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Osaki Shotaro was the typical shy boy and the son of a wealthy family. He has a few close friends and one of them was your older sister. You, on the other hand, was just someone on the background of the picture, more like a passerby.
You've known him for quite a long time now, but you didn't know anything about his life. Whenever he hangs out with your sister and his other friends, you tend to observe him nonchalantly out of curiosity.
That was until you started to notice how he matured and grew up over the past years. Of course, you grew up too, but that's a different story. You didn't really mean to stare for long, but you somehow found yourself doing so. He's interesting, nothing serious.
One time, your family was invited to Shotaro's house for a celebration. Your parents were close with his parents, so here you were. You acted like a normal guest, sitting down on the couch and spending your time on the phone while you waited for the other guests to arrive, who were mostly just his friends.
When everyone gathered for dinner, you glanced around the room and noticed Shotaro's presence. You glanced at him for a second, but he looked too good tonight. He wasn't dressed up fancily, he was only in comfortable clothes and he looked natural.
You looked away when you realized that he was looking back at you, how embarrassing. But when your eyes went back to him for the second time, he had caught you again. So, you told yourself not to look at him for the next hour.
He just looked extra good, what can I do?
It wasn't that serious for you, though. it was more of an attraction than a crush because you weren't even close with him to begin with and you knew nothing about him, except for being classmates and friends with your older sister. Even with a one-year age gap, you still thought it was wrong to like him like that.
And if you did like him, you were nowhere near in getting a chance to be with him and it'll be very impossible for him to even like you back. So many girls around him, then there's you being a 'nobody'.
That was until a few weeks later, you were at his house again for a visit. You were casually sitting alone in the living room minding your own business, when Shotaro came downstairs to get drinks for his friends. You didn't glance at him this time but to your surprise, you heard his voice in front of you.
"Hey, umm... y/n, right?" He asked shyly.
You looked up at him and nodded, "Yes, that's me."
Your response gave him some confidence to talk to you more. "Well, do you want to go to the rooftop? You look lonely, maybe I can you show you the way there."
You were surprised to hear his words and you quickly refused, "Oh no, it's really okay. I'm okay here by myself, thanks for the offer."
"No, I insist. It's more fun there and it has a nice view. You've been here for quite a few times now, so I might as well show you around. Come on, I'm sure you'll love it."
Before you could refuse again, Shotaro started walking away and looking back at you with an anticipating look. Leaving you no choice, you followed behind him and he was right, you did love the rooftop. It was indeed more fun there and the view was very beautiful too.
"Thank you for bringing me here, Shotaro."
He hummed in response, "No problem, enjoy!"
Thinking that he had left you alone and went back to his friends, you walked towards the ledge. You took some pictures and let out mutters of admiration at the view of the city. To your oblivion, Shotaro was leaning on the rooftop door as he watched your reaction.
He couldn't keep his eyes off of your smile.
As you turned around to find a seat, you flinched when you saw Shotaro's figure on the doorway.
You placed on a hand on your chest, "Oh, Shotaro. You're still here, I thought you went back to your friends."
He scratched his nape nervously, "Sorry, you just looked very peaceful and pretty. Haha, I don't know what I'm saying. Umm...yeah, I'll get going now. See you!" He stammered before you watched him run back inside the house.
Am I pretty? Shotaro...
-
A month later since that incident, you were now celebrating your birthday at home. There were invited guests and of course, one of them was Shotaro and his parents. In all honesty, you didn't really think about the previous interaction you had with him. Maybe just a little bit, but not always.
The day went by quickly, from thanking those who greeted you to having dinner with everyone. As of now, the guests were enjoying their conversations while the others were singing karaoke at the living room.
You decided to get some fresh at the front yard and sit down on the bench as you wander your thoughts off to the moments from earlier. The air was so relaxing that you didn't notice someone taking a seat beside you, not until they spoke up.
"Happy birthday, y/n."
You turned to face the owner of the familiar voice and once again, you were surprised by his presence.
"Thank you and thanks for coming here too, Shotaro." You smiled at him and he returned it with a reassuring one.
"By the way, I got you something."
Shotaro got something from his other side and handed you a paper bag with a pink design, inside it was a cute stuffed toy which had a soft texture. You gasped and turned to him, a grin slowly growing on your face.
"Shotaro...you didn't have to buy me a gift, but thank you for this." You got the toy from the paper bag and hugged it tightly.
"I bought this because I thought you'd like it, it's as cute as you." You heard him let out a giggle, but your insecurities got to you.
"I'm not cute, though. I don't even know why you like talking to me."
"Hey, I don't like when you say things like that. To me, you're perfect."
Both your gazes met in a peaceful silence, searching for unexplainable emotions. But then, the reality hit you and ruined the moment.
"But, I'm your best friend's sister. I'm just a nobody...to you, perhaps." You looked away, avoiding his eyes this time.
"y/n," He gently placed his hand on top of yours, "You're somebody to me, more than just my best friend's sister. Now that we're at it, why don't we start off as friends?"
Never would you have imagined that you, who was always in the background of the picture, would actually become a character in the story. For now, you were thankful that you became friends with him.
Time will decide where this friendship will go.
_______
sorry for the late update, this was rushed. my mind was everywhere and unfortunately, this book will be coming to end cuz I'll be starting an atz book.
