Things had taken a very bad turn.

Before me stood Iori, whose next move was anyone’s guess, and behind me were our mothers, whose thoughts were equally inscrutable. Momiji, seemingly dying to witness her daughter being kissed, had even started chanting, “Go for it!” But I wasn’t bold enough to just “go for it” on command—not to mention how mortifying it’d be. If I had my way, the first and last time I’d kiss someone in front of my parents would be at my wedding. Yeah, I know I’m getting ahead of myself.

“We’re not kissing! Give it up, Momiji-san!”
“Boo! Boo!”

The fact that Momiji was pouting at me with a dead-serious expression was terrifying in more ways than one. I doubted I’d ever get used to her.

“By the way, Iori, what is this exhibit? It looks like it’s just you here.”

The classroom was practically empty—no displays, no food or drinks being served. Just Iori standing there.

“You came without knowing anything?”
“Well, the pamphlet only had your name on it!”

At least Kobayashi Café made it clear it was a food stall, but Tachibana Iori was a complete mystery. And even after arriving, I still had no clue what was about to happen.

“Hmm… I wasn’t allowed to have any say in that part. I suggested something involving the whole class, but I got shot down.”
“Really? So even you don’t always get your way, huh?”

Given Iori’s status at Suzakura, I’d assumed she had that kind of privilege.

“If anything, it’s the opposite. They practically begged me, ‘Please, just let us have this one dream for a day!’ I wasn’t even part of the real discussion.”
“Ah… Yeah, I can kinda picture that.”
“Still, if everyone’s happy, I don’t mind.”

She said that, but there was a hint of loneliness in her expression. She probably just wanted to blend in as an ordinary classmate and take part in something with everyone else.

“Anyway, what is this place, you ask? To put it simply, it’s a ‘photo studio.’ I wear a costume, and we take pictures together. You can even request certain poses or scenarios to some extent. That’s the gist of it.”

Iori smirked and added, “Though someone like you, Natsuki, who can ask for anything anytime, might find it boring.” At that, Momiji let out a knowing “Oh my.”

……Wait. Did I just get horribly misunderstood just now? We don’t do stuff like that normally!

“In that case, why don’t we take a picture together, all four of us? Opportunities like this don’t come often.”

That unexpectedly wholesome suggestion came from my mom.

“Let’s do it. Do we just set up our phones here?”

Kissing was embarrassing, but I did want a photo. Having our parents in it was a little awkward, but part of me suspected we’d appreciate a picture like this more when we were older. It wasn’t like Iori and I wouldn’t have countless chances to take photos together, just the two of us.

“If you set it up on that stand, you can use the remote shutter. What about outfits? We’ve got plenty prepared.”
“Our uniforms are fine, right? Feels more festival-like.”
“In that case, let’s take it in front of the blackboard. I set up a white backdrop for easier editing, but this feels more high school, don’t you think?”

With Iori and me at the center, the four of us lined up in front of the blackboard. The crisp sound of the shutter echoed through the classroom twice.

“Wow, this is such a nice photo! Natsuki, send it to me later, okay?”
“Really, it’s lovely. Iori, you too, please.”

Our parents were way more excited about the photos than we were. It was just a plain group shot of the four of us, but maybe having a picture with their kids made it special to them.

“Well, we should get going. There’s probably a line, and it’d be rude to keep people waiting.”

The two of them started heading for the door. I wanted to talk to Iori a little longer, but they were right—we’d just be in the way. As I moved to follow them—

—my wrist was grabbed from behind.

“Huh? What’s wro—”

——A soft sensation suddenly pressed against my lips. By the time I realized what was happening, Iori’s face was right in front of mine, and it hit me: she was kissing me.

She slowly pulled away, then raised a finger to her lips. Shhh. I could almost hear the silent warning. Still dazed, Iori gave me a gentle push forward, steering me back toward our parents.

“…………”

As we stepped out of the classroom, a pair of Suzakura students passed us, heading inside.

What the hell just happened?

At some point, our mothers had disappeared. I think they’d mentioned wanting to look around together, but my memory was fuzzy. Walking down the hall in a daze, my phone buzzed with a message from Ruin. Muscle memory took over as I checked it.

‘Did you enjoy your vow kiss?’

I almost screamed. My girlfriend was too cool—I couldn’t keep my composure. Fighting back the urge to yell, I hurriedly ducked into a corner of the hallway and desperately stifled the outburst building in my chest.