In the dim haze, Mari vaguely felt the warmth beside her. Without thinking, she reached out and tightly embraced the body next to her. Still in a deep sleep, her consciousness not yet awake, she instinctively moved closer to the other person, following her natural impulses.
Her hands wrapped tightly around the person, feeling their body heat—an embrace she had never experienced before, one that she had never felt, having never had a boyfriend. A blissful expression appeared on her face as she lowered her head and gently to kiss the person in her arms.
Haruto slowly opened his eyes, feeling the wet and sticky sensation on his cheek. He turned his head slightly and looked at the woman beside him, who normally exuded an air of professionalism and strength. But now, she was tightly hugging him, leaving him unable to move, her face grinning foolishly at him. The sight made Haruto reflect deeply on the situation.
He hadn't expected the other person to have such a personality while asleep. It seemed completely different from the person she was when awake, almost like two different people.
With his left hand free, Haruto casually picked up his phone beside the pillow and glanced at the time. Silently, he tried to free his right arm, which was trapped in the Mari's embrace. He also tried to pull away, but the other person showed no intention of letting go. Upon realizing Haruto's "struggle," the woman instead tightened her grip, pulling him even closer, reducing the small distance between them. He could even hear the rapid and heavy breathing of the woman beside him.
The woman's face came closer to his, and her soft lips quickly pressed against her cheek, leaving traces of saliva as she licked his face. For the first time, Haruto experienced the sensation of being "licked" by someone.
The strange sensation made him close his eyes involuntarily. He didn't dislike the feeling but was curious about how long the other person would continue.
Having finally gotten the boyfriend she had longed for, Mari, even though unable to see his expression, embraced him joyfully. She hugged him tightly in her arms, and in a moment of overwhelming emotion, she even secretly left a kiss on his face.
"Do you love me?" she asked, looking at her lover.
But the blurry figure in front of her did not answer as she had hoped. The sense of unreality that she had been ignoring suddenly flooded her mind, making her feel something was wrong.
The figure of her "lover" became increasingly blurry, replaced by a cold sensation on her lips and nose. Slowly, she opened her eyes, waking up from the dream. She blinked and stared at the unfamiliar surroundings. After a moment of confusion, she stiffened, realizing that she didn't have a boyfriend after all.
'So who am I holding right now?'
A chill spread through her, and her scalp tingled. She quickly pulled her arms away from the person she had been holding, her body jerking back. Her skirt slid off, and with a thud, she fell off the bed, disappearing from view.
"Ah! Yikes—"
With a startled cry, Mari tumbled to the floor. She hadn't expected the bed to be so small. A slight retreat had caused her to fall right off. Thankfully, her body didn't hurt too much, but the fall was enough to snap her wide awake. Propping herself up with one hand, she frantically checked her clothes with the other hand in panic.
"You're finally awake?"
Just as Mari began to worry she had landed herself in one of those TV drama-like disaster scenarios, the familiar voice pulled her out of her spiraling thoughts. She turned her uneasy gaze toward the boy who had sat up on the bed.
"Your drool is all over my face, Mari-nee," Haruto said with a teasing tone. "I was going to get up early, but you were hugging me so tightly I couldn't even move. I tried to wiggle out, but that just made you cling even tighter. Ever thought about getting a boyfriend?"
"W-What's going on… Why was I…?"
Mari's mind raced as she stared at Haruto. Bits of the previous night came back to her—mostly her complaining about work and her love life. Everything after that was a blur.
Still dazed, she watched as Haruto climbed out of bed in his pajamas and walked over to her, extending his hand. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out and took it.
His grip was firm and warm. Despite his age, Haruto's hand felt surprisingly refined—softer even than many women she knew. He helped her up, then quietly walked to his desk and grabbed some tissues to wipe his face.
"This place… is it your home?"
"You were drunk last night," he explained, dabbing at his cheek. "You didn't say where you lived, and I couldn't just leave you there, so I brought you here."
Mari's eyes followed his every move, and memories from the night before began trickling back—along with the realization that she'd acted incredibly shameless. Her cheeks turned beet red, her teeth gently biting her lip as she struggled with a cocktail of embarrassment and guilt.
"S-Sorry… I really caused you trouble."
Who would've thought she'd get so drunk in front of a high school student, let alone need him to take care of her and bring her home?
Haruto, however, simply shrugged. "It's fine. I was going to make breakfast anyway—just had to cook for two instead of one. Want to join me?"
