I swear when he smiles I forgot how to breath.

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦

The first time you and he met each other was in the finals of the All Japan Intercollegiate Championship, that year, Waseda University won the championship and Kento was also the MVP of the tournament.

You also came over to watch the final match by accident and was impressed by the guy wearing the number 1 jersey. For the moment, his appearance on the court captivated you, making you unable to take eyes off him. Besides, the way Kento attacked, blocked and celebrated was the most attractive thing you have ever seen.

When the match just ended, you were still sitting in your stands, continuing to watch Kento celebrate with his teammates. The feeling you were feeling right now was different, too imprecise to respond. The stadium was less crowded, so you decided to move down to the court, slowly approaching the Waseda team. You came toward behind Kento while he was talking to his teammates, carefully pulled the corner of his shirt, softly calling:

"Miyaura-san."

Following the call, Kento turned around and caught sight of a high school girl behind him. He looked down at this strange girl, confusion in his eyes.

"Your performance was so exceptional." You looked up and smiled at Kento, giving him a sincere compliment.

He seemed a bit shocked by the sudden words, Kento was not good at communicating, especially with girls. A faint, his hands and feet fumbled because of it. Kento had a hard time to reply to you.

"T-Thank you." Kento said very softly, just enough for you to hear. Once again, you smiled brightly, bowed to him, and then ran away.

Kento still stood there, dumbfounded, his face couldn't get any redder. His friends behind him witnessed this rare scene and exclaimed in unison, unable to help but feel jealous of Miyaura.

"This kid is quite good, huh? You already struck up a conversation with a pretty girl at such a young age." Hearing this joke, Kento just tittered, reaching out to stroke his hot face.

"I still want to talk to her more."

Thinking that it was just a chance encounter that God had arranged for them, both you and Kento didn't spend much time thinking about it. Their opposite lives passed by and the memory of this short conversation faded over the years.

However, three years later, at the French Cup, you met him again as a photographer for a sports magazine. You had often gone to volleyball tournaments and taken photos, but this was the first time you had met the Paris Volley team. And even more surprising was that you saw the boy you had met two years ago standing in the team's ranks.

You carefully checked the photos which had just been taken of him, a little surprised when you looked at it. The Kento of his early years in college was completely different from him now. It was obvious that the boy back then was more confident and tough on the international stage. You blushed slightly as you thought back to that conversation, just because you were impressed with him that you ran over to talk to him. You didn't expect to have the chance to meet him again today.

"Es-tu prêt?" (Are you ready?)

Your colleague saw you absent-mindedly staring at the camera and called out to you. The match had ended and you were called out to take a group photo for the whole team.

"c'est fait." (It's done.) You nodded in response, quickly walking towards the court.

While you were arranging the lineup for Paris Volley, Kai Masato noticed you, he looked at your face for a moment then turned to speak to his senior Kento.

"Kento-san, it seems that that photographer is also Japanese."

Miyaura also turned his eyes towards the person Kai pointed at. In the few seconds that passed you, Kento felt his heart skip a beat, she was so familiar. He was surprised and couldn't believe his eyes, the girl he met three years ago was appearing before his eyes.

Still the slender figure, that smile and that gaze, every single thing about you evoked all his memories in the most genuine way. At this moment, he himself couldn't hear his teammates calling his name because he was immersed in his memories of you.

"Kento-san?!" After calling many times, it seemed that Kai had lost his patience because Kento was not concentrating.

"Huh?" He woke up and turned to look at Kai, the boy's face showed confusion. His senior had been staring at the girl and was absent-minded about everything around him.

"We're about to take the photo, hurry up and pose."

Hearing this, Kento shook his head slightly to keep that thought from distracting him. He immediately bent down, put his hands on his knees and looked straight into your camera lens. After a series of button pressing sounds and flashes, the whole team also left the formation and prepared to move off the court.

Only Kento was still looking at you, thinking thoroughly, he still didn't expect to meet you once again. What a small world. He suddenly felt restless, not knowing what he should do.

Kai was packing up his things when he saw Kento still standing there, staring blankly at you. He saw that Kento was strange today, so he approached and asked: "What's strange about that girl, Kento-san?"

"Um, actually, she and I met three years ago. Even though we don't know each other, I still want to..." Kento hesitantly explained to Kai, but when he raised his head, he couldn't see the boy anywhere.

