"Ai’s first kiss... I gave it to Kaoru-★"
Her cheeks were bright red, yet she was the one who had pressed her lips against his, laughing shyly all the while.
Kaoru stared at Ai in a daze.
Even in the flickering light, it was obvious.
Excitement and trembling, fear and tension, love and affection, courage and happiness.
All those emotions mixed together on the girl’s flushed face, until at last it became the face of a woman, seducing the boy with everything she had, purely on instinct.
Hot breaths burst from Ai’s nose and mouth. They were so close that if either of them tilted their head forward even a little, their lips would meet. Her breath washed over his face without restraint. The scent mingled with it was unbearably sweet. Sweeter than flowers. More intoxicating than anything he had ever smelled in his life.
The instinct that had to surface in him as a man exploded like an atomic bomb and instantly took over Kaoru’s mind.
At the same time, his heart pounded so violently it felt like it would burst out of his chest.
It was beating so hard it hurt.
Kaoru knew it immediately.
No matter how much he recalled the memories of his past life, no matter how much his mental age followed those memories, his body was still that of a fifteen-year-old boy.
No matter how superhuman his self-control might be, his body was still a pubescent boy. In the end, he could never beat this instinct.
But Kaoru had to endure.
He had to.
He was still a minor, Ai was an [idol], and most importantly... they had no [contraceptive].
That was the most important problem. They had no contraceptives. Kaoru reminded himself of that once again. They had no contraceptives.
If, if, if. If he made even one mistake here—if he slipped up here—then because of his own failure, Ai’s life would be ruined.
Kaoru shut his eyes and clenched his teeth so hard it felt like they might shatter.
Like the girl, the boy’s body was trembling from excitement, tension, and instinct, but Kaoru barely managed to hold on to his reason. He opened his eyes again, looked at the girl, and said, "A-..."
"I want to know more."
"Ai."
Even as he was stunned by her bombshell declaration, Ai instead pressed herself even closer to Kaoru.
The shock hit him like a hammer to the back of the head, sending what little reason he had left flying away like a grand slam.
"A- Ai."
Ai, who had never once felt the emotion called [love] until now, could hardly keep her reason intact, as if fireworks were going off in her head.
For the first time in her life, Ai felt as though a lightning strike of bliss and exhilaration was melting her mind without pause.
One second.
In that endless succession of moments, as if one second had been sliced into hundreds of thin fragments by a razor’s edge, Ai lost herself in an indescribable ecstasy that swept through her entire body in every fleeting instant she could barely finish exhaling.
It was more thrilling and wonderful than any sensation she had ever known—so wonderful that it felt as though her very [soul] was blooming, and Ai could no longer see anything else.
With nothing holding her back anymore, Ai slapped away the hand Kaoru had placed on her shoulder, then nimbly climbed onto the boy’s lap like a cat, wrapped both arms around his neck, and met his eyes. Her voice trembled from her breath, still rough and unsteady.
"Don’t tell me no. Don’t run away. I want to show you too, Kaoru. I want you to know how much Ai loves and wants Kaoru."
"Ai."
"You’re the first man I’ve ever [loved]. I don’t want to regret this. If it’s not now, I hate it. I, I like Kaoru. I love you so much—Kaoru—Kaoru—Kaoru—"
Begging. Longing. Tears. Wish. Sincerity. Love. Obsession.
With the girl’s clumsy touch as she struggled in his arms to leave traces on his lips and cheeks, Kaoru should have held on to his reason as an "adult" and calmly stopped her.
"!"
"!?"
Maybe it was the warmth of the fireplace? The perfect blend of flickering light and darkness was enough to make the boy obedient to instinct.
He lifted his right hand to cradle the back of Ai’s head, and moved his left hand behind her back. In one smooth, practiced motion, Kaoru embraced her.
"!"
Kaoru answered her sincerity by shedding the iron wall of reason and adulthood, becoming a boy instead.
