I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

She tilted her head adorably, her long hair cascading down in front of her, and revealed a flawless, sweet smile as she gazed at him gently and quietly.

However, the chill and murderous aura emanating from him made Tenkuji Yu's throat go dry and his lower body feel cold involuntarily—don't ask him why it was cold there, just that his girlfriend has a special attack.

This is Yukino Yukinoshita's ultimatum.

After coughing twice, Tenkuji Yu raised his glass and said with deep affection, "To my lovely and noble girlfriend, Tsukito die."

"Why don't you just eat quietly and behave yourself? Why do you have to be so talkative?"

Yukino's smile faded, and she gave him a cold glance, but still raised her glass and clinked it lightly with his: "Also, it's Cheers. Please pronounce it correctly. The top student in the grade."

"What are you talking about? My number one is your number one, why are you still distinguishing between us?"

Tenkuji Yu looked blaming, her voice so greasy it was nauseating.

As if she couldn't stand him, Yukino picked up a piece of tamagoyaki from her own bento box and forcefully stuffed it into his mouth.

"Eat without talking."

"..." Tenkuji Yu silently chewed on it.

Seeing her nervously and expectantly glancing at his performance after she withdrew her hand, he quickly understood what was going on.

—Shutting her mouth was just a pretense; she actually wanted to take the opportunity to personally feed him her homemade bento. She was still worried that it wouldn't taste good and was waiting for his feedback.

Tenkuji Yu couldn't help but secretly curl his lip, feeling disdain.

Seriously, how come someone who's so handsome when confessing their feelings suddenly gets shy at a time like this?

She has no airs of a young lady at all.

Did she grow up eating cuteness? She's absolutely adorable.

"good to eat."

Without keeping her in suspense for too long, after swallowing the tamagoyaki, Yuu Tenkuji calmly shared her thoughts: "Although it's a standard dish made perfectly according to the recipe, the sweetness was specially reduced, and you can feel the chef's dedication in this regard... so it was very delicious to me."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yukino Yukinoshita pursed her lips, but couldn't help but smile up, revealing a happy smile.

Her pretty face flushed slightly, and she quietly exhaled, placing her hand on her chest, as if talking to herself: "...Hmm, as long as it tastes good."

"Try mine too."

Yuu Tenkuji picked up her tamagoyaki—a dish that's basically included in any Japanese bento box—and offered it to her soft, cherry-blossom-colored lips with a very natural gesture.

"...Yours will definitely taste better than mine, right?"

After hesitating for a moment, Yukino Yukinoshita did not refuse him. She gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her fingertips, revealing her flawless and beautiful profile, with the slight blush on her earlobes clearly visible.

Then, the girl bent down, opened her mouth slightly, and gently touched the tamagoyaki on the chopsticks with her warm breath before enveloping it with her pink and moist mouth.

"Well……"

She sat back down, her little hand demurely covering her mouth as she chewed slowly.

Just thinking about how her lips seemed to have accidentally touched the end of the chopsticks he had been biting made her panic. She completely avoided his eyes, trying her best to suppress the shyness and awkwardness that burned from her chest to her face, and focused all her attention on the taste of the food.

...Indirect kissing, it's really nothing.

It's just unhygienic contact with saliva, so why would it make your heart beat this fast?

"……call."

Her beautifully contoured throat bobbed as she swallowed the substance. Yukino Yukinoshita, her eyes slightly closed, calmly offered her assessment, much like he had done moments before:

"It's still the same, a taste that's so unexpectedly delicious... It's the same tamagoyaki, what recipe are you using?"

"Nothing special." Appreciating her feigned composure, Tenkuji Yu smiled and said, "Next time you come to my house, I'll teach you how to cook."

"..." Yukino Yukinoshita's face froze almost imperceptibly, as if she had thought of something.

Yuuki Tenkuji added, "Come over to my house and pet my cat, Yukino misses you so much."

Her expression quickly returned to normal, and Yukino calmly touched her long hair, saying unhurriedly, "Only a scumbag would use a cat as an excuse to invite a girl to his house, Tenkuji-kun."

"But since you're a couple now, there's no need to worry about that kind of thing anymore..."

As if trying to convince herself, her voice trailed off, her thoughts drifting further and further away: "And his younger sister is there too. It might be a little awkward, but at least it ensures… no, is this really a good thing…?"

Certain images flashed through my mind, and my ears grew increasingly hot.

It's all his fault. He said something about having a bunch of kids, which made me reflexively think about that...

"Miss Yukino? Darling? The food's getting cold!"

Tenkuji Yu waved his hand in front of her dazed eyes, hiding his barely suppressed smile, and said with sincere concern, "Although it was originally cold, the feelings contained within it will not be cold, but it is about to be cold, so please snap out of it."

