“Oh, there you are. Lunch is ready.”

Dad came to get us.

“This place really is amazing,” Yano-senpai said, looking around the room again. “You even have a home theater.”

Then his eyes wandered back to the movie posters covering the wall.

“And Soga Soji? That’s a pretty sophisticated choice.”

“Right? Right? You think Soga Soji is good?”

For some reason, Dad suddenly became very enthusiastic.

“Of course. He’s one of the hottest actors around right now. He completely changes depending on the role. Sometimes I don’t even realize it’s Soga Soji until I look at the cast list. He’s an incredible actor.”

“Oh, well... I wouldn’t go that far.”

Dad scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

...Why are you embarrassed, Dad?

Naturally, Yano-senpai stared at him with a puzzled expression.

“Are all these posters your wife’s favorites?”

“Senpai! Lunch!”

I hurriedly cut into the conversation.

“That’s right. Yuu-kun is waiting for us too.”

The moment the words left Dad’s mouth—

his eyes widened, and he slapped a hand over his mouth.

Too late.

And Yano-senpai definitely hadn’t missed the name.

We gathered around the dining table and sat there for a moment, silently looking at one another.

Mom was the first to speak.

“Um... I suppose I should introduce myself properly. I’m a man, but I’m Kaname’s mother. My name is Yuu Akagi. And—”

“You’re Yuu Kisaragi... the violinist, aren’t you?”

Yano-senpai asked.

“Senpai!”

I hurried to explain.

“We weren’t trying to deceive you. We really weren’t—”

Mom calmly took over for me.

“Kaname trusts you very much. And we trust Kaname.”

Mom looked straight at Yano-senpai.

“This certainly wasn’t how we intended for you to find out. But we’d already talked about it. We thought that if Kaname trusted you this much, then perhaps you were someone we could trust with the truth too.”

Yano-senpai was quiet for a moment before looking at me.

“Kaname-kun.”

“Yes...?”

“You don’t have to look so worried. You just want me to keep it a secret, right?”

I nodded.

“I’m sorry, Senpai. I really wanted to tell you myself when the time was right... not have you find out like this.”

Without saying anything, Yano-senpai gently pulled me into a hug.

“So now we share a secret.”

His voice was soft beside my ear.

“It’s kind of exciting, actually. And... I’m happy that you wanted to tell me. Thank you.”

The moment I heard those words, tears spilled from my eyes.

His kindness touched me so deeply that I couldn’t stop them.

Mom and Dad gently patted our backs.

And then, suddenly—

“Group hug!”

Dad wrapped his arms around all of us at once.

Honestly... Dad.

Then—

“There’s one more thing.”

Dad peeled off his curled Sherlock Holmes-style mustache, removed his thick bottle-bottom glasses, and finally pulled off the shoulder-length permed wig.

The moment Yano-senpai saw Dad’s real face—

“WHAAAAAT?!”

Needless to say, he let out a completely undignified yell.

He stared at Dad in stunned silence for several seconds.

Then he slowly turned toward me.

“...Kaname-kun.”

“Yes?”

“You haven’t read my fan letter, have you?”

I could only shake my head with an awkward smile.

For lunch, we had sandwiches and salad.

Afterward, we shared the cake Yano-senpai had brought with him.

As we ate, we talked about so many things.

That Dad was an alpha and Mom was an omega.

That they had met at the very school Yano-senpai and I now attended.

That they had discovered they were fated mates, fallen in love, and eventually married.

Their path together had never been easy, but having me had brought them more happiness than they could ever express.

Mom was a male omega.

He had married another man and had given birth to me.

They knew that if all of that became public, they had no idea what kind of judgment or criticism they might face.

So, to protect our family, they had decided to keep everything hidden.

We shared the story of Mom and Dad’s life together with Yano-senpai.

And then—

there was one more thing I needed to tell him.

I looked straight at him.

“Senpai.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m... an omega.”

He didn’t look surprised.

He simply nodded.

“Yeah.”

“When you came to visit the art club before, I wondered if you might be.”

“What?”

I stared at him in surprise.

“I’m not exactly trying to hide it, but... am I really that obvious?”

“No. I don’t think most people would notice just from being around you. And you don’t have the scent an omega gives off during heat. But an alpha with sharp instincts might pick up on something.”

“To tell you the truth... I haven’t had my first heat yet.”

I hesitated before continuing.

“So I never know when it might happen. That’s why... places with lots of people scare me a little.”

“Oh...”

Understanding immediately crossed his face.

“So that’s why joining a club is difficult for you. And why going somewhere crowded, like a movie theater, makes you nervous.”

“Yes. Especially being around alphas for long periods of time... that scares me.”

Yano-senpai thought for a moment before looking at me.

“Are you afraid of me too?”

“No.”

That answer came immediately.

“I’m not afraid of you at all, Senpai. But... if I suddenly went into heat, I might trigger your rut.”

He answered as though the solution were perfectly simple.

“Then I’ll start carrying rut suppressants.”

“What?”

“That should make you feel a little safer, right? I want to help however I can so you can enjoy your life at school.”

“But...”

I hesitated.

“I couldn’t ask you to put that kind of burden on yourself just because of me.”

His expression became a little more serious.

“Kaname-kun, it isn’t a burden.”

I looked at him.

“I’m sure you aren’t the only omega at our school. I’ve never personally run into a situation where it became a problem, so I suppose I never thought deeply about it before. But after talking to you today, I think I understand a little better what omegas have to worry about every day.”

He paused for a moment.

“If omegas are expected to take suppressants to protect themselves, then shouldn’t alphas also be prepared to protect omegas from the effects we might have on them?”

I listened without saying anything.

“I don’t see that as a burden or a restriction. I think it’s part of our responsibility as alphas. It isn’t fair if omegas are always the ones expected to be careful.”

Then his serious expression softened into his usual gentle smile.

“Besides, you and I aren’t just an ordinary senpai and kouhai anymore, are we?”

“Huh?”

“We share a secret now.”

He winked at me.

I turned toward Mom and Dad.

They had both been listening to him with serious expressions.

Finally, Mom smiled.

“If he’s willing to go that far for you, why not accept his kindness? Your high school life might become a lot bigger than you ever imagined.”

“That’s right,” Yano-senpai said with a nod.

“Being an omega doesn’t mean you have to make your world smaller. And maybe we can figure out better ways to deal with all of this together.”

I thought about it for a while.

I couldn’t say I wasn’t afraid.

The things I had avoided until now weren’t suddenly going to stop frightening me.

But—

if Yano-senpai was there...

maybe I could take one small step beyond the world I had built around myself.

I turned toward him and bowed my head.

“...Then I’ll be counting on you, Senpai.”

Yano-senpai smiled at me, looking genuinely happy.