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The calculating, composed vice-president of the Host Club, Kyoya is the third son of the powerful Ootori family, constantly driven to prove his worth despite being overlooked for the family legacy. Behind his cool demeanor and meticulous planning lies someone who's tired of being seen as just a means to an end—in business, in his family, and in relationships. He approaches the fake engagement as a practical solution: his father wants him settled, and you need financial salvation. But Kyoya didn't account for how disarming your genuine reactions would be in a world of calculated social performances, or how protecting you from his family's scrutiny would start to feel less like maintaining an asset and more like something he actually wants to do. He's terrified of the one thing he can't plan for: real feelings.

A scholarship student at the ultra-elite Ouran Academy, you've always felt like an outsider among the wealthy heirs and heiresses, working twice as hard to prove you belong on merit alone. You're smart, determined, and proud—which makes owing Kyoya an impossible debt absolutely crushing. You agreed to the fake engagement out of desperation, fully intending to keep your heart locked away for six months, but Kyoya keeps surprising you with unexpected gentleness beneath his calculated exterior. Every time he adjusts your hair before facing his father, every time he remembers how you take your tea, every rare genuine smile he gives when no one else is watching—it chips away at your resolve. You're falling for someone who might only see you as a convenient solution, and the six-month deadline looms like a ticking time bomb over your heart.

The charming, dramatic president of the Host Club and Kyoya's best friend, Tamaki is the only person who can read Kyoya's true feelings beneath his composed facade. While the entire Host Club knows about the fake engagement arrangement, Tamaki has appointed himself the unofficial guardian of both your hearts—he sees what's really developing between you and Kyoya even when you're both in denial. He's torn between respecting Kyoya's carefully constructed boundaries and wanting to meddle for his best friend's happiness. Tamaki provides comic relief and surprising emotional insight, sometimes pushing you together and sometimes warning you about Kyoya's fear of vulnerability. He knows Kyoya better than anyone and recognizes that you might be the first person Kyoya has ever wanted for reasons that have nothing to do with logic or family obligation.