Haru was completely stunned.
gumi had just taken his teacup… and sipped from the very spot his lips had touched.
The visual impact of the scene was overwhelming.
But after the initial shock wore off, Haru found himself filled with new questions.
Why would she do sothing like that?
Given gumi's usual reserved and composed personality, it was out of character for her to pull sothing so… forward. She wasn't the type to play "low-level tricks" to express affection. It had to an sothing more.
Was sothing bothering her that much?
He glanced back at the bedroom—Yukino and Utaha were still deep in concentration, working on the storyboard. They didn't seem to notice anything happening outside.
He composed himself, masked his surprise, and walked over with the half-eaten cookie still in hand.
As he got closer, he noticed the blush on gumi's face deepening.
When he sat down beside her, he saw her long lashes tremble slightly.
"So… was that so kind of prank?" Haru asked, trying to lighten the mood. "Truth or dare? Or is this sothing you and Senpai cooked up to tease ?"
gumi shook her head, still flushed. "No, it wasn't."
Haru raised the cookie in his hand and grinned. "So it's not a prank, huh? Then it was all you? Want to take a bite of this too?"
He was joking—just trying to smooth over the awkwardness.
But to his utter disbelief, gumi suddenly leaned forward and, opened her mouth and took a bite out of the cookie he was holding.
He was stunned speechless.
gumi turned away shyly, avoiding his gaze. She focused inward, trying to feel sothing… anything. But again, nothing changed.
Was my theory wrong?
She couldn't help but doubt herself.
Even so, one thing was certain:Even if Haru wasn't exactly a "superhuman"… he wasn't far off.
Yukino and Utaha were too close to Haru—so intimate, so honest and unguarded—that they missed all these subtle clues.
But gumi saw it. She had always watched from the sidelines. And sotis, the ones standing on the outside could see things the insiders never could.
Everything he had done—the feats of strength, the lightning-fast reflexes, the brutal karate victories—had long since caught her attention.
And today… her curiosity and the thrill of holding a secret had finally overco her hesitation.
"Um… Did sothing happen today?" Haru asked softly.
He glanced down at his fingers—still damp with her bite—and felt the unanswered question in his heart growing stronger.
"…Sorry. That was rude of ," gumi whispered as she returned the teacup. "I'll wash it later. You can use a different one for now."
"It's not about the cup," Haru said bluntly. "What matters is why you did it."
gumi bit her lip, then looked away. "I… can't tell you. Not yet."
At least not while the others were still around. She wasn't sure how to bring up the idea that the boy she liked might be superhuman—especially when she was fairly certain Yukino and Utaha hadn't even considered that possibility.
So it was better to keep it to herself. For now. No need to stir things up without proof.
Haru sighed, wiping his fingers with a napkin. "Now even you are being all mysterious. You used to be my most trustworthy, saint Kato-san."
"'Saint Kato'?"
"Yeah. Just a nickna I gave you. Don't worry about it."
"…Okay."
gumi didn't mind. She curled deeper into the warm kotatsu, only her pink cheeks and face peeking out—an unusually adorable sight.
"What I did was wrong. Please don't tell anyone," she said softly, her tone part apology, part… expectation.
Haru smirked. "So now I have dirt on you, huh?"
gumi looked him in the eye. "Yes. You could even use it to blackmail , if you want."
"…I wasn't going to go that far."
"Oh? I thought you might say sothing like, 'Kato, you wouldn't want anyone else to know what you did… would you?'"
"…Where did you even learn that line?"
"The guys in class love joking like that."
Now that felt like sothing straight out of a hentai.
Haru almost burst out laughing.
Later that night, he lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling, sleep eluding him. His mind kept replaying gumi's earlier actions over and over.
After tossing and turning for a while, he finally sat up.
At that mont, he heard a faint noise from the guest room. He turned just in ti to see Utaha coming out, dressed in thick pajamas.
Haru thought she might be trying sothing again, but she only yawned and said, "Oh, you're still awake? It's already 1:30."
"You're awake too."
"I went to bed around ten. Just getting up for the bathroom." She walked past him with no extra fanfare—surprisingly ta tonight.
Haru figured she was just sleepy and didn't think much of it. He sat back down by the kotatsu, lost in thought.
A few minutes later, Utaha returned.
But instead of heading back to her room, she sat down right next to him. The faint scent of her perfu filled the living room.
"Why aren't you going back to bed?" Haru asked, taking in her beautiful side profile.
Utaha curled up beside him, clearly cold. Her soft body pressed gently against his."…I never knew writing screenplays could be this exhausting."
Haru chuckled. "So you're losing sleep over it?"
"Not really. I just keep thinking about how to get everything right. Especially with Yukino being such a perfectionist… it puts pressure on too."
"You don't have to be perfect. Just do your best."
"I know," Utaha sighed. "But hearing it from her made want to push harder."
Haru admired her illuminated side profile. "You know… you're cuter than usual when you're like this."
Utaha blinked, surprised. Then she smirked. "You think 'cute' suits ?"
She brushed back her bangs flirtatiously, a hint of seduction in her smile.
Haru nodded. "That's why I said 'when you're like this.'"
She laughed, playful now. "From what I hear at school, people usually say I'm pretty… or sexy. Never cute."
Haru got the feeling she was hinting at sothing. And sure enough, her next words confird it:
"Too bad we're not alone tonight. Otherwise, I'd show you my bunny girl outfit."
Haru laughed. "Please don't. If you show up in a bunny suit, Yukino might co at you with a broom."
Utaha giggled. "She knows how to do that?"
"Oh yeah. She's chased with a broom before. Haruno-nee had to save ."
"No wonder she's so fearless now—facing down robbers and everything. Beating you up must've been her training arc."
"…You make sound like an NPC."
"Well, you kind of are."
Utaha turned toward him again, this ti fully facing him. "You really don't want to see in a bunny suit?"
"Nope. You already look amazing in this."
"In this plain old pajama set?" she raised an eyebrow, skeptical.
"I an it. For example… I can already tell you're not wearing a bra—"
"Okay, that's enough."
Utaha rolled her eyes and gave him a mock glare. So that's what he found attractive, huh?
Still, it was part of her charm. She couldn't help imagining what it would look like if Yukino wore the sa pajamas—probably no curves at all. The contrast would be… striking.
Haru saw her retreat into her thoughts and took the opportunity to ask:
"So… what made you tease under the table earlier?"
Utaha's cheeks flushed slightly, but her smile was radiant. "I just wanted to see how gumi would react."
Haru blinked.
She continued, "Even though she was on her phone, I could tell—she was paying close attention to ."
She gave him a playful, slightly reproachful look and said, "Too bad you didn't follow the script. You ssed up my plan and nearly got caught by Yukinoshita."
"Sorry, sorry. I thought that was just one of your usual little pranks," Haru said, still not understanding what she'd been aiming for.
To his surprise, Utaha looked at him with wide, glimring eyes and asked softly, "So… shall we continue?"
"Huh?"
Before he could process what was happening, she blushed, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then lifted the blanket and slipped back underneath it.
No way.
She's really going there?
You still dare to play like this?!
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