Imasara desu ga, Osananajimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimaimashita - Ch. 29 - As The Short Journey Ends (Second Half)

[Deadlybat]

I'm not sure why people want Hikari to move on from associating with Yuu and Ayami. I know the kiss happened and all but I don't think Ayami is out to hurt Hikari intentionally.

Yami's intentions don't matter—after all, as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. What truly matters are her actions. She kissed Yuu, the guy she knows Hikari likes, and who, unfortunately for everyone involved, is also her ex-boyfriend—someone she still has unresolved feelings for. Did she know Hikari was watching when it happened? No. Does that change the situation? Not at all. What matters is that it happened, and Hikari was left hurt by one of the worst emotions there is: the feeling of betrayal. Betrayal is one of the most painful emotions because it strikes at the heart of trust. When someone you care about betrays you, it shatters your sense of security and leaves you questioning everything—your judgment, the relationship, and even yourself. This entire mess could have been avoided if Yuu had been more open with his childhood friend, and if Yami had been more honest with her best friend.

If this were real life, Hikari's relationship with both Yami and Yuu would likely end here, as trust is difficult to rebuild after such a betrayal. However, since this is a manga, there's always the option of forgiveness through the power of friendship. I just hope the author maintains a realistic approach to this.

 

[GennArc]

Yami's intentions don't matter—after all, as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. What truly matters are her actions. She kissed Yuu, the guy she knows Hikari likes, and who, unfortunately for everyone involved, is also her ex-boyfriend—someone she still has unresolved feelings for.

That's funny, because her intentions don't matter only for one side in this situation. And yet you (as well as many others) choose to only look at it from that single side, completely neglecting the rest.
And during the whole flashback many people kept refusing to look at those other sides properly, saying how useless it is because we already know what happened, how nothing was happening, how things should go back to present asap. So basically ignoring everything that is told and still staying in that narrow Hikari view from the "present" where only the action before their eyes matters.

Same thing about this

2. She's completely selfish, any time she's around yuu or talks about their relationship she purely talks about her happiness and not yuu's. Even when she inevitably distances herself from yuu for her mom, that's completely self-serving. You don't think yuu wouldn't be there for you? Self-serving pity.

Completely ignoring her decision to not burden Yuu with the weight of her family situation and with the intensity of her feelings, not demanding anything from him and feeling guilty about him lying to his parents to stay with her. I would agree there was some selfishness in this chapter - which is her decision not to officially break up, but I can only imagine how painful it would've been for her (and for Yuu too) after those 3 days of happiness.
And yet if I asked for examples of where Hikari wasn't selfish in her love, the answer would most likely be "it's okay for the silly lighthearted romcom protagonist to be a bit selfish! it's just the way this works! now here things are totally different" again.

 

[Tremble123]

I don't think Hikari was selfish at all. She had planned to confess at the amusement park, but was caught by suprise from Yuu's action.

There was also the summer festival where Yuu confessed about wanting to catch up to Hikari in a way. Not a confession of love, but what seemed to be how he admires Hikari in a way.

There's no telling how the school festival might have gone, but to say Hikari was selfish in that regard is weird to me.

 

[Deadlybat]

That's funny, because her intentions don't matter only for one side in this situation. And yet you (as well as many others) choose to only look at it from that single side, completely neglecting the rest.
And during the whole flashback many people kept refusing to look at those other sides properly, saying how useless it is because we already know what happened, how nothing was happening, how things should go back to present asap. So basically ignoring everything that is told and still staying in that narrow Hikari view from the "present" where only the action before their eyes matters.

I get where you're coming from about the flashback giving more context to Yami's actions and her emotional state, but I still don’t see how it changes what happened in the present. The flashback shows how Yami and Yuu started dating and provides context about her feelings for him. That’s something I already acknowledged when I said she still has feelings for her ex.

But the problem isn’t her feelings—it’s what she did. Yami knows Hikari likes Yuu, yet she kissed him anyway. Regardless of her intentions, that choice hurt Hikari, who is the only one in this situation who wasn’t aware of what was going on. Yuu and Yami kept Hikari in the dark, which makes it hard to see how Hikari could have avoided being blindsided by their actions.

I’m not ignoring Yami’s side of things, but her intentions don’t outweigh the consequences of her actions. Whether or not Yami meant to hurt Hikari, the reality is that she did—and that’s what matters most to me here. For me, the flashback doesn’t excuse what happened or change the fact that Hikari is the one left hurt in the present.

 

[jojoka]

Lol what's wrong with him? Hes pretty normal , unless there is something from the novels that I dont know he hasnt done anything wrong

If you date a girl with this much baggage you are either a masochist or a sadist.

 

[GennArc]

But the problem isn’t her feelings—it’s what she did. Yami knows Hikari likes Yuu, yet she kissed him anyway. Regardless of her intentions, that choice hurt Hikari, who is the only one in this situation who wasn’t aware of what was going on. Yuu and Yami kept Hikari in the dark, which makes it hard to see how Hikari could have avoided being blindsided by their actions.

