COTE: Married Couples, but not Lovers

Chapter 1: "Love is a flaw."

Thereupon, a blonde student who had his feet on the table started laughing historically at my last remark. Before anyone else was able to react to my statement, the door swung open.

    "Take your respective seat students," she ordered strictly, walking to the front desk and altering the atmosphere in the room within a fraction of a second.

The students in the room were captivated by the woman looming before them, her hickory-brown hair tied back in a sleek ponytail.

Her well-proportioned physique conveyed a sense of poise and confidence. Her stern scowl was unwavering, and her gaze was penetrating, instilling a hint of authority and gravitas.

    "Bro, she's hot!" one of the boys loudly whispered, the guy with the flashy red hair and another one agreeing.

    "Tch," the raven-black-haired girl clicked her tongue in annoyance.

First our encounter, now this, she really has an attitude, huh?

At any rate, thereafter, the final babblers hushed until we all ultimately stared ahead, where the woman slammed her hands on the table, creating a dull thud.

    "I am your homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae. I will now tell you about the rules of this school," she announced, whereupon some students started to yawn, and others averted their attention.

The girl beside me—on the other hand—listened attentively to her every word. For a brief instant, my focus turned to the ceiling, only to return to Chabashira.

Since there were surveillance cameras in the area, I guess I'll pay attention, too, or at least pretend to...

As of yet, she had informed us of the existence of private points and how we could purchase anything. On top of that, we were presented with our own smartphones.

Mind you, that was not all. There is one piece of information Chabashira neglected to include, which can be considered the most vital piece of information.

𝔐𝔞𝔯𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔡 ℭ𝔬𝔲𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔰, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔏𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔰.

1st April 8:25 AM

    "As you know now, this school is unlike any other school. And that's not all," she added, causing the boys, in particular, to get animated.

In fact, I recognized one of the three from earlier, rubbing his hands together in sheer excitement. The girls, witnessing their reaction, contorted their faces in disgust.

    "Yeah, we're going to get rizzed up by the school!" he claimed, bewildering not only me but the teacher as well.

    "Please don't interrupt, Yamauchi. You can ask questions later."

    "All right, sensei."

Astonishingly, he no longer voiced a word and merely listened while virtually drooling.

"For the first month, you will be randomly assigned to the opposite gender you will live with."

What is love? Does it truly make you weak? Is it a flaw?

Beyond the fact that this was the sole school I could attend to elude my father, I was sincerely inquisitive about this because he was the one telling me to repudiate any consideration of "love."

This wasn't the only thing. I was also curious about the outside world, the world he viewed as so broken and unnecessary.

    "In the apartment where you will live, there are separate rooms and a living room connected to the kitchen."