Ai’s eyes grew wet with tears at the joy and exhilaration of feeling as if she were flying through the sky.
By contrast, Kaoru showed no clumsiness at all. He was meticulous and delicate, making sure she wouldn’t be startled or flustered so their moods wouldn’t fall out of sync. As an "adult," he adjusted his pace with skill.
Of course—at the same time, he also laid bare his own honest and bold desire as a "boy."
"Kaoru-"
Ai’s mind had gone blank from the kiss, leaving her unable to make any rational judgment. She simply closed her eyes and focused all her senses on Kaoru. Halfway through, a sensation of falling backward came over her, and softness touched the back of her head.
She didn’t even realize that Kaoru had slowly lowered her onto the sofa and climbed over her body.
All of her mind and senses were directed only at Kaoru.
"Kaoru..."
"Ai..."
Ai grabbed the boy’s collar and looked up at him.
Meeting her gaze, Kaoru felt every sensation in his body separate from the last thread of reason, as if everything happening now were a dream.
Perhaps because of that, like a salmon gathering all its strength for one final leap toward a cliff, Kaoru regained a moment of cold reason and looked down at Ai, whispering softly.
"Are you really okay with this?"
At Kaoru’s whisper, Ai immediately understood what the boy was asking.
Even if she had never been good at schoolwork, as a woman she naturally understood what it meant.
But—
Rather, Ai felt relieved that she couldn’t remember the details clearly because she was too swept up in excitement.
She had longed for a bustling family. As someone who had always been alone, she had always yearned for the existence called [family]. She wanted to feel and give more [love]. If she understood what [love] was as one man’s lover—
In the future she would share with Kaoru, she wanted to know [love] as a [family], as a [mother].
She, Hoshino Ai, had now realized how to do that, and had decided to put it into practice.
"...Kaoru..."
The boy, who had been unconsciously tense, felt a wave of relief.
At last, Kaoru made up his mind.
Just for today. Rather than thinking about an uncertain future that might or might not come, they would entrust themselves to each other in this moment.
The flickering light drove away the darkness.
-
Chirp chirpchirp chirp
Bright sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the living room. The mountain birds living in the hills flapped their wings while singing songs to announce the morning in their own ways.
Feeling the soreness and dull aches in her body, Ai slowly opened her eyes, still heavy with sleep.
"......"
The girl, who had become an adult overnight, looked at the boy sleeping quietly beside her, holding her tightly in his arms.
Radiant blond hair, a straight nose, masculine thick eyebrows, eyes that always held warmth, a sharp jawline, and skin without a single blemish.
And—
"..."
Her heart thudded again, and Ai’s face flushed bright red.
Lips.
She was embarrassed, ashamed, but happy.
The moment she carefully recalled what had happened yesterday, her ears turned red too, and she rubbed her face against Kaoru’s chest.
She had stayed in his arms all this time, but she still wanted to stay there.
'I’m happy...'
Ai realized that, starting with last night, the worldview of her life had completely changed. She had gone through life without ever realizing that the world she lived in was this colorful, this happy, this beautiful.
A beautiful world she would never have known without Kaoru.
In that beautiful world, in the arms of the boy she loved most in the world—so happy that she kept letting out little giggles, Ai buried her face deeper into Kaoru’s chest.
Kaoru.
Ai quietly tried saying the boy’s name out loud.
She wanted to remember and vividly carve into herself the movement of her tongue and vocal cords as she pronounced his name, along with every emotion she felt.
Kaoru. Kaoru. Kaoru. Ai kept whispering softly.
"I like you—heehee~ I like you—Kaoru—Kaoru—Kaoru—I love you—I like you—mm—love you—you’re asleep so you can’t hear me, but—I love you—"
In an instant, Kaoru’s left arm wrapped around Ai’s shoulders and pulled her close. Startled, Ai flinched, and a groggy boy’s voice, thick with sleep, settled into her ear just as he woke.
"...Me too."
