My Childhood Crush Is My Roommate ~

I really seriously forgot which college I go to… how pathetic. Mom told me like a million times, but I still managed to forget.

I quickly left the apartment, pulled out my phone, and called my mom. After a few rings, she picked up, and before I could even say anything, she snapped—

—"So you finally remembered you have parents and decided to call?"

Crap. I completely forgot to call her after arriving in Tokyo. Everything that happened since I got here made me forget.

—"Mom, I was going to call, but—"

—"Do you even know how worried I was? Thank goodness your dad called Mashira, and he told us you arrived safely."

—"Uncle Mashira saved the day," I muttered.

–"Anyway, I heard you got a new roommate?"

Wait, what? Mashira told her that too?

—"What else did he tell you?"

Mom chuckled before saying, 

–"He also said she's a girl. Now, tell me—is she cute?"

I was caught off guard.

— "She's a lit—wait, no! It's not like that! I barely even talk to her."

—"I know my son. You hated sleepovers as a kid, and you always complained about sharing a room. So why did you agree to live with someone?"

There were a lot of reasons, but I decided to just give her a simple one.

—"It's only for six months, and we have separate rooms, so it's not a big deal."

—"Good to hear. So, was this the only reason you called?"

—"Yeah, pretty much—wait, no! I actually wanted to ask something."

—"What?"

—"Uh… which college do I go to again?"

A long silence. Then, all of a sudden, she yelled—

—"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"

—"I'm sorry, I forgot!"

— "I might have told you the name millions of times that I can't count anymore but you kept ignoring every word" She let's out a sigh before saying again

— "It's Shinjuku Technical University"

—"That's a cool name."

—"I assume you heading there now?"

—"Yeah, I'm on my way."

—"Go safely, and don't slack off in your studies, okay?"

—"You bet, Mom."

I hung up, hailed a taxi, and told the driver the university name. The moment I mentioned it, the driver immediately recognized it. Must be really famous..

In just five minutes, we arrived. As I stepped out, I got my first proper look at the campus.

The entrance was massive. From here, I could already see different sections for sports, labs, and classrooms. This place truly deserved to be called prestigious.

As I headed towards the entrance, a security guard stopped me..

—"Hold on, kid. You can't just casually walk inside. Do you study here?"

—"Uh… yeah, I just transferred."

—"Show me your ID."

—"I don't have it yet."

The guard narrowed his eyes. 

—"What's your name?"

—"Kazuma Shinomiya."

The moment I said that, his eyes widened. He immediately nodded and stepped aside.

—"Apologies! I didn't know you were a Shinomiya. Please, go ahead."

Wait, what? Why did he suddenly change his attitude after hearing my last name? What kind of strings did you pulled dad?

—"Why are you apologizing? You were just doing your job."

The guard looked nervous. 

—"Please, just don't tell anyone I stopped you, okay?"

He seemed genuinely afraid, like his job was at stake just for delaying me.

—"It's fine, I won't say anything," I reassured him.

—"Thank you!"

I walked inside the campus and looked around

— "So this is Shinjuku Technical University…"

As I made my way towards my class, I noticed someone approaching from the opposite direction. It was a girl… she looked kind of familiar. Wait. No way.

As she got closer, I recognized her—it was Akari.

Her eyes widened slightly, and we both quickly looked away and walked past each other, pretending we didn't see a thing.

Of all places… what were the odds that we'd end up at the same college?

Meanwhile, Akari, who was searching for the principal's office to get her ID, was still processing what just happened. Did I just see Kazuma?

My eyes won't lie it was him..Is he lost?No way he can be in this college

A girl beside her noticed her deep in thought. 

—"Hey, what are you spacing out for? The principal's office is right there."

Akari snapped out of it and looked at her. "Oh, you're still here? I found it, so you don't have to stick around anymore. Thanks for the help."

The girl smiled. 

—"It's my first day at college, and I don't have any friends yet, so I thought I'd hang out with you for a while."

Akari raised an eyebrow.

—"What was your name again?"

The girl sighed.

— "I told you three times already."

—"Tell me a fourth time, then."

She let out a small groan before replying, –"Hana Aizawa. Nice to meet you."

She extended her hand, and Akari, after a brief pause, shook it.

—"Nice to meet you too, I'm Aka—"

"Akari Matsumoto. I remembered the first time." Hana grinned.

Akari smirked.

— "I think we can hang out for a while."

Back to Kazuma who finally found his classroom 

 I had finally found my classroom.

I peeked inside and saw the professor already in the middle of a lecture.

—"Sir, may I come in?"

The professor barely glanced at me. "Just enter. You don't have to ask for permission—it's not high school."

I walked inside and took a quick look around.

Some students were actually paying attention. Others were on their phones. A few were casually chatting.

So this is college, huh? No one even cared that I just walked in.

The seating was divided—girls on the left side, boys on the right. I walked to the back and sat beside some random guys. Since I didn't know anyone, I just pulled out my phone.

I sighed. "This just might be the most boring first day of anything."

Apparently, I said that out loud.

Some guys in front of me turned around.

Well, that was awkward, but eventually, everyone just looked away and went back to their own things.

I should probably mind my own business too—stay quiet and just scroll through my phone.

Suddenly, the guy sitting beside me speaks up.

— "You can leave whenever you want if you're bored."

I glance at him before replying.

— "Really? The professor won't stop me if I try to leave?"

