As the play began, Kaori glanced sideways at Kaito, who was sitting next to her. Although the theater was dimly lit, the light from the stage illuminated his profile.
It seemed he was focused on the performance, showing no sign of noticing Kaori’s gaze.
(……H- Hmm, w- why am I also gonna interlock fingers with him? No, I mean, I can’t deny that I’ve dreamed about it. I always wanted to try it at least once! I’ve been curious about how it feels———- if it’s different from holding hands normally. It’s just intellectual curiosity, really…… Yeah, definitely not about trying to relive some sweet, bittersweet high school experience I missed out on or anything…… Who am I even trying to convince……)
Before Kaori was transported to this world, her life had been weighed down by various misfortunes, leaving her unable to enjoy her youth. Even after arriving in this new world, she had been too preoccupied to think about romance.
However, now that she had found her footing emotionally and her restaurant was thriving, she found herself gradually turning her thoughts toward such matters.
At nearly 30, Kaori was growing increasingly conscious of her desire for romance, particularly longing for experiences she had missed————- those tinged with the sweet innocence of youth…… Holding hands with interlocked fingers fit perfectly into that category.
(Arehh? Thinking about it again, transitioning from holding hands like this to a lovers’ grip…… isn’t that a pretty big hurdle? Not because it’s embarrassing, but more like…… how do you municate it? I mean, to go from just holding hands while sitting like this to a lovers’ hold would require moving my hand quite a bit, right? Wouldn’t I need Kaito-kun to cooperate for it to work? Sure, he’s experienced in romance…… but even so, would he just suddenly understand that I wanted to interlock fingers if I started fidgeting my hand?———- no, that’s impossible, right?)
Kaori’s concerns were entirely reasonable. However, given that Kaito had overheard her conversation with Olivia earlier, he might easily pick up on her intentions if she acted, but of course, Kaori had no way of knowing that.
(So, what should I do? ……Should I just use brute force to pry his fingers open? Or maybe, since Kaito-kun is such a popular guy, he’d pick up on my intentions through my hand movements? H- Hmm, I’ve never done this before, so I have no clue…… Ah, but I think I remember a friend with a boyfriend saying something back in school…… Errr, what was it again……)
As someone with hardly any experience in romance, Kaori struggled to figure out how to naturally transition to a lovers’ hold and tried to recall a conversation from long ago with her friends.
(Errr, I think it went something like…… “He suddenly tried to interlock fingers with me! It totally caught me off guard~~ His finger movements were a bit suggestive too~~ I mean, c’mon, couldn’t he have given me more of a heads-up? But, well, I guess being assertive is kind of attractive too!” ……Unn. That girl was definitely just bragging. She can explode for all I care…… Ugh, I dug up that memory with so much effort, and it’s totally useless now.)
In the end, all Kaori could recall was her friend’s endless gushing about her boyfriend, leaving her with no helpful insights for her current predicament.
(……………………..Alright, whatever happens, happens! I’ll leave it to Kaito-kun! Please, somehow figure it out and make this work!!!)
In the end, Kaori abandoned any clever strategies and decided to go for it her own way. She trusted that Kaito, with his wealth of romantic experience…… would somehow manage to handle the situation smoothly. With a vague sense of “this should work”, she moved her hand, attempting to transition to a lovers’ hold.
To Kaori’s surprise, Kaito immediately responded, subtly parting his fingers to acmodate hers and effortlessly transitioning into the new hold.
(Did…… Did that work? I mean, it worked, right? That was so smooth…… I- Is this what it means to be a master at romance? ……That aside, wow…… t- this is, umm, a lot more intimate than I expected…… M- My heart’s pounding like crazy…… S- So, this is what it feels like huh. I- I think I kinda like it……)
With their fingers now interlocked, Kaori could feel Kaito’s warmth more intensely than before. Her face grew hot as she basked in the peculiar, floating sense of fort the gesture brought.
(……Ah…… I told Olivia-sama we’d wait for a good moment, but I went and did it without thinking. B- But then again, if I’d waited, I probably would’ve chickened out, so it’s good I acted early…… Kaito-kun accepted it right away, didn’t he? Does that mean…… um…… at the very least, he doesn’t dislike holding hands with me like this? ……I can think of it that way, right? ……Ahaha…… Uwahh, I can feel the heat on my cheeks! I must be blushing like crazy right now. Thank goodness it’s dark in here.)
Relieved that the dim lighting of the audience seating likely concealed her flushed cheeks, Kaori stole another glance at Kaito’s side-profile, and with a hint of bashfulness in her face, she smiled.
Serious-senpai : [W- What!? It came from her…… Kuh, an unexpected attack from an unforeseen direction……]
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