Episode 4: The Beginning of Sweet Control
Led by Yuno’s hand, I stepped into the bedroom.
“You must be exhausted today.”
Prompted by those words, I let myself drift down onto the bed.
Yuno sat right beside me where I lay and propped her chin in her hand, watching me steadily.
And then, slowly, she began to stroke my head. The warmth of her hand, the rhythm of it, felt good.
A soft orange glow crept in from the living room and traced the edges of Yuno’s light, fine hair with something gentle.
Yuno narrowed her drooping eyes and smiled.
She was unusually close.
My heartbeat grew a little loud, and my throat went dry.
“Hey. What happened?”
Her voice came quietly, close enough that I could feel her breath.
I began to speak, haltingly.
“The funding… didn’t work out. The other party’s circumstances.”
“Funding?”
“That’s right. The term sheet re-negotiation phase — the GP on their side was forced to restructure the fund’s vehicle.”
“…Right.”
“So the entire SPV structure had to be reorganized, and we couldn’t meet the QIB requirements anymore. A cross-border regulatory issue triggered it.”
“Mm?… Right.”
“Once we passed the longstop date, they aborted the deal. They said fiduciary duty meant they had no choice by that point. We hadn’t done anything… wrong.”
“…Hmm.”
Once I started talking I couldn’t stop.
Yuno wore the expression of someone listening to a foreign language, but she nodded seriously all the same, brow furrowed, eyes narrowed.
It’s a bad habit of mine — whenever work comes up I talk without thinking about who I’m talking to.
“I don’t really get all of that but… can’t you just start over?”
After a brief pause, Yuno’s gentle voice came down in a whisper.
Completely unconcerned. Somebody else’s problem entirely.
But strangely, right now, that was exactly what settled into my chest.
My eyelids grew heavy, little by little. My heartbeat slowed and steadied. My thoughts came loose at the edges, drifting apart.
A deep, slow breath came naturally. Then another.
I’d meant to do a final check on the client materials when I got home… and tomorrow’s meeting agenda still wasn’t finalized…
But my thoughts were dissolving, and I couldn’t hold them together.
How long had it been since I closed my eyes.
Something warm, and soft, touched my lips.
…Eh.
I opened my eyes a little.
After a moment I understood: it was Yuno’s lips.
They lifted away, barely, then settled again, so lightly it was almost not there.
Thud.
Thud.
My heart was aching with how loud it was.
“Wh — wait…”
I tried to resist, but only a small sound came out.
When I turned my face away, Yuno’s hand settled gently against my cheek, and I wasn’t allowed to escape.
The warmth of that soft palm drained the resistance from me, somehow.
This time Yuno pressed her lips to mine longer.
My heartbeat rang through my whole body, and I couldn’t form words anymore.
And then, gradually, something slipped through the parting of my lips. Warm, and smooth.
That feeling, sliding slowly deeper, moved as if searching for something inside me. And then, as if to say found it, it wound softly around my tongue.
“Nn… h—”
The breathlessness made a sound slip out of me. Even I was surprised — high and sweet and embarrassing.
When our lips finally parted, Yuno’s breath was right there, at that same close distance.
“Hehe… cute.”
The words fell close enough that I could feel the vibration of her voice against my lips, and a shiver ran the length of my spine.
And then, deeper again, her lips found mine. A different angle this time, pressing further.
…It felt good.
The moment I thought that, I realized I was kissing back. Our breaths tangled together, and the sound of it filled the room, getting louder.
When the breathlessness made me turn my face slightly away, Yuno followed. There was nowhere to go. Those soft lips covered mine again.
When they finally parted — her tongue, warm, traced the side of my neck.
Slowly, from below my jaw down to my collarbone, drawing a long, unhurried line.
“Nn… ah…”
Another sweet sound escaped me.
Once more, from behind my ear, down along my neck —
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
My phone vibrated on the bedside table.
I reached for it reflexively. Matsuyama’s name glowed on the screen.
“…It’s work. I have to answer.”
I said it in a voice that came out rougher than I meant it to.
I sat up and took the call.
“…Right. I’ll check first thing tomorrow morning. Okay.”
An urgent question about tomorrow’s meeting.
I kept it brief and set the phone back down.
I looked at Yuno. She was watching me with narrowed eyes, the corner of her mouth lifted in a quiet smile.
Then her arm reached out, and cool, slender fingertips settled gently against my cheek.
“…!”
Was she going to kiss me again.
A shiver ran through my whole body, and then my heart began to beat faster, thud by thud.
Was this anxiety. Was this fear.
Or was it anticipation.
“Well then. Good night, big sis.”
Yuno smiled brightly and dropped those words. But the light behind her eyes wasn’t smiling.
She stood up smoothly and left the room as though nothing had happened.
As though absolutely nothing had happened.
My heart was pounding, hard enough to hurt.
Against my lips, my tongue, my neck — the warm, soft feeling from just now remained, spreading slowly, but vividly, refusing to fade.
What was that just now?
With something lodged in my throat that I couldn’t name, I lay back down on the bed.
There’s a mountain of things I need to do. But tonight, I’ll just sleep.
That’s what I thought.
But what had just happened went around and around in my head, and in the end, I couldn’t sleep at all.