Ms. Gojo thought she was dating an ordinary person's boyfriend.

Sumi Kichikawa kept her eyes glued to the television, but her mind kept replaying the events of the day.

He had just learned that "cursed spirits" existed in this world.

But after witnessing the destructive power of that "game machine monster" tonight, he has come to realize that the world is not as safe as it seems on the surface.

Having traversed countless worlds, he knows best that the more extraordinary beings a world has, the more precarious the survival of ordinary people becomes.

"I understand." Sumi Kichikawa looked at the screen and suddenly spoke softly.

"Um?"

"If you encounter anything strange in the future, or if there is any unusual activity at the hospital, don't be curious and go to join in."

Gojo Satoru was stunned: "What?"

Sumi Kikawa: "Sometimes the unknown represents danger, and I don't want you to get close to those things."

Satoru Gojo leaned back on the sofa, his tone hesitant: "...Is Sumire protecting me?"

Sumi Kikawa: "Yes."

Gojo Satoru stared intently at Sumireki, then suddenly lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly uncontrollably.

"What are you laughing at?" Sumi Kichikawa asked, somewhat puzzled.

"It's nothing, it's just..." Gojo Satoru raised his head, his pale blue eyes filled with a subtle smile, shining brightly, "I suddenly feel like I'm really being protected by a very reliable person."

"Don't talk like you're from the mafia."

"What should I say?"

"It's just being protected."

Gojo Satoru drawled, "So ordinary."

"Isn't being ordinary good enough?"

Gojo Satoru looked at him.

After a while, he said, "It's fine."

The male and female protagonists in the movie still stand side by side in the snow, hesitant to speak, and the ambiguous atmosphere is pulled in by the slow-moving shots.

"When do you think they'll confess their feelings?" Sumi Kichikawa asked.

"At this rate, we'll probably have to wait until this snow stops." Gojo Satoru leaned closer to Sumi Kikawa, his shoulder almost touching hers.

"But the snow has only just started falling." Sumire Kichikawa said in a flat tone, watching the snowflakes falling on the screen.

"So, two more hours," Gojo Satoru drawled, with a hint of lazy complaint. "That's too slow. If it were Sumire, would she prefer something more direct?"

Sumire Kikawa turned her head to look at him.

Gojo Satoru's face was inches away.

"It depends," Sumire Kichikawa replied.

"Oh?" Gojo Satoru immediately became interested, leaning forward slightly, his gaze intense. "For example?"

Kikawa Sumi leaned back on the sofa, relaxed, but her eyes held a gentle aggression: "If the other party doesn't understand the hints, then be direct."

"But what if the other person understands..." Gojo Satoru's voice lowered, carrying a seductive pull, "but what if they pretend not to understand?"

Sumire Kawakawa looked at him.

Something in the air seemed to be quietly heating up.

Gojo Satoru breathed very softly, his eyes filled with a secret anticipation, yet also with a hint of nervousness that even he himself was unaware of.

"Let's see how cute he is at pretending," Sumi Kichikawa said softly.

Gojo Satoru was taken aback for a moment.

He usually teases her with his wild and rambling remarks, but Sumi Kichikawa always accepts them with tolerance or deflects his frivolous probing with calm words.

Occasionally, when Sumi Kichikawa chooses not to back down, her straightforward and frank counterattack always leaves Satoru Gojo bewildered.

Gojo Satoru couldn't help but laugh.

"So, what do you think, Sumi?" He slightly raised his chin, completely exposing himself to Sumi's gaze, with a mix of confidence and cautious confirmation, "Am I cute?"

Sumi Kichikawa did not answer immediately.

He looked quietly at the young man in front of him.

The white-haired youth wore dark pajamas he had personally chosen, the cushion he had been carrying long ago tossed aside. His smile was light, but his eyes were clear and calm.

The last time they held hands, Sumirei Kirikawa was certain that Satoru Gojo liked him, but he could also see that there were some unseen concerns in Satoru Gojo's heart.

It seems that he has been like this since the two first met: hesitant, restrained, struggling with the contradiction of wanting to get closer but forcing himself to stay where he is.

The way she wanted to get close yet hesitated was heart-melting.

Sumire Kikawa suddenly reached out, her fingertips brushing through the slightly messy white hair on Gojo Satoru's forehead, gently pushing it to the sides.

The smile on Gojo Satoru's face faltered slightly the moment Kikawa Sumi's fingertips touched him.

He instinctively held his breath, and even his long eyelashes froze and trembled.

"cute."

Kikawa Sumire withdrew her hand, her tone calm yet completely unreserved.

In the quiet living room, those two words were clearer than any line of dialogue in the movie.

Gojo Satoru's heart skipped a beat, and his throat felt as if something warm was tightly blocking it.

Looking into Sumire Kikawa's clear, unfathomable eyes, he suddenly realized that the other person knew everything.

