Monday morning arrived with the kind of sky that couldn't decide between sun and storm. The halls of the school buzzed with leftover energy from Sports Day, and Classroom 2-B was louder than usual.
But something was off.
Ren felt it before he even opened the door—some shift in the air, like the quiet before a drop. Kaito beside him seemed to sense it too. He'd barely spoken during their walk to school, just occasionally bumping Ren's shoulder with his own in a nervous habit.
They stepped into class just as the bell rang.
Everyone turned.
Not subtly. Not passively.
All at once.
Kaito froze mid-step.
Ren's eyes scanned the room quickly—someone whispering into a friend's ear, someone else biting their lip, not looking at either of them directly.
And then—Haruka stood up.
Haruka Fujiwara. Group project girl. Sat three rows from the front. Smart, observant, always had lip gloss that matched the season.
She walked to the front of the class without being called.
Everyone went silent.
Even the teacher, surprised, looked up from the attendance book. "Fujiwara?"
"I need to say something before class starts," she said, voice level but loud enough to cut through the room.
Kaito's stomach dropped. "No way," he whispered.
Ren looked at him. "You think it's—?"
She turned around to face the class.
"Yesterday, I went to the nurse's office to grab ice packs," Haruka said. "And I saw something. I wasn't going to say anything, but… I think people deserve to know when something's being hidden right in front of them."
Whispers sparked like static across the room.
Kaito's pulse thundered in his ears.
Ren's jaw tensed.
Haruka's eyes flicked to them. "I saw Kaito and Ren. Together. Holding hands. Kissing."
Gasps.
A few people laughed awkwardly. A few just stared.
Kaito felt like the floor might split open and swallow him. His throat closed.
Then Ren stepped forward.
He didn't say much—he didn't need to.
"We weren't hiding because we were ashamed," he said, voice calm but clear. "We just didn't want this moment taken away from us."
Silence.
Everyone turned to Kaito.
Kaito, whose palms were sweating, whose legs felt like paper, who'd spent his whole life trying not to stand out.
He looked at Ren.
And something clicked.
The fear didn't vanish—but something stronger rose up beside it.
He stepped forward, beside Ren. Not behind.
His voice shook at first. "It's true. We're… together. Or—we're trying to be. So if anyone has a problem with that…"
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.
Because Ren reached over. Laced their fingers together in front of everyone.
And no one moved.
Then—surprisingly—someone clapped. Then another. A nervous laugh. A few murmurs of "cool" or "whoa, didn't see that coming."
Haruka sat back down. No apology. Just a glance that Kaito couldn't quite read.
But it didn't matter.
Because Ren squeezed his hand.
And this time, they didn't let go.