“Was it because I was there?”
Walking through the bustling evening streets, Nogami suddenly spoke.
Her voice was like a cool sumr breeze—appearing from nowhere, heading who-knows-where.
“Huh?”
Harutaki understood exactly what she ant, but he still feigned ignorance, acting like he didn’t hear or didn’t get it.
“Don’t play dumb… I call you an idiot dog, and you really start acting like one?”
Nogami shot him a disdainful glance.
He felt a twinge of guilt.
It wasn’t that he saw himself as a fool—he had just treated her like one.
“…I know my personality’s bad. And yeah, I’ve got a reputation. But… am I really that scary?”
You’re seriously asking that?!
He hesitated, suppressing the urge to retort, and finally nodded.
“You are pretty scary, but—”
“Hmm?”
“You told to say it. Please don’t pinch my carotid artery.”
“Tch…”
She clicked her tongue, releasing his neck before continuing,
“…Can’t you say sothing nicer? Idiot dog.”
I don’t want to lie to you, he thought.
But sotis, lies were more appropriate than the truth.
“Even if you say that—”
“And in my eyes, Nogami-san, you’re not scary. You’re cute.”
“Y-You… what nonsense are you spouting, idiot dog?!”
She huffed and turned her head away, but with her side ponytail, her flushed ears were completely exposed.
“Not like that makes happy or anything.”
She really was easy to read.
He struggled to suppress his laughter, his lips twitching.
“B-But… since the dog is trying to please its master, I guess I should give you a reward!”
Mumbling awkwardly, Nogami stretched her left hand back without turning around.
Harutaki looked at her slender fingers and her slightly flushed palm… and took her hand.
The mont their skin touched, he felt a faint tremor from her.
Her hand was warr than he expected—slightly damp with nervous sweat.
“When you take a dog out, you have to hold onto it properly. Otherwise, it might bother others… or run into the street and get hit by a car…”
She stubbornly kept up the “dog” act, and Harutaki played along.
“Then you better hold on tight. Who knows when your dog might get excited and run off to pee on soone~”
Crack.
There was no actual sound—but the pain in his hand made it feel like there was.
“Y-You… you’re only allowed to—”
“I was talking about dogs, not myself. I’m not going around peeing on people.”
He inhaled the warm evening air, the pain easing slightly.
“Tch. I just imagined such an annoying dog and accidentally used too much force…”
Her slightly upturned rose-colored eyes curved into a smile, her tone laced with threat.
But as they passed a pastry shop, she suddenly turned and walked inside.
It looked fairly upscale—and one glance at the prices confird it.
“One strawberry crepe. Extra strawberries.”
Nogami stepped up to the counter with practiced ease, sliding over her mbership card.
It was close to her apartnt, and the food was good. She ca here often.
Most mornings, she grabbed sandwiches or cheese bread here for breakfast.
I probably just felt like eating sothing sweet…
Or maybe… she wanted to share sothing she liked with Hoshikawa—
As if.
Nogami lightly bit her lip.
This was just a reward for the dog.
Just a reward.
A mont later, she took the freshly made crepe from the staff.
“Not getting one for too?”
Looking at the generously filled crepe, Harutaki suddenly felt tempted.
“N-No money…”
“Huh?”
Nogami followed Harutaki’s gaze and looked toward the smart register behind her. Almost imdiately, she noticed the string of numbers displayed after her card balance… along with the commas separating them.
“Um… well—”
She turned toward the shop clerk, who was desperately trying to suppress a smile.
“Ah… ahem. Terribly sorry, but we’re a bit short on ingredients today. We can only make one crepe.”
From the balance alone, it was obvious she was a big spender. Naturally, the clerk was more than willing to play along.
“See? Only one left~”
“…Right.”
Harutaki’s lips twitched.
Why can’t she just be honest and say she wants to share one…?
Nogami took a small bite from the edge first, then held the crepe out toward his mouth.
“Thanks.”
He lifted a hand to take it, intending to hold the wrapper himself—
—but she smacked his hand away.
Idiot dog…
Muttering inwardly, she raised her chin and issued her command in a haughty tone.
“If you’re feeding a dog, of course the owner has to hold it. What kind of dog grabs the food and eats it by itself?”
