Chapter 241: A Faint, Warm Happiness

The evening breeze of October carried the last lingering notes of summer's symphony, brushing across the sports field where youth shed their sweat, weaving through the school buildings where faint laughter could be heard, whispering playfully into the students' ears.

It's evening! Time to go home!

Sitting by the window in Class C, Utaha slowly let out a breath after writing the final period on the manuscript paper in front of her.

Putting down the fountain pen in her hand, she rotated her right wrist to relax the tired joints and tense muscles, while looking up, her gaze falling on the orange-red sky outside the window, dyed with the afterglow of the setting sun.

Hmm? Is it already this late?

Unconsciously tilting her head, the corners of Utaha's slightly upturned lips quietly carried a trace of faint joy and relaxation. She gently rested her cheek on the palm of her right hand, which was propped against the desk, and a hazy expression rippled in her wine-red eyes as she gazed at the sky gradually turning fiery red.

The color of the sky right now... is really beautiful.

As she silently marveled in her heart, a sudden, impatient urge welled up within Utaha to share this beautiful scenery, currently reflected in her eyes, with a certain someone.

Just then.

"Hoo... hoo... hoo...."

A few soft yet rhythmic breaths, faintly carrying a scent of reassurance, drifted into Utaha's ears.

Turning her head to look.

It turned out the breathing was coming from "Utaha's boyfriend," who had agreed to go home together today but had accidentally fallen asleep on the desk while waiting for her to finish writing her novel.

Good grief, I told you to go home and rest earlier, and that I could go back by myself later.

But instead, he just fell asleep right on the desk.

Looking at Miyahito's sleeping face, which she could never get tired of no matter how many times or how long she looked at it, the faint smile on Utaha's face, as the corners of her eyes gradually curved, gained a subtle, barely perceptible trace of doting affection.

Raising her left hand slightly, the palm of her hand gently brushed over the head of Miyahito, who was sitting backward on the front chair and was currently sleeping soundly with his head resting a bit forward on her desk.

Feeling the slightly prickly tips of his hair and the smoothness the moment her hand brushed through the strands, Utaha had the illusion of petting a well-behaved large dog.

No, no, no... I can't think like that! Utaha, the person in front of you right now is your boyfriend, not a Golden Retriever or a Labrador.

Hmm... thinking about it carefully, if I really had to use a metaphor, Miyahito seems more like a Husky.

Especially when he and Tooru were secretly trying to give Ishigami Yu, who had joined the sports festival support group, a super big surprise.

That illusion that "Miyahito's personality is more like a Husky" suddenly felt a bit more real.

"Good grief." A soft mutter, audible only to herself, escaped her slightly parted cherry-pink lips, and Utaha's hand stroking Miyahito's hair became even more gentle and careful.

"So lively and hyperactive during free time between classes."

But after falling asleep, his expression was like that of an innocent child, pure yet not lacking that trace of gentleness between his brows and eyes.

Yeah, yeah, as expected of the man I, Utaha, chose.

Although it was unknown what exactly Utaha was comparing Miyahito's sleeping face to to make such a connection.

But, as long as you're happy.

Right? Utaha~

.....Although, it had already been two hours since the dismissal bell rang.

Utaha didn't mind it at all.

Just quietly watching Miyahito's soundly sleeping face, she suddenly realized she seemed a bit reluctant to wake her sleeping boyfriend.

No, it should be that she couldn't bear to.

The corners of her lips curving into a gentle arc, with a world reflected in her eyes that contained only Miyahito, Utaha, as if infected by this moment of tranquility, slowly lay down as well.

Crossing her arms on the desk, letting her fallen pitch-black hair scatter beside her, Utaha lowered her body, quietly resting on her arms, her eyes curved as she watched Miyahito's sleeping face and listened to his reassuring breathing.

Miyahito, are you having a sweet dream?

Noticing the gentleness and attachment that surfaced on the face occupying every corner of her heart at that instant, Utaha guessed curiously in her heart.

Are you dreaming of me?

The moment this thought surfaced in the depths of her heart, Utaha, who couldn't help but feel a bit shy, quietly hid her slightly flushed cheeks.

A few seconds later, raising her head again, Utaha glared at her still-sleeping boyfriend with a mix of shyness and petulance in her gaze.

Hmph! It's all your fault! Making me have such embarrassing thoughts!

With a bit of unreasonable displacement of anger, Utaha pouted, her expression showing slight dissatisfaction as she lightly poked... well, touched Miyahito's cheek with her finger.

At this moment, her peripheral vision caught sight of Miyahito's slightly loosened collar, and a certain small mark, like a shy child, faintly visible at the exposed neckline.

Yeah, no need to guess, that was the 'hickey' she had planted between Miyahito's neck and collarbone last night in a fit of flustered anger.

And, on her own body, in a roughly similar position, there was a mark almost identical to Miyahito's. Yeah, it was also planted by her boyfriend.

Looking at this ambiguous mark on her boyfriend's neck, Utaha couldn't help but recall the events from last night until before dismissal. Their so-called "cold war" was more like a standard, silly couple's interaction.

At the very least, the bento Utaha brought, which only had one portion and was accidentally misunderstood by Yuki as a punishment, did not contain a lunch meant for only one person.

It was a box full to the brim with beef sandwiches, radiating a rich, savory sauce flavor.

Besides, nearing dismissal time, Miyahito, who had been running back and forth between the Toyogasaki and Shuchiin Student Councils recently, chose to drop all his work today, rushing to the Class C classroom just a few seconds after the bell rang.

Smiling and saying to her, "Utaha, let's go home together today!"

With a Miyahito like this.

How could Utaha bear to have a cold war with her boyfriend?

She wasn't that kind of spoiled girl who only knew how to make unreasonable demands of her boyfriend, regardless of who was right or wrong, insisting that any problem was the boyfriend's fault and demanding he apologize and coax her.

Utaha knew this very well. The continuation of a romance was never just about one person's effort; more importantly, it required two people in love to accommodate each other and protect the sweetness of their love in their hearts.

Tick, tock—

It was about time.

"Miyahito, Miyahito~ Time to wake up, we need to go home."

"Mmm... I want to sleep a little longer....."

"No·way. If we don't go home soon, I'm going to starve to death."

".....Yeah, yeah, I can't let Utaha starve. Let's go home right away."

"Yes, yes, yes, but wake up first, darling, and stand up properly."

"...."