Sajuna looked at Akira in front of her, a hint of hesitation on her face, as if she were afraid Akira would get angry.
"I'm sorry, Aki-Kun."
"No need to apologize, Sajuna."
Akira gently stroked Sajuna's hair, comforting her.
"Just tell me if anything's wrong. Comforting Sajuna is my duty as her boyfriend."
Sajuna hugged her knees, curled up on the sofa, and recounted her morning's experience.
"Because I saw this morning that Aki-Kun hadn't replied to my message, I thought something had happened to him."
"Then it rained today, and my mood inexplicably became a bit low. I just felt bad and couldn't stop thinking about Aki-Kun."
Sajuna looked at Akira in front of her. "Aki-Kun didn't come to my house on time this morning, so I couldn't help but come looking for him."
Afraid her words would be misunderstood by Akira, she quickly explained.
"I'm not saying Aki-Kun should appear at my house on time. It's just that usually Aki-Kun always comes to my house."
"And then, and then he didn't show up today, and it felt very uncomfortable."
After saying this, she felt very ashamed.
Sajuna couldn't help but move closer to Akira, leaning against him.
"Aki-Kun, will you think I'm too controlling?"
Akira smiled.
"What kind of controlling is this? This means Sajuna likes me."
"I'm quite happy about it."
Akira also moved closer, gently putting his arm around her shoulders.
"Actually, Sajuna, I've always been a bit worried."
"Eh? What is Aki-Kun worried about?" Sajuna asked, puzzled.
"I always feel like I'm tricking you, Sajuna. Although I'm genuinely pursuing Sajuna, I don't have any other bad intentions."
"Aki-Kun is just full of bad thoughts."
Sajuna couldn't help but complain. He clearly liked to kiss her hand pervertedly and always wanted to touch her sock-clad feet.
"Alright, alright, I'm very bad."
Akira caught the main point Sajuna wanted to express and happily admitted it.
"Because Sajuna is very pure, she always overreacts to some of my actions."
Akira gave an example.
"For instance, if I tell Sajuna 'I like you,' Sajuna gets all flustered."
Sajuna raised her arm as if to protest, but then thought better of it and lowered it.
"Sajuna, do you know Shinju once asked me a question?"
"Hmm?"
"Shinju once suggested I confess to you when you were sick." Akira recalled what happened at the time. He had clearly made up his mind to let Sajuna understand him a little more.
But a pure girl like Sajuna, after being pursued, had started to unconsciously pressure herself.
"She said her older sister really likes Akira-kun."
Akira showed a reminiscent smile. "The way she spoke was like she was telling me a secret, and I said I already knew, of course."
"Because Sajuna's acting is so bad, it's easy for people to see through her."
"She's clearly happy when praised but still puts on an indifferent facade, clearly happy to eat the food but still pretends to have a normal expression. Sajuna is truly too cute."
Akira said with a smile, recounting what he had said at the time.
"Shinju asked me, puzzled, why I didn't confess. Sajuna, do you know how I answered?"
Akira lowered his head and asked.
Sajuna, in his embrace, lowered her head, blushing. So something like that had happened.
She felt like all her reactions had been seen through, but there wasn't a single bit of dislike in her heart.
So Sajuna directly asked in return, "Then how did Aki-Kun answer?"
Akira nodded.
"I told Shinju that I didn't think confessing too quickly was good."
"I said that if a girl starts dating a boy not long after meeting him, she can easily get hurt."
"After all, not all boys are like me."
"I said that if I had a daughter, I definitely wouldn't want her to date a boy she'd only just met, because you wouldn't know his personality or other things."
"So as a man, I can't be a hypocrite. I need to let Sajuna understand me better."
Akira recited, sentence by sentence, the words he had used to advise Shinju at the time.
Sajuna was stunned for a moment, feeling all the doubts in her heart suddenly resolve.
"Aki-Kun, you're such a kind person."
Sajuna said again what she had said before.
"Sajuna, I love you. Suki da yo."
Akira solemnly confessed his feelings again.
The two looked at each other and smiled. Although these were words they had both said before, in this moment, they understood them on a deeper level.
So Aki-Kun liked her this much.
Sajuna thought happily, becoming more certain that Akira was her happiness.
Akira, on the other hand, was overjoyed. No matter what caused Sajuna's low mood, he could guess it was probably related to him.
So he told Sajuna his complete feelings without holding back.
He wanted her to understand just how deep his love for her was.
The two completed an exchange of trust between adults.
Seeing Sajuna's happy expression, Akira couldn't help wanting to tease the cute girl in his arms.
At that moment, Sajuna suddenly looked up at Akira, who was having mischievous thoughts.
"Aki-Kun, I want a kiss."
"Eh?"
Akira said in surprise. "Sajuna, aren't you afraid of fainting?"
Previously, even a kiss on the forehead had made Sajuna faint.
Looking at her current expression, clearly asking for a kiss, it was obviously not meant to be a simple forehead kiss.
He felt that it would at least involve more than that.
Akira hesitated for a moment. Although he wanted to kiss Sajuna, because of her sensitivity, he had always maintained a careful distance.
He had always suppressed actions that might make Sajuna faint.
Now that Sajuna had actively requested it, his heart stirred, and he almost wanted to cheer.
"Then, a kiss on the forehead first?"
Akira asked tentatively. He didn't want to kiss Sajuna unconscious.
"Mm."
Sajuna answered firmly, her face red. "I feel that my love for Aki-Kun is strong enough that I won't faint."
Akira still felt that Sajuna's reactions weren't something simple love could control.
Thinking this, he lowered his head and gently kissed Sajuna's forehead, right between her closed eyes.
A soft touch followed, and the girl's sweet scent filled Akira's nostrils, mixed with the damp, chilly scent of rain from the morning.
Sajuna's body trembled slightly, then she happily opened her eyes and said joyfully.
"Aki-Kun, I really like you."
"I really like you too, Sajuna."
Akira couldn't help but kiss her forehead again, and Sajuna looked at him with a loving expression.
This was truly wonderful.
Sajuna's gaze drifted past Akira's shoulder and toward the window. The melancholy atmosphere from when she arrived was gone.
This rain had truly come at the perfect time.