<h4>Chapter 460: Short Story 3 : Suzune Horikita’s SS - Unconscious Awakening</h4>


    "IT''S NOT SOMETHING I can share. I want to keep certain things to myself."


    Even though I was extremely interested in Ayanokōji-kun''s past, I definitely understood that probing further would be rude.


    "You better take a break to calm down."


    That was true. My throat was incredibly dry, and fatigue was starting to set in.


    "Yes, you''re right..."


    Following his advice, I picked up the cup of coffee I hadpletely forgotten.


    The coffee I thought was still hot had cooled down much more than I had anticipated.


    "It''s gotten cold."


    "It''s gotten cold, hasn''t it?"


    When I absentmindedly responded, Ayanokōji-kun said something simr.


    "Don''t copy me."


    "Please don''t copy me."


    It displeased me, so I replied as such. Somehow, however, the same words coincidentally ovepped again.


    At that moment, the ovepping of words, what I hadined about just a moment ago, seemed strangely funny.


    I ended upughing.


    He, before my eyes, also thought it seemed somehow funny andughed a little.


    "Eh—?"


    "What''s wrong?"


    The expression on his face was the same as usual.


    But the face he showed just before was, how do I put it, too fresh...


    It made an unforgettable impression on my eyes.


    I didn''t know how to respond to his inquisitive question.


    I just conveyed what I saw as it was.


    "No... that... I just... saw you smile a little..."


    "Huh? So, what''s wrong with that?"


    "It''s just that I feel like I''ve never seen that expression on your face in thest two years..."


    "How rude. I''m not a baby who''s just learned to smile."


    To smile, to express joy, was amon thing for someone to do. But the one in front of me wasn''t just a ''someone,'' it was Ayanokōji-kun.


    These expressions seem out of ce for him, so...


    "You''re right, it might''ve been a rare moment."


    In response to my observation, Ayanokōji-kun pondered deeply for some reason.


    "I wonder why I smiled. Would you know if you were the one who smiled?"


    He wore a serious expression.


    I couldn''t have imagined someone asking so seriously about such a trivial thing.


    At that moment, a sense of wonder sprouted within me.


    Unexpectedly overwhelmed by the urge to look away from his straightforward eyes and question, I felt the impulse to run away.


    "I... I wouldn''t know either if you asked me with such a serious face."


    So, I ran away. I had to follow my instincts and run away, listening to my impulse''smand.


    "So, it''s not that something particrly funny happened, right?"


    His persistent questioning continued. I had no choice but to forcefully end it.


    "...As I said, I wouldn''t know even if you asked me. Because of your strange thinking, I feel like a fool forughing as well..."


    I decided to go home after finishing my tasteless coffee. It tasted like water.


    I didn''t know the reason, but I must have been ufortable.


    There was no doubt about it.