x
Back home, night had already fallen.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjgn66pIWs
The door to Suzuran’s room closed with a soft click, and the house returned to silence once more.
In his own room, Koichi Kimijima slipped off his suit jacket in one smooth, practiced motion—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFC9fQEhu4
just like he always did.
But as his fingers reached into the pocket—
He paused, momentarily caught off guard.
His hand touched something unfamiliar: a small, unfamiliar card.
He pulled it out.
It was a dainty card with pink edging—the kind used for the event earlier.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡht4fejtrDx
The handwriting on it was unmistakable—soft and familiar, dancing lightly across the paper:
“Thank you… for staying by my side every Valentine’s Day.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Botsoiuu4
You always say it’s your duty…9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbc9F1JukkK
But still, I… really, truly appreciate it. Mm.”
He stared at the words, silent for a moment.
Then, almost involuntarily, the corner of his lips lifted.
A soft chuckle escaped him.
“When did she slip this in…?”
He tried to retrace his steps—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzsHxLYG0U
Was it on the escalator? While walking to the café?
He could vividly picture her fumbling hands, flushed cheeks…9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡboKP1GyOnY
But couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened.
Yet that sentence—that final “mm”—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUnMCz5WapS
felt like a breath left lingering on the card’s edge: gentle, but real.
He ran his thumb slowly over the paper, eyes drifting out toward the night beyond the window.
Scenes flooded his mind, unbidden—
Her hand in his on the escalator,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7KlfSRzbeg
The way her eyes went wide when he offered her the biscuit,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSgsTwXKKd
That flustered cry: “Ｉ might have a heart attack!”,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtciOn5CJw1
The moment she hugged her head, utterly embarrassed…
They were home now.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5RN3FF87e
He should be organizing the day’s reports, preparing a summary of the outing.
But his thoughts remained—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQdassi1ZP
stuck in that single, flickering moment at the mall.
He whispered, barely above a breath:
“My lady… do you realize how many of your little ‘slips’ sound a bit too honest?”
He stood still in the middle of his room,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSkyVlTXXZ
carefully flattening the small card in his hands,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2Ptry2b8F
reading it again and again.
Each simple word stitched itself into his chest—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6trzwgr4c
like threads piercing quietly, one at a time.
He gently closed the card, pressing it between his palms.
Then, with a soft bow of his head and hands clasped,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTNBv3C5TP
he whispered a silent prayer—
“Ran… may your life be filled with peace.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmykFB1lHE
Not asking for anything.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zLXffngWN
Not asking to be loved in return.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44z6HRU9T1
Not asking to be closer.
All he wished—
Was that the girl who always smiled through her fears,
Even if she someday fell in love with someone else,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUapf77cxs
Even if she remained forever out of reach—
Would still be treated kindly by the world.
He opened his hands,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEplXChjgXG
then lowered his head—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAIdoGQBua
and placed the lightest of kisses onto the pink-edged card.
It wasn’t the paper he was kissing.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGd5NHHwTQ
It was her—
Her forehead, her fingers,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DvzpDfvUT
the trembling lips that had whispered “thank you.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcUcGNbGou
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvG5a0IL8Y
He quietly tucked the card into the deepest corner of his drawer.
His fingers lingered at the edge a moment longer,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6jeT55se6
as if sealing away a feeling that could never be spoken aloud.
Night fell deeper.
But in his heart,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKsP0FBRDt
he was still standing at the very beginning of that love escalator—
The place where she had once held his hand,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYgrKjTsrH
and where the warmth of that touch still burned in his palm.
Meanwhile…
After her bath, Suzuran stepped into her room wearing a long house dress, towel-drying her damp hair.
She was just about to sit at her vanity when—
She stopped.
On the tabletop sat a beautifully wrapped gift box.
A silver-white ribbon she knew all too well was tied into a perfect bow.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkIxRLcelzc
Beside it rested a small card.
“Wh-what—when did he put this here…?”
Her heart stopped for a beat.
She hurried over, caught somewhere between panic and anticipation,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigG86YoP2N
and gingerly picked up the card.
The handwriting—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysVWkCzxtQ
was his.
So familiar it made her fingertips tremble.
“My lady, you are a lily in the valley—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTQ2z91ZCC
Quietly blooming, yet impossible to overlook.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlxB2niq6K
I admire you.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrt7X4gmUa
—in every way I’m allowed to, as your butler.”
She froze.
Her eyes locked onto that line, unable to move.
And then—
Warm tears slid quietly down her cheeks.
Not sobbing—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsUuNKmUeY
Just a silent, breathless stream, as if even breathing too loud might break the moment.
She didn’t know if she was happy… or heartbroken.
Maybe it was because the word “admire” held such gentle weight—
Or maybe it was the way he chose the word “admire”—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cwvD6iAF9
a word that framed all his feelings neatly9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01T17X3HkI
within the role he was never allowed to step beyond.
She gently opened the box.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkQmlPWAZW
A familiar scent wafted up at once—
It was her favorite perfume.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTmfhhZ849
Penhaligon’s · Lily of the Valley.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfgjBtdJDo
The scent of valley lilies—soft, clean, and tender.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv80bj4FupH
Like a confession that never quite found its voice in spring.
She held the bottle in her hands.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvl0x6cnOzS
Her nose tingled, her heart ached, as if the scent had grazed it lightly.
And then, softly, she murmured—
“Why did you have to choose ‘admire’… when you could’ve said ‘adore’?”
Just one word. Just one step closer.
But instead, he chose the one that kept them apart.
Her eyes welled again.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhfjq46a5R
Her grip on the bottle tightened just a little.
She looked down at the label, her vision blurring slightly.
Then she closed her eyes—
And gently rested her forehead against the glass,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXSax3cLXI
as if hoping to hide inside it,
To escape the emotion threatening to overflow.
And in her heart, one quiet thought surfaced:
“What do I do… I like you so much…”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zM7eob5Vk
“So much, I couldn’t even bring myself to go watch the fireworks with you.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3etz6eMTIH
"Because if I did… I’d fall harder than I already have."
She never did see the rooftop fireworks that night.
But deep down, she knew—
Her heart had already exploded9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzzgCnZRSz
on that love escalator9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcr86Fcva0
earlier that day.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IpUt2Z7sP