I’m not ignoring Yami’s side of things, but her intentions don’t outweigh the consequences of her actions. Whether or not Yami meant to hurt Hikari, the reality is that she did—and that’s what matters most to me here. For me, the flashback doesn’t excuse what happened or change the fact that Hikari is the one left hurt in the present.

But again, you're still looking at the situation strictly from Hikari's perspective. You're treating her like she is the center of the universe so everyone must act in her best interest. Why are her feelings more important than Yami's or Yuu's feelings? They have a history of their own and a very intimate connection in the past, so why should it be neglected for Hikari's sake?

Now, I am not saying she should be trampled over. I agree that being kept in the dark is unfair to her and she didn't deserve to be hurt. But saying that Yami's intentions don't matter is the same as saying that all that matters is Hikari.
It would be one thing if Yami kissed some guy Hikari likes out of spite. But we know now that she kissed Yuu who she is deeply in love with and who she shares a history with. And she put in a lot of effort to avoid that situation.

 

[fakeburst]

I continue to be baffled by comments on this thing. Like, on one hand I get it, but on the other hand, I no longer do, because we're now into people calling Yami a homewrecker like... dudes, there's not that much of this manga to misunderstand.

So first part: from Hikari's point of view, she details how she's just started to fall in love with her long-time childhood friend. They are not together. They have never been together. She didn't even see him as someone to be interested in until about the year this manga takes place. Notable events include: a younger girl getting attached to Yuu, only for him to say he loves someone he met before he ever met the younger girl, something Hikari takes as meaning he's in love with her. Hikari talking about love to herself while engaging in small talk with Yuu when they're walking home. Hikari reading interest and love out of Yuu's interactions with her and when he's around others with her. A festival confession scene, where Yuu talks about how he never felt like he could ever match up with her. School festival invitation things, where she pressures him to go to her school even though he really doesn't want to. Then the Yami-sempai kiss.

Now the second part, which we all should remember. An intense romance between a girl from a broken home and a boy with normal aspirations, where his straightforward nature cuts through her gloomy worldview and lets her feel again. It gives her a place to belong. He loves her, she loves him. He gives her the strength to stand up to her sexually abusive stepdad, to go to school again, to not try and do compensated dating because she already feels worthless. To let her believe that she can be a normal person, have a normal life, take ownership of her future. She gives him the confidence and belief that he can do what he puts his mind to, that he's not some doofus who can't do anything right. They improve each other. It's storybook. But we knew it ended when we came in, now we know why. SHE broke it off. Because the courage he gave her backfired. Her mother was angry at her that she revealed all the terrible shit her stepfather was doing. Tried to commit suicide, blames her for that, too. Yami gave up. Decided she is unworthy of being loved and will never be anyone other than a failure of a daughter.

Right, summary out of the way. You noticing something? That maybe the person Yuu was talking about when he said he was in love wasn't Hikari at all, but Yami? That maybe the romantic tension Hikari was always feeling was her own, and all the things she read into Yuu's expressions and words were just her thoughts? That he has actually come to terms with the idea that he wanted to beat Hikari in something, and that's why that's what he chose to tell her, instead of it being some sort of matrix dodge of his true feelings? That Yuu didn't want to go to her school because he KNOWS Yami's there, and he doesn't know how to face her after what happened?
That Hikari's chapters might have been from the perspective of a losing childhood friend? Kinda fuckin' looks like that now, doesn't it? We've all watched this shit happen before.

The short chapters and focus on the female leads, rather than the male one, make this interesting. The medium and perspective have elevated the story and made its turns unpredictable and feel fresh. But it's shown its hand, man. The first part was "what do you mean its a little late" and the second part was "oh shit I guess it was huh." Now we see how it shakes out.

This shit ain't high art how are you all missing the plot points you've seen a thousand times. It's just from another direction!

Dude, I'm so with you on this.

Like, how do some of the commenters are able to handle media, in general? Or comprehend non-linear/convoluted stories even in anime/manga, e.g Baccano with multi-pov or Shinsekai Yori with "genre" switch?
I'm confused and fascinated with them at the same time.

It looks to me the issue stems from dudes reading the manga while it is ongoing. They've got so locked into the rom-com and slice of life that they cannot wrap heads around the seemingly opposite direction the story got launched in ch.21. This HAS to be the reason ppl keep mentioning "pacing" and confusing it with release schedule. All one has to do if they have a problem with pace is to put this on hold and return in 2 years for more content.

 

[mctoss]

Daddy issues, huh

 

[noleafclover75]

Yeah because that's what the artist and writer are going for right? Stop reading our story for 2 years and come back because we can't tell it properly on a bi-weekly release.

Sounds like a good business model.

 

[Deadlybat]

But again, you're still looking at the situation strictly from Hikari's perspective. You're treating her like she is the center of the universe so everyone must act in her best interest. Why are her feelings more important than Yami's or Yuu's feelings? They have a history of their own and a very intimate connection in the past, so why should it be neglected for Hikari's sake?