I knew he was pretending to be stupid, I knew he was testing me, and I knew he was backing down.

Gojo Satoru's fingers curled slightly at his side.

He desperately wanted to take that sentence and completely erase the ambiguous distance between them, to hug him without hesitation and tell him, "Then let's be together."

But out of the corner of his eye, he inevitably glanced again at the glaring stain on the back of Kikawa Sumi's right hand.

If his world didn't have those disgusting and dangerous curses, if he hadn't brought this deadly danger to the clean-cut doctor beside him...

Reason, like a string chilled to ice, tightly restrained the words that were about to spill from his mouth.

The more he cherished this unique favoritism, the more reluctant he was to let his personal desires ruin Sumi Kichikawa's peace of mind.

Gojo Satoru lowered his eyes, suppressing the bitterness and turmoil surging within them. When he raised his eyes again, he wore that carefree smile once more.

"Since you're so cute, could I ask for some special privileges?" Gojo Satoru's voice still carried a smile, with an almost imperceptible plea.

"For example... would you allow me to stay at this distance for now?"

Before everything settles down, could you please not force me to take this final half-step now?

Sumire Kawakawa looked at him.

There was no anger at being rejected in his eyes, only a reassuring gentleness and tolerance.

"I understand." Sumi Kikawa spoke very softly, as if to reassure him, "I'm not in a hurry."

Gojo Satoru froze.

"You can stop wherever you want." Sumi Kichikawa lowered her eyes slightly, looking at the place where the hems of their clothes overlapped. "I don't like to force things. Even if you stand in the same place the whole time, as long as you can see me when you turn your head, that's enough for me."

Sumire Kawakawa may be slow to react, but he is very clear-headed.

Many times, hesitation and retreat stem from wanting to place each other in one's life for a long time, which makes one walk on thin ice with extreme caution.

"...What if I just stay standing there?" Gojo Satoru asked softly. "Maybe I'll never be able to walk towards you?"

Kikawa Sumi turned her head, her gaze returning to his face, her eyes incredibly gentle.

"Then I'll stay where I am," Sumi Kikawa said. "If you don't move forward, I won't back down either. We'll move forward together whenever you want to. Until then, I'll always be by your side."

Because it's you, I'm willing to stop in this world and spend all the sunny days and heavy snows with you.

Gojo Satoru stared at him intently.

After a long while, he suddenly let out a very soft sigh, as if he had finally given up some futile resistance.

He didn't avoid Kikawa Sumi's gaze, but instead tilted his head slightly, placing his entire weight on Kikawa Sumi's shoulder.

"Sumi, if you keep doing this..." Gojo Satoru closed his eyes, his voice muffled in Sumi's shoulder, carrying a hint of self-deprecating compromise and an overflowing sweetness, "You'll spoil me."

Kikawa Sumi didn't move, but slightly adjusted his sitting posture to make him more comfortable.

"Then let him spoil you," Sumi Kikawa said softly. "No matter what Satoru is like, I can raise you well."

The living room was dimly lit, with only the flickering television screen reflecting off the wall. The dialogue from an old movie played intermittently, the male and female leads still awkwardly testing the waters of their love.

Between them, though neither of them uttered that promise aloud, they both quietly wrote the other into their longest future through this tacit understanding and concession.

-----------------

[Author's Note: Could you please increase the word count? I always feel like I don't have enough words to write.]

Actually, while writing this chapter, I was struggling with how much of Gojo Satoru's "vulnerability" should be revealed. In most fanfiction, Gojo Satoru always seems to be carefree, easygoing, and frivolous. (Note: No offense intended to other works, please respect diverse creative approaches! Apologies for any offense!)

Even in the original work, apart from the occasional genuine expressions of emotion, it seems that his inner thoughts are rarely captured. After the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, he had just personally killed his best friend, but the next second he appeared with a smile to comfort the students. He always seemed to be firm and strong.

I have always thought that Gojo Satoru is a very stable person at heart, so I am also worried that I may have portrayed too much of his unease and anxiety.

But then I thought: if even I accept that "vulnerability" is out of character for him, does that mean I also believe that the "strongest" shouldn't have a vulnerable side?

When I started thinking about whether he should show his more "human" side, I had already cruelly kicked him out of the realm of "human".

I really like the "divine child" concept, but it seems like it's not just about the divine child sitting on a high platform. After thinking about it, I think what I like is that feeling of a "worldly immortal".

But immortals who enter the world ultimately do not belong to the mortal realm. Gojo Satoru is not like that. He is more like a mortal who has transcended the world, with his feet on the clouds, but his eyes still on the human world.

No one can say for sure what he really is like. Even jjxx himself might not be able to say for sure. That's how fan fiction is. I can never write about the real him. I can only write about the version of him that I think I can see.

But that was never his whole story; it was merely the end of my field of vision.