(Part 2): Kaerimichi to, Sorezore no Shin'on – The Way Home, and Each Heartbeat
The train swayed gently as the group made their way back to the city. The rhythmic clatter on the tracks was the only sound between them for a while — not awkward silence, just... thoughtful.
Ren sat by the window, Emi beside him, their shoulders occasionally brushing. Yui was across from them, half-asleep but clearly frowning. Haruka pretended to read a magazine, though the pages never turned. Rika stared out the opposite window, chin on her hand, while Mei sat at the far end, listening to soft music through one earbud.
No one said it out loud… but something had changed.
Maybe it was the bath incident.Maybe it was the proximity.Maybe it was the kiss.
But now, every little touch, every glance, carried a new kind of weight.
Back at the station, the girls split up to catch different lines home.
Yui stayed behind a moment.
"…Hey."
Ren turned to her.
"You really kissed Emi?"
"I…"
"Don't answer," she said quickly, holding up a hand. "I don't actually want to know."
Then she turned away.
"But if you're gonna do that kind of stuff… you better not act like none of it matters later."
She walked off without looking back.
Later that night, Ren lay in bed, eyes wide open, replaying every moment in his head.
Emi's quiet blush.Rika's teasing, now softer.Haruka's glances when she thought no one noticed.Yui's silence.Mei's faint smile.
The harem was no longer harmless.
They weren't just friends anymore.Not just classmates.Not just "somehow living in the same house."
They were girls with feelings.And one of them had already kissed him.
The rest… were catching up fast.
He rolled onto his side, buried his face into his pillow, and groaned into the night.
"Why is this happening to meeeee…?!"