Now, I am not saying she should be trampled over. I agree that being kept in the dark is unfair to her and she didn't deserve to be hurt. But saying that Yami's intentions don't matter is the same as saying that all that matters is Hikari.
It would be one thing if Yami kissed some guy Hikari likes out of spite. But we know now that she kissed Yuu who she is deeply in love with and who she shares a history with. And she put in a lot of effort to avoid that situation.

I understand your perspective about not treating Hikari as the 'center of the universe,' and I agree that Yami’s and Yuu’s feelings are also important. However, intentions don’t erase the impact of actions. While Yami’s unresolved feelings for Yuu and her efforts to avoid the situation add complexity, the fact remains that she made a choice to act on those feelings despite knowing how Hikari felt about Yuu. The kiss may not have been malicious, but it was still a betrayal of Hikari’s trust.

As for Yuu, while he didn’t initiate the kiss and isn’t to blame for it happening in that moment, his failure to communicate openly with Hikari about his connection to Yami still left her in the dark. Even if Yuu didn’t know about Hikari’s feelings for him, the lack of transparency created a situation where Hikari felt blindsided and hurt.

What makes Hikari’s feelings particularly important in this context is the imbalance created by her lack of knowledge. Yami and Yuu both had more information and the ability to make choices that could have prevented Hikari’s pain, but they didn’t. Betrayal hits hardest when it comes from people you trust, and secrecy only deepens the wound. While Yami’s and Yuu’s emotions and history are relevant, they don’t excuse the choices that left Hikari hurt and betrayed.

 

[GennArc]

I understand your perspective about not treating Hikari as the 'center of the universe,' and I agree that Yami’s and Yuu’s feelings are also important. However, intentions don’t erase the impact of actions. While Yami’s unresolved feelings for Yuu and her efforts to avoid the situation add complexity, the fact remains that she made a choice to act on those feelings despite knowing how Hikari felt about Yuu. The kiss may not have been malicious, but it was still a betrayal of Hikari’s trust.

As for Yuu, while he didn’t initiate the kiss and isn’t to blame for it happening in that moment, his failure to communicate openly with Hikari about his connection to Yami still left her in the dark. Even if Yuu didn’t know about Hikari’s feelings for him, the lack of transparency created a situation where Hikari felt blindsided and hurt.

What makes Hikari’s feelings particularly important in this context is the imbalance created by her lack of knowledge. Yami and Yuu both had more information and the ability to make choices that could have prevented Hikari’s pain, but they didn’t. Betrayal hits hardest when it comes from people you trust, and secrecy only deepens the wound. While Yami’s and Yuu’s emotions and history are relevant, they don’t excuse the choices that left Hikari hurt and betrayed.

I feel like we are not getting anywhere because it still seems like not hurting Hikari is number one priority for everyone in your opinion.

Okay, let's speak hypothetically. Let's say Yuu went to look for Yami in order to reconnect with her romantically. He confessed that he still loves her and wants her back.
What should Yami do in your opinion? Should she still bow out because she knows Hikari is in love with Yuu in order not to betray her?

 

[wallsg]

Yeah because that's what the artist and writer are going for right? Stop reading our story for 2 years and come back because we can't tell it properly on a bi-weekly release.

Sounds like a good business model.

I don't think the author has many shits to give about what non-Japanese readers think about the series.

 

[wallsg]

...

Completely ignoring her decision to not burden Yuu with the weight of her family situation and with the intensity of her feelings, not demanding anything from him and feeling guilty about him lying to his parents to stay with her. I would agree there was some selfishness in this chapter - which is her decision not to officially break up, but I can only imagine how painful it would've been for her (and for Yuu too) after those 3 days of happiness.
And yet if I asked for examples of where Hikari wasn't selfish in her love, the answer would most likely be "it's okay for the silly lighthearted romcom protagonist to be a bit selfish! it's just the way this works! now here things are totally different" again.

Personally I'm interpreting her actions NOT as a desire to spare Yuu but as self punishment. She broke her mother (as she sees it) so she doesn't deserve happiness. She said herself that she doesn't deserve to have a man and that all she should be is her mother's daughter.

 

[GennArc]

Personally I'm interpreting her actions NOT as a desire to spare Yuu but as self punishment. She broke her mother (as she sees it) so she doesn't deserve happiness. She said herself that she doesn't deserve to have a man and that all she should be is her mother's daughter.

I think WN version of this and previous chapters should provide more context on why I think she was doing it for Yuu's sake too.

Teasing him like the younger guy he is, pretending to be the lazy, carefree girl who lives for the moment.

The trip ended here at Tokyo Station, as planned.
I'd known it for three days now.

Alright, time to put on the final show.
...Smile~.

Really pull it together.
Keep my twitching mouth corners and clenching jaw under control.

If I let it slip, it'll be a mess.

She wanted to make it seem like she was just an easygoing carefree girl who just got over him, like it was just a fleeting romance. So that he doesn't get hurt too much, so that he doesn't start blaming himself.

 

[ipmanvsthemask]

Yami knows Hikari likes Yuu, yet she kissed him anyway.

Yami had dibs. Hikari is therefore contractually obligated by the BroSiscode to yield Yuu in his entirety to Yami. True story.

 

[wallsg]

I think WN version of this and previous chapters should provide more context on why I think she was