[Miyauchi Yuka] The Morning Star (Ao no Jidai) [Komori Translations]

A weary young man lingers past the last train finishing gravure plates at the print shop, unaware that the short-haired girl waiting at home has plans of her own. She plucks the cigarette straight from his lips and replaces it with a kiss, coaxing him onto the couch where her small hands wrap around him and learn every reaction he tries to hide. By the time sweat and sticky release leave her flushed, teary-eyed, and trembling under his touch, neither of them is pretending this is innocent anymore.