It turned out that after hearing this, Kai went up to talk to you. Kento stood from afar watching him whisper something to you for a long time, only see you blush slightly and nod to Kai. Then Kai led you towards him, which made Kento's heart skip a beat, secretly blaming his mischievous younger brother.

"Hello, Miyaura-san, my name is Y/n. I never thought we would meet again." You walked up to Kento, extending your hand towards him. Standing next to Kento at such a close distance was special, as you had to look up to see him. Kento in your eyes was already handsome in the past and was even more handsome now.

"H-Hi." Kento hurriedly grabbed your small hand, his face blushing in response.

"My brother wants you to take a picture. You can go through the athlete's exit and go to the training room with the team." Kai appeared from behind him, adding a few more words to push into their conversation. Because he knew Kento wouldn't do anything.

You nodded slightly to both of them, holding the camera tightly in your hand, maybe today the newspaper office would favor the photos you took. When the camera's battery was running low, you asked everyone to leave first, and you didn't notice Kento's nostalgic eyes.

"Wait, wait for me." Kento ran towards you as you were about to step out of the stadium door. You turned back to look at him, wondering if this could be the last time they saw each other.

"Let's take a photo together." Kento took the initiative to tell you, expecting a nod of agreement. You were taken aback by his suggestion, but then you happily took out the Instax camera from your bag. This was also a way to preserve the memories of both of them.

You and Kento stood close together, Kai came out of nowhere and took the responsibility of taking pictures for them.

"Hey, you two pose and smile." Kai saw that both of them were stiff and refused to stand close to each other, so he reminded them. Luckily, Kento was now more sensible than before, he gently put his arm around your shoulder, his eyes looking down at you to confirm that you were still comfortable.

You could feel his warm hand resting on your thin shoulder, warm and comfortable. Your heart suddenly started beating abnormally fast, and you wouldn't be surprised if Kento could hear it.

"1... 2... 3..." Kai pointed the camera at the two of them and counted down, after both of them had a bright smile.

After a click, you went to check the Polaroid that had just been printed. You shook it a few times before showing it, the photo was a bit blurry, but your and Kento's smiles were very clear. You took a black marker and wrote something on the back of the photo, then gave it to him.

"Goodbye." You tucked your loose hair behind your ear before waving goodbye to him and leaving. Kento kept looking at your small back. You didn't turn back to look at him, making him stand there in a daze until your figure disappeared behind the road.

Only then did Kento flip the photo back, and you gave him another surprise.

"Phone number?"

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You wouldn't have expected your relationship to go that far, but you still went with the flow and looked forward to the future.

"Từ thích thích thành thương thương rồi yêu yêu."

For some reason, you really liked this song recently. When you understood the lyrics, you were very impressed with the above line, maybe because it was suitable for your current state and emotions.

After that day, Kento actually called you. When seeing the strange number, you hesitated for a while before picking up the phone, and the voice on the other end of the line made you freeze.

At first, the two communicated via social media, you had an Instagram account that specialized in posting pictures of volleyball players. And recently, he often used the pictures you took to post on his stories. Gradually, they texted each other every night.

You thought that maybe you guys would just stop at the level of socializing or at most being friends, and sooner or later Kento would be apathetic to you because of his busy competition schedule. But every day, even when he had a late night match, Kento would still try to ask you how you were and wish you good night.

For Kento, he didn't know since when he smiled every time he texted you so often. Even Kai realized that his senior smiled more than before, and his emotions were more open. Therefore, besides volleyball, you started to become a part of his daily life.

Sometimes, because you missed Kento, you went to watch him play without telling him. Maybe you felt that the relationship developing in this direction was strange, a professional athlete and a photographer? And the dates started to appear, on days off, Kento could invite you to eat or go out with him.

At first, you felt worried that if someone found out and took pictures of both of you, then rumors about him would appear again. That was the worst thing you thinked about. But Kento didn't hesitate to walk close to you, talk and act intimately with you right on the street.

Recently, you discovered that Kento really liked to pinch your cheeks. Whenever he had the chance, he would put his hand on your cheek and pinch it lightly, and even press his cold hand against your hot cheek. Every time, you didn't resist, but only showed an expression of dissatisfaction towards Kento.

