"I get it."
Hearing Sawamura Haruno say that, Miyazawa Maki lightly bit her lip. Her eyes suddenly took on a shy, hesitant look.
"S-Since I'm the one asking for a favor… then I guess there's nothing I can do."
Her voice trembled slightly. At some point, she'd already pinched the hem of her top between her fingers, as if she might lift it up at any moment.
"Is this okay? Mana used to beg you like this too, right? Oww—!"
Before she could finish, Haruno flicked her with a sharp chop to the head. The pain made her bare her teeth, and she nearly lunged at him to fight it out.
"Wasn't this what you wanted?" she snapped, grinding her teeth stubbornly.
"I'm already putting on a begging pose—how is this not sincere enough?"
"Shut up."
Haruno's mouth twitched.
Annoyingly enough, this kind of begging posture was way too authentic—almost stereotypically so.
The most common scenario was something like: the husband's boss comes over, subtly implying the husband might lose his job. To keep the family from falling apart, the wife has no choice but to adopt this exact kind of posture to plead for mercy.
Seriously… what kind of stuff does this girl usually watch?
She was way too practiced at this. Even Haruno was almost thrown off.
And besides—he was supposed to meet Mana tonight. There was no way he wanted to do anything questionable with her sister beforehand. That felt way too immoral.
"Enough. Stop messing around."
Haruno sighed, sounding resigned.
"Just one small glass. Don't drink too much."
"Heh-heh."
Seeing him finally give in, Maki stopped fooling around and instead flashed a smug, triumphant grin.
Whenever something pleased her—or whenever she saw someone helplessly at her mercy—she always wore this exact expression. Her eyes narrowed slightly, full of satisfaction, completely different from the cold, distant look she usually had.
—In this regard, she was very different from her sister Mana.
"I'll decide what to drink," Haruno said.
"No objections, right?"
He didn't linger on her smug smile. After glancing at her a couple of times, he focused back on what he was doing.
Casually, he took out some ice from the freezer and asked,
"Any tastes you hate or can't handle?"
"Nope."
Maki replied indifferently.
"Just mix whatever. Something a little sweet is fine—but I want to be able to taste the alcohol."
"What a pain…"
Haruno muttered under his breath.
Still, he understood. Maki wasn't chasing flavor—she just wanted to experience the stimulation.
The Miyazawa family's upbringing was notoriously strict; Haruno had heard that from Mana long ago.
Even the "perfect older sister" Mana would sometimes act completely unlike herself when they were dating—an extreme rebound caused by years of pressure at home. Once she found an outlet, it was like a dam breaking.
And Maki had been under even more pressure than Mana.
So her curiosity about "forbidden fruit" was something Haruno could more or less understand.
Fine. I'll just make her a stronger sweet drink.
Back when he'd mixed drinks for Mana, her alcohol tolerance had been terrifying—no matter how much she drank, she'd only get a little flushed, never actually drunk. As her twin sister, Maki probably wasn't that different… right?
Once he made up his mind, Haruno said bluntly,
"Move a bit to the side. Don't stand here getting in the way."
"Tch."
Maki pouted, but obediently stepped aside.
At least in moments like this, she could still be managed with minimal effort—saving Haruno a lot of trouble.
The only real headache was that she was like a curious kid. No matter what Haruno took out, she'd keep asking questions nonstop.
"What's that?"
"Vodka."
"Huh? Are you trying to get me drunk and then do some hypnosis play?"
"Are you an idiot?"
Haruno opened the vodka bottle, expressionless.
"I'll control the amount. I'm not making you drink it straight."
"Why are you so mean…"
Maki stuck out her tongue.
She thought to herself that even hypnosis play wouldn't be that bad. Sure, being messed with while unconscious sounded scary—but as long as she won, it was fine. If Haruno really wanted to play with her unconscious body, she wasn't completely against agreeing.
…Of course, she only dared think that. She'd never say it out loud.
Otherwise, Haruno would definitely chop her again.
Watching him work, Maki couldn't help wondering—when did he even start drinking? He looked way too skilled.
"What's this now? Is that jelly?"
"No. It's a pre-made dessert."
Haruno explained absentmindedly while mixing.
"I made it with ice cream powder and panna cotta, and added some mango juice. I'm planning to turn it into something like a drink."
"So professional… You even prepared dessert in advance."
Maki muttered in disbelief.
She hadn't expected Haruno to be this good at enjoying life on his own.
She'd always thought most guys living alone just spent their days glued to a PS5 and adult videos.
Still… living alone really didn't seem bad.
That was Maki's honest thought.
She leaned against the counter at a comfortable distance, resting her chin in her hands, staring unblinkingly at Haruno.
When he was focused on something, he looked surprisingly calm and serious. That concentrated expression was oddly hard to look away from.
Just watching him like this, it was easy to understand why Mana had fallen for him in the first place. Compared to other boys their age, Haruno really did seem more mature.
Decent looks, good grades. She'd even heard that back in high school he used to make bento for Mana.
And now, he could even mix drinks.
Thinking back, the boys around her and Mana in high school had all just hovered around uselessly like flies—so annoying.
…But realizing this now felt a bit late, didn't it?
Why hadn't she tried harder to understand Haruno back then?
"All done."
In no time at all, Haruno finished what he was doing.
The most troublesome step was actually preparing the dessert base, since it needed to be chilled for four to six hours. Luckily, Haruno often made desserts himself, so he had some ready.
Under those conditions, mixing a drink barely took any time at all.
"Here. Try it."
He stretched his shoulders and joked,
"Don't waste it. Mango isn't cheap."
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