"!@#!@!!#"
Ai’s embarrassed cry shattered the quiet mountain morning.
-
At 9:00 a.m., the two of them returned to Tokyo on Sunday.
Leaving behind the villa of memories where they had spent an unforgettable night, Kaoru and Ai set out once more on the road back to reality.
They rode through the morning sunlight rising brighter and brighter into the sky, meeting the chilly wind, but unlike yesterday, their hearts were peaceful.
"Ghh—ah... ngh..."
Ai got off the motorcycle, her body aching and throbbing from her first experience, and grimaced through the pain.
She had tried to endure it, but getting on a motorcycle right after waking up had indeed been too much.
Seeing Ai struggle, Kaoru bit his lip lightly and, with a worried expression, held her shoulder to support her while checking her complexion.
"Ai, are you okay? Should I get you some painkillers—"
"No. I’m fine, Kaoru. I can handle it!"
"......"
Ai smiled at him and said she was fine instead. Watching her in pain, Kaoru briefly regretted the way he had failed to restrain his instincts last night, but he soon shook his head and brushed the thought away.
No matter what happened in the future, he had resolved to give everything he had for Ai.
Hoshino Ai was strong and resolute.
Hadn’t he promised to trust her and rely on each other whenever they needed to?
Kaoru sat Ai on the motorcycle seat and let her lean against him, then immediately took out his phone at the vibration buzzing inside his jacket and pressed the call button.
"Hello."
- You’re at the parking lot, right?
"Yes. You can come in."
Click
The other party hung up without answering. Kaoru folded his phone and put it in his pocket.
Before leaving, he had called Ichigo Saito, the president of Ichigo Production, to tell him he was bringing Ai back to Tokyo and that they should meet at the agreed location.
Ai had strongly opposed it, but she could not change Kaoru’s mind.
Ai looked at Kaoru with worried eyes after he ended the call and wrapped her arms around his arm.
"...The president?"
"Yeah."
"......Kaoru. It’s not too late even now, so why don’t we just leave? No matter how I look at it, you shouldn’t have to shoulder all of this alone, right?"
"Ai. It’ll be fine. Don’t you trust me?"
"...I do. But... I hate the idea of Kaoru taking all the blame..."
"......"
Kaoru looked at the black sedan pulling rapidly into the public parking lot.
Ai’s hand tightened around the boy’s arm. He could feel her hand trembling clearly.
Kaoru turned back and looked at Ai with his usual warm, gentle eyes.
"Ai."
"Yeah."
"All I need is you."
"Yeah. I’ll be here."
Ai nodded so fiercely it looked as if she were ready to stake her life on it, and somehow that made her look adorable in this situation. Kaoru let out a small laugh and said in a playful voice, "Promise?"
"Yeah!"
From the driver’s seat of the black sedan stopped in the middle of the quiet public parking lot on the outskirts of Tokyo, a man in a suit and sunglasses got out and strode quickly toward them.
Seeing him, Ai swallowed hard.
The man looked as though he hadn’t slept a wink, and his face, shadowed by coarse stubble, was filled with an anger he could not contain.
His eyes, blazing fiercely behind the sunglasses, fixed on Kaoru as he approached like a hellish demon.
Kaoru confirmed that look from afar and felt relieved.
That man, Ichigo Saito, was not just the president of an agency—he was truly worried about Ai as a pillar of the world.
And that made Kaoru feel a little sorry.
"President—"
"Ai! Get away from that bastard!"
Instead of greeting him, Ichigo clenched his fist, grabbed Kaoru by the collar, and swung at him.
Kaoru did not dodge, even after seeing the trajectory of the fist flying toward his face.
"You little bastard!"
Thud!
That was because, as another man, he judged it to be the proper thing to do.
Ai, however, had clearly not expected it at all—her eyes went wide like a rabbit’s, and forgetting even her own pain, she shoved Ichigo hard and let out a shrill scream.
