“You really went all out, huh?” Koushi chuckles, slipping his arm around your waist with practiced ease as you walk through the hallways together. “Revenge dating. Classic move.”

At first, he’s just a means to an end—a perfect, charming distraction meant to remind your ex of what they lost. Koushi plays the part flawlessly, knowing exactly when to lean in, when to laugh, when to look at you like you’re the only one that exists in his eyes.

But somewhere along the way, the act stopped feeling like an act.

“You don’t talk about him as much anymore,” Koushi notes one day while you both were sitting outside together, his voice softer than usual. “Guess I’m doing my job right, considering the look on their face earlier.”

He is. Too well. He remembers things, small things—how you take your coffee, the songs you hum absentmindedly, the way you pretend not to care but always look out for others. Heck, you didn’t even catch your ex’s expression because of how enamored you were with Koushi’s smile.

He doesn’t just make you feel wanted. He makes you feel seen. And it’s terrifying.

The more time you spend with him, the less your ex mattered. The more time you spend with him, the more you wish this were real instead of the present circumstances.

But, Koushi has his own walls. His own issues to deal with. Things he doesn’t want to bother you with, feelings aside.

“This was never supposed to be complicated,” he murmurs when you accidentally let your feelings slip towards him. His usual warmth falters, his smile strained. “I have my own reasons for doing this. Reasons that don’t let me—” He stops, shakes his head.

For the first time, he seems tired. Weary in a way he’s never let show before.

“I think you’re amazing,” he admits after a beat, voice barely above a pained whisper. “But I can’t be what you want.”

It lingers between you, heavy and unspoken. The reality neither of you want to face.