The Sneaky Kiss Probably Went Unnoticed, Right?

The hospital bed partition was almost too quiet, with only the steady, faint sound of Shioyama Lemon’s breathing coming from the neighboring bed.

Yanami Anna subconsciously stepped half a step back, widening the distance between herself and Imaizumi Keita.

Just moments ago she had been full of confidence, but now her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears were heating up beyond her control.

The school nurse’s remark—“If you’re going to do something, remember to think carefully about the consequences”—sent her thoughts spiraling.

She secretly lifted her eyes and stole a quick glance at Imaizumi Keita.

Imaizumi Keita wasn’t paying any attention to Yanami at all.

He checked on Shioyama Lemon, who had fallen asleep after replenishing fluids, and confirmed that her condition was stable for the moment.

Only then did he turn his gaze back to Yanami and sit down on the bed to speak.

“Alright, now that there’s no one else here, Yanami, there’s really no need for you to stay, right?”

Yanami Anna’s heart gave a sudden jump.

She knew it—this guy was definitely going to ask that.

If it were the old her, faced with such a direct question, she would’ve already panicked, either babbling incoherently or raising her voice to cover up her guilt.

But now, after being tempered by a series of events, she had vaguely grasped the knack of dealing with Imaizumi Keita’s sharp and straightforward style of communication.

She lifted her chin and put on the bright, confident demeanor she was best at.

“Hmph.”

Yanami Anna let out a light snort, deliberately avoiding Imaizumi’s eyes as she spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Didn’t I already explain the reason to the teacher just now?”

“I just wanted to stay and look after you, a patient—do I really need your permission for that?”

“I see.”

Imaizumi Keita nodded and accepted her explanation with surprising ease.

“Well then.”

After speaking, he turned around and casually lay back on the empty bed, relaxing his entire body into the soft mattress.

“Since you’re so eager to take care of me,”

he turned his head and looked at Yanami, who was still standing there,

“then I won’t hold back.

I stayed in that storage room for quite a while earlier, so I’m honestly a bit tired.

I need to sleep for a bit.”

“Huh?”

Yanami Anna froze.

She hadn’t expected Imaizumi Keita to wrap things up so cleanly and actually lie down just like that.

All the follow-up lines she had prepared got stuck in her throat, neither coming out nor going back down.

“You…”

“What is it, Miss Anna?”

Imaizumi Keita closed his eyes, his voice carrying a hint of hoarseness, as if he truly were tired.

“Is there a problem?”

“N-no, nothing!”

Yanami Anna’s cheeks flushed again.

This jerk always said things that made her heart race, all in such a calm tone.

She stomped her foot in annoyance, then lowered her voice and muttered,

“Sleep then, sleep!

You are a patient, after all!”

After saying that, she pulled over a chair from nearby, carefully placed it beside Imaizumi Keita’s bed, and sat down.

Outside the curtain came the faint sound of the nurse occasionally turning pages, while inside it was utterly quiet.

Imaizumi Keita seemed to have really fallen asleep.

His breathing grew long and even, his chest rising and falling steadily with each breath.

Yanami Anna sat quietly at his bedside, propping her chin on her hand as she watched him without moving.

With all his masks and calculations stripped away, Imaizumi Keita in sleep looked less distant and controlling than usual, and more gently approachable.

His eyelashes were long, casting a small shadow beneath his eyes, and the lines of his lips appeared much softer than usual.

As she kept looking, Yanami Anna’s cheeks gradually reddened without her even noticing.

Her heartbeat began to accelerate in an irregular rhythm.

Scenes from the day replayed uncontrollably in her mind.

A mix of emotions—grievance, anger, guilt, embarrassment, and… a faint trace of joy—intertwined together, leaving her mind slightly muddled.

Staring at his face so close to her, a bold thought rose up from the depths of her heart.

Yanami subconsciously turned her head and glanced at the blue curtain, then tilted her ear to listen for any sounds outside.

Everything was quiet.

Her heart thumped so loudly it felt like it might leap out of her throat.

Reason told her, “Don’t,” but her body refused to listen.

She bit her lower lip and slowly leaned toward Imaizumi Keita on the bed.