"What are you doing!? Why are you hitting Kaoru?!"
"Ai! Move! This bastard—where the hell do you get the nerve to show your face now?! What did you do to Ai!? Huh!? You bastard!"
"I’m sorry."
"Sorry?! Sorry?! You sure do know how to say sorry, don’t you?!"
Ichigo tried once more to grab Kaoru by the collar and throw another punch, but Ai, despite her small frame, somehow found the strength to wedge herself between them and shove Ichigo away with all her might, separating him from Kaoru.
Her body trembled with fear, tension, and excitement, but Ai faced Ichigo with tear-bright, starlit eyes and shouted, "Don’t hit him! If you lay a hand on Kaoru, I’ll never stay quiet."
"Ai. Y-you, right now, what are you—"
Ichigo was the one who was shocked. Was the dating rumor true? Ai’s behavior, standing in front of Kaoru with tears in her eyes, was far too unfamiliar to him.
The Ai blocking him now was not the same Ai Saito had known before. The lonely girl covered in wounds had become a woman who now found the courage to protect someone precious to her.
Kaoru ignored the swelling on his face from the punch, placed his hands on Ai’s shoulders, gave her a reassuring pat, and gently pushed her forward so she would walk toward Ichigo.
"Kaoru...!"
Worried and confused, Ai looked up at him as Kaoru forced her to move toward Ichigo.
Even so, Kaoru only smiled without saying a word.
After escorting Ai over, Kaoru bowed politely, then looked at Ichigo with unwavering blue eyes and said, "I’m deeply sorry to meet you under such circumstances. I’m Kaoru Kamiki. President Saito, I sincerely apologize for causing you concern over Ai’s matter, and I have no excuse."
"......"
Ichigo, still not having calmed down, panted harshly and glared at Kaoru as if he wanted to kill him.
Ai watched the two of them anxiously, afraid Ichigo might throw another punch.
"You little punk! Do you even understand what you’ve done, huh? Do you have any idea how much effort and hardship Ai went through to get here—do you know that?!"
"I’m sorry."
"If saying sorry could solve it, this would’ve been over already! It’s not just an hour. It’s been a whole day! Do you know how much blood I’ve been sweating over this?!"
At Ichigo’s shout, Kaoru looked at him and said, "I’ll take full responsibility and retire."
"......What?"
Ichigo could only stare blankly at the boy after hearing the unexpected words come out of his mouth.
As the president of the agency, he could tell at a glance that the boy in front of him clearly possessed dazzling talent.
The road to success ahead of him was all but guaranteed. To be honest, even if he insisted otherwise, there was nothing they could do about it from this side.
Even if Ai fell into ruin and B Komachi was torn apart—
As an actor, Kamiki Kaoru had the kind of face, talent, and presence that could climb toward a high [star] no matter what work he took, even if he had to wear a steel mask and keep going for a long time.
That was why Ichigo found it even harder to believe.
"Retire... you say?"
"Yes. We’ll officially announce that the dating rumor is completely false."
"...A-are you out of your mind?"
Kaoru smiled silently, then looked at the girl standing beside Ichigo, watching him with tearful, starlit eyes, and said, "Ai and I are officially dating."
"...What?"
When Ichigo asked again in shock, Kaoru met his eyes with that same indifferent gaze and said, "If I didn’t love Ai, there would be no reason to tell you, even as a lie, that I’d take responsibility and retire. You already know what I’ve been like, don’t you?"
Ichigo, having been seen through so precisely and pierced by Kaoru’s sharp words, was left speechless like a mute with honey in his mouth.
Just as the boy said.
If this had merely been a passing fling, there would be no way he’d pull something insane like this—calling the head of the agency, saying he’d take responsibility, and disappearing with Ai.
Come to think of it, the proper response would have been to quickly call the media and deny everything before the other side could react.
Whether B Komachi performed at the Budokan or Ai got kicked out as a traitor, if he had simply spun it as them being friends or acquaintances, Kaoru would not have lost anything at all.
