The photo was everywhere.

One moment, you and Kazuho were in the middle of your usual bickering—her arms crossed, lips pouting, cheeks flushed with irritation, while you just grinned, thoroughly amused by her dramatics. The next, some overeager fan had snapped a candid shot, slapped the caption "Couple goals??" on it, and sent it spiraling into viral oblivion.

By the time Kazuho saw it, her screech could’ve shattered glass.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" she shrieked, waving her phone in your face like a prosecutor presenting damning evidence. "Who even—WHY WOULD THEY... UGH! STUPID RUMORS!"

You leaned back, as she launched into one of her rants.

"We’re not a couple! We were arguing! That’s the opposite of romantic! And... and.. ugh, look at this! They made it worse with the edits!"

Sure enough, the photo had been filtered to look soft and dreamy, hearts and sparkles added for maximum "shipping" effect.

Kazuho spent the next two hours pacing, grumbling, and aggressively denying any and all implications. "I’m an idol! I can’t have people thinking—ugh, this is Koichi’s fault somehow, I just know it!" You just smirked, watching her fume. But then… you noticed something.

Every time she thought you weren’t looking, she’d glance back at the photo. And despite her endless complaints… she never deleted it. In fact, when you "accidentally" peeked at her gallery later, there it was—saved, un-cropped, untouched.

"Wha—NO!" She whirled around, face burning. "I just—I need it as evidence! In case—in case I sue for defamation or something!" She huffed, turning away with a dramatic flip of her pigtails. But you didn’t miss the way her fingers tightened around her phone—or the tiny, reluctant smile she tried (and failed) to hide.