Hikaeme ni Itte mo, Kore wa Ai 17 *SPOILERS*
READ HIKAEME NI ITTE MO, KORE WA AI 16 SPOILERS HERE
Zen and Raku
Raku is at Zen's house. He expresses amazement at Zen and Risa's relationship - how Zen was willing to sacrifice himself to protect her, and how Risa confronted danger to save Zen. He says that it was touching, like in a movie.
Zen asks Raku if he's messing with him, but Raku says that he was truly touched, such that he came in the morning to meditate (in the zazen position). Zen calls Raku out by saying that Raku simply came for breakfast.
Raku says that he wanted to eat the pancakes that Zen's mom makes. Zen says that Raku also has a mom, so he should ask her to make it for him. However, Raku shares that he is a step-child, so she is cold to him. His father is hardly at home too, so Raku says that he prefers hanging out with girls for meals.
Zen tells Raku that if he gets hungry, he can come to Zen's house. Zen also says that if Raku gets into trouble, Raku should consult him and he will definitely help Raku. Raku's heart squeezes for Zen. Zen nags him to straighten out his relationship with girls (and not to involve Risa again).
Raku agrees and says that he hopes to meet someone he will value as highly as Risa is to Zen. However, Raku immediately says that that is no good, because he doesn't think he can just date someone without any physical relationship (like Risa and Zen). Raku also shares that Risa said that she wasn't dating Zen to do erotic things. Zen gets destroyed with these words 😂
Text Message
Just as Raku and Zen are about to end their conversation, Raku's phone vibrates. He got two messages from girls inviting him out. Zen angrily nags him to sort these relationships out.
When Raku checks his phone, there's a third message from someone named "Kuma🐻". It says, "Good morning. Sorry about this morning! About letting me meet Ohira, what happened after that?" (Ohira is Zen's last name).
At School
There's a bag inspection at Risa's classroom. Risa's desk is filled to the brim with items from her bag. Her teacher remarks that she has a lot of things as usual. She has textbooks for first years (because she is tutoring Zen 😂) and a comprehensive first aid kit (because she often needs to tend to Zen's injuries).
Just as her teacher is about to record that Risa's bag's contents are fine, he notices a compact mirror and lip gloss in one of her pouches. Risa gets alarmed and asks if it's fine if it's for medicinal purposes. Her teacher tells her that it's fine so she doesn't need to be so flustered. Risa thinks to herself that these new items that she started carrying around make her have a bit of a guilty conscience. 😊
Her teacher also asks her, "Have you thought about that?"
Waiting For Zen
Zen texts Risa to say that he wants to meet and she replies to say that she's going to study at the library. Zen says that they'll study together, so he asks her to wait for him.
After school, Risa notices Zen's motorcycle parked outside her school, but he is not there. She remembers that motorcycles are not allowed to be parked there, so she pretends that it's her motorcycle and stands near it.
While Risa checks her hair in the side mirror of the motorcycle, a girl suddenly approaches her. The girl is a schoolmate and marvels at the motorcycle, asking if it belongs to Risa and saying that a long time ago, an acquaintance of hers wanted this bike.
The girl is very chatty and Risa has no opportunity to answer her at all. The girl then apologizes for talking non-stop and reassures Risa that she won't tell anyone - that commuting to school on a motorcycle is against the school rules. Just as Risa tries to clarify, some girls call out to the girl. Her name is Hikari. Hikari then says bye to Risa without getting to hear her out at all.
Zen Arrives
Zen returns to his motorcycle to meet with Risa, but Risa notices that he's a little wet. A woman walking her dog approaches them to thank Zen for saving her dog that fell into a drain.
Zen reminds the woman to bring the dog for a checkup and the woman gratefully leaves. Her dog keeps fiercely barking at Zen and Zen remarks that it is annoying. Meanwhile, Risa laughs to herself, saying that Zen is nimble like a monkey. Zen is shocked to hear that.
At the Library
Risa tells Zen that she will be looking for some books to borrow. The book she wants is at the top shelf, which neither of them can reach, so Zen says that he will fetch a step-ladder.
However, a tall foreigner man reaches for the books for Risa while Zen is away. Zen sulks when he realizes what happened.
Risa goes to sit beside Zen at the table and starts to study. Zen watches her.
Feeling Zen's gaze, Risa asks him if he needs to study for tests too. Zen shows her that he got full marks for a test, which shocks Risa. Zen coolly explains that he didn't want to lose the grades that Risa painstakingly helped him with, so he studied and was surprisingly hooked to it. Risa is touched that Zen put in so much effort and reaches her hand out to almost touch him, but retracts her hand.
She then stands up and says that she can't focus, so she moves to the seat opposite Zen, which separates them by a screen on the table.
Separated by a Screen
Zen asks Risa if she is doing a blindfold play and she tells him not to make it sound so shady. However, Zen complains that them not being able to see each other defeats the purpose of having a date.
They banter a little, and Zen goes, "Then, I--...", but Risa cuts him off by saying that this place is for studying. She then starts to study, but after a pause, asks Zen, "I... what?". Zen tells her to focus on studying.
Risa tells him to let her know if he has something to say, to which Zen says he does. He goes, "I like Risa-chan very much.", to which Risa gets flustered and tells him to stop. However, Zen follows up with, "I want to be seen as a man more."
At those words, Risa wonders to herself what kind of face Zen is making. (Zen is blushing.)
Risa's Thoughts
After a few moments, Risa says that she does see him as a man - when the hoodie he lent her was baggy on her, when their hands touched and she could feel his rough hands, and when he hugged her and she could smell his scent - all of these moments made her conscious of him as a man. She's so conscious of it to the extent that she feels sinful. She's always looking for a reason to touch Zen.
When she realizes the things she blurted out, she suddenly stands up and tries to run away, but Zen goes after her and stops her.
Zen and Risa
When Risa turns around to face Zen, he tells her to touch him as much as she likes. She lifts a hand up to caress his cheek and he leans into her touch. However, he asks, "That's all? It's not enough-- Want me more--..." and they almost kiss.
However, some girls enter the area, talking, interrupting them (but luckily not seeing them). The mood gone, Zen blushes and tells Risa to go back to study. However, Risa tugs on Zen's shirt and gives him a longing gaze.
They then kiss 😚
Risa narrates: I'm getting more and more greedy. I feel like the world won't exist without Zen. It makes me very happy and also a little scared.
Cliffhanger
At the train station, Hikari checks her phone and we see that she is the person who texted Raku in the morning (in other words, she is Kuma 🐻 on Raku's contact list.)
Raku's reply says: Sorry, I can't do it. Zen isn't interested.
Hikari looks disappointed.
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