The wooden door to Haruka’s room swung open with a soft, clean click.
Holy moly, my internal monologue breathed, my jaw instantly dropping as I stepped over the threshold.
It didn't just look like the high-definition background illustration from Sparkling Hearts: Academy of Love.
It was a thousand times better.
The render quality of reality was terrifyingly elite.
The walls were painted a soft, comforting pastel cream, the identical white bookshelves were organized with millimeter precision, and the warm afternoon light filtered through sheer lace curtains, casting a dreamy, ethereal glow over everything.
But the biggest difference between a digital screen and real life?
The scent.
The entire room smelled intensely, distinctly like Haruka.
It was that breathtaking blend of sweet vanilla, fresh sun-dried linen, and a faint hint of floral shampoo.
Just breathing the air in here felt like a massive violation of my background character boundaries.
My face reached a dangerous thermal maximum, the heat radiating straight to the tips of my ears.
Haruka finally calmed down, her shoulders dropping as she let out a soft, relieved breath.
She rubbed the back of her neck, her cheeks still dusted with a lovely shade of pink as she glanced around her pristine sanctuary.
"See? I told you it wasn't messy, Mei-chan," she murmured, a gentle, incredibly endearing shy smile returning to her lips as she gestured toward the open space.
"Um... you can sit down wherever you like. Make yourself at home."
"Thank you for the hospitality,"
I squeaked, my legs moving on pure autopilot.
In the center of the room sat a low, polished white wooden study table, positioned right beside her neatly made bed.
I walked over and sat down cross-legged on a plush pink floor cushion, deliberately choosing the spot facing the bed so I wouldn't awkwardly stare at her closet.
I unzipped my backpack, carefully taking out my thick history textbook, notebook, and mechanical pencils, arranging them neatly on the table surface.
As I did, the midnight-blue star keychain attached to my bag zipper let out a small, metallic clink, catching the light.
Haruka’s eyes instantly locked onto the little blue star.
A radiant, beautifully warm expression washed over her amber eyes.
She subconsciously reached toward her own phone sitting on the desk, where the matching translucent pink lily charm was prominently displayed.
A deep, quiet satisfaction seemed to settle over her entire silhouette.
Haruka said softly, her voice dropping into a sweet, domestic register that made my heart do dangerous gymnastics.
She smoothed down the skirt of her ivory one-piece dress as she turned toward the door.
"I'll go downstairs to the kitchen and grab some snacks for us. Is it okay if I serve some cold barley tea, or would you prefer something else?"
"Barley tea is absolutely perfect! I am a commoner of simple tastes, sugar and hydration are my only requirements!"
I babbled, offering a stiff, comical salute.
"Hehe, alright. I'll be right back. Don't go reading any weird books while I'm gone!" she teased, giving me a playful wink that gave my inner lesbian a localized stroke before she stepped out, closing the door behind her.
The moment the door clicked shut, the silence of the room rushed in.
I collapsed forward, burying my burning face against the cool wooden surface of the study table.
"Oh my god... I am alone in the heroine's bedroom. I am inhaling her exact atmosphere. If the male leads knew I was sitting within three feet of her mattress, they would hire a private military corporation to erase my digital footprint."
To calm my erratic pulse, I sat back up and forced myself to look at the history textbook.
Focus, Mei.
You are here to study 19th-century regional trade agreements.
You are a studious, invisible asset.
A few minutes later, the door handle turned smoothly.
Haruka walked back into the room holding a beautifully arranged wooden tray.
She carefully set down two glasses of condensation-beaded, ice-cold barley tea and a small plate piled high with freshly baked, warm chocolate chip cookies.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" she smiled warmly, sitting down right next to me on the adjoining floor cushion.
Our knees were practically brushing under the small table.
"I figured we'd need some sugar to get through the early chapters."
"Haruka, this looks incredible,"
I said, taking a sip of the tea.
The cool liquid instantly revived my anxious throat.
"Alright, let's look at the timeline for the pre-industrial trade routes..." Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
For a solid twenty minutes, we actually managed to get into a really good rhythm.
Haruka opened her notebook, her handwriting incredibly neat as she highlighted key dates.
She leaned in closer to point out a specific paragraph in my textbook, her shoulder pressing lightly against mine.
The vanilla scent of her hair wafted over me, and my brain cells were working double-time just to maintain a normal, academic conversation while internally screaming from the proximity.
BUZZ.
The sudden, aggressive vibration of my smartphone lying flat on the white table made both of us flinch.
The screen lit up with a high-density, terrifying banner notification.
[Kazari Shiori]: Kurogane-san~ My private logistics driver mentioned seeing someone matching your description entering a residential sector outside your usual radius. I do hope you aren't ignoring our three-minute rule for a private rendezvous...
My brain instantly went into absolute, red-alert panic mode.
Why text now?! Out of all the hours in a twenty-four-hour weekend, why does the billionaire heiress have to check her digital surveillance logs at exactly 1:20 PM on a Sunday?!
"Mei-chan?"
Haruka blinked, her amber eyes shifting toward the glowing screen.
"Is that... a message?"
"It's just a corporate phishing scam!"
I blurted out, my voice reaching a pitch that could shatter glass.
With a swift, panicked swipe of my hand, I grabbed the phone, violently flipped it face-down onto the wooden table, and pushed it as far away from Haruka's line of sight as humanly possible.
Ignore.
Delete from memory.
If I don't see the asphalt trucks, they don't exist.
My heart was hammering against my ribs so loudly I was sure Haruka could hear it.
I needed to escape the physical vicinity of the device before a follow-up threat about real estate zoning laws arrived.
"A-Anyway!"
I stammered, scrambling to my feet while my face burned a high-intensity shade of crimson.
"The barley tea was highly effective! I suddenly need to use the facilities. Haruka... where exactly is your bathroom located?"
Haruka blinked at my sudden, chaotic burst of energy, her cheeks dusting with a confused but soft pink blush.
"Oh! Just walk out the door and turn left down the hallway. It's the second door on the right."
"Got it! Memorizing the layout! Back in a flash!"
I scrambled out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind me and leaving my face-down phone resting silently on the study table.