Her thoughts were interrupted, and Yukino, her pretty face tense, glared at him fiercely: "Please speak logically! I don't understand what you're saying!"

Then, as if to cover up his actions, he picked up some boiled chicken from the bento box and stuffed it into his mouth.

After eating, Yuu Tenkuji picked up her own teriyaki chicken ball and took a big bite, her face flushed.

Her stir-fried fresh vegetables.

His sweet and sour pork ribs.

Her potato stew.

His cold vermicelli salad...

And so, they took turns feeding each other, and it naturally turned into a couple's feeding show.

The two fed each other the food from their bento boxes, without even intending to take a bite themselves. They just wanted to see the other nod in satisfaction, and that made them very happy.

Time passed slowly, and the warm winter sun continued to shine on the Department of Service.

The glass windows quietly blocked the cold wind, and the room was filled with bright sunlight, as if spring had arrived early.

Perhaps out of fear of embarrassment, Yukino didn't say a word during this time, but just sat very close to him and unconsciously leaned her shoulder on his.

Yuya Tenkuji went along with her wishes, and they quietly fed each other, enjoying this sweet and warm lunch time.

When the two came to their senses, Yukino Yukinoshita's bento box was completely empty, while Yuu Tenkuji still had about a quarter of its portion left.

"Have you eaten enough?" Tenkuji Yu asked softly in her ear.

Yukino nodded, put down her chopsticks, and stood up; because they were close together, their clothes rubbed together and made a small rustling sound.

"I'll go make another cup of tea."

When she returned after making tea, Tenkuji Yu had already finished all the remaining food and packed up her bento box.

After lunch, the two of them held their teacups, breathing in the rich aroma of the tea steam, and stood side by side watching the silent doorway.

Occasionally, I would take a small sip of tea, squint my eyes, and seem to still be able to taste the familiar scent on the other person.

Neither of them really had any ideas about what to do or say at that moment; they were just staring blankly at the scenery with the person next to them.

Just doing this makes me feel incredibly content, as if I'm filled with something warm and invisible, allowing my whole body to relax and making me feel lazy and drowsy.

I don't know when, but the tea was all gone, and the two paper cups were placed on the table, their rims touching.

Nestled against his shoulder, Yukino Yukinoshita squinted like a kitten, her soft and slender body seemingly giving up all resistance, pressing her weight down on him without any warning.

"call……"

"Want to sleep?"

"A little."

The back of her hand rested on his thigh, her palms overlapping, her fingers warm as if they were melting into water, yet she couldn't bear to let go before they completely melted.

Ignoring the strands of hair sticking to the corners of her mouth, Yukino let out a small yawn and lazily asked, "How much longer until lunch break ends?"

"Fifteen more minutes." Without even looking at his watch, Tenkuji Yuu easily came to the answer.

"So fast..." Yukino muttered with slight dissatisfaction, turning her head to sniff the scent on his neck before turning away nonchalantly and brushing a strand of hair from the corner of her mouth.

"Are you getting ready to leave?"

"Let's stay a little longer."

Tenkuji Yu tightened her grip on her fingers, her tone mature yet gentle, yet filled with a childlike reluctance to leave: "I've calculated it, there are only five minutes left before I can go back and make it to class."

"I just can't do anything with you."

She said this helplessly, but then smiled like a child who had just eaten candy, and pressed herself against him, squeezing the air between them out again.

She looked at the profile of Tenkuji Yu, and just then, Tenkuji Yu also turned his head to look back.

"..."

"..."

Their eyes met less than ten centimeters apart.

The Service Club classroom suddenly vanished, leaving only the other's lips reflected in each other's eyes.

Breathing stopped; in contrast, the rapid beating of the heart instantly filled the quiet air, pounding against the eardrums.

They gazed at each other, their eyes unblinking, completely oblivious to the passage of time.

No need to say anything.

No need to ask for permission.

Yukino Yukinoshita slowly closed her eyes, raised her chin, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly, as if she was nervous, or perhaps just looking forward to it.

Those slightly parted cherry-colored lips shimmered with a jewel-like, glossy sheen.

She didn't have to wait long. Tenkuji Yu lowered his head and, with a kind of sacred and loving feeling, gently sealed her softness.

Moist and scalding hot.

Their breaths touched.

After the suffocation, what flows is a heat that seems to dissolve the body.

Even the feelings of loving each other must be conveyed to the depths of their hearts through such contact.

After a long while, she slowly clenched his hand, while her other hand gripped his collar tightly.

From the initial tension and stiffness, Yukino Yukinoshita, seemingly unwilling to admit defeat, launched a clumsy but focused counterattack, occasionally letting out a slight pant, which she then suppressed herself.

Gently responding to her first kiss, Tenkuji Yu lightly caressed the girl's slender shoulders, when suddenly he thought of something.

'Platonic love...that must include pure and sweet kisses, right?'