The rumor spread faster than a panty shot on the school intranet.
Somewhere between the cosplay café, the haunted house, and the yakisoba stand, a new poster had appeared:
"MAID CAFE FINAL EVENT: THE CLOSING KISS!"
Vote for the pair you ship the most. The highest voted couple must kiss during the final hour!
Ren nearly passed out.
He confronted Rika behind the gym.
"You… you added that poll?!"
"Maybe~" she said, twirling a frilly ribbon from her waitress headband.
"You can't just force people to—"
"You kissed Emi, didn't you?" Rika interrupted.
He flinched. "Th-that was different."
Rika leaned forward, eyes sharp. "It's only fair everyone gets their chance. Right?"
He didn't answer.
She smirked and walked away, hips swaying.
By lunch break, the votes were already being tallied.
Ren × Emi was in the lead.
Ren × Yui was catching up.
Ren × Haruka had a strange, dedicated cult.
Ren × Rika had a "chaos shippers" fanbase.
Ren × Mei was dead last, but the comments were suspiciously poetic.
Ren slumped on a bench, head in hands.
Mei sat beside him with a bento box.
"Eat," she said softly.
"I'm going to die before 4 PM."
She unwrapped an onigiri and gently placed it in his hand.
"If you're going to die, you should die with a full stomach."
"…Thanks, I think."
She paused. "Are you scared of kissing someone again?"
"…Not scared. Just… scared of what it'll mean."
She looked at him, calm as always. "Then maybe… it's time to stop running."
He froze.
But she didn't push further.
She simply placed another rice ball on his lap and walked away.
Later that afternoon, the maid café hit max chaos.
Rika was flirting with three customers at once.
Yui was "accidentally" spilling tea on anyone who called her cute.
Haruka sat in the corner like a demon queen sipping juice from a wine glass.
Emi quietly helped a child tie their shoelaces.
Mei wrote down orders like a professional receptionist.
Ren tried not to pass out every 30 seconds.
The clock ticked.
30 minutes to the final kiss.
And the top pair was still Ren × Emi.
But something had shifted in the air.
Rika was watching him more closely.
Yui hadn't spoken to him in over an hour.
Haruka was fidgeting every time their eyes met.
Mei had gone quiet.
And Emi… looked sad.
15 minutes left.
He found her outside near the sakura tree props.
She was alone, looking up.
She didn't smile this time.
"I didn't ask for this," she whispered. "The vote. The pressure. The kiss."
Ren stepped closer.
"…Do you regret what we did?"
She looked at him.
"No. I regret what we didn't do after."
He blinked.
"I kissed you. And you kissed me. And then you ran."
He looked down.
"I was scared."
"I was, too," she said. "But I still wanted you to choose me anyway."
The silence between them hurt more than shouting ever could.
Then the speakers cracked on:
"Final result confirmed! Ren and Emi, please come to the stage!"
Students cheered.
Ren looked up, Emi staring at him.
But in the crowd, he saw the others too.
Yui—arms crossed, eyes wide.
Rika—smiling… but not teasing this time.
Haruka—staring at the ground.
Mei—expression unreadable.
Ren clenched his fists.
Then turned to Emi.
"Let's go."
They walked hand-in-hand to the small outdoor stage set up for the finale.
Flashlights clicked.
Phones were already recording.
Ren took the mic with trembling fingers.
"We're… uh… the winning pair…"
The crowd screamed.
Someone yelled, "KISS HER, COWARD!"
He turned to Emi.
She smiled faintly.
Then whispered, "It's okay… if you want to stop again, I won't be mad."
He paused.
Looked into her eyes.
Then slowly leaned in.
Just before their lips touched—he stopped.
Turned back to the crowd.
"I'm not kissing her."
Gasps.
"I'm not kissing anyone right now."
He turned back to Emi.
"Because I'm not ready to hurt any of you again."
She blinked.
"I'm still figuring things out. And if I kiss you here… it's just another moment I'll run from."
Silence.
Then Emi chuckled.
"…That's the dumbest way to win a girl's heart."
"I know."
"But it's also… probably the most honest."
She kissed his cheek instead.
The crowd booed.
Then laughed.
Then clapped.
And Ren smiled—awkward, nervous, and completely lost in love.