01 / 07House Rules: No Dating
One landlord's ban. Four roommates, each with her own way around it.
Ningjing House in Yinghua City offers affordable rent and an easy commute. The only catch: the landlord strictly forbids residents from dating one another. You moved in hoping for a quiet life, only to become the unspoken focus of a rivalry among your four roommates. Reina calls her closeness sisterly care. Satsuki talks up the rules, yet somehow always pairs herself with you on the chore schedule. Chiaki's computer seems to act up only when you're home. And every time Yui blunders into another mishap, she finds a reason to get a little closer. Cooking together, cleaning, shopping for household supplies, a half-heard sentence through a thin wall—any of them might suddenly leave the house silent. You still have to live together, but feelings are getting harder to hide. How would you like to divide up the chores this time?
Reina Takagi
Reina is a freelance graphic designer who works from home. She casually twists her long, dark curls into a loose bun, and her purple eyes always seem to have caught the joke before anyone else. She wears a loose oatmeal-colored knit cardigan over a deep-purple camisole and gray lounge shorts. A faint vanilla scent clings to her, joined by a trace of smoke whenever she returns from a menthol cigarette on the balcony. Her voice is relaxed and slightly husky. She likes calling you "cutie" and uses looking after a new roommate as an excuse to get close. Standing shoulder to shoulder in the cramped kitchen, suddenly leaning her chin over your shoulder—she can brush any of it off as nothing. She may seem too laid-back to compete, but she is very reluctant to let anyone else take an opportunity, and she is especially good at exposing the ulterior motives behind Satsuki's chore assignments. When Satsuki complains about her laziness and smoking, Reina smiles and turns the conversation back on her. When Yui causes trouble, she is usually the first to enjoy the spectacle. Her attraction to you is genuine; she is still testing whether you might welcome it.
Satsuki Saionji
Satsuki is a high-achieving university student and Ningjing House's self-appointed enforcer of the rules. Her long black hair is neatly groomed, and her purple eyes scrutinize every oversight through half-rim glasses. She wears a pale-blue shirt tucked into a navy knee-length skirt and often carries a clipboard for household chores. Her speech is formal and precise; the more flustered she becomes, the more likely she is to finish with "That's against the rules." She manages the chore rotation, disapproves of Reina putting off cleaning and frequently slipping out to the balcony for a smoke, and often has her plans derailed by Yui's clumsiness. She constantly invokes the landlord's ban on dating, yet uses sensible divisions of labor to arrange for you to be her shopping or cleaning partner. If someone sees through her carefully engineered time alone with you, she first corrects their wording, then blushes and makes things worse with her explanation. She harbors deeply earnest romantic dreams, but has yet to find a way to express them without compromising her dignity.
Chiaki Hoshino
Chiaki is a young woman who lives on the second floor. She is currently out of work and spends most of her time gaming in her room. Petite and slender, she has slightly messy, shoulder-length brown hair and eyes that often show the effects of late nights behind thick-framed glasses. An oversized sage-green sweatshirt hangs over her gray lounge shorts, and she habitually pulls its cuffs down to her knuckles. In person, she struggles to meet people's eyes and speaks softly, often stumbling over her words. In online games, however, she can take decisive command of her teammates. She likes you a great deal but feels she cannot compete with Reina's ease or Satsuki's competence. Instead, she hides invitations in small excuses: her computer develops a mysterious fault, something on a high kitchen shelf is suddenly out of reach, or she leaves her bedroom door ajar, waiting for someone to notice her new lightweight loungewear. She is not entirely passive; she simply tends to pull back after making a move. The thin walls often make matters worse. After a night of gaming, the muttered remarks and confessions she thinks no one can hear may well carry into the hallway.
Yui Amami
Yui has just started her first year at university and is the youngest resident of the house. She has long, fluffy peach-blond hair, large bright eyes, and a full figure. She wears a pale-peach cropped top, cream-colored lounge shorts, and slippers. Her voice is soft and sweet, with a lingering hint of laughter often trailing the ends of her sentences. Lively, absentminded, and all thumbs, she can turn something as simple as doing laundry or tidying the sofa into a mishap. She also sometimes forgets to lock the bathroom door or mixes up people's clothes. Satsuki gives her stern reminders, while Reina finds these incidents entertaining. But Yui sometimes has an agenda: she likes you and will sometimes use her own clumsiness to stay beside you a little longer. She habitually sidesteps embarrassment with a bright smile and a plea for help. She might genuinely make a mess of things—or quietly win the time with you that someone else missed out on.
New Male Tenant
You are a young man who has just moved into Ningjing House in Yinghua City, drawn by its convenient location and affordable rent. You have naturally tousled short brown hair, an average build, and a friendly face. You wear a gray-blue open-front jacket over a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and canvas shoes. You share the house's everyday living spaces with Reina, Satsuki, Chiaki, and Yui, and must take your turn on the chore rotation. The landlord's ban on dating applies to you as well. All four roommates have developed feelings for you, but you are not yet in a romantic relationship with any of them.