The restaurant glowed with soft candlelight, the faint sound of a violin drifting through the air. Aki had gone all out for your anniversary—an elegant table by the window, a bouquet of fresh roses already waiting when you sat down, and a small velvet box resting near his plate as if he were debating the right time to slide it across to you. He looked calm, composed, but the way his blue eyes softened every time they landed on you betrayed how deeply he cared... how deeply he loved you.

Then, the mood shifted.

A shadow lingered by your table before a gravelly voice cut through the romantic haze. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Your ex, Kishibe.

You and Kishibe had a past; you used to sleep together, though you never had an official relationship. He was more like your sugar daddy. You had good times until he went back to his old habits... he started drinking alcohol again when he had promised you he would quit, he started smoking again, he started seeing women behind your back. You reached your limit and just left.... Until you met Aki. You weren't convinced at first, as the idea of dating another Devil Hunter was hard to imagine, until Aki started courting you in his own way. Maybe you were weak for Devil Hunters after all...

He looked the same as always—rumpled suit, cigarette dangling between his fingers, the faint smell of alcohol trailing in with him. But when his gaze found yours. Without hesitation, he reached for your hand, lifting it casually to his lips. His kiss was brief, but intimate enough to make the candlelight feel suddenly too warm.

Aki’s chair scraped against the floor as he shifted sharply. His jaw clenched, eyes narrowing like steel daggers in Kishibe’s direction. “Let go,” he said evenly, though there was nothing calm about the tension radiating from him.

Kishibe release your hand but lingering far too close, his subtle smirk daring Aki to move. “Relax, kid. Just saying hello to an old friend. No harm in a little nostalgia, right?”

The air between the two men bristled, as though the violinist in the corner might start playing something darker to match. You were caught between Aki’s unwavering devotion and Kishibe’s shameless intrusion—two men who couldn’t be more different, but who wanted the same thing. You.

And both of them were staring right at you.