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Six years later, Suzuran was now a second-year nursing student at Orinthmus University.
Her daily life was filled with memorizing medical terminology and preparing for clinical rotations.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4p2Ng3QaFd
More often than not, she ended up pouring the wrong sugar into her coffee while flipping through an anatomy atlas.
Meanwhile, Kimijima Kouichi remained a butler for the Hanazono family,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kXdRRTTyv
and was now also enrolled in business management courses at Orinthmus University.
He had never forgotten that moment years ago—15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OvxAHuk9h
the day he was pulled from the shadows and given salvation:15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSz8QBLl6F
a name, an identity, and dignity by the Hanazono family.
If one day he could shoulder even a fraction of the family’s business burden,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKxUiH5MMF
he wanted to be strong enough to carry it without faltering.
As for Suzuran—born into a prestigious household,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dU6kpsVIH
she was like a greenhouse flower, never forced to bloom anywhere in particular.
Her parents had always been gentle with her, even overly indulgent at times.
“As long as it’s something Suzuran wants to learn, let her learn it.”
She had studied piano, painting, floral design—even taken noble etiquette lessons.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpQMLeMSlR
But she never truly committed to any of them, nor did she excel particularly in any field.
Politics and business held no interest for her.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcvtep4t9r
It wasn’t fear—just a sense that those worlds were too cold, too far removed. Not hers.
What made her decide on her path was the long-standing instability of her mother’s health.
Since childhood, she had stood outside hospital rooms,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5mZiu4RJ0
watching nurses come and go, doctors passing in white coats—15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dheTV9KEE
while she could do nothing but smile weakly and cry silently.
Maybe, one day, she thought—she could be someone who actually did something.
When she submitted her application and chose nursing,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOkjumUVs5
the entire family fell into stunned silence.
This wasn’t the path for a sheltered young lady—too exhausting, too painful, full of night shifts and encounters with death.
But she simply said, softly:
“I don’t want to be someone who can only cry beside a hospital bed anymore.”
She had no grand ideals.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrubnGrNe5T
Just one quiet hope:
“If one day, Papa, Mama, or Kouichi gets sick… I want to be able to help with my own hands.”
It was a modest, simple wish—15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAp7yp7t4jk
but so sincere it ached.
In the end, her parents just smiled and nodded:
“If this is your choice, then we’ll support you.”
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15MSbu2r3j
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“Kouichi~ Can you help me check this report?”
Suzuran hugged her tablet and shuffled over to his desk,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTshZYidmO
looking like a cat reaching out its paw for attention.
Kimijima Kouichi didn’t even look up.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6nNAgLsOY
His tone was as calm as breathing:
“Still writing like a disaster, I see.”
“Aw, come on~ Just help me fix it a little!”15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2gPs9uoME
She pouted and pushed the tablet into his hands.
“I have my own coursework too, you know?”
He finally looked up at her, voice caught between a sigh and resigned sarcasm:
“Do you think I divide my day like this:15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlFd3YlbIm
half for serving you, and the other half for cleaning up the messes you leave behind?”
“But you’ve always been smarter than me…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, tinged with guilt and playfulness,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmX402RY9T3
as she twirled her finger around the ends of her hair.
Kouichi looked at her for a moment… then finally took the tablet.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBbRrGWv0G
The corner of his mouth twitched, like he was trying hard not to smile.
“…You really are impossible, my lady.”
He opened the report and began reading.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1BPLK5pn7
His pen glided smoothly over the screen.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6loqmFpJst
The atmosphere was calm—until:
“Hey, Kouichi,” Suzuran leaned in casually,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87tI46RuEc
her tone light, almost too light.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgJIeFoy0s
“Yuzuka told me… a cute girl confessed to you again this morning?”
Kouichi paused mid-mark,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT9fHf4oT5
but his voice remained steady:
“Yes. I turned her down.”
“Sigh…”
Suzuran tilted her head and leaned on the edge of his desk.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbha8RYeJx
Her long hair slid gently over her shoulder.
Her tone was faint, almost teasing:
“You’re eighteen now… It’s the perfect age to fall in love.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nATORZokH
Are you really not interested at all?”
He didn’t look up.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5VrquSqGO
Eyes still on the screen, voice calm:
“I’m busy serving you, studying, and thinking about how to repay the master’s kindness.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8ExaHu4JD
There’s no room in my head for anything else.”
“Hmm…”
She was completely blocked by the seriousness of his response—15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaad7Fhftht
like he was answering a teacher in class.
One second. Two seconds.
She looked down at her toes, voice barely a whisper:
“…So those rejections were just… polite excuses after all.”
She didn’t realize her cheeks had turned a faint shade of red.
And though Kouichi kept his eyes on her report—15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaVL9HAGh8
his peripheral gaze had long since drifted15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1qEkSs2Q9
to her lowered lashes and those softly blushing ears.