Still somewhat numb from the emotional whiplash, Mari reflexively nodded. She watched him calmly head to the kitchen, pulling out ingredients from the fridge as if this were the most natural thing in the world. Her face flushed again, and she quickly excused herself to the bathroom.
Once inside, she sat on the toilet lid, trying to piece together everything that had happened.
'Last night... I invited him to dinner, hoping to leave a good impression and unwind a bit... But I ended up ranting and drinking too much. He had to take me home—he even let me sleep in his bed…'
A hopeless display of irresponsibility. Mari groaned into her hands, thoroughly humiliated. As her mind calmed down, a new realization hit her like a brick.
'I... I slept in the same bed with him?'
Hiss—
Mari bit her lip, mortified. Never in her life had she shared a bed with a guy before, and now her first time was spent beside a teenage boy. It was absurd. Shameful. And—strangely—tinged with a hint of… regret?
"Wait—what am I thinking?!"
Snapping out of her thoughts, Mari glared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She was no stranger to compliments—her looks were above average even among her coworkers—but she never had time for romance.
And yet...
She thought of the boy outside. Despite the age gap, he'd been calm, mature, and unexpectedly composed. These days, even middle schoolers were getting into relationships. So was it really so strange?
"If it were him... then maybe—NO! What am I saying?!"
Remembering how she'd basically molested him in her sleep made her want to dig a hole and hide forever.
When she finally emerged, cheeks still pink, Haruto looked up from the kitchen.
"Breakfast is ready," he said casually.
"I'm so sorry for the trouble… and now you even made breakfast…"
Mari bowed her head slightly, trying to maintain her dignity as an adult. Haruto only smiled.
"It's really nothing. I cook for myself every morning—one more person doesn't make much of a difference."
The table was already set with an impressively well-balanced meal. Mari blinked in surprise at the display and silently sat down. As Haruto joined her, their eyes met, and he gave her a gentle smile before starting to eat.
"I… I'll start too, then," Mari said quietly, picking up her chopsticks.
"Do you live alone?" she asked between bites.
"Yeah."
"And… last night?"
"Hmm? Oh, the person I called was my girlfriend. She lives nearby and would've worried if I got home late."
Haruto's answer caught her a little off guard, though it made perfect sense. Even with just a short time together, Mari could tell he had the kind of presence that would naturally attract women. Of course he'd have a girlfriend.
That stung more than she wanted to admit.
Mari lowered her gaze, trying not to let it show as she watched him tidy up. Her attention wandered around his apartment. Then suddenly—
"Ah! The bill from last night!"
"I already paid. The receipt's on the desk."
Startled, Mari walked over to check it. She found the small slip beside her purse. Her eyes scanned the numbers once, then again. The food prices looked normal, but when she reached the wine...
Her expression froze.
She hadn't misread it. The wine alone had cost a fortune. She squeezed her eyes shut and reopened them.
Still the same.
With a sigh, she opened her purse and rifled through her wallet—only to find she didn't have enough cash.
She turned to look at Haruto again, puzzled. How had a high school student paid for such an expensive meal?
"Um… I don't have enough on me right now. Would it be alright if I paid you back tonight?"
"Hmm? Sure, no problem."
"I'm really sorry… again."
Mari had lost count of how many times she'd apologized already. As an adult, her pride had taken quite the beating.
Checking the time on the desk clock, she asked for directions to the nearest subway station, apologized again with hands pressed together, and hurried off to work.
_ _ _ _
That weekend, I didn't tell mother what had happened—but somehow, mom seemed to sense something anyway.
At the same time, Sekai had returned home that Saturday night, only to find herself being interrogated by her mother, Yoko Saionji. After some evasive answers, Yoko—rarely angry—finally snapped.
"If you can't make your relationship with him official and bring him to see me by next weekend," she declared, "then I'll step in myself and take things into my own hands."
Now troubled and uncertain, Sekai had no idea how to face Haruto… or what to do next.
The following morning, she waited below Setsuna's apartment, hesitating in front of Haruto's building. She wanted to see him. To be close to him. But she didn't know how to bring up the issue with her mother. Her mind swirled with ideas—should she pretend to break up and keep seeing Haruto in secret?
That was when—
"Who's that?"
A woman in a sharp business outfit emerged from Haruto's building. Sekai stared in disbelief. She didn't recognize the woman at all. The stranger gave her a polite nod before walking away down the street and disappearing around the corner...