The moment the bell rang, Aoki-kun grabbed his bag.

“All right, I’m off to practice! See ya!”

He gave me a carefree wave and strode out of the classroom.

“Aoki-kun really is always full of energy... Somehow, just watching him makes me feel better.”

I smiled as I watched him leave.

“All right! Nothing’s going to change if I keep worrying about everything!”

I said it to myself as if trying to gather my courage.

I’d already decided that I was going to enjoy my high school life to the fullest.

With my art club application form in hand, I started toward the clubroom.

Still...

Now that I was aware of my own feelings, the thought of seeing Senpai made me nervous.

And I’d also realized that the feelings Senpai carried weren’t directed at me.

They were directed at my mother.

That made it even harder to know what kind of face I was supposed to make when I saw him.

As I crossed the walkway, I happened to glance outside and spotted Aoki-kun, already changed into his practice clothes, heading toward the gym.

He was joking around with some of the other club members, looking like he was having the time of his life.

I stopped for a moment and watched them with a smile.

Then Aoki-kun noticed me and started waving both arms.

He seemed to be shouting something, but I couldn’t make out a word from where I was.

So I waved back, cupped a hand around my ear to show that I couldn’t hear him, then crossed my arms over my head in a big X.

Aoki-kun responded by blowing me a kiss.

Then, for some reason, he gave me an exaggerated gentlemanly bow...

and blew me another one.

Naturally, his teammates weren’t about to let that go.

They started teasing him, smacking him on the head, shoving him from behind, and giving him playful kicks as they laughed.

Aoki-kun scratched his head in embarrassment before hurrying off toward the gym with the others.

“They really get along... That’s actually kind of nice.”

Just watching them had eased some of the tension inside me.

I gathered my courage once more and continued toward the art clubroom.

When I finally reached the door, I swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

Then I just stood there for a while.

It was only a knock.

Why did it feel like it required so much courage?

But I couldn’t stand there forever.

All right.

I made up my mind and raised my hand to knock—

“Oh, Kaname-kuuun! You’re well enough to come back to school!”

Senpai’s voice suddenly came from behind me, making my heart jump.

I turned around.

He was walking toward me, casually twirling the clubroom key around one finger.

When he reached me, he spread his arms.

“A welcome-back hug!”

And before I could react, he hugged me.

“Hahaha! I’m copying your dad!”

Just like that, most of the tension I’d been carrying disappeared.

Maybe Dad’s weird behavior actually came in handy sometimes.

“Haha... Dad does love hugs.”

I laughed.

“Senpai, thank you again for coming to see me last week. Thanks to you, I managed to turn in all my homework too. I was actually just going to drop off my club application today and go home.”

“Since you’re already here, stay for a while. I’ve got some new sweets!”

His invitation made me chuckle.

“Okay... Just for a little while.”

And I followed him into the clubroom.

Just like the last time I was there, Senpai opened the cupboard.

“This one just came out!”

He proudly showed me the neatly arranged collection of sweets and tea.

As always, it was an impressive selection for an art club cupboard.

“Kaname-kun, want to try this new one? Actually, I saved it for when you came back. I haven’t even tried it myself yet because I thought we could eat it together.”

Then he winked at me.

His words made something stir uneasily inside my chest again.

Why was Senpai always so nice to me?

Was it because I was my mother’s son?

Or...

Did he like me, even just a little?

Maybe he treated everyone this way.

Would it actually be easier if I just confessed and got rejected?

At least then I’d know.

While all those thoughts ran through my head, I said,

“Then let’s have that new sweet today.”

“So, what kind of tea do you want?”

“Hmm... Let me think...”

After a moment, I smiled.

“I’ll leave it up to you today, Senpai!”

He thought about it for a second.

“Then let’s change things up and have juice!”

“Huh? You keep juice in the clubroom too?”

“Nope. The vending machine by the school store. I’ll run down and grab some. What do you want?”

“Oh, then I’ll come too. I want to see what they have!”

And so I followed Senpai back out of the clubroom.

As we walked down the hall, he asked,

“How have you been feeling since then?”

“The side effects are completely gone now. I’m totally back to normal.”

The moment I answered, Senpai suddenly leaned in close and sniffed near my face.

My heart jumped, and I instinctively took a step backward.

“You’re right. You seem completely fine now. There’s no trace of the scent left either.”

Then, as casually as if he were commenting on the weather, he added,

“Still, you always smell really nice, Kaname-kun. Is it your shampoo? Or maybe your body wash?”

He sounded perfectly cheerful.

My heart, on the other hand, was going crazy.

Flustered, I tried to change the subject.

“Thank you again for everything last week. Knowing there’s even one person at school who knows about me makes me feel so much safer.”

Then I told him how I truly felt.

“If I’d been completely on my own, I think I would’ve been terrified to come back to school today. Just knowing you were here really helped me, Senpai.”

He answered immediately.

“See? That’s why I told you. We’ll get through it together. As an alpha, I’ll protect you, Kaname-kun.”

There it was again.

Why would he say something like that to me?

I clenched both hands into fists.

I was a little afraid to hear the answer.

But...

I wanted to know.

“Senpai... why do you care about me so much?”

I finally forced myself to ask.

His eyes widened in surprise.

Then—

he smiled.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

My heart thumped hard against my chest.

“You’re like a precious little brother to me, Kaname-kun!”

...

A little brother.

“Haha... A little brother...”

My eyes dropped to the floor.

“I see... Of course.”

“Hmm? Did you say something?”

Apparently, he hadn’t heard the last part.

“No... Nothing.”

I walked behind him with my head down, practically dragging my feet.

After a moment, Senpai turned around and looked at me with concern.

“What’s wrong? You seem out of it. Are you feeling sick again? Do you want me to take you home?”

Seriously...

This guy.

I lifted my head and gave him a bright smile.

“I’m fine! But... you’re surprisingly dense, Senpai!”

“Huh? Dense? Me? Why are you suddenly saying that?”

He looked genuinely confused.

Seeing that expression somehow made all my worrying seem ridiculous.

So I gave him the biggest smile I could.

“I’m an only child, so I’ve always wanted a big brother like you!”

And then—

“So I think I’m going to take full advantage of it and let you spoil me as much as possible!”

I wrapped both arms around one of his and clung to him.

“Hahaha! You really are spoiled, Kaname.”

Senpai laughed happily.

A little brother, huh?

Well...

Fine.

For now, being his little brother was good enough.

And if that was the role he was giving me, I might as well take full advantage of the privileges that came with it.

Maybe someday...

I could make Senpai see me as something more than that.

With that slightly devious thought in mind, I hugged his arm even tighter.