“Yes, yes. Whatever you say, Nogami-sama.”
Harutaki didn’t bother arguing. Being fed by a beautiful girl wasn’t exactly a loss for him.
Chomp.
He took a generous bite right from the middle. The candied strawberries were sweet and tangy, soaked in smooth cream that might’ve been a bit too rich on its own, but paired with the perfectly cooked crepe, the balance was just right.
Simply put, it was a crepe worthy of its price, both in quality and taste.
“…That’s too much.”
Watching a chunk disappear like a lunar eclipse, Nogami couldn’t help but take a bite right next to the missing piece.
Th-This counts as an indirect kiss, right?
A smile tugged at her lips.
She had already kissed him once before, stolen his first kiss even. And just last week, he had forcefully kissed her back—
And yet now, sothing as simple as an “indirect kiss” still made her feel shy and nervous.
It’s all that stupid pervert dog’s fault.
He was the reason she’d been so restless lately… even in her dreams at night—
The crepe was fairly large, so they took turns biting into it. By the ti they reached her apartnt, it was finally gone.
Harutaki subconsciously licked his lips, still carrying traces of that sweet and tangy flavor.
Or perhaps… it wasn’t just the crepe.
Maybe neither of them had wanted the mont to end, so they had unconsciously slowed things down, stretching it out bit by bit.
Even now, with nothing left, the lingering aftertaste refused to fade.
Out of the corner of his eye, Harutaki glanced at Nogami as she arranged the slippers by the entrance. A bit of white cream still clung to the corner of her lips. Under the warm yellow lighting, he almost couldn’t tell where her skin ended and the cream began.
“Nogami-san.”
“Don’t call . I’ll get your slippers in a second.”
She didn’t even look up.
“Look over here for a mont.”
“Haa? Can’t you just behave your—mm—?!”
The mont she turned around, her rose-colored eyes widened.
Harutaki’s face was suddenly right in front of hers.
Her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her throat.
Thump. Thump.
Thump. Thump.
Her heartbeat, normally only noticeable if she covered her ears, now rang deafeningly loud—drowning out everything else, as if the entire world had been reduced to that single sound.
And yet—
He simply lifted the back of his hand and gently brushed it across the corner of her lips.
Then, as she stood there frozen, he brought his hand to his mouth and licked away the cream and jam.
It was a childish action, yet sohow, when he did it, it looked… refined.
Like a noble cat.
For so reason, that was the image that ca to her mind—like a stray cat she once saw on the street.
“You thought I was going to kiss you directly?”
Seeing his teasing grin, irritation bubbled up inside her.
Smack.
She slapped him.
While he stood there, stunned, she mimicked his earlier motion—brushing her own hand across his lips, then sticking out her tongue to lick it clean.
“Idiot dog. Wasting food is disgraceful.”
She had to stay in control.
She wasn’t going to lose once and then just let Hoshikawa do whatever he wanted.
Even… even when it ca to kissing, she would be the one to kiss him!
“…Haa.”
Harutaki rubbed his cheek and let out a quiet sigh, briefly wondering what would’ve happened if he had just kissed her directly.
Given their current relationship—and her personality—this was probably the limit.
That kiss in the empty classroom had only worked because of the montum and circumstances back then.
Still—
He glanced at the brand-new slippers she had prepared and slipped them on.
A little loose, but just right for indoor wear.
“M-My place is always like this, okay? It’s not like I cleaned up just because you were coming.”
Noticing him looking around the living room, Nogami spoke stiffly.
“Nogami-sama is more dostic than I expected.”
I didn’t even ask anything…
Suppressing the urge to retort, Harutaki set down his bag and pulled out his textbooks.
“Where should we study? Your bedroom?”
“Coming to a girl’s house and imdiately asking to go to her bedroom… go die, you pervert dog. Absolutely shaless.”
As she spoke, she brought over two glasses of chilled orange juice, handing one to him along with a look of disdain. Then she pointed toward the floor-to-ceiling window, where a low table and cushions were set up—perfect for both relaxing and studying.
“How about over there?”
Though she phrased it as a question, her tone made it clear it wasn’t one. And without waiting for his answer, she walked straight toward the window.
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