After finishing lunch, Akira and Sajuna stacked the dishes together and carried them into the kitchen to clean up.
However, Sajuna urged Akira to leave the kitchen.
After all, Akira had already taken responsibility for making lunch.
Naturally, the remaining housework should be hers.
"Aki-Kun, hurry out."
Sajuna pushed at Akira's waist, trying to usher him out of the kitchen.
Feeling the gentle force at his waist, Akira found her reaction utterly adorable and did not strongly resist. Instead, he caught Sajuna's arm, slowly twisted his body, and slipped out of her grasp.
"I can't bear to let Sajuna handle so much housework."
"Why does Aki-Kun need to worry so much? What could possibly happen?"
Sajuna protested, lightly tapping his shoulder.
"Let me do more too."
"We already agreed to divide the tasks. You can't snatch it from me."
Her voice grew a little deeper.
Akira had originally intended to argue that they had only discussed who would cook, not who would wash the dishes afterward.
However, seeing Sajuna's mood dip, he decisively chose to remain silent.
It seemed she felt he was giving too much, making her feel guilty.
He would need to be more careful about this in the future. He had already reminded himself of that internally.
Seeing Akira obediently walk out of the kitchen, Sajuna's spirits lifted again.
He could faintly hear her humming softly as she worked.
She truly seemed happy.
Akira understood that feeling completely. He felt just as happy when he cooked for Sajuna.
After finishing the dishes, Sajuna came out cheerfully and twirled in front of Akira.
"Aki-Kun, do I look good?"
"Very good."
"But I just came out of the kitchen, so I shouldn't look good."
She said this with a hint of disbelief, then smiled. "Still, someone as cute as me should always be cute, right?"
Sajuna could not help making a slightly narcissistic joke.
"Yes, Sajuna is always cute in my heart," Akira agreed. Then he added, "Not just in my heart either. Objectively speaking, Sajuna has always been very cute."
Sajuna was startled by his blunt praise and quickly turned away, her face flushing.
She had been praised by Aki-Kun countless times, yet she never seemed to get used to it.
And Aki-Kun was always so annoying, saying she was the cutest in the world or something like that.
If her university classmates heard this, they would probably laugh at her.
Akira looked gently at Sajuna, while Sajuna secretly observed his expression.
In the dim light, their gazes met, and the affection in their eyes was unmistakable.
As they looked at each other, the surrounding space seemed to fade away, leaving only the other's reflection in their vision.
The image reflected in each other's eyes felt impossibly perfect.
Perhaps it lasted a few seconds, perhaps a few minutes.
Akira opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat felt slightly dry.
"Sajuna…"
The name he called seemed audible only to himself.
"Aki-Kun."
Sajuna looked at him with pure adoration.
Unable to resist, Akira took two steps forward and gently grasped her hanging arms.
"Sajuna…"
A suppressed voice slipped from his throat.
"Mm."
Sajuna replied vaguely.
"I love you."
As if he knew only these words, Akira repeated the phrase he had already spoken countless times before.
Like a clumsy boy awkwardly showing his affection.
Sajuna saw Akira suddenly lean in. Her mind went blank, and her body stiffened.
Her lips were suddenly captured by his soft ones, and the refreshing minty scent of a young man rushed straight to her head.
Akira kissed her for only about two seconds, not extending his tongue, before pulling back and looking down at the girl in his arms.
"Sajuna."
"Mm."
"Mm."
"Mm."
Sajuna was left with only the conditioned reflex of responding.
It was over. Sajuna was going to break.
She had only just started getting used to forehead kisses, and he had already gone and done something like this.
Still, in such dim lighting, while looking into the eyes of the person he loved, it was incredibly difficult to restrain the emotions surging in his heart.
"Sajuna."
"Ah."
Sajuna stiffly turned her head to the side, then stiffly turned back again.
Like a robot struggling to adjust to its own movements.
Her thoughts were clearly no longer in order.
"Aki-Kun, what did you just do?"
She slowly recovered, speaking with a faint sob in her voice.
Akira did not immediately answer. Seeing that Sajuna's emotions were unstable, he wondered if she might be angry.
Girls on their period sometimes experienced stronger emotional swings.
Even so, he had to take responsibility.
So he answered honestly. "I kissed Sajuna. Not a forehead kiss."
"Aki-Kun…"
Her voice sounded again.
Akira lowered his head, preparing himself to be scolded.
"I regret it so much."
"Huh?!"
He looked up at Sajuna, who was wearing an expression full of regret.
"I feel like I fainted on the spot and didn't feel anything."
She covered her burning face with both hands. "That was Aki-Kun's first kiss, right? It was your first kiss, wasn't it?"
"It was my first kiss."
Akira nodded.
Sajuna's lips had been soft, with a sweet taste that made him want to linger longer, maybe even gently bite them.
"I should have endured it."
"Waaah, waaah, waaah."
Sajuna looked like she was about to cry.
Akira did not bring up his impulsive action again.
Doing so would only make Sajuna feel that he had not prepared her properly.
After all, Akira had always made his desire to kiss Sajuna very clear. It was only Sajuna's tolerance that restrained him.
They had even been working together to increase that tolerance.
He had a feeling there would be more sudden attacks like this in the future.
For two people experiencing their first love, suppressing such emotions was incredibly difficult.
Even though they were adults, they treated matters like this with great seriousness.
After packing his school bag, Akira changed into his uniform. Looking at the gloomy but no longer rainy sky, he decided to head to school.
Since Sajuna had only brought one umbrella when she came, he still needed to take her home so she could retrieve her school items.
Hand in hand, the two of them walked through the rain-washed streets, boarded the train, and arrived at Sajuna's house.
Nothing special happened after that. Akira waited while Sajuna prepared her things, and then they set off together.
"Aki-Kun."
"Mm."
"The weather seems pretty nice today."
Akira glanced at the gloomy clouds overhead and nodded.
"It is."
…