Dinner was a simmered dish.
The daikon radish had soaked up the flavor perfectly, and the fried tofu had absorbed just the right amount of broth. The chicken fell apart tenderly, while the burdock root and konjac added a satisfying crunch. With every mouthful of warm food, I felt the tension coiled deep in my chest slowly begin to unwind.
Still, I had a mountain of work to get through.
After finishing my bath, I grabbed my laptop and headed for my room to tackle the work I’d brought home.
“Big sister, come over here.”
I turned around to find Yuno sitting on the sofa, patting her thigh.
A lap pillow again. And since she was wearing short shorts today… bare skin. I felt a flicker of vulgarity for even thinking it.
“No way. I’m busy with work.”
“Ehh? Just for a little bit.”
Still wearing her cat-ear hood, she looked up at me with a pleading gaze. I wondered if it was just my imagination, or if her eyes looked sparklier than usual.
I intended to ignore her and walk right past…
But before I knew it, I had let my head sink onto Yuno’s thigh with a soft thud.
Her smooth skin touched my cheek. She was warmer and softer than I expected.
Yuno began to slowly stroke my head again.
The rhythm and the warmth of her hand were incredibly soothing.
“…By the way,” Yuno murmured after a while.
“People tell me I’m really good at cleaning ears.”
“…Hmm.”
“Want me to do yours?”
“No. I’m fine.”
“Ehh.”
There was a brief silence.
“…Hey, where’s the ear pick?”
“Were you listening? I said I’m fine.”
“Is it in the first-aid kit?”
Without waiting for an answer, Yuno moved. I felt my head being gently lifted from her thigh. I heard the rustle of a drawer being opened.
“Found it. This is the one.”
Returning to me, Yuno naturally placed my head back onto her lap.
“I told you, I don’t—”
“Now, stay still.”
Yuno slowly traced the edge of my ear with her finger and began cleaning.
…It felt good.
Dammit, it felt amazing.
I was surprised that it could feel this good. Having someone else clean your ears is entirely different from doing it yourself.
A strange sense of comfort washed over me, and my consciousness began to drift.
The task list for work piled up in my mind collapsed like a game of Jenga.
My eyes closed naturally.
My mouth slackened unconsciously.
After a while, I felt a gaze on me.
Opening my eyes slightly and glancing sideways, I saw Yuno staring intently at my face.
“Hehe.”
“…What?”
“You’re cute, Big Sister.”
“Huh?”
“You had such a dazed look on your face. Actually, you looked like you were melting.”
“Shut up.”
“It was just funny because you kept saying you didn’t want it. Hey, turn the other way.”
Doing as I was told, I turned my other ear toward her. The same sensation spread again. I tried desperately to tighten my expression, but my facial muscles simply wouldn’t obey.
Then—
Huu—
“Hyaah…!?”
She breathed into my ear.
A soft, warm exhale slid deep into my ear canal. A strangely high-pitched sound escaped my throat. It was because I had let my guard down completely.
Following that, Yuno’s cool fingertips slowly traced the rim of my ear.
“Wait, enough already. Work—”
“You know, Big Sister…”
Yuno whispered, her lips brushing against my ear.
I felt a soft, squishy sensation against my skin.
A sweet, husky voice laced with breath echoed inside my ear.
“You’re sensitive here, aren’t you?”
A shiver raced down my spine.
The next moment, a warm, wet sensation touched my earlobe. It took me a second to realize it was her tongue.
Then, she gave the edge of my ear a playful, sweet little nip.
“Ngh… Hey, stop… You, you did this on the first day too, didn’t you?”
“Aha, you caught me.”
I could tell Yuno was giggling.
“Your ears are so small and cute, I just want to munch on them.”
“…What is that even supposed to mean?”
“Hehe, your ear is turning red.”
She whispered low and sweet in my ear. The vibration of her voice felt as if it were reaching my brain directly.
“This kind of thing, did you do this with people before?”
I didn’t even know why I asked that.
There was a momentary pause.
“…Yeah, I did.”
Hearing that made my chest feel tight and scratchy.
“Just a little bit, really.”
Her voice softened slightly, right next to my ear.
Yuno gave a small laugh and continued.
“…Hey, why are you asking that?”
Her voice sounded spoiled, yet somehow poignant.
“Stop… stop talking so close to my ear.”
I tried to push Yuno away, but she grabbed my arm and pinned me back into the sofa.
This girl—she’s slender, but surprisingly strong.
“I’m just talking normally. Come on, tell me. Why did you ask that? ‘With people before?'”
“Because… it’s nothing. Just forget it. Get off me.”
“Hey. Could it be…?”
Her voice became even sweeter and huskier.
“Are you a little bit jealous of Yuno?”
At those words, my heart throbbed with a sharp ache.
Simultaneously, her tongue slowly traced from the rim to the back of my ear.
“No… that’s not— haun!”
My body jolted.
An unbelievably sweet, high-pitched moan escaped my lips. I was beyond embarrassed.
Yuno’s lingual caresses didn’t stop. She continued to trace the contour of my ear meticulously, teasing me.
“Aha, so cute… You make such cute sounds at times like this, Big Sister.”
As I sat up, Yuno’s hand gently cupped my face. The warmth of her palm felt wonderful.
Yuno looked straight into my eyes.
“Your eyes are all misty.”
Her voice was quiet.
“Out of everyone I’ve been with—your reaction is the cutest of all.”
Yuno narrowed her drooping eyes slightly. I thought to myself: that’s a devilish smile.
At the same time, my heart began to race.
The mental space that had been tightly packed with work was being smoothly overwritten by this sweet time with Yuno.
This is bad. I’m going to lose it at this rate.
I have a mountain of things I need to do.
And yet, she finds it amusing to play with my reactions. Thinking that made me feel inexplicably irritated.
“…Enough already.”
I pushed Yuno aside, stood up, and headed for my room.
“I’m going to work. Do not disturb me. Period.”
Slam!
I closed the door a bit too violently.
The room was silent once I was alone.
I opened my laptop and looked at the screen.
A flood of emails had arrived. Two hundred of them…
I tried desperately to read through them, but the content wouldn’t sink in. The sentences looked like nothing more than strings of characters.
All the while, the sound of my heart was so loud it echoed in my head. My ears felt hot.
The warmth of Yuno’s fingers and the sensation of her tongue still lingered on my cheeks and ears. They wouldn’t fade.
There was no way I could get any work done.