The moment Shiraishi-senpai melted into my embrace, her unfinished words dissolving between our lips, I felt like I'd been struck by lightni

The moment Shiraishi-senpai melted into my embrace, her unfinished words dissolving between our lips, I felt like I'd been struck by lightning. Every nerve ending in my body came alive as waves of impossible softness crashed over me, short-circuiting my brain completely.

This is really happening. I'm actually kissing Shiraishi Lisa. The goddess herself is in my arms and she's kissing me back and—

Her mind seemed to go blank too, all that careful composure and refined elegance evaporating as pure instinct took over. She pressed closer, her arms tightening around me as if she wanted to merge our very souls together.

She tastes like... cherry blossoms and summer festivals and every romantic cliché that actually turns out to be true.

The artificial starlight painted everything in silver and gold, but none of it compared to the warmth spreading through my chest as Shiraishi-senpai melted against me. Time didn't just slow down—it completely stopped, the universe holding its breath for this perfect moment.

Only when our lungs demanded oxygen did we finally break apart, both of us gasping for air like we'd just surfaced from deep water. Our eyes met in the dim starlight, and the expression on her face—flushed, dazed, completely vulnerable—nearly stopped my heart all over again.

We shared a smile that felt more intimate than the kiss itself, understanding passing between us without words. Then she leaned against my chest, her head fitting perfectly in the hollow of my shoulder, and the embrace that followed felt like the natural conclusion to something that had been building between us since the moment we met.

This is what contentment feels like. This warm, settled feeling like everything in the world has finally clicked into place.

Dong dong dong...

The sound of knocking on the corrugated paper entrance shattered our private bubble like a stone through glass.

Time's up already? But we just... Damn it, terrible timing, universe.

Reluctantly—so reluctantly it physically hurt—we separated and made our way toward the exit. The bright afternoon sunlight hit us like a physical blow after the intimate darkness of the planetarium, and I had to blink several times before my eyes adjusted.

"Are you hungry, Ginjo-san?" Shiraishi-senpai asked, checking her phone with concern. "You haven't eaten anything all morning, have you?"

"I was helping out at the class booth and then we got caught up in the games," I admitted, realizing she was absolutely right. "If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed. Excitement makes me forget basic human needs, apparently."

Also, kissing beautiful girls under artificial starlight tends to override survival instincts.

"Let's go to the food court then," I suggested, taking her hand naturally. "I remember you wanted to find that candy apple stand."

Hand-holding privileges unlocked. This day just keeps getting better.

We made our way past the rest area in the school building's atrium to the food court, which was bustling with hungry festival-goers. I grabbed some teppanyaki fried noodles that smelled incredible—curry-flavored with chunks of pork belly and perfectly textured noodles.

"This is amazing!" I said between bites. "The curry seasoning balances perfectly with the pork, and these noodles have the perfect bite. It's practically restaurant quality!"

Just like that handmade planetarium, you can feel the passion these students put into their work. College really is the time when you can throw yourself into projects with pure enthusiasm.

"Want to try some, Shiraishi-senpai?"

"I already had ramen at your class's stall," she said, though her eyes lingered on the noodles. "But just from the smell, I know it must be delicious."

"Then just one bite," I insisted, picking up a strand with my chopsticks. "Ah~"

I blew on the noodles gently before offering them to her, and the expression that crossed her face was priceless—surprise, hesitation, then something soft and pleased.

She's not used to this. Being taken care of, being fed by someone else. God, how sheltered has her life been?

She leaned forward and took the noodles delicately, her lips brushing my chopsticks in a way that sent electricity up my arm.

"Mmm, it's delicious. Thank you, Ginjo-san."

She covered her mouth with her hand afterward, a shy smile peeking through her fingers that made my heart do backflips.

First time being hand-fed. I'm collecting all her firsts today, aren't I?

After we finished eating, we continued our leisurely stroll through the festival. That's when Shiraishi-senpai spotted her holy grail.

"It's candy apples! I finally found them!"

The pure joy on her face as she rushed to the stall was infectious. She bought several and clutched them like precious treasures, practically bouncing with excitement.

She's like a kid in a candy store. Literally. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

"You've been searching for these all day," I observed. "Are candy apples your favorite?"

"Yes! I've loved them since I was little," she admitted, her expression growing wistful. "But my father always opposed it. 'Don't eat too much candy or your teeth will rot,' he'd say. Especially festival candy apples!"

Overprotective father. That explains a lot about her sheltered upbringing.

"But no matter how delicious the ones from regular shops are, they can't compare to festival candy apples. There's something about the atmosphere, the celebration..."

The childlike innocence on her face took my breath away. This was the real Shiraishi Lisa—not the untouchable beauty everyone worshipped from afar, but a girl who got excited about simple pleasures.

She's been hiding this side of herself from everyone. The fact that she's showing it to me...

"Besides," she added, offering me one of her candy apples, "everything tastes better when you're with someone special."

I took a bite of the candy apple, the sweetness coating my tongue. "You're right—it's incredibly sweet!"

"I told you so!" she said proudly, practically glowing with satisfaction.

Food really does taste different depending on your mood. And right now, with her looking at me like that, even cardboard would taste like ambrosia.

The festival atmosphere wrapped around us like a warm blanket—distant orchestral music from the stadium, students enthusiastically promoting their stalls, everyone walking around with takoyaki and crepes, talking and laughing. We were part of something bigger, caught up in the collective joy of the celebration.

This is what happiness looks like. Sharing candy apples with the girl of my dreams while surrounded by the best kind of chaos.

We ate as we walked, taking our time, savoring both the food and each other's company. Before I knew it, we'd made a complete circuit and were approaching my class's stall again.

"Time really flies when you're having fun," I murmured, checking my watch in disbelief.

"I'm so reluctant for this to end," Shiraishi-senpai sighed. "This is my last school festival, and it's been the most unforgettable one of my entire college life. I wish I could freeze time and live in this moment forever."

The most unforgettable. Because of me. Because of us.

But as we got closer to my class's booth, something felt wrong. The line of customers seemed even longer than when I'd left, which made no sense for this time of day.

Why are there more people now? It's past the lunch rush—things should be winding down.

That's when I spotted Mizutani-san's familiar glasses through the crowd. She looked frazzled, moving with the kind of desperate energy that screamed 'crisis mode.'

"Mizutani-san!" I called out over the noise.

When she heard my voice, she practically sprinted over, looking like she'd seen salvation itself.

"Gin...Ginjo-san..." she gasped, clearly out of breath from her sprint.

She ran that fast just to reach me? What the hell is going on?

"Thank god I found you! I can finally get some help!" She bent over, hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath.

I took the opportunity to look past her at our stall, and my stomach dropped. Every student looked stressed beyond belief—the cooking team had panic written across their faces, while the service and cleanup crew seemed to have lost all composure.

Oh no. Something's gone very, very wrong.

"The class..." Mizutani-san started, still fighting for air.

"The class stall is in crisis, Ginjo-san!"

Crisis? What kind of crisis could possibly—oh god, did someone get food poisoning? Did we run out of ingredients? Did the health inspector show up?

The weight of responsibility crashed down on me like a ton of bricks. I'd been off playing romantic games while my classmates dealt with some kind of disaster.

So much for being the reliable guy everyone can count on. Time to find out exactly what kind of mess I need to help clean up.