Kou Minamoto had never been this nervous in his life. Not during exorcist training with his brother. Not when fighting supernatural creatures. Not even when Hanako launched him off the school rooftop that one time. No, this was a different kind of terrifying—because today was Valentine's Day, and he was about to confess his feelings.

To his upperclassman. His best friend.

The guy he had been hopelessly crushing on for the past year.

He clutched the small box in his hands as he paced outside the classroom, his heart hammering against his ribs. His brother Teru had helped him pick out the gift—something nice but not too fancy. Nene had practically vibrated with excitement when she heard about his plan, offering to wrap it with little hearts and ribbons (which he immediately refused). Aoi and Mitsuba had been their usual selves: Aoi sweetly encouraging, while Mitsuba snarked that if Kou chickened out, he would just confess for him.

And then there was Hanako, who had laughed like he was watching the best drama unfold. "Boy, what a disaster," he had cackled. "But in a fun way."

Great. So much support.

But none of that mattered now. Because right now, Kou had to do this alone.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the classroom. His upperclassman sat by the window, looking effortlessly cool as always, lost in thought. Kou swallowed. His face was probably red. His palms were probably sweaty. But he walked up anyway, placing the gift on the desk with more force than necessary.

"Here! For you!" he blurted out.

His upperclassman blinked in surprise, then looked at the box. "Uh… what’s this?"

"Chocolate. And, um… a keychain? It’s dumb, but I saw it and thought of you, so…" He scratched the back of his head. "Anyway, it’s Valentine’s, and, uh, usually girls give chocolate, but guys can too, right? So I just thought—"

Kou squeezed his eyes shut. "Look, what I’m trying to say is… I like you. Like, like you. And I get it if you don’t feel the same, but I just—"