisingly bold today.
How adorable.
I could already picture her on the other side of the screen, nervously waiting for my reply.
"What a coincidence. I want to see my cute girlfriend too."
The message was marked as read.
But no reply came.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
She was probably hiding her face in embarrassment right about now. I could practically see it.
Smiling to myself, I sent another message.
"Do you want to meet? I'll send you my location."
It was Sunday, after all.
There was no way I was going to let the day end without seeing Miku.
---------
Miku hurried to get ready.
She wasn't particularly fashionable, nor did she usually put much thought into her appearance. Most of the time, she simply wore whatever felt comfortable and looked decent enough.
Today, however, was different.
Today, she wanted to look good.
She carefully went through her wardrobe, examining each outfit before finally choosing the one she believed was the prettiest.
Not that she had much sense for fashion.
She simply picked the clothes that made her feel the happiest.
She eventually settled on a light blue ribbed mock-neck light sweater paired with a high-waisted black wrap skirt, its lace-up waistband adding a subtle touch of elegance.
As always, her signature blue headphones rested comfortably around her neck.
The only noticeable difference was that she had left her usual black tights behind.
Standing before the mirror, she lowered her gaze. The skirt was just long enough to remain modest, yet without the tights, her fair legs—and even a glimpse of her thighs—were left completely exposed.
She hesitated for a moment.
...Well, it wasn't that big of a deal.
After the tutoring session ended, Ichika and Itsuki returned to their room.
It wasn't as though either of them had attended out of their own free will. Futaro had been persistent to the point of being annoying, and after enough insistence, they had reluctantly agreed to give his lesson a chance.
Nino had left much earlier, saying she was going out to meet her friends.
There was nothing unusual about that.
It was Sunday, after all.
The only one left in the living room was Yotsuba.
Curled up on the sofa, she watched a sports program on the television while happily munching on a bag of snacks.
When she noticed Miku walking toward the entrance, fully dressed to go out, she blinked in surprise.
"Miku, are you going somewhere?"
There was obvious curiosity in her voice.
After all, it was rare for Miku to leave the house on her own—especially after taking the time to dress up like that.
"Yes. I'm meeting Ren," Miku replied calmly.
Despite her composed expression, there was an unmistakable hint of anticipation in her voice.
Yotsuba caught it immediately.
A bright, supportive smile spread across her face.
"I see! Have fun!"
Miku gave a small nod before quietly heading out the front door.
Left alone once again, Yotsuba turned her attention back to the television, though the smile on her face lingered.
"...Who would've thought." she murmured to herself.
Stepping out of the apartment building, Miku made her way toward the nearest train station with light, almost buoyant steps.
The excitement she felt was impossible to hide.
She had never imagined she would experience something like this.
Much less because of a boy.
This was an entirely unexpected chapter of her life—one she hadn't even known could exist.
And so far...
She was enjoying every moment of it.
Miku stood quietly on the platform, waiting for her train to arrive.
It was due any minute now.
Before it did, however, another train pulled into the platform on the opposite side. Judging by its route, it had come from the same direction Miku was heading toward.
She paid it little attention at first.
Then the train departed, and through the thinning crowd, she spotted a very familiar figure.
Nino.
She stood out almost immediately. Between her distinctive pink hair and striking appearance, she was difficult to miss even among dozens of commuters.
Miku didn't even considered calling out to her, there wasn't much point.
They lived under the same roof and would see each other again later that day anyway.
Yet as she watched Nino walking away from the station, an odd feeling settled in her chest.
A faint sense of unease.
Miku couldn't quite explain it.
It might have been nothing more than a coincidence.
Still, something about Nino had felt different lately.
She couldn't put it into words, nor could she identify what exactly had changed, but whenever she thought about it, a vague discomfort lingered in the back of her mind.
Just then, the train she had been waiting for arrived with a screech of brakes.
The doors slid open.
Pushing those troubling thoughts aside for the moment, Miku stepped aboard and headed toward her destination.