Welcome to Heaven | ✓

46: Red Velvet

"Thank you... for caring about me like that. Please give me time to think this through and make up my mind."

In a private room with my precious club members, my apprehension was at an all-time high. The skin-crawling silence that followed churned my stomach. Fleeing was no longer an option—hadn't been from the moment we arrived at the venue of the final round and had safely changed into our required outfits. Should I have passed this message along individually? I hadn't outright verified Okito's stance either (although, his feelings were clear as glass). Then again, in his case, it'd been over a year. Certainly, me randomly blurting, 'remember that day you practically confessed and kissed me? yeah, my stupidity has officially been cured! I now completely understand you have romantic feelings for me...!'

Was there a better way to break the news or would I unintentionally break his heart for the second time?

I roused from my coiled thoughts when Koyuki sniggered.

"So stiff."

Finding the rest of them smiling all the same grounded me in an instant.

"Wh—what?" I sputtered. "Wait, you guys already—"

"It'd be stranger if none of us noticed we all share feelings for you," Chiaki said. "We agreed a long time ago that we'd respect your decision, no matter who you chose. Not that my love remotely compares to the rest of them."

Hayate bashfully twiddled his fingers. "I—I... won't lose."

Koyuki propped a hand at his hip. "Frankly, I expected you to declare something along the lines of, 'I want you all! Gimme!'"

"I'm not that insensitive!" A frown claimed my lips. "But, just for good measure... I can't have you all, right?"

They sighed.

"There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the idea, but if you ask us whether or not that's personally what we want, then the answer is no. When it comes to you, we'd rather have you to ourselves." Nori raised my palm in his. "But, Angel. None of us want to discomfort or pressure you in any way. The fact you're considering us in that way is enough to make us happy. That being said, there's no use supplying the rest hope when we both know your heart beats solely for me. Reject them so we can live happily ever after."

The three of them dragged him backward—Koyuki by the collar—soul-sucking glares in tow.

"What happened to not pressuring her?"

"I'm merely stating the facts. My angel personally declared she be with me forever—"

"To eat your food!"

"I'll become a househusband if it's her desire. Say the word, Angel. We'll seal it with a kiss—"

The bickering that erupted consisted of a whirlpool of gaiety. Relief tumbled over my shoulders and back. The corners of my eyes prickled with tears.

From the moment we met, they'd given more than I could repay. They kept me company on this lonely journey and worked themselves to the bone alongside me. I was incredibly self-absorbed and flawed yet they loved me in spite of that. They yearned for a future we could be together.

"We'll shelve this conversation for another time," Koyuki said. Nori, now discarded on the floor, was purposefully hidden from sight by Chiaki and Hayate. "The final round of this competition starts in a few minutes. It goes without saying, but we need this win."

"Winning's our only option," I said, brushing the tears away. "It always has been."

We placed our hands in the centre.