— "Nah, he doesn't care whether you study or not. He's getting paid either way… In school, you had to pay your own fees, but in government colleges, the professors get paid by the government, so it's none of their business if you don't study."

— "I guess that explains why he's just giving his lecture without caring if anyone's actually listening…"

The guy beside me smirks.

— "Anyway, may I ask your name?"

— "Yeah, sure. I'm Kazuma Shinomiya," I say.

— "Kazuma, huh… I'm Daiki Sato. Pleasure to meet you."

— "Nice to mee—"

Before I could finish, he cuts me off.

— "Enough with the small talk. Tell me, what genre do you prefer in light novels?"

Light novels? How did the conversation shift to that all of a sudden?

I sigh before answering.

— "Well, I'm not a big fan of novels, so I can't really say which genre I like."

— "What genre you like is an essential question in every man's life… Now, answer wisely—are you truly worthy of becoming my friend?"

Worthy of being friends? We literally just met. It's not like I sent him a friend request or anything. What's he on about?

— "Well, frankly, I've only read three light novels, all from different genres. The first one was fantasy, the second was mystery, and the third was rom-com."

— "Which one did you love the most? Don't tell me it was the rom-com!" Daiki exclaims.

I scratch the back of my head.

— "Well… I did enjoy the rom-com the most. That's the only one I actually finished. The other two? Haven't touched them in two years."

— "You betrayed me… by choosing rom-com as your favorite genre."

— "Why do you hate rom-coms? They're wholesome."

The guy sitting next to Daiki suddenly joins in, laughing.

— "It's because he gets jealous of the main character."

— "Shut up! It's not like I get jealous of the MC! It's just… the same story every time. Unrealistic Stuff." Daiki mutters.

— "Well, I wouldn't know. I've only read one rom-com, but I enjoyed it a lot."

Daiki sighs.

— "Fine. You can still be my friend. I forgive you."

I thought college guys would be more arrogant, but I guess there are still people with an idiotic mentality like this. Kinda takes me back to middle school.

— "Uh… thanks, I guess?"

As I was chatting with my new friends, the classroom door suddenly opened. Akari walked in—with another girl beside her.

The moment she stepped inside, all eyes were on her, like an angel had just descended.

The room filled with murmurs. "Whoa, she's hot." "Beautiful." "Who is that girl?" "It's an angel."

Even some girls whispered, "She's so pretty…"

Akari didn't look at anyone, but for just two seconds, her eyes flickered toward me. Then, she walked right past my desk and took a seat at the back, along with the other girl. Even though everyone kept staring, she remained silent.

Daiki nudged me.

— "Oi, Kazuma, you know her?"

I turned to him.

— "Huh? No. Why do you ask?"

— "No she didn't looked at anyone besides you I assumed you know her"

— "Maybe her eyes just flickered at me by mistake"

I tried to keep cool so it feels real 

— "I guess." Said Daiki

Meanwhile, at the back of the classroom, Akari clenched her fists under the desk, her eyes locked onto Kazuma. He's my roommate. We're in the same college. The same class. Can't he just leave me alone?

But what worried her the most was the thought of Kazuma telling everyone If people find out we're roommates… what will they think of me? They'll definitely start spreading rumors…

Hana, the girl beside her, noticed her tense expression.

— "Are you okay? You look worried."

Akari quickly snapped out of it.

— "Huh? Yeah, everything's fine. Why do you ask?"

— "You just seem… uneasy."

— "Why would I be? It's my first day, and everything's going just fine."

 Everything's going way worse… this is the worst I've ever felt.

(After Class)

With the last lesson over, the College day came to an end.

I picked up my bag and stood up when Daiki called out.

— "You're leaving?"

— "Yeah. Nothing left to do, so might as well head out."

— "Where do you live, anyway?"

— "An apartment on 42nd Street, beside the Shinjuku train station."

— "Huh, that's not too far. I live in Shibuya, so I gotta catch a train home."

— "Alright then, see you tomorrow."

I waved as I walked out of the classroom. Casually strolling through the hallway, I suddenly felt someone grab my arm and yank me into an empty club room.

It was Akari.

— "What the hell are you doing?" I snapped.

— "Shhh! Keep it down, idiot!" she whispered harshly.

— "You pulled me into a room in the middle of the hallway. What else was I supposed to do?"

She crossed her arms.

— "What are you doing here?"

— "This is a college. What do people usually do here?"

— "Tch. So now, not only are you my roommate, but you're also in the same college and the same class?"

— "That's not my fault. You can just ignore me—simple as that."

— "Trust me I want to ignore you! I want to act like I don't know you. But promise me… you won't tell anyone that we're roommates. If that gets out, people will start spreading fake rumors, and I don't want that. I just want to study in peace."

…This isn't the Akari I used to know.

Not just because she doesn't want people to know we're roommates.

But because… she doesn't trust me.

The old Akari would've.

Still, I wasn't even going to tell anyone but for her relief I can promise her 

— "Fine. I promise. This secret stays between the two of us."

Just then, a book dropped behind us.

We turned around.

Standing there was Hana.

We were both frozen in shock as she smiled innocently.

— "Oops… I might have overheard some things."

Akari slowly turned to me with a murderous glare.

Well, it was my fault for saying it out loud, but I just shrugged.

— "Guess it's a secret between three of us now."

[Author note: Extremely sorry for the delay of Chapter 6 I'll try to upload daily for now but my board exams are coming so after some chapters I might disappear for a month..Not going to disappear now perhaps but it's happening soon We'll take care Happy Reading:)]