"Why do you keep pinching my cheeks?" Your cheeks were red from being pinched by him, you turned to grumble at Kento. He looked exactly like a big bear in his fur coat, but a shy bear.

"Because you're adorable." Kento answered you curtly, smiling happily. To you, that was natural, you knew you were very cute. You hugged your cheeks when you saw Kento preparing to put his cold hand on them.

"No." You spoke harshly, turning away from him. Kento just chuckled when he saw it, then he suddenly took your hand. The cold feeling of his skin when it came into contact with your warm hand made you shiver. Kento held your hand tightly and shook it back and forth. At that moment, You felt like your chest was about to explode, your whole face was hot from embarrassment, you turned to look at him stammering, unable to speak.

"Then let me borrow your hand for a bit."

After hearing that, you felt like your whole body was steaming with heat, where was the shy and timid Kento from before?? You rubbed your face into your scarf to hide your embarrassed expression. You almost fainted because your heart was beating too fast, Kento had succeeded in doing so again.

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During the months in France, you felt that life here was not as comfortable as when you was in Japan. Even though work was a bit more favorable, you still felt quite lonely.

It was only when he appeared.

You stared at the text message on her phone, Miyaura asked you to go for a walk tonight. You rubbed your eyes a few times, it was true. You flopped down on the bed, thinking for a long time. You couldn't deny that you liked Miyaura, it was just that you felt that you shouldn't interfere with his career, it would be quite complicated for both of them. But you still longed to love and be loved, by him and only him.

You sighed, tore your hair out, thinking about Kento. Did he indeed like you? Or was it just your own speculation? When this season ended, Kento would return to Japan, and you were also thinking about returning to your hometown to develop your career. Maybe then the two of you wouldn't be in contact anymore?

You looked at the text message again, deciding to accept his invitation. It was already late afternoon, perhaps you should prepare now.

After putting on the coat and scarf, you checked your watch when the hour hand moved to 8 o'clock. You left the house and headed to the end of the street, where the two of them had agreed to meet.

Seeing his tall figure from afar, you felt happy again, it had been a week since they had seen each other. The closer you got to Kento, the faster your heart beat. You wanted to run to hug him, feel his warmth and listen to his sweet words. That was exactly what appeared in your dreams every night.

But you tried to escape from your own fantasies, and walked over to wave at him.

"Kento-san, I'm here."

Hearing your voice, Kento smiled and his eyes also looked at you gently.

"There she is."

All the way along Anatole France Avenue, You kept telling him about your past week. Your hurried appearance seemed to be afraid that the date would end before you could tell him everything you wanted him to know, which made Kento laugh.

"I love listening to you tell stories." Kento turned to look at you, smiling brightly. Making you, who was gabbling, stop for a moment, shyly looking into his eyes. You couldn't look into Kento's eyes for more than two seconds, because then you knew you wouldn't be able to control your emotions. It was too complicated to say.

They didn't know when they had moved to Champ-de-Mars, from the beginning of the park they could see the majestic Eiffel Tower right in the center. You gasped softly at the sight in front of you, having been in Paris for many months but you didn't often walk around on nights like this. You stood a little closer to Kento, your eyes downcast as you thought about returning to Japan.

"Let's go here together again sometime." His gaze was still on the Eiffel Tower, reflecting the magical rays of light on it. Kento's expression just now was too peaceful, and there was no ambiguity or mockery in his words.

But after hearing that, you suddenly retracted the smile on your lips, your eyebrows slightly furrowed. You should have been happy about this, why did you only feel regret and remorse in your heart? Perhaps the ending that you were thinking in your head would be the best scenario for both of them. When you guys were no longer involved with each other, and no feelings would be revealed.

"Thank you for being my friend all this time, but maybe we'll be 'busier' in the future." You had already said it, the thoughts you had kept. Your lips pursed tightly as you looked up at Kento, your heart now filled with a storm of emotions, trying to control them.

Miyaura looked back at you, a rare hint of sadness flashing in the depths of his eyes. He pondered for a while about your hidden meaning, and replied to you in a flat voice: "Actually, I've never considered you a friend... You know."

Thud!

Your heart skipped a beat, your body stiffened. What did Kento mean, that he didn't have any feelings for you all this time? But that's fine, if he didn't have any lingering feelings, it would be easier for you to forget. For now, that's how things were.

You didn't stand close to him anymore, took a step back and said, "So... If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. It's quite late." You lowered your head, not looking directly at him, trying to suppress the anxiety in your words.

After saying that, you turned around and prepared to leave before Kento could answer you, because every word he said could shake your mind. And you didn't want that, and you couldn't help but say words of love to him.

"Wait Y/n, why are you-" Kento grabbed your hand and looked up at your face, clearly this was not what you and he wanted. He pulled you closer to him, lowering his head to see your expression clearly. "Why are you talking about that?" Too close, both were too close. Kento felt your body trembling, your eyelids fluttering.

"I-I always feel happy and cherish the moments we have together. Even though you may not have special feelings for me, but for me, from the first time we met until now, I have always given myself hope for you. Kento-san, I have thought about it a lot. There were times when I missed you and went to watch you compete, or there were times when I felt overjoyed because of your messages. But then I felt that these things could not last forever, we have a whole future ahead of us and nothing can be predicted. So I, I..."

You felt like you couldn't continue, and didn't understand what you had said to him anymore. You wanted to cry so much, the person you loved was looking at you with worried eyes, he should have ignored you. But you had no choice but to say those painful things.

Maybe after tonight, the warmth that you felt from him would all be in the past.

But then a warm and gentle feeling appeared at the tip of your lips. A hand gently placed under your chin, pulling you closer to the other person. You couldn't believe that Kento would do this right now, and turn the kisses you feel in your dreams into reality. He still kept that position, giving you a loving and tender kiss.

You felt so ecstatic in Miyaura's kiss, your heartbeat was getting faster and faster in your chest. You realized that Kento's large hand was gliding over your waist and squeezing it tightly, as if you would disappear if he let go. You didn't resist this kiss either, you closed your eyes and tightly grasped Kento's sleeve.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kento slowly left your soft lips, his entire face flushed. A familiar scene. Suddenly, he felt the hand on your jaw was wet, it was your tears. You were sobbing in his arms, tears from your liquid eyes kept falling down, flowing down his hand. Seeing you crying, Kento suddenly felt panic, immediately hugged you tightly and held on his lap.

"A-I'm sorry... I didn't ask for your opinion. I'm sorry for scaring you." Kento hurriedly caressed your trembling thin back. He was afraid that he had acted rashly and made you uncomfortable.

Your sobs continued, Kento lowered his head close to your face, using his hand to wipe away the tears that were falling. He looked at you with pain, was he misunderstanding your meaning?

"Y/n, I don't want us to just stop at being friends. To me, you're more than that. Maybe we're both fretted about the same thing, but I really want nothing more than to be by your side." Kento said earnestly to you as he took your hand, pressing it against his cheek to feel the warmth. You looked up at him, trying to wipe away the tears on your wet eyelashes. You still didn't say anything, continuing to look at Kento with expectant eyes.

"You are a part of my life. Every night, I still have a fond remembrance of you in my dreams, longing for the day we could be together. And only a picture of us can make me feel less longing. I feel so lucky to have met you again. So can you give me a chance to be your lover?" Kento said sincerely to you, he kissed the back of her hand lightly, while his other hand caressed your hot cheek. Kento was really confessing his love to you, he literally drove you insane.

You thought that you would be hopeless without him in her life.

Kento-san, don't leave me.

Responding to his sweet words, you clung tightly to his shoulders, standing on your tiptoes and wanted to kiss Kento.

But the hilarious thing was that you still couldn't reach his lips, because your height was too limited. Just as you were about to lower your legs, his calloused hands cupped both sides of your jaw, gently lowering his lips to yours. Kento hugged you tightly, pulling them both into a kiss. You also wrapped your arms around his neck, not allowing any gaps to appear between you guys.

The kiss from gentle now turned passionate. Kento took the initiative to suck on your lower lip, your tongues entwined together, enjoying the other's sweet taste. Your small hand groped behind his neck, gently stroking his soft hair. This made Kento even more excited, the kiss he gave you became more and more intense.

No matter how many more kisses, it was still not enough to satisfy his desire for you. Only when he felt that you were exhausted did he let you go. You were kissed until you were unconscious, but you still tried to stay awake and looked into Kento's eyes, smiling happily at the other.

"I agree, mon chéri."