Seeing Utaha stare intently at the hairband in the box, completely silent, Miyahito's heart grew slightly anxious.
"So... do you like it?"
This was the first time he'd ever given a gift to a girl other than his mom or Ayase. He had zero confidence about whether Utaha would actually like the hairband he'd picked.
"It's my first time giving a gift to a girl, so I wasn't sure what to get." Raising a hand to awkwardly scratch his nose, Miyahito instinctively averted his gaze as he spoke softly. "I just felt this hairband really suited you, so I bought it... If you don't like it, then... no pressure."
As he spoke, he reached out, seemingly wanting to take back the impulsive purchase from Utaha's arms.
But before his fingertips could even touch the box, a pair of fair hands gently reached in, carefully lifting the white hairband nestled in wine-red velvet.
"Mhm. I love it."
Lowering her face slightly, letting a strand of hair fall across her eyes, her soft whisper carried a trace of barely concealed joy and faint affection.
"Miyahito-kun."
Her earlobes tinged with pink, Utaha softly called his name, her hands holding the hairband drawing quietly closer to his chest.
Slowly lifting eyes that shone like aged, fragrant wine, the girl—now radiating a different kind of charm—spoke softly to the boy before her.
"C-could you... help me put it on?"
For a moment, Miyahito was completely captivated by her adorable expression, momentarily lost in thought.
The next second, catching his own dazed reflection in her wine-red eyes, he snapped back, nodding with a slightly shaken composure. "Yeah."
His heart beating slightly faster with nervousness, Miyahito reached out to take the hairband from her hands. Perhaps affected by his tension, as he took it, his fingers accidentally, inadvertently brushed against the slightly warm palm and soft, water-like skin of her hand.
An unfamiliar yet thrilling sensation instantly struck Miyahito's already unsteady heart.
Forcing himself to stay calm, he unconsciously tensed his expression, trying to look serious, free of any stray thoughts.
However.
Whether it was a girl's instinct, or simply because Utaha knew Miyahito so well, his attempt at composure didn't escape the gaze of Utaha, which hadn't left him for a single second.
Her wine-red eyes, as if smiling, curved slightly. For a fleeting moment, Utaha suddenly felt an overwhelming urge—she wanted, she really wanted, she desperately wanted to tightly embrace this boy who could be so childish yet so reassuring.
At that moment, Miyahito, who had focused all his attention on the task at hand, didn't notice the stirring in Utaha's heart.
As the distance between their hands gradually closed, unknowingly, the space between Utaha and Miyahito, between her and him, also slowly shrank.
As if the boy was opening his arms to pull the girl into his embrace.
Or as if the girl, carrying a heart full of heavy affection, was bravely stepping into the boy's arms.
Even though it was simply picking up the hairband and placing it in Utaha's smooth black hair, Miyahito felt like time had stretched endlessly.
Feeling silk-like, water-soft strands gently slide between his fingers, his fingertips inadvertently tracing the hair by her ear, his palm accidentally lingering against Utaha's cheek, Miyahito whispered softly.
"It's... on now."
"It's beautiful. It really suits you, Utaha."
In a daze, it seemed as if the girl who had once been separated from him by countless dimensions had crossed everything to appear before Miyahito.
Am I really not dreaming?
Even though he'd asked himself this question countless times, whenever reality presented itself before his eyes again, Miyahito couldn't help but ask himself again.
Hearing Miyahito's faint voice beside her, not understanding why he'd ask if she was dreaming, Utaha's lips curved slightly. Slowly raising her hand, she gently placed her warm palm against his cheek—covering the back of his slightly rough, distinctly masculine hand.
Gently pressing that palm, still carrying Miyahito's warmth, against her own fair, smooth cheek, her voice was so gentle it could calm any boy's heart.
"You're not dreaming, Miyahito."
"I'm right here."
I won't go anywhere. I'm right here.
Looking into eyes that reflected only him, a surge of emotion and warmth rushed to Miyahito's head.
You idiot. Even now, can't you see... Utaha's feelings?
"Utaha, I...."
An untimely ringtone cut off Miyahito's next words.
At the same time.
Utaha and Miyahito, who had been immersed in that sweet, pink-bubbled atmosphere, were jolted awake by the abrupt sound.
Their cheeks unconsciously flushing, the two quickly separated their bodies that had been mere inches apart, looking down awkwardly in silence.
"Um, Utaha... I'm getting a call."
"Mhm. You should answer it."
Facing away from him, her gaze slightly evasive as she looked at the stone pavement at her feet, Utaha murmured.
Similarly facing away, Miyahito fumbled to pull out his still-ringing phone from his pocket. Seeing the caller ID "Akane-nee," he instinctively glanced at the time in the top-left corner, took a few deep breaths, and answered.
"Hello, Akane-nee? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, yeah."
Hearing a name she didn't recognize suddenly appear in Miyahito's conversation, Utaha, unable to stay immersed in her embarrassment, instinctively perked up her ears, listening with a slightly serious expression.
"I know, yeah. Isn't it at four? Yeah, eh... alright, I understand..."
Four o'clock? Did he make an appointment to meet this Akane-san at four?
Glancing down at her phone screen showing "15:16," for some reason feeling slightly displeased, Utaha's brows furrowed slightly.
Before long, Miyahito finished his call.
Just as he turned back, about to say something to Utaha, before he could speak, she beat him to it.
"Miyahito, Akane-nee... who is she? Can you tell me?"
Hearing this, Miyahito paused, then instinctively answered honestly.
"She's the daughter of my dad's friend, Uncle Kousaka."
"Hmm? Then why do you call her 'nee'? Is she older than you?"
Even though Miyahito's answer was perfectly fine, completely honest with zero concealment, Utaha's heart couldn't help but feel a trace of irritation.
The daughter of father's friend... why does this setup sound so much like those 2D rom-com tropes?
Sensing Utaha's slight irritation but not understanding why, Miyahito unconsciously lowered his voice, explaining word by word.
"Because Akane-nee is about a decade older than me, and she's already graduated college and been working for years, so I call her Akane-nee."
"Oh, right. Her real name is Kosaka Akane. She also has a stage name: Akasaka Akane."
300 Power Stone = 1 Bonus Chapter
1 Review = 1 Bonus Chapter