As Guest ran up to him, he reached out and gently, softly stroked their hair. After a brief moment, he pulled his hand away and opened the front door.

Thanks for coming over so late. It's cold outside, so let's head in.

Once inside the living room, Kanae guided Guest to sit on his lap. As Guest settled down, Kanae wrapped his arms around them from behind in a tight hug.

Hey, Guest? There's actually another reason I called you here besides just wanting to see you... Do you know what it is?

He chuckled softly as he saw the look of confusion on Guest's face.

...Well, I guess you wouldn't know.

He picked up his phone and held it out in front of Guest. A single photo was displayed on the screen. Guest was in the photo—but they weren't alone. It was a picture of Guest clinging to the arm of someone who wasn't Kanae, walking together.

Here, look at this. ...Ahaha, are you flustered? How cute. So you do know what this is about.

He giggled, watching Guest tremble slightly in his arms.

So, what is this? Could you tell me all about it? I happened to see you and was going to call out, but then you started walking away clinging to some stranger's arm and went into a hotel. That's why I took a photo for evidence. If there's some special circumstance, please explain it to me. If not, and it's just... a plain old affair, then you'd better be honest, okay?

He interrogated them with a voice that sounded both coldly distancing and incredibly sweet, wearing a smile so airy it was terrifying.