The cafeteria was loud.
Trays clattered, chairs scraped, voices overlapped in a hundred different conversations—but at one small table near the window, the air felt like it was holding its breath.
Kai sat in the middle.
Eloine was on one side of him, calm and still, her presence like a quiet gravity.
Sora sat on his other side, shoulders stiff, eyes flicking between Eloine and Ayko.
Ayko sat across from them, trying not to stare, trying not to feel the ache spreading through her chest.
Mira was a little farther down the table, pretending to eat while her heart felt strangely hollow.
Rin sat near the edge, arms folded, eyes sharp and unreadable.
And Joro leaned back in his chair, watching all of it like it was a live-action drama.
Nobody was really eating.
Joro finally broke the silence.
"So…" he said, tapping his chopsticks against his tray. "We're all gonna pretend this isn't the most awkward lunch in human history?"
Kai groaned. "Joro, don't start."
"Oh I'm starting," Joro replied. "Because this vibe? It's cursed."
Sora shifted uncomfortably.
Ayko's fingers curled tighter around her fork.
Mira swallowed.
Rin didn't blink.
Joro leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
"Yesterday you dropped that bomb," he said to Kai. "New girl who feels like she fell out of another dimension, everyone looking at you like you're the center of the universe…"
He smirked faintly.
"So let's make it official."
Kai's stomach dropped. "Make what official?"
Joro's eyes sharpened.
"To love… or to be protected."
The words hit the table like a knife.
Everyone froze.
Eloine's gaze stayed on Kai.
Sora's breath caught.
Ayko felt her heart stutter.
Mira's chest tightened.
Rin tilted her head slightly, studying Kai like a puzzle.
"That's the question," Joro continued. "If you had to choose, Kai… which one would it be?"
Kai felt like six different worlds were staring at him at once.
"…Why are you doing this?" he muttered.
"Because everyone here is silently fighting for you," Joro replied. "And it's getting uncomfortable."
Sora's cheeks flushed.
"That's not true—"
"Isn't it?" Rin cut in calmly.
Sora went quiet.
Ayko stared down at the table.
Eloine didn't deny it.
Kai's head felt like it was going to explode.
Love.
Protection.
Ayko's warmth.
Sora's constancy.
Eloine's strange, endless devotion.
He didn't know what any of it meant.
He just knew that if he answered wrong, someone was going to get hurt.
"…This is stupid," Kai muttered.
Joro raised a brow. "That's not an answer."
Kai exhaled slowly.
"Fine."
He looked up.
"I choose—"
Every heartbeat in the table stopped.
"…Joro."
Dead silence.
"…Huh?"
Joro stared at him like he had just been hit by a truck.
"Bro what."
Kai shrugged. "You asked who I'd choose. I choose you."
Sora blinked.
Ayko froze.
Mira's mouth parted slightly.
Rin's eyebrow twitched.
"…Are you serious?" Joro asked.
"Yeah," Kai said. "You're the only one here who won't get mad at me for dodging the question."
"HEY," Joro protested. "I have feelings!"
Sora burst out laughing despite herself.
Mira covered her mouth.
Even Ayko let out a shaky breath.
But the tension didn't disappear.
In fact… it sharpened.
Because Eloine leaned closer to Kai.
Very close.
"So you choose him," she said softly, her fingers brushing against Kai's sleeve. "Then I will choose you."
Every girl at the table went still.
Ayko's eyes widened.
Sora stiffened.
Mira felt her heart skip.
Rin's gaze darkened.
Eloine smiled faintly.
"You do not need to choose," she whispered to Kai. "You already belong to me."
Joro slowly leaned back, looking at the cold stares being shot at him from every direction.
"…Bruh," he muttered. "Are you trying to get me killed?"
Kai looked at him. "What?"
Joro gestured wildly at the table.
"Bro, look at these death stares! I just got chosen and now I'm about to be erased from existence!"
Sora glared.
Ayko's eyes were burning.
Mira looked conflicted.
Rin looked dangerous.
Kai groaned. "You're dramatic."
"I AM IN DANGER," Joro snapped.
Eloine tilted her head, still smiling gently.
"Do not worry," she said. "They will not harm you."
"That's not reassuring!"
Rin leaned forward.
"This is getting messy," she said quietly. "And I don't think it's going to stop here."
Kai looked around the table.
So many emotions.
So many eyes on him.
He just wanted things to go back to normal.
But deep down…
He knew they never would.
To love,
or to be protected.
The war had truly begun.