Thanks to @Jhon1617 for the link of Soredemo chapter 48.5 in Thai language. I accessed it with my PC and used
Google Lens on mobile phone to translate into English via the camera because the translation with
Chrome browser extension didn't work there.
The chapter 48.5 is the story taken place in only half a day, 4 years after the break-up,
just to compare the sexual behaviors of the MC and the FMC on a snowy day.
So, I re-read the
chapter 49 on its official web site and translate it with my browser.
If the chapter 48.5 really connect to the end of chapter 49, here is my opinions :
During 5 years, both the MC and the FMC moved on, especially the MC. Nothing of their love feelings remained, only memories. There is no character development as the FMC still cannot have a boyfriend because changing to boyfriend status means to stop having sex with the person while the MC remains exactly the same. The FMC works as a school teacher while MC works in a company.
In chapter 49, after 5 years,
the MC complains to the bartender about the dilemma of either breaking up with his girlfriend because things weren't working out or staying in the relationship while feeling miserable. He then steps outside, berating himself for being a bad person who failed to try and understand his ex and wondering what might happen if they ever met again.
Those who haven't read chapter 48.5 might assume the MC is talking about the FMC. However, readers of
chapter 48.5 would understand that he has just broken up with the short-haired girlfriend and is questioning whether he made the right choice
. He isn't thinking about the FMC at all !
Then the FMC and MC meet in front of a vending machine with both of them being single at the end of chapter 49.
Here is my description of chapter 48.5 in text (for those who don't want to translate):
It begins with a short-haired woman in the cowgirl position, rubbing her genitals against the MC's and then said she's going to put it in. But the MC stopped her and walked to pick a condom.
After showing the used condom wrapper, the MC asked her "
if it hurt?" (implying it was her first time).
She replied that it did, but it felt good.
She praised him for being so considerate (caring), noting that instead of asking if it felt good like most men would, he had asked if she was in pain.
She asked since when he had been like this. He said he couldn't remember and mumbled something, prompting her to ask if he was thinking about an ex-girlfriend. He denied it immediately! Then she kissed him by jokingly said it was to erase those memories about his ex. LOL
She then teased him saying that he was the type who held onto memories of his ex-girlfriend. He quickly denied it, insisting he had completely forgotten her since they had broken up 4 years ago
(implying he had been single for 4 years and had just moved on and started dating her).
She said she was hungry. So he offered to take her out to a delicious ramen shop but she suggested just ordering in instead. He pointed out that it would be expensive but it shoud be no problem because he just received his bonus
(implying she might work at the same place). In the end, they decided this matter with a game of rock-paper-scissors.
They were walking through the snow (she lost).
The GF said she would be a little angry though the ramen is delicious but even angrier if it didn't, prompting the MC to say "So, you're going to be angry either way?" LOL
He then recalled the image of the FMC wearing a scarf back in chapter 49, the time they had broken up, and wondered to himself, "What if we hadn't broken up back then...?"
Then his GF asked why he was lost in thought? He deflected by saying, "I like you," leaving her surprised by this sudden declaration.
The MC simply reflects that if he hadn't broken up with the FMC, he wouldn't have met his current girlfriend whom he thought she's the best (at the moment). So, he 99% moved on already after suffering for 4 years.
Then swap to the FMC sex scene in a love hotel which she behaved normally as she closed her eyes and enjoyed it. There’s no sense of sadness or anything about it to be worried.
Afterward, the man ask the FMC "did it feel good?" (the author wanted readers to compare with the MC's "did it hurt?") and she answered "yes" without emotion but consistent with the drawings of the sexual act showing that she was really enjoying it.
To be noticed (@diphuc1 is the expert in this matter), the man addressed the FMC using her surname + sensei but then switches to her first name + san instead. This suggests they are colleagues who have known each other for a period like MC and his GF because the author intended for readers to compare them. And the man believed their relationship had deepened after having sex, so he started calling her by her real name instead.
Then he started offerring the FMC to become his GF with a goal to marriage. The FMC was blushing shyly (a sign that she moved on from the MC) and asked him,
"What if we’ve been dating for six months or a year and then can't have sex?" (She had already abandoned the idea of partner-swapping and accepting a relationship without sex but still have a problem with the "boyfriend status.")
The man replied that if such a problem actually arose, they would figure out what to do then. She's not happy with his answer and said "that was how ordinary people would go about solving the problem" and she got dressed !
He asked where she was going (seemed to be weekends). She replied that she had a club activity in the afternoon, she (as a teacher) had to look after it even though it was a day off.
He addressed her once again by her surname+sensei asking for an answer before she left.
She replied "I believe you'll find a better person than me." (she insisted to be just FWBs or nothing.)
Then comes the ending scene where the FMC is holding an umbrella on the street. She spots the MC with his girlfriend. He is chatting with his girlfriend happily so he doesn't notice the FMC. The FMC stands still and lets them walk past.
The final panel wrote this event took place one year before the FMC and MC meet again (in front of the vending machine at the end of chapter 49).
My conclusion :
The FMC keeps sleeping around but she longs to find someone who can accept her condition. She has no intention of seeking treatment for her mental illness for anyone else’s sake.
I feel bad about this selfish attitude of her because if she truly loved someone include her parents, she would be willing to undergo treatment for them, rather than simply looking for a partner who accepts the status quo. So sad.
As for the MC,
he remains conflicted about the right course of action, whether it is better to persevere in a relationship and try to adapt or to break up and avoid the need for mutual adjustment. Now, he has faced this exact situation twice before (decision to break up).
In the real world, couples who stay together until death do us part are the ones who make the effort to adapt to each other like our grandparents or parents. Nowadays, people break up so easily because they have no intention of adjusting to one another much like the FMC and MC of this story.
Hence, the ending in chapter 49 is open-ended which 3 routes.
1) BENEFIT-ORIENTED : They simply exchange greetings and go their separate ways.
2) SEX-ORIENTED : They become friends with benefits (FWB), as the FMC is still struggling with mental health issues (can't have sex with a person with boyfriend status).
3) LOVE-ORIENTED : The MC decides to complete his unfinished "what if we hadn't broken up" scenario and agrees to be a couple without sex.
References :
https://yanmaga.jp/comics/それでも明日も彼氏がいい and
https://akuma.moe/g/n4blnksz
