Chapter 146 Pretending To Be Asleep？
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Haruto blinked slowly, still unsure whether what he was seeing was real or just a hazy dream.
After Keiko’s pants had been slipped off, Seiichi quietly brought them up to his nose.
(Wait… what? Is he… sniffing them?)
When he was done, he tucked the pants beneath the bed and began to gently lower her underwear.
(Oi oi… seriously, what are you doing?)
Haruto couldn’t wrap his head around it.
If this was about getting intimate, why not just take them off like normal? They were already in bed together. Surely Keiko was still awake.
And yet—she didn’t move.
After setting aside her underwear, Seiichi once again raised the fabric to his face.
(Again? For real?)
Then, he carefully shifted Keiko’s legs apart. Not to do anything drastic—at least not yet—it looked more like he was inhaling her scent again.
At that moment, Keiko finally stirred. Up until now, she hadn’t twitched a muscle.
She rolled over slightly, turning her face away from Haruto, still lying on her side.
(…She’s awake. Pretending to sleep… this is some kind of play?)
A memory flashed in Haruto’s mind—back when he’d first moved into this apartment, he and Akane had tried something similar. A time-stop roleplay, just for laughs. The idea had come from overhearing rhythmic creaking from the next room, and he’d joked about it to Akane… which sparked the experiment.
(Wait. Don’t tell me… that was actually close to what was really going on?)
Haruto swallowed.
Seiichi had a thing for “stealthy” intimacy—like the other person wasn’t supposed to react. That would explain why Keiko was going along with it, pretending to sleep even though she was clearly aware.
(If they’re both okay with it… I guess it’s none of my business.)
Seiichi now lay behind Keiko, both of them on their sides, and quietly drew closer—slowly, without haste.
Time passed.
Creak… creak… creak… creak.
The sounds were much more subdued than usual, probably because Seiichi was aware of Haruto’s presence.
Still, the mystery of the faint, nightly creaking had finally been solved.
(Personally, I prefer when there’s a bit more effort to muffle the sound. Adds to the atmosphere.)
Complete silence was kind of… dull. But the thrill of teasing someone who was “asleep” was a kink Haruto could at least theoretically understand.
Back in his previous life, he’d once tried something similar. From firsthand experience, he knew how insanely hard it was to undress someone without waking them. Touching them—even a little—usually snapped them out of it.
(Still… Keiko-san’s commitment to the bit is kind of impressive.)
He glanced back at her face.
Her eyes were open.
(…Ah.)
Their gazes met for a split second. Keiko looked just as surprised as he was.
(S-Sorry…!)
Internally panicking, Haruto quickly rolled over to face the other way.
”Nngh.”
From behind, he could feel a shift in movement. Seiichi was probably done as well.
Haruto could only stare at the ceiling, trying not to think too hard about the morning ahead.
(Yep. Definitely awkward…)
He didn’t sleep a wink that night.
By the time the morning sun filtered through the curtains, he heard sounds from the kitchen and knew the two were already up.
Haruto folded his futon, steeled himself, and stepped into the kitchen.
”Good morning.”
”G-Good morning.”
”Morning!”
”Thanks for dinner last night,” Haruto said with a polite smile. “I’ll head back to my room now.”
”Eh? Not having breakfast?”
”You should eat something before you go,” Seiichi added.
”Ah… actually, I just remembered I’ve got something to take care of.”
Despite his best efforts to sound casual, the air was thick with unease.
Still, Haruto managed to bow out gracefully and return to his room.
(I did not expect that to be the result of a simple overnight stay…)
He had all kinds of thoughts swirling around until morning.
For a moment, he even considered taking the opportunity to get closer to Keiko.
But…
He’d just had a serious conversation with Akane about Harue and Yui.
And hitting on his neighbor’s girlfriend—especially when he didn’t know how she really felt—didn’t sit right with him.
So he decided to act like nothing had happened.
That was how Haruto felt, anyway.
As for Keiko… that was another story entirely.
(Please, please don’t let me bump into her around here…)
Haruto could only hope for the best.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply