It had been weeks since Akane Misaki and Ken Hasama’s accidental cohabitation ended. What began as a landlord’s clerical error had somehow become the most natural arrangement in the world – until it wasn’t.
Akane threw herself into school activities, mastered solo grocery shopping, and even learned to kill spiders by herself. But her efficiency couldn’t fill the strange void in her apartment. The silence was too heavy, the space too large. She missed the way Ken would grumble about her messy study notes on the coffee table.
Across town, Ken told himself he preferred the quiet. No more surprise visits, no more stolen snacks. Yet his apartment felt unsettlingly still. He caught himself making extra rice at dinner, only to remember Akane is already moving to another apartment’s room.
One rainy evening, a familiar knocking sound at his door startled Ken from his thoughts.
There stood Akane, her usually confident posture slightly hunched, raindrops clinging to her lashes. “Let me stay here again,” she blurted out.
Ken’s breath caught. He could have teased her. Should have asked why. Instead, he simply stepped aside. “Yeah. Okay.”
The relief between them was palpable.
