Murakami Yuu's first reaction was surprise.
Are girls nowadays this direct?
After Tachibana Rui said those words, she lowered her head again, slowly returning to that calm expression, and released her grip on the corner of Murakami Yuu's clothes.
"Why me?"
Murakami Yuu asked.
"You're good-looking, you give me a good feeling, and with you... it shouldn't be too much of a loss."
So being good-looking really lets you do whatever you want... But didn't you think about whether I'd be at a loss?
Using his height advantage, Murakami Yuu carefully looked Tachibana Rui up and down again.
Well, I probably wouldn't be at much of a loss either.
"If you're unwilling, you don't need to force yourself. Just pretend I never said anything. I'm going back."
Seeing Murakami Yuu seemingly lost in thought, Tachibana Rui added another sentence, then tried to walk past him toward the private room.
"Wait a moment."
This time it was Murakami Yuu who reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"If I don't agree, are you planning to find someone else?"
"That's none of your business."
Hearing this loaded question, Tachibana Rui's gaze toward Murakami Yuu suddenly became sharp, coldly giving her response.
Her expression didn't seem fake—she wasn't the kind of casual person he had imagined...
"That question just now wasn't meant to insult you. If it made you uncomfortable, then I apologize."
Tachibana Rui blinked, the aura she was emanating softened slightly, and she turned her head slightly to the side but didn't respond.
"Regarding the request you just made of me, if you've seriously considered it and feel you won't regret it afterward, I can accept."
"I've thought about it. I won't regret it."
Tachibana Rui looked up and met Murakami Yuu's gaze.
"Understood."
Murakami Yuu smiled softly. His hand gripping her wrist slowly slid down, opening her small palm, his fingers sliding through the gaps between her fingers and intertwining with them, holding hands with their fingers interlocked.
Tachibana Rui was startled by Murakami Yuu's sudden action.
This reaction, like a shy small animal, was unexpectedly interesting to Murakami Yuu.
"This is just the most basic contact. Can't you adapt to it?"
"No, it's not that... I just found it somewhat unexpected..."
"Should we slip away now? Or continue playing with them for a while? I heard after dinner they're going to karaoke."
"Let's slip away. I don't really like noisy places with lots of people."
"Understood. I'll go back to get my wallet. Do you have anything left in the private room? I can bring it over for you."
"There's a white small shoulder bag."
"Okay, just wait here for me. I'll be right back."
Releasing her hand, Murakami Yuu walked toward the private room.
Watching his retreating figure, Tachibana Rui slowly brought the hand that had been held up to her eyes, her cheeks slightly warm.
...
"Sorry, Tachibana Rui-san and I have some business, so we'll be leaving first."
Murakami Yuu returned to the private room to get his things and greeted everyone.
In the middle of a mixer, if two people take a liking to each other, they can leave midway for one-on-one private development—this was an unspoken rule.
"Eh~ Murakami-san is leaving already..."
Takanashi Yuko and Sato Eri seemed somewhat regretful.
"Come on, don't make those faces. You still have me and Reita."
Iizuka Takeya chimed in.
"Have fun, everyone."
Murakami Yuu smiled slightly, left the room, and exited the yakiniku restaurant together with Tachibana Rui.
...
The two arrived at a rest area.
Murakami Yuu lived alone, so going directly to his house would have been feasible, but considering this was only their first meeting and he wasn't familiar enough with Tachibana Rui, he didn't rashly make such a move.
After all, for him, "home" was generally a place that only people with whom he had an intimate relationship to a certain degree could enter.
"You barely ate anything at the dinner table earlier. Is that okay?"
"It's fine, I'm not very hungry."
Tachibana Rui followed behind Murakami Yuu into the room. Since this was her first time in such a place, she unconsciously looked around, feeling quite unaccustomed to it.
Murakami Yuu took the remote and adjusted the lighting to a warm glow, then walked to the window and drew the curtains.
"Why does it feel like you're very practiced at this?"
Although it was a request she had initiated, being in such an environment and seeing his actions still made her feel somewhat complicated and uneasy.
"It's probably your imagination. Or are you having second thoughts? However, if you haven't thought it through, there's still time to back out now."
"No... I don't regret it..."
Tachibana Rui hung her shoulder bag on the coat rack and sat on the bed in the center of the room, reaching out to test the softness of the mattress.
Murakami Yuu walked over and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.
Although she was mentally prepared for what was about to happen, when the moment actually arrived, Tachibana Rui's body still trembled slightly beyond her control.
This kind of fearful emotion appearing in an inexperienced girl was perfectly normal.
She couldn't remember the process, only gazing at that face that made her heart flutter. When she came to her senses, Tachibana Rui had already been pulled up by Murakami Yuu, her hand taken by his.
Tachibana Rui's mind went blank, her body temperature began to rise. She really wanted to just close her eyes and leave everything to him, but considering her purpose, she couldn't simply escape like that.
She had to watch, to experience the entire process with clear consciousness.
The consequence of this was that her heartbeat became even more intense, along with increasingly erratic and heavy breathing.
Murakami Yuu didn't make his next move. Watching Tachibana Rui, who was already somewhat flustered before anything had even begun, he felt somewhat pleased.
"This is the last chance. There are often many ways to solve problems—you could completely change your approach to solve this..."
"Urusai! Stop dawdling around—are you an old man? If you're unwilling, I'll go back right now... Mmph!"
Tachibana Rui's words were cut short because her earlobe came under attack, causing her to involuntarily let out a very cute cry.
Very spirited, very mischievous.
With things said to this extent, Murakami Yuu felt there was no need to continue hesitating.
He was being looked down upon—would he still be a man if he didn't act at this point?
His mouth left Tachibana Rui's earlobe. Murakami Yuu got off the bed and quickly turned off all the main lights in the room, leaving only a dim night light. The temperature in the room was gradually rising.
The night was still long...
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