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[Game] Chapter 82: Why Suddenly Shy? (5/5)
🕑 Added 2024-12-31 09:47:16 +0000 UTCAt 8 p.m., after clinging to Ichin for quite a while, Utaha finally decided to head home.
When they reached the front door, she turned around and extended her hand toward Ichin.
“Hm?”
Ichin stared at her gesture, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
With a smile on her face, Utaha said, “The key. Hand me your house key.”
“Huh?”
“I said, give me the key to your place!” Utaha repeated, looking straight at him. “We’re jogging together tomorrow morning, right? To make sure you actually get up on time, I’ve decided to supervise you. So, hand over the key.”
Ichin highly doubted her reasoning was that simple.
He scrutinized her carefully but found no telltale signs of ulterior motives. Instead, his gaze prompted Utaha to stand up straighter, which only accentuated her already striking figure.
“Fine, here you go.”
Ichin turned back toward his bedroom and fetched a spare key. He placed it in Utaha’s hand and said, “Keep it safe, alright? Don’t lose it.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
Utaha, treating the key like a priceless treasure, carefully stashed it in her bag. With a beaming smile, she said, “Well then, I’m heading back now. Goodnight, Ichin-kun.”
“Goodnight.”
As the door closed, Ichin let out a sigh and scratched his head.
“That girl… She’s not really going to show up at my place super early, is she? Well, it’s Sunday. She probably won’t. Even though she said she’d jog, with her personality, there’s no way she’ll actually wake up on time. If she does, I’ll give her credit for it.”
Satisfied with this thought, Ichin dismissed his worries, leisurely took a shower, and returned to his bedroom. While listening to music, he began writing down plans for the game Persona.
Though he didn’t know when development would start, drafting the proposal early felt like the responsible thing to do.
Meanwhile, back at her home, Utaha strode into her room in high spirits, ignoring her parents’ curious glances.
As soon as she entered, she dove onto her bed, pulled Ichin’s apartment key out of her bag, and stared at it with a faint blush on her face.
“Hehe, I’ve got the key now. Honestly, it’s all Ichin-kun’s fault for being so passive. I have to take the initiative for everything.”
She lightly touched her lips, then hugged her pillow and rolled around on the bed.
Her current demeanor was a far cry from her usual cool and elegant image at school.
---
Sunday, 5 a.m.
As her alarm blared, Utaha instantly woke up and shot upright in bed.
She grabbed her phone to check the time. Perfect—she hadn’t overslept.
Although still a little drowsy, going to bed at 10 p.m. the previous night after wrapping up some work on the second volume of her novel ensured she had a solid seven hours of sleep.
“Alright, time to get moving!”
Slipping out of her bedroom, Utaha made sure to keep quiet since it was still early and her parents were sound asleep.
After a quick wash in the bathroom, she returned to her room, changed into her workout clothes, and headed out.
From the moment she woke up to stepping out the door, she managed to avoid alerting her parents entirely.
Maybe it’s time I consider a career change to Assassin, she mused.
Stepping out of her house, Utaha walked to Ichin’s apartment next door. With an excited heart, she pulled out the key and unlocked his door.
Inside, the apartment was silent. It was no surprise—there was no way Ichin would be awake before 5:30 a.m.
“Excuse me,” she whispered softly, slipping off her shoes and stepping into the house.
Crossing the living room with familiarity, she stopped in front of Ichin’s bedroom door. She reached for the handle and slowly turned it.
As the door opened, the dimly lit room came into view.
On the bed, Ichin was sound asleep, tucked under the blanket, showing no sign of waking up despite Utaha’s intrusion.
To avoid making noise, Utaha even took off her slippers before stepping into the bedroom.
With silent movements, she approached the window by his bed. However, as she stood there for a moment, a mischievous thought surfaced.
Isn’t this a bit unrestrained? she wondered. But then she reasoned with herself—Ichin had given her the key, hadn’t he? That practically made her half the owner of this place. Surely, it was okay to do a little more.
With that thought, Utaha decided to take it one step further. She carefully climbed onto the bed, inching her way under the blanket beside Ichin.
Her heart pounded furiously as she carried out her bold actions, feeling like it might burst out of her chest.
When she accidentally brushed against Ichin’s shoulder, she froze as he stirred. She held her breath, body tense, but luckily, he only shifted positions and went back to sleep.
Relieved, she watched his now-turned face, making sure he was still deep in slumber. Once reassured, Utaha relaxed and leaned lightly against him. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to doze off again.
---
Time ticked by. Ichin, aware of his morning jogging plans, had set an alarm for 6:50.
As usual, though, he woke up a little before the alarm could go off.
What wasn’t usual, however, was the sight that greeted him.
As he opened his eyes, he was startled to find a sleeping girl right in front of him. The drowsiness vanished instantly.
Once his brain registered that it was Utaha Kasumigaoka, he reached up to pinch his cheek. Feeling the sting, he realized it wasn’t a dream.
Looking at her peacefully sleeping beside him, he couldn’t help but laugh quietly.
If you came over, you could’ve just woken me up. Why sneak into bed and fall asleep yourself?
Utaha was lying on her side, hands lightly clasped in front of her chest. Her slightly parted lips moved gently with her breathing, creating a tranquil and picturesque scene.
For a moment, Ichin wondered—if the two of them continued like this, maybe in the future, waking up to this sight would become a daily occurrence.
He thought back to his days of living alone. Now, it felt like so many things in his life were changing rapidly.
“But... this doesn’t seem so bad,” he murmured to himself.
His soft words, coupled with the sound of his alarm going off, finally woke Utaha from her slumber.
Clearly still drowsy, she rubbed her eyes and looked at Ichin with a puzzled expression. “Am I dreaming?”
Ichin chuckled and gently brushed her hair out of her face. “Good morning, Utaha.”
“G-Good morning?!”
Utaha snapped awake, shooting upright. As she looked at Ichin sitting beside her, her face turned beet red, the warmth rushing through her entire body.
You’re the one who started all this, so why are you the one getting so embarrassed now? Ichin thought with an amused smile.
...
