"Hmm... I wonder if Utaha ate properly." Back at home, preparing to clean the kitchen, Miyahito looked at the extra pork cutlet he'd made and murmured.
"Knowing her, she probably just grabbed some bread and called it a day. Sigh..."
Remembering her bad habits, feeling a bit like a worried old man, he sighed.
"I'll just call her. We promised I'd call later anyway."
Glancing at his phone on the dining table, he walked over, picked it up, and was about to dial.
However, just before his finger pressed the dial button, Miyahito stopped again.
What if I just bring the food to her instead?
The impulse instantly took root and grew uncontrollably in his mind.
Until it consumed his every thought, Miyahito put the phone down without hesitation and turned back to the kitchen.
A few minutes later, the kitchen—well past dinner time—once again echoed with the sizzling of oil and the clinking of utensils.
Along with an irresistible, mouthwatering aroma that drifted out and faded into the night.
...
"If he doesn't call soon, I'm going to sleep, Mr. Boyfriend." Lying lazily on the coffee table, Utaha couldn't help but show a hint of annoyance as she stared blankly at her still-dark phone.
"Hmph. At school, he said 'I feel so guilty making you tutor me on our first day of dating,' and now it's so late, not even a single call."
"So cruel. I'm going to get mad, Miyahito."
As she spoke, the bright shine in her wine-red eyes gradually dimmed.
Unwilling to speak anymore, she slowly closed her lips. Resting her cheek on her fair, jade-like arms, she unknowingly lowered her forehead onto them, her gaze settling somewhat displeased on her legs under the table.
What if I just go see him?
For some reason, a sudden, intense urge to see her boyfriend welled up in Utaha's heart.
Sitting up, she glanced back at the digital clock on her nightstand: 21:34. The joy on her face instantly faded.
It's too late to go out and see him... If Mom and Dad find out, I'll definitely get scolded.
"Sigh..." Letting out a quiet sigh, Utaha slumped back onto the carpet.
Her gaze remained fixed on the phone lying before her, still completely dark and silent.
Tick... tick... tick...
Even though all the clocks in her apartment were digital, for some reason...
...in the heavy silence, Utaha could almost hear the ticking of an old-fashioned analog clock.
Tick—! Tick—! Tick—! The sound of the imaginary second hand echoed in her ears, over and over.
Rising. Falling.
After who knows how many ticks, Utaha suddenly pushed herself up from the floor.
Turning slightly, her wine-red eyes looked past the glass window reflecting the room's light, out into the night sky dotted with distant city lights.
The next second.
"I've decided."
Right now! Immediately! I'm going to see my boyfriend!
If I want to see him, then no matter what, I'm going to see Miyahito.
Without wasting a single second or making a single unnecessary move, she slipped out of her nightgown, pulled on her white underwear, and quickly threw on a thin, long-sleeved hoodie dress.
Rushing to the genkan, Utaha ignored the fact that her feet were bare and directly slipped into a pair of wine-red sneakers.
Grabbing her keys and phone, fumbling to lock the door, she hurriedly turned and pressed the elevator button.
However.
The moment Utaha burst out of the elevator, practically sprinting through the apartment lobby in her rush to reach him, outside on the street, beneath the pale glow of a streetlamp, stood a figure she knew all too well.
A boy, his back to her, wearing a hoodie the same color as hers, black casual pants, and matching wine-red sneakers.
And he seemed to have noticed the commotion at the lobby entrance too.
"Utaha?"
The moment he turned around and that slightly surprised face came into her view, Utaha knew instantly: it was Miyahito. The very person she wanted to see.
"Where are you heading so late?"
Carrying a bento box in one hand and his phone in the other, Miyahito quickly walked over to his stunned girlfriend.
Moving with natural familiarity, he reached out and carefully tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked, concern in his voice.
Slowly lifting her wine-red eyes, Utaha just stared blankly at Miyahito, who had appeared before her like something out of a dream.
The next second.
Unable to hold back her feelings any longer, she opened her arms.
Like a fledgling seeking warmth, she buried herself in her boyfriend's embrace.
She hugged him tightly. So tightly. With every ounce of strength she had.
Feeling the weight and sincerity of her hug, Miyahito snapped out of his brief surprise. He smiled, lowered his instinctively raised hands, and gently hugged her back.
Slowly lowering his head, he rested his cheek against her hair, which carried the faint, fresh scent of shampoo.
Feeling his gesture, Utaha nuzzled against his chest like a cat, then murmured softly in complaint.
"You're so late, Miyahito."
"Yeah, yeah. My fault. I'm sorry I'm late."
He held her a little tighter, a soft smile on his lips.
Sensing the perfunctory tone, Utaha pouted and rubbed against his chest even harder, her tone mockingly fierce.
"If you didn't show up soon, I was going to sleep."
"Yeah. Next time, I'll come earlier."
"I waited all evening, and you didn't even call."
"Yeah. From now on, I'll call you every night."
"That bread was awful. It was so cold."
"I know. That's why I made you pork cutlet rice. It's still warm."
Utaha complained softly to her boyfriend. Miyahito gently soothed her grievances.
"I missed you, Miyahito."
"Yeah. I know." Slowly straightening up, he looked gently into her wine-red eyes as she tilted her face up to him. He smiled softly.
"That's why I came."
As his words fell, a gentle, joyful curve gradually touched Utaha's pink lips.
"Mhm. I see it now. You came."
...
Though Utaha's complaints and Miyahito's soothing apologies might have seemed a bit childish, the moment their figures appeared in each other's line of sight, their two drifting hearts instantly settled into place.
Perhaps.
For Utaha, and for Miyahito.
As long as they could see each other, and feel each other's presence...
that was where their hearts found peace.
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