Even after being punched, grabbed by the collar, and cursed at, he still didn’t cower before him—
Watching the boy remain calm and composed without the slightest wavering, while trying to trip him up in return, Ichigo was suddenly overcome by a strange sense of incongruity.
It felt less like he was talking to a boy and more like he was speaking with a seasoned adult who had seen everything under the sun. Ichigo forgot to stay angry for a moment and simply stared at him.
"You love Ai enough to take responsibility for one person’s life and say you’ll retire as an actor... that easily?"
At Ichigo’s question, asked in genuine curiosity, Kaoru nodded and said, "Yes. I love her. Enough that I’d give up everything I have."
"...Kaoru..."
Watching Ai finally fail to hold back her tears and throw herself into the boy’s arms, Ichigo nearly lost strength in his legs and collapsed on the spot.
He had never imagined, even thirty minutes ago, that something that belonged only in dramas and movies would happen to him in real life.
And even less had he imagined that the girl—that strange girl—would meet him again with the face of a woman who had awakened to [love].
Brushing back his sweat-damp bangs, Ichigo forced himself to organize the chaos threatening to blow his mind apart, steadied his breathing like he was doing yoga, put a hand on his waist, and said, "For now, I’m taking Ai with me."
"......"
Ai, who had been holding onto Kaoru, looked unhappy, but at Kaoru’s gentle patting she forcibly swallowed her protest and walked over to stand beside Ichigo.
Ichigo looked back and forth between Ai and Kaoru with a complicated expression, then pressed a hand to his throbbing temple and continued, "I can’t believe you’re really going to retire until I see it with my own eyes. This is already out of our hands. You know that one side has to take responsibility no matter what, right? You’re smart, aren’t you? That’s why you said that, isn’t it?"
"That’s right."
"As for your relationship with Ai... I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that for now."
"Eh!?"
Kaoru nodded quietly, but Ai looked up at him in surprise, as if asking what he meant.
But when the boy gave her a faint smile and shook his head, Ai’s face darkened and she fell silent.
Noticing that, Ichigo looked at Kaoru and said, "I assume you understand the reason for that too. Right?"
"Yes. If it’s for Ai, I can wait as long as needed."
"......Hah. Damn it. Seriously. Ha-ha. Unbelievable."
Was it true that when reason couldn’t accept something, laughter came out instead? Maybe because he hadn’t slept all night, Ichigo’s head was too foggy to process this situation properly, and he let out a dry laugh.
How exactly had Ai managed to fool his eyes and end up with that obnoxious-looking bastard in front of him...?
'Because he’s exactly that kind of guy.'
As more and more cars began passing along the roads nearby, Ichigo let out a deep sigh, took Ai’s hand, and walked toward the car.
"Kaoru! I-I’ll text you! Don’t worry about me! Okay? I love you! I love you, Kaoru!"
At Ai’s cry, Kaoru smiled quietly and waved back.
Ichigo placed Ai in the passenger seat of the black sedan, then, just before getting into the driver’s seat, looked back at Kaoru waving from a distance.
"......"
Grinding his tongue against his teeth, tasting both anger and curiosity at once, Ichigo finally looked away, opened the door, and got into the driver’s seat.
He glanced at Ai as she rolled down the window and waved goodbye, then immediately drove off, leaving the parking lot behind.
"...Haa."
Once Ichigo’s black sedan had gone far enough to disappear from view, Kaoru lowered the hand he had been waving and let out a sigh.
Pain finally surged belatedly through the left side of his face where he had been hit.
He spat to the side, and a tearing pain flared as a little blood flew out.
That punch was pretty nasty. With a blank expression, Kaoru took out his phone and selected a familiar contact before placing the call.
Looking up at the wide blue sky, Kaoru spoke in a quiet voice to the person who had answered.
"...Yes, Director. It’s me. Are you available to talk?"
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