For a split second, Sawamura Haruno almost threw a punch.
"You—"
His mouth opened and closed. Just as he was about to say something, Miyazawa Maki suddenly sat down on the bed and shuffled forward a couple of steps.
"Hm?"
She leaned in close to Haruno, her nose twitching nonstop, as if she'd picked up on a familiar scent. After sluggishly thinking it over with her alcohol-addled brain for a while, she let out a soft, almost cute nasal sound.
It was a very familiar smell.
Maki was absolutely sure of it.
She used to smell it almost every day.
It was…
"Mana's scent?" Maki murmured to herself.
Somehow, saying it out loud only made things more terrifying.
Haruno stared at her in disbelief.
Is this girl part dog or something?
He hadn't had any close contact with Mana at all tonight. If there was any chance of picking up her scent, it would've been when he accidentally crushed the glass earlier.
And even then—
She could smell that?
"Why… why do you have Mana's scent on you?"
Maki still looked half-asleep, gazing at Haruno with confused, unfocused eyes.
When her lips parted slightly, a strong alcoholic fragrance drifted out, further confirming that she wasn't fully sober yet.
For Haruno, this might be a chance—while she was still muddled, maybe he could bluff his way through.
"What Mana scent? You're imagining things."
He coughed lightly, putting on a perfectly clueless expression.
But it didn't fool Maki.
She suddenly reached out and grabbed Haruno's other arm, yanking him toward her.
Of course, her strength was nowhere near his. When Haruno reflexively resisted, she nearly tumbled off the bed, and he had to catch her in time to prevent an accident.
And it was precisely because of that—
Because she ended up sprawled across his leg—
That Maki clearly saw what was on his phone.
The black-on-white text.
And her own sister's deliberately seductive pose.
Every single detail slammed into Maki like a shockwave.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the message Mana had sent. Her lips trembled, opening and closing, but not a single word came out.
"Crap—!"
Only now did Haruno react, hurriedly locking the screen of the phone.
But it was already too late.
Maki had seen everything.
Even though her thoughts were still sluggish from the cocktails she'd had in the afternoon, the moment it involved her twin sister—
the moment it involved winning and losing between the two of them—
She sobered up instantly.
And precisely because of that, she couldn't believe what she'd just seen.
That look on Mana's face—
It was nothing short of humiliating herself just to please a man.
This was too much.
"What kind of joke is this…?"
Maki muttered blankly.
"Mana… she actually went that far…"
"N-No, this was just a special situation. Probably," Haruno said awkwardly.
Being caught by his ex's little sister with an "intimate photo" from his ex gave him an indescribable sense of social death.
Not to mention that the said little sister was still clinging to him, her body trembling faintly.
This was bad.
Maki's body is way too dangerous right now.
With her pressed against him, plus the lingering impact of Mana's photo, he was almost at his limit.
Haruno swallowed hard, planning to lift Maki off him and move her onto the bed beside him—at the very least, he needed some distance before she noticed his physical reaction.
But before he could move—
"What do you mean, special situation?!"
Maki suddenly exploded.
"You two have done this kind of thing plenty of times before, haven't you?!"
Her voice rose sharply.
"So what if you did it?! Why say things like that?! Why drag me into it?!"
"What… what are you talking about?!"
Haruno was completely lost. He genuinely didn't understand what had set her off.
"Isn't it obviously just an excuse?!"
Seeing that he still didn't get it, Maki grabbed him by the collar, her eyes blazing with resentment.
"If Mana wanted to do that herself, then why pretend it was 'because of me' that she gave you a reward?!"
"I never asked her to do that! I never needed her help at all!"
"What do you mean 'you'll still look at me, right'?!
What do you mean 'after you look at me, you're not allowed to look at her anymore'?!"
"My business is my responsibility! Why does she have to interfere to this extent?!"
Maki completely lost control.
Her words poured out like a barrage, fast and relentless. Tears streamed down her face, and she bit her lip hard, looking so heartbroken it was unbearable to watch.
Haruno stood frozen.
Her logic was messy—but he understood her point.
Maki genuinely hated the way Mana handled this.
Whether Mana did it out of lingering feelings for her ex, or out of concern for her twin sister—
Maki hated it all the same.
She'd always lost to Mana.
And that was precisely why she'd run away from home.
Only to end up being taken care of—again—because of Mana.
And Mana's line—
"You'll still look at me, right?"
—cut straight into Maki's most sensitive wound.
"I…"
Realizing where the real problem lay, Haruno opened his mouth, but the words wouldn't come out.
After all, wasn't it true that he'd initially taken Maki in because she looked exactly like Mana?
In hurting her, he bore part of the blame as well.
"Shut up."
Maki's low shout cut him off.
She slowly raised her head. Her small face was tear-streaked, fragile—but stubborn.
"My own problems—I can handle them myself."
She took a deep breath, her voice trembling.
"I don't need her pity."
As she spoke, she reached out toward Haruno's pants.
Startled, he quickly grabbed her wrist.
"H-Hey, Maki, calm down. Even if you don't want Mana's help, there's no need to do this, right?"
"I do want to!"
Maki snapped back immediately.
"She said you're not allowed to look at me anymore, didn't she? Then I insist on doing this."
She added fiercely,
"Don't you dare stop me—unless you're kicking me out right now."
Her tone was unwavering.
Tears still clung to her lashes, making her look unbearably pitiful.
Looking at her as she steeled herself, Haruno hesitated—
And in that
moment of hesitation, he was successfully "ambushed."
Haruno couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
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