Ten centimeters.

Five centimeters.

One centimeter.

She could clearly feel the warmth of his breath brushing lightly against her cheek, carrying a faintly reassuring scent.

Her lips touched Imaizumi Keita’s cheek as lightly as a dragonfly skimming water.

Just for an instant.

Yet the warm, soft sensation spread through her entire body in a flash.

Boom—!

Yanami Anna’s mind went completely blank, her face burning red all the way down to her neck.

She covered her blazing cheeks with both hands, not daring to look at Imaizumi Keita again, and in a fluster buried her head against the edge of the bed, curling up into a ball.

W-what did I just… do?!

That was way too bold!

What if he noticed?

No… he definitely didn’t notice, right?

He was asleep… wasn’t he?

There’s no way he was pretending to sleep just to watch me embarrass myself, right?

She lay there at the bedside, her thoughts running wild—regretting her impulsiveness one moment, then uncontrollably savoring the brief touch from earlier the next.

All kinds of thoughts spun around in her head, leaving her dizzy.

And the exhaustion from the day’s running around and emotional ups and downs came crashing over her like a tide in this quiet, comforting atmosphere.

Gradually, her chaotic thoughts blurred, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Before she knew it, she had fallen fast asleep, slumped over the edge of the bed.

…

When Imaizumi Keita woke up, the first thing he felt was a numbness running through his entire left arm.

He instinctively tried to move it, only to find that his arm wouldn’t obey him at all, pressed down by something from above.

He opened his eyes, and what greeted him was the familiar ceiling of the infirmary.

The air carried a faint scent of disinfectant, and… the fresh fragrance of a girl’s shampoo.

He turned his head and saw Yanami sleeping soundly at the edge of his bed.

Her entire body was resting on his left arm, her cheek slightly squished from the pressure, her lips unconsciously pouting as she breathed softly and evenly.

A few stray strands of hair trembled gently with each breath.

So that’s how it was.

Looking at the head resting on his arm, Imaizumi Keita finally understood the source of the numbness.

He didn’t wake her right away, simply watching her sleeping profile in silence.

He took out his phone.

The time displayed on the screen was already 12:30.

Without realizing it, it had reached lunchtime.

Imaizumi Keita’s gaze returned to Yanami Anna’s face.

He extended his right hand—the one he could still move—and brushed aside the hair by her cheek with his fingertips, then lightly traced along the contour of her face.

A delicate, warm sensation traveled up from his fingers.

He could clearly feel a certain impulse stirring within him.

The desire to form a deeper, closer connection with the girl before him.

The desire to see more expressions of hers that no one else knew, meant only for him.

The intensity of that feeling surprised even himself.

But a rational voice also sounded in his mind.

He didn’t truly know what Yanami’s views on romance and relationships were like, and they were probably different from his own.

If he were to rashly and directly confirm a relationship with her, she would likely cling to him completely, wanting to claim him as hers.

He had no intention of becoming a devoted, faithful good man…

Just as Imaizumi Keita was lost in this brief contemplation, the girl beneath his fingers suddenly fluttered her eyelashes.

As if sensing something, Yanami Anna let out a vague murmur in her sleep.

She slowly opened her still-drowsy eyes, hazily gazing at the face so close to hers, her consciousness not yet fully returned.

She blinked, then broke into a sweet smile, her voice husky and lazy with the remnants of sleep.

“Good morning, Keita…”

Seeing her utterly clueless, adorably dazed expression, Imaizumi Keita couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

He withdrew his hand and spoke slowly in a teasing tone.

“Looks like you were having a pretty nice dream, Yanami.”

“But it’s already lunchtime now, not morning.”

“Huh…?”

Yanami Anna sat upright and stared out the window in shock.

The bright sunlight outside was unmistakably that of midday.

“L-lunch break?!”

She let out a short cry, her face instantly filled with regret.

“Oh no!

My bento!

I left it in the classroom and didn’t bring it over!”

With a troubled expression, she quickly turned back to Imaizumi and asked with concern.

“Ah, forget that!

How about you?

Are you feeling better?

Does it still hurt?”