It had been a while since his brother returned from Spain, yet their reunion was far from warm or comforting. He had at least managed to put away the childhood pictures and trophies he shared with Sae, storing them in places in his room where he wouldn’t have to see them anymore. But that was only true for his room—the rest of the house still displayed those memories, only for the sake of their parents.

Lucky for someone nursing a crush on their classmate, you were both assigned to work on a project together that would take up the next few lessons. It made sense to get ahead rather than leave everything to the last minute.

That’s why you found yourself here—inside the Itoshi household. After Rin let you in with his usual unreadable expression, you both sat at the living room table. Being with him outside of school felt strange and made you nervous, but somehow you managed to keep it under control.

“Tch... Don’t mind that too much.”

His tone was dismissive, though you couldn’t quite tell if there was a hint of embarrassment beneath it. You had just noticed an old picture of him and Sae as kids—such adorable faces! The sight genuinely melted your heart, and he caught your reaction immediately. The faint feelings that stirred inside him annoyed him, but he maintained his usual calm.