I push the kid!

She smiled, even though there was no joy in it.

She pinned the aqua blue hairpin on her head and tied her soft black hair completely to one side.

The blue and white skirt was blown up by the wind again, along with her untied bangs. The June clouds filled the sky, but could not block the light shining on her.

"Even if it was just for a moment," she closed her eyes to hide the sadness inside, and dimples appeared on her face, "Did you ever like me?"

The sunlight penetrated through the heavy obstructions and leaped onto her shoulders. The petals from the trees on the roadside fluttered down and merged with her delicate body, like a realistic oil painting.

In Karuizawa, in Tokyo. Makimura Taku couldn't deny that when he thought he would never see Hoshino Ai again, his heart once belonged to Ogura Yuki, even though the feeling was very faint.

"Maybe……"

"Like?"

"If you mean a specific time," Makimura Taku said, "maybe. How should I put it? You are also a person who deserves others' affection."

"This is not a lie, right?" she confirmed again and again.

"Yeah." Makimura Taku nodded.

Bewilderment, joy, and all kinds of indescribable complex expressions flashed across her eyes.

"I understand." She lowered her head and looked at the black sandals on her feet.

Makimura Taku didn't know what to say: "I'm sorry."

"No, no need to apologize."

"If you felt happier, I wouldn't apologize."

"I wouldn't be happy if you apologized," she said, "but there is one thing I want to tell you, Makimura Taku."

"what?"

"I still like you."

"..."

"Even if you don't like me now, I still like you," she straightened up, her clothes highlighting the beautiful curve of her chest, "I want you to be mine."

Makimura Taku was stunned.

"You're only mine."

"I……"

"You've already kissed me, Makimura." Ogura Tomoki took two steps forward, "Whether you like it or not, you have to be responsible for me."

"But that's not what I want to do..."

"If you've been moved by me once, you'll definitely be moved by me again."

"There's no pattern to this at all."

"Whoever comes first gets you."

"What kind of prize am I..."

"The most important thing is that I like you." She suddenly leaned close to my ear and whispered, "As long as there is a slight chance, I will never...let go easily again."

The warm breath brushed over Mucuntuo's earlobe, and all the hair on his body stood up for a moment. Goose bumps also appeared on his forearms, but they quickly disappeared.

Tomoki Ogura backed away and separated from his body, and the two of them looked at each other from a distance of about one meter.

The sunshine was milder than before, and the oak leaves rustled in the June day.

"I will get you, Makimura," said Ogura Yuki, "starting today."

She ran away and disappeared across the street. Looking at the direction she left for a long time, Makimura Taku was speechless. He exhaled and went straight back to the second floor of the library, where Hoshino Ai was still sitting obediently.

"Where's Youxi?" asked Hoshino Ai as she helped Makimura Taku pull out the chair under the table.

Makimura Taku was not quite sure, so he sat down and shook his head: "He ran away suddenly without saying anything."

"I see." Hoshino Ai turned her face back to her book, and after a few seconds she said, "You were gone for a long time, and you only talked about salary matters?"

"Well..." Makimura Taku covered his mouth, "It's more complicated than that."

"Is it okay?"

"……Hard to say."

She suddenly grabbed Makimura Taku's hand from below. Makimura Taku was stunned for a moment and turned to look at her.

Hoshino Ai's expression was unusually calm.

She asked, “Is it okay to do this?”

Makimura Taku could feel her slightly cold body temperature: "Okay..."

She clenched her hands tighter, and Makimura Taku was a little absent-minded.

Hoshino Ai once again returned all her attention to the book, but under the table she pulled Makimura Taku's hand and placed it on her thigh as if nothing had happened.

She was wearing shorts, and her exposed skin was as white as porcelain.

"I like you," she said, staring at her book.

Makimura Taku looked at her and murmured in a very weak voice: "Lies."

“……” Hoshino Ai turned her head.

At around eleven o'clock, the two put the books back in their place and left the library.

They first went to an ordinary restaurant to have lunch, and Taku Makimura paid the bill.

Hoshino Ai felt embarrassed and said that it was me who invited her out and I should pay. Makimura Taku said it didn't matter.

Hoshino Ai clapped her hands and suggested that they go for dessert before the audition and she would treat them, but Makimura Taku refused.

"Not going?" Hoshino Ai asked.

"I'm really full." Makimura Taku shook his head, "Maybe next time?"

"Okay then." Hoshino Ai was a little frustrated.

After leaving the store, they walked straight towards the theater.

The audition starts at two o'clock. I'm leaving now. I'll probably have to rest there for a while.

However, there are books to read and tea and coffee to drink in the troupe, so killing time is basically a piece of cake.

They walked along the street without even appreciating the scenery on either side.

Usually Hoshino Ai walks in front, but now she deliberately lags two steps behind and looks at Makimura Taku's back from behind.

She actually wanted to run up and grab Makimura Taku's hand and stand side by side with him.

But in Hoshino Ai's opinion, Makimura Taku's willingness did not seem very strong. Regardless of whether it was her illusion or not, the matter was dropped.

When they arrived downstairs at the theater, the management confirmed their identities and allowed the two to enter.

They took the elevator upstairs and walked through the corridor. Hoshino Ai took out the key from her bag and opened the door of the training room.

The bookcase filled with idol-related books first caught my eye, and the tables and chairs were still arranged as they were when I left last time.

The golden sunlight slanted in from the floor-to-ceiling windows at an angle of about 70 or 80 degrees, and the surroundings were quiet.

Taku Makimura found a seat and sat down, and Hoshino Ai put her bag on the table in front of him.

She walked to the kettle in her light sneakers and asked Taku Makimura if he wanted some tea, but he waved his hand.

Hoshino Ai responded and walked back step by step.

She went to the bookcase and found the book she hadn't finished reading last time, and sat down in front of Taku Makimura.

Taku Makimura rested his head on his hands, preparing to take a nap on the chair.

He closed his eyes and heard Hoshino Ai talking.

"Makimura."

"Ok?"

"Are you tired today?"

"No." He said, "What's the matter? You're asking this out of the blue."

"It's okay, nothing." Hoshino Ai opened the book.

Makimura Taku closed his eyes again. After about ten seconds, Hoshino Ai carefully selected her words and spoke again: "I always feel that..."

"Ok?"

"I always feel like there's something wrong with you."

Makimura Taku was not ready to sleep either, so he sat up straight with his upper body. Hoshino Ai closed the book with a snap and kept looking at him.

"What happened?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you." said Hoshino Ai.

"I?"

"Yes, you have been acting strange since this morning... No, you have been acting strange since we met today."

"No way?" Makimura Taku looked away and scratched his earlobe.

"Why not?"

"I didn't do anything weird, did I?"

"I didn't do it." Hoshino Ai said. She put on a worried expression and suddenly leaned forward a few degrees, "But I just can't explain what's wrong!"

Makimura Takumi hesitated for a moment, and then Hoshino Ai asked, "Is it because I did something strange, Makimura?"

"Strange things?" Makimura Taku thought about it. Apart from the lie that made him feel lost over and over again, there was nothing strange. "To be honest, there might be something, but..."

"Don't you like holding hands?" Hoshino Ai interrupted him.

"what?"

"You didn't want to hold hands from the moment you met, right? Are you very resistant to this?"

"It's not because of this..."

"Or is it that this kind of..." She blushed and lowered her head, "this kind of intimate, intimate, intimate, intimate thing... is hard to accept?"