It didn't feel like I was guessing anymore.
That was the difference.
Before, everything I understood about this place, about him, about us, felt like it could change at any moment. Like I was always one misunderstanding away from being wrong again.
Now… it didn't feel like that.
Now it felt like the pieces had finally stopped moving.
"You've been staring at the floor for a while," Kairo said.
I blinked and looked up. "I'm thinking."
"You always say that when you're overwhelmed."
"I'm not overwhelmed."
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
I sighed. "Okay, I'm mildly annoyed."
"That's closer."
I leaned back against the chair. The room felt quieter now, not because anything changed, but because something in me had settled.
The omega from earlier was gone.
The tension he brought… still lingered in memory, but it no longer felt sharp.
Just confusing.
And embarrassing.
Very embarrassing.
"I can't believe I thought I was a replacement," I muttered.
Kairo didn't respond immediately.
Then—
"You weren't wrong to question it."
I glanced at him.
"…That's not comforting either."
"It's honest."
I let out a slow breath.
"Your definition of comfort is strange."
"It keeps you grounded."
"I don't need grounding. I need emotional recovery."
That got a faint pause from him.
Almost amusement.
Almost.
"You're fine," he said.
"I am not fine."
"You are."
I frowned. "You don't get to decide that."
"I do when I can hear your thoughts."
I froze slightly.
Right.
That again.
I pointed at him. "Stop using that as an advantage."
"It is not an advantage. It's information."
"It's cheating."
"It's existing."
I groaned and rubbed my face.
"I'm going to start thinking in riddles just to confuse you."
"You already do."
I dropped my hand.
"…Excuse me?"
Kairo leaned back slightly, calm as always.
"You think too much before you speak. It's already layered."
I stared at him.
"That sounded like an insult."
"It wasn't."
"It felt like one."
Silence.
Then—
"You're still thinking about him," Kairo said.
I blinked.
"What? No."
"You are."
"I'm not thinking about him, I'm thinking about the situation."
"That includes him."
I paused.
"…Fine. Briefly."
Kairo watched me for a moment.
Then said quietly, "He doesn't matter."
That should've been reassuring.
But the way he said it—
Flat. Certain. Final—
made something inside me shift.
"…That's harsh," I said.
"It's accurate."
I studied him.
"You really don't feel anything about him?"
"No."
"No jealousy? No history? No lingering attachment?"
Kairo's expression didn't change.
"No."
That simple.
That clean.
It unsettled me more than anything emotional would've.
"So what was all that?" I asked. "The engagement talk, the alliance, whatever that was supposed to be?"
"A system decision."
"And you just… rejected it?"
"Yes."
"Without hesitation?"
"Yes."
I stared at him.
"…You're terrifyingly decisive."
"I prefer efficient."
I let out a breath, leaning back again.
"So I really did embarrass myself for nothing."
"Yes."
I pointed at him again. "Stop saying it like that."
"You asked."
"I regret asking."
Silence settled again, but it wasn't heavy.
It was… normal.
Strangely normal.
Like everything that happened earlier had already been filed away as solved.
But something still lingered at the edge of my thoughts.
I glanced at Kairo.
"…Why didn't you just tell me the truth from the beginning?"
He looked at me.
For a moment, I thought he wouldn't answer.
Then—
"Because you wouldn't have believed it."
I frowned.
"That's not fair."
"It's true."
I opened my mouth—
Closed it again.
Because… yeah.
He wasn't wrong.
I would've assumed there was more. Another layer. Another hidden rule.
I always did.
Kairo stood slowly.
"You don't need to worry about him."
"I wasn't worried," I said quickly.
He looked at me.
I looked away.
"…Okay, I was mildly threatened."
A faint pause.
Then—
"You're safe."
That simple statement hit differently.
Not dramatic.
Not intense.
Just certain.
I looked back at him.
"…You say that like it's guaranteed."
"It is."
Silence.
Then I sighed.
"Your confidence is still weird."
"And yours is improving."
"I don't like that phrasing."
A faint shift in his expression.
Almost like approval.
Almost.
"You're adapting," he said.
"I'm surviving," I corrected.
"That too."
I stood up slowly, stretching.
The tension from earlier still wasn't completely gone, but it no longer felt sharp.
Just distant.
Like something I had already outgrown without noticing.
Kairo stepped closer again.
Not crowding me this time.
Just… present.
"You're calmer now," he said.
"I guess I am," I admitted.
A pause.
Then—
"You're not leaving."
It wasn't a question anymore.
I looked at him.
At everything that had become my reality without permission, without warning, without escape.
And for the first time—
I didn't hesitate.
"…No," I said.
Not because I was forced.
Not because I was confused.
But because, somehow along the way…
I stopped wanting to.