His slightly opened eyes saw a blurry face—it was the unguarded face of someone fast asleep, so close to him it was overwhelming in its intimacy.
That smooth, pale face glowed faintly under the shifting light of the movie screen, the soft reflections casting a veil-like haze that made her beauty feel even more ethereal and mysterious.
But that wasn't the most important part—what mattered most was that he could clearly feel the faint, sweet breath of the beautiful senpai before him.
It practically brushed his lips, that close.
The sensation of her chest gently rising and falling seemed to subtly move her collarbone, her neck, her chin—down to her slightly moist lips. It felt as if he had actually touched them.
He swallowed hard, nervously. Her sweet breath teased his nose, stimulating his brain.
His heart pounded so loudly he thought it would wake her. His blood boiled, his body temperature skyrocketing. His throat was parched, like he was lost in a desert without water for days, thirsting.
And her sweet, elusive lips—those were the life-saving dew.
He was like a bee drawn to a blooming flower, inching closer, about to touch her lips—
Just then, her eyelashes trembled. Her wine-red eyes opened wide in sleepy confusion, then sparkled with gentle, watery clarity.
Through her eyes, he saw his own panicked reflection—more flustered than someone caught red-handed stealing, as if the shame alone might bury him alive.
But then, her gaze softened—warm and tender. Her eyes calmed his flustered heart. That was just like her—so considerate and kind.
Instead of pulling away in embarrassment, he saw something else in her eyes—curiosity, perhaps?
She had never experienced love before… maybe she was wondering what a kiss would be like?
Their gazes met shyly, then averted. Her porcelain cheeks were gradually tinged with the colors of sunset.
Should he kiss her?
No… he couldn't resist anymore.
The way she looked at him was too captivating. He lost his reason, and before he knew it, his lips touched hers. Her eyes widened in surprise.
And just like that, the two of them—like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden—stole a taste of forbidden fruit.
A sweet, awkward moment of youth, sparked in a sleepy movie theater…
—Not!
In reality, none of that happened.
(T/N: FUCK YUUU)
What really happened was that they had simply leaned against each other and happened to wake up at the same time. The boy awkwardly pulled away like a first-time lover, while the girl gave him a gentle smile to ease the tension.
A faint rosy blush colored her cheeks—maybe, just maybe, something sparked between them at that moment.
"What a cute scumbag,"—The inner thoughts of voluptuous beauty and novelist, Utaha Kasumigaoka.
"Hah, what an act, you sow."—The inner thoughts of erotic illustrator and otaku, Yazuki Kiryu.
To both of them, things played out exactly as expected.
They had foreseen this awkwardly sweet behavior, calculated it, and were simply waiting for the perfect moment to crush the other emotionally.
Suddenly, the image of a winged, pink-haired angel in a school swimsuit maid outfit popped into Yazuki's mind and shattered the scene.
He exhaled deeply. He had almost lost his composure.
For a second, he confused the person—Utaha's look reminded him a bit too much of Ikaros from the beginning. He couldn't believe that woman actually had some charm.
Was his body that weak? Almost seduced by a mere "sow"?
His will was strong—he wasn't lost. It was just a natural biological reaction. He wasn't at fault.
—At least, that's what he told himself.
He turned to look at Ikaros beside him, who seemed to have noticed the thread of his thoughts and returned an unreadable gaze. He rubbed his head awkwardly.
Maybe… maybe he should secretly visit a costume shop later? No—he'd look like a total pervert. Order online? Forget it.
"UWAWAWA—Mmph!"
A sudden scream burst out of Eriri's mouth, muffled as she quickly covered it with her hand. She had been crying from the touching movie when someone pinched her thigh out of nowhere.
"Kasumigaoka Utaha, what the hell?! Why'd you pinch me?!"
"I couldn't help it! The movie's too emotional—I'm about to cry! I needed a distraction, or I might lash out!"
"What's wrong with you?! Why not pinch yourself?! Damn it, it's the climax—if you do that again, I won't let it slide!"
After firing off that text, Eriri glared at Utaha like an angry puppy, then turned back to the screen, tears flowing again from her overly emotional heart.
Utaha let out a relieved breath.
Good thing it was Eriri—a loser dog. So easy to fool. She didn't notice anything embarrassing, nor did she realize Utaha had nodded off too.
Ten minutes passed, and the movie ended.
At the crêpe shop next to the theater, the same five people sat together once more.
"Uuuu… uuu… uuuuuuuu…"
Eriri sobbed uncontrollably, like someone who had just been abandoned or bullied.
"Utaha, do you think those two will ever meet again?"
She sniffled, wiping her tears.
In the movie's ending, the villain attempted to take control of all gynoid soldiers using the heroine's unique abilities, throwing the world into a doomsday scenario.
At the brink of destruction, the gynoid heroine broke through her programming through her love for the protagonist. She self-destructed all connected terminals to save the world.
But her core remained intact, flickering faintly in a radiation-ridden wasteland—waiting, it seemed, for her master to return.
The protagonist, meanwhile, threw himself into electronic science to one day reach her.
A perfectly open-ended conclusion.
"They can," Utaha replied.
"Really? Then Love Met—ah!"
Eriri yelped again, pinched once more. She saw Utaha's meaningful glance and realized she almost let something slip.
"Love Metronome?" someone asked, overhearing.
Sure enough, someone took the bait.
"Eriri, the more I think about it, the more Love Metronome feels like trash."