New Novel🪶

The mirror reflected a girl with perfect posture and an unshakably refined air,  and yet, that same girl was currently using both hands to push down the faint curl tugging at her lips.

In her 1LDK apartment, Chouko glared at her own reflection.

Hoshikawa-kun is such an annoying guy.

That “another side” of hers… there’s no way she’d let him find out about it.

...But still, what if?

What if, by some impossible chance, Hoshikawa finds out she’s actually “Tsunako”?

Then what?

She realized with dawning dread, she’d have absolutely no way to fight back.

Realistically speaking, she couldn’t very well threaten him into silence with her family background; that would only make things worse. No, it was far more likely he’d be the one threatening her into doing... weird, indecent things.

Still, if he’s already suspicious, does it even matter whether she’s exposed or not?

That strangely liberating thought filled her with a reckless courage.

Fine. Whatever. If she’s doomed, she might as well go down doing what she does best.

Resolved, she opened Twitter, switched to her alt account, and stared at the empty textbox of her post composer.

When it came time to take her usual selfie, however, her finger hovered over the shutter button, trembling.

The night breeze slipping through the open window brushed against her bare collarbone, cool enough to pull her back to reality.

If she hid too much, it would seem unnatural, like she was trying to hide something.

But if she didn’t hide anything…

Ugh.

It’s fine, she told herself. There’s no way Hoshikawa would remember that tiny mole on her chest anyway, right?

Click.

[Tsunako JK2 @PrivateAcct: [Image]]

She typed without thinking:

‘Long time no see, Harutaro-kun! I’ve been busy studying lately, so…’

Tap tap tap tap tap.

Realizing how strange that sounded, she frantically hit backspace.

No, no, exams weren’t the reason for her silence, too suspicious. She needed something more believable.

[Tsunako JK2 @PrivateAcct: “Long time no see! Basketball club’s been pretty intense lately, so I haven’t had time to chat. Please send me your new photo, okay~? 💕”]

Perfect.

Satisfied, she nodded to herself, locked her phone, and sat down at her desk.

Her mind buzzed with a giddy mix of dread and anticipation, waiting for Hoshikawa’s reply while she opened her textbooks to study.

…

“Yay!”

Fuyuno chomped down on a raspberry donut, cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk.

“There’s been so many people posting about DUMBO donuts on Insta lately, I can’t believe you actually bought some, Harutaki!”

Harutaki folded his arms smugly. “Well? Aren’t you going to thank me properly?”

Ayaka, who’d been quietly sipping her drink beside them, rolled her eyes.

“For someone your age, you sure act like a five-year-old.”

She had originally wanted the chocolate donut, but one glance at its terrifying calorie count made her split it in half, half for her brother, half for herself.

But before she could take a bite,

Chu.

“F-Fuyuno! Get off him right now!”

Ayaka lunged across the table, abandoning her donut midair.

Fuyuno, laughing, nimbly circled behind Harutaki like a monkey climbing a pole, still clutching her brother’s head. “Hehehe! What’s wrong, Aya-chan? Jealous that I kissed Harutaki first? He’s right here, you can kiss him too~!”

“You little brat, get down here!”

"Directly kissing would probably taste like passion fruit."

Harutaki joined in the teasing without hesitation, siding with Fuyuno to make fun of Ayaka.

"Harutaki, you should reflect on yourself too!"

Ayaka protested indignantly, tugging at his clothes in frustration.

But as for the kiss on the cheek from Fuyuno, he didn’t really feel much of anything from it.

Aside from the taste of fried donut oil, maybe a bit of jam, too.

Though he had to admit, those thin lips pressing against him had felt surprisingly soft for an instant.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough... Fuyuno, you’ve already messed up my hair."

He stopped Ayaka, who was still trying to grab Fuyuno by the shoulders, and then lifted Fuyuno, who had climbed onto his head, down, patting her lightly on the head as a signal to calm down.

Unfortunately, that head-pat was a fatal mistake. Fuyuno’s lips instantly twisted into a pout of pure dissatisfaction.

She wasn’t a little kid anymore, next year she’d be a JK, a high school girl!

Besides, she had the most “mature” understanding of things in this entire household, at least, in theory.

"Hey, Harutaki, "

"Want to try Fuyuno’s special donut-eating method?"

Fuyuno picked up a fresh donut, slid her index finger through the hole, and gave him a mischievous, devilish grin.

"Hehe, you hook it from the bottom like this, then the only way to bite it is to take everything in front of it all the way down your throat first. But well, for someone like you, Harutaki, that should be no problem, "

Thud!

"Fuyuno, shut up!!"

Ayaka’s iron fist of justice came just a little too late.

Harutaki looked at her flushed, bright-red face, feeling something strange in the air. But then, when he glanced at Fuyuno, now crouched on the floor clutching her head, eyes brimming with tears, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"What are you laughing at!? You too, Harutaki!"

"..."

He didn’t even do anything, though?!

While the three of them were still caught up in the commotion from Fuyuno’s ridiculous joke, Chiaki glanced down at the citrus-flavored donut in her hand. Her cheeks reddened slightly as she hesitantly mimicked the motion with her fingers.

Then, raising the donut to her face, she aligned it so that the round hole perfectly framed her soft, glistening pink lips.

"Chi, Chiaki... you, "

She turned around abruptly. Upon seeing that Fuyuno had already been dragged into the house by her older sister for “discipline,” and that only she and her brother remained in the dining room, she froze as if she had just locked eyes with Medusa.

"C-Citrus flavor... it smells really nice, doesn’t it?"

Harutaki hurried to play along, offering her a lifeline to escape the unbearably awkward situation.

But Chiaki didn’t seem to take it. Holding the donut close to her chest, she lowered her head and mumbled softly, her voice barely audible.

"Um... actually... is this donut... too small?"

Harutaki: “?”

Something’s not right with you, is it?!

We will be giving out 5 bonus chapters after reaching 25 vote on NovelBin!

Feel free to leave a vote or review!!

13/25