First Kiss Lost

　　"... Um?"

　　When Shinichi woke up, the room was empty, night outside the window.

　　The weak light allowed him to see his surroundings clearly.

　　"Is everyone gone... Um~"

　　He lazily raised his head, grabbed his cell phone and checked the time.

　　"6:30 p.m?"

　　Shinichi was a little surprised, did he sleep for so long?

　　He still remembered that it was around 3 in the afternoon when he was reading, but he didn't expect that more than two hours had passed since he fell asleep.

　　He opened the screen, the quintuplets sent him several messages, some teasing and some worrying, but fortunately none of them sent him a photo of his sleeping face.

　　He still wanted to maintain dignity. After calming down, Shinichi answered one by one then stood up.

　　He managed to catch the blanket before it slipped off him.

"Rui?"

　　He kept this thin blanket in the cupboard, and only Rui who helped gather clothes, knew where to put it.

　　Shinichi hung the blanket on the back of the chair, walked out of the room and went downstairs.

　　The aroma of hot food spread in the corridor, and a woman's clear voice sounded.

　　"As for my mister, he suddenly answered the phone in the middle of eating, and his face was very gloomy when he came back!"

　　"I have never seen a handsome middle-aged man who is handsome but so scary. Luckily, I don't like that type..."

　　"Unfortunately, even though it is a high-class restaurant, it still feels like eating at the North Pole, there is no way to enjoy the food... The teaching problem is also very acute, and my hand holding the fork is shaking."

　　Shinichi stepped into the living room, Hina stopped complaining, looked at him, and smiled.

　　"Good evening, Shinichi-kun. Wow, I really want to sleep through dinner like you, so I can eat Rui's delicious food when I wake up~"

　　"Please, don't release useless negative energy at home." Shinichi said indifferently, "I just took a long nap, unlike Hina-san, who can't wake up before 10 am."

　　Rui comes in with a dinner plate and agrees.

　　"Yeah, just learn from us and wake up at 7 am. School will start then, and as a teacher you cannot be late."

　　"Uuuahhhh, life has become so cruel, you guys should stop playing mixed doubles…" Hina shouted while lying on the table, "I will definitely wake up early. At that time, I will give up during summer vacation. Leave me alone… Forgive me for being a useless adult…"

　　As she spoke, she thought of something, folded her arms across her chest, and hummed.

　　"No, I think you really don't understand~ Nowadays, college students can't get out of bed until 3 pm, let alone a graduate like me. 10:00 AM? You wake up in the afternoon and are so hungry that you only eat one meal a day at night. There are many people like this!"

　　"I'm good enough. Perseverance is an obligation and privilege for high school students, but not for adults like me! You have to praise me!"

　　Hina raised her head, smiled proudly, closed her eyes and prepared to accept the award.

　　Shinichi and Rui looked at each other without saying anything, one sat at the dining table, and the other put down the plate and sat next to him.

　　"Ittadakimasu."

　　The two took bowls and chopsticks without looking at Hina.

　　After a while.

　　"Wuuuuu—"

　　Hina was really crying while pounding the table.

　　"You embarrass me like this! Please at least make fun of me, no matter how cruel you are! Forget it, beer, give me beer! I want to wash away my sadness!"

　　Facing Hina who gave up on herself, Rui went to the refrigerator to give her a can of beer.

　　"To the most gentle sister in the world!" Hina shouted, then stopped.

　　The younger brother and sister in front of her acted indifferent to her and were having dinner.

　　Not long after, Shinichi stopped using his chopsticks and turned his head to look.

　　"What is it?"

　　Rui took her eyes off her lips and said without changing her expression.

　　"There isn't anything."

　　"...Oh."

　　Shinichi didn't care either. Ever since he realized that he couldn't guess what Rui was thinking, he didn't bother analyzing her every move.

　　After dinner, Shinichi helps Rui wash the dishes, but Hina sings while drinking beer.

　　"How's the food today? Does it suit your taste?"

　　As usual, if there was time after eating, Rui would ask Shinichi this question.

　　After wiping the plate she gave him, Shinichi thought for a moment and answered.

　　"The Mapo Tofu sauce is a bit weak, and the spiciness is not strong enough. It doesn't taste good. The integrity of the tofu is not high enough. I see you are not very good at Chinese food."

　　"But the Italian food is really delicious, only the tomato vegetable soup has a strong tomato flavor that overpowers the freshness of the other vegetables. Maybe it should be served later?"

　　"My cooking skills aren't that great, so I can only give you this advice for now."

　　Shinichi didn't notice Rui's surprise.

　　"Just like last time, did you say it casually to tease me?"

　　She couldn't help but ask.

　　"Hah? Don't worry, I said it seriously this time."

　　Shinichi smiled at her.

　　"Sorry, I didn't give you good advice before. After all, I don't have enough knowledge in this area. It would be too irresponsible for me to make such a casual comment."

　　"Recently I checked almost all the information and asked a friend who knows about food. I think I can at least give you some more accurate advice... But don't take it too seriously. Besides, I'm not a food critic."

　　"Food doesn't become tastier by saying it tastes good, food only becomes tastier by saying it doesn't taste good."

　　"However, I always think your cooking is very delicious. If I really wanted to comment, I would ultimately have to find fault and talk about some of the shortcomings that I personally consider. I am sorry."

　　"...It doesn't matter. Besides, that's what I wanted to ask."

　　Rui lowered her head and continued washing the dishes.

　　"But I've only been here for a little over a month. Don't you think it's useless to learn these things in such a short time?"

　　"It's not worth it, right?" Shinichi couldn't help but laugh.

　　"All that was lost was the chance to touch him. And even if you leave here, that knowledge will not leave me."

　　"What a strange metaphor..."

　　Before Rui could finish complaining, Shinichi patted her head and said casually.

　　"After all, the end of summer vacation doesn't mean we no longer have a relationship. Why do you care so much? Why don't you start studying hard from now on? Maybe we can meet at the same university in the future. I will make sure that you graduate safely!"

　　"…It is too early to consider this now."

　　Rui handed him the plate, she washed her hands and turned off the tap.

　　"By the way, one last question for you."

　　She spoke casually.

　　"Huh what?"

　　Shinichi wiped the plates with a cheerful expression.

　　"Is your first kiss still there?"

　　Shinichi froze and squeezed the plate tightly so it wouldn't fall.

　　He blushed as he remembered the day he was kissed by Rizu at the crepe shop.

　　The corners of the lips should be considered the cheeks, not the mouth.

　　So the first kiss is still there?

　　Shinichi pretended to be calm.

　　"Still there... By the way, why do you ask?"

　　He turned his head suspiciously.

　　Rui turned around and walked out, put her hands behind her back, took quick steps, turned her head at a 45 degree angle, and smiled at him.

　　"There isn't anything."

　　With her back to Shinichi, Rui put her finger in front of her lips.

　　Recalling the feeling at that time, she blushed.