The silence in Room 404 was heavy, broken only by the hum of the air conditioner and the frantic pounding of Shizuka's heart. Ren had retreated to the far corner of the room, having finally thrown his shirt back on, while Shizuka had barricaded herself in the bathroom to change.
When she finally emerged, she was no longer the "Ice Queen" professor. She was wearing oversized, fuzzy panda pajamas and her hair was tied up in a messy bun. She sat on the edge of the bed—the only bed—and stared at the two official housing letters sitting on the desk.
"Both letters are genuine," she said, her voice trembling with a mix of professional authority and pure panic. "The system crashed during the summer update. It assigned this 'Faculty-Student Hybrid Suite' to both of us. But this was supposed to be a single-occupancy pilot program!"
Ren leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. His dark bangs shaded his eyes, giving him a mysterious, brooding look. "I checked the student portal while you were changing. Every other room in Block A is full. Block B is under renovation because of the mold outbreak. Unless one of us sleeps in the library, we're stuck."
Shizuka looked at him, her violet eyes wide. "Kurosawa-kun, do you realize what this means? If a student—or worse, the Dean—finds out I'm sharing a room with a freshman, my career is over before it truly begins. I'll be fired, blacklisted, and..."
"And I'll lose my scholarship for 'inappropriate conduct,'" Ren finished for her. He walked over to the desk, picking up a pen. "So, we have two choices. We go to the Housing Office, report the error, and hope they have a tent for one of us... or we keep our mouths shut."
Shizuka bit her lip. The thought of her messy "home mode" being exposed was bad enough, but the heat she felt when Ren had caught her earlier—the way his hands felt on her waist—was more dangerous. "We can't tell anyone."
"Fine," Ren said, pulling a blank sheet of paper toward him. "Then we need a contract. Rule number one: Absolute Secrecy. Outside this room, we are Teacher and Student. Inside, we don't exist to each other."
Shizuka leaned in, her scent of vanilla drifting toward him again, making Ren's hand pause for a fraction of a second. "Rule number two: No crossing the 'Invisible Line'. This side of the room is mine. That side is yours."
Ren scribbled it down. "Rule number three: No guests. Ever."
He looked up, his dark eyes meeting hers. For a second, the room felt far too small. The "Invisible Line" was only a few feet wide, and the tension between them was already thick enough to choke on.
"And rule number four," Ren added, his voice dropping to a low murmur that sent a shiver down her spine. "If we get caught... we don't know each other. I'm just a burglar, and you're the victim."
Shizuka let out a small, breathless laugh. "A burglar who pays half the utility bill? That's a first."
The moment was broken by a sharp, aggressive knock on the door.
"Professor Ichinose? It's Asuka from the Student Council! I have the faculty orientation files you requested!"
Shizuka froze, her face turning pale. "It's the Student Council President. If she sees a male student's shoes in here..."
Ren didn't wait. He grabbed his laptop and dove under the bed just as the door handle began to turn.
"Wait! Just a moment!" Shizuka shrieked, frantically trying to hide Ren's hoodie under a pile of her own laundry.
The door swung open, and the secret life of Room 404 officially began.