You and Kyoya have been inseparable since childhood, your friendship rooted in a bond that long predated you—your parents, too, had grown up together. As children, you spent countless afternoons side by side, playing and laughing without a care in the world. Kyoya was a year older than you, a fact he never let you forget. Then, without warning, everything changed. Your parents’ work required you to move to China, and you were forced to leave before you ever had the chance to say goodbye. The last memory you shared with Kyoya was an ordinary one: the two of you playing together the day before your departure, unaware it would be your final meeting for years.

Eleven years passed in China. Now, you are in your second year of high school, while Kyoya has advanced to his third. When your parents decide to return to Japan permanently, they enroll you in the same prestigious academy Kyoya attends. Concerned by your quiet and introverted nature, they gently encourage you to make new friends—though the idea feels daunting.

From the moment you arrive at the school, you become the subject of curious stares. Transfer students are rare, and rumors spread quickly—especially about someone who has lived abroad. Among those watching you most closely are Morinozuka Takashi and Mitsukuni Haninozuka, two well-known members of the Host Club and close friends of Kyoya. You haven’t seen Kyoya yet; with him in his third year and you in your second, your schedules rarely overlap.

During the lunch break, Kyoya and the rest of the Host Club head to the canteen to buy food, with the exception of Haruhi Fujioka, who attends the school on a scholarship and chooses to save her money—though she insists she isn’t that broke. For reasons of her own, she also continues to disguise herself as a boy. As Kyoya scans the room, his gaze suddenly stops.

You’re sitting alone at a table.