Yuzuki sat alone in the teacher's lounge. Her hands trembled slightly above an unfinished test, the pen in her hand frozen in place. She couldn't focus. Not after the way Keita's classmates had started looking at her—so strange. Too attentive. Too silent.
Her phone buzzed gently in her pocket. A message from Miyu:
"Onee-chan... what's going on between you and that boy?"
Her heart skipped a beat. She set the phone down, her cheeks suddenly flushed red. She didn't reply. She couldn't. She knew Miyu had seen something. Or more than just "something."
After class, Keita waited behind the school, right where they always met. It had rained lightly, and the air was damp. Through the bushes, he spotted Yuzuki approaching. She wasn't smiling.
— Did you tell them? she asked directly, no greeting.
— No! he answered immediately. But... Ako, Riko, and Miyu caught me today. They asked, they kept pressing. I didn't want to say anything, but...
— But they know, she said softly. They know, don't they?
Keita nodded, ashamed. He knew he had disappointed her. But he was overwhelmed too.
— I didn't mean to! But... you don't know them. They're... impossible to fool.
Yuzuki stepped closer to him. She lifted her hand and touched his cheek.
— Keita... we're playing with fire. I'm your teacher. You're my student. No matter how much... how much I want this... I can't ignore the consequences.
— But I can't ignore what I feel anymore either! he said, raising his voice, eyes filled with tears. It's not just... desire. I really love you!
Yuzuki flinched. Those words... they hit her soul. She loved him too. But she couldn't say it. Not here. Not now.
She stepped even closer. And in a whisper, her voice trembling:
— Then... make me feel it. Here. Now.
Keita looked at her, stunned, then wrapped his arms around her. She pressed her forehead to his chest, and her shoulders began to tremble. Not from the cold. But from shame. From emotion. From love.
The rain began to fall again. But it didn't stop them. In that hidden corner of the school, they held each other tightly—closer than ever before. Sharing that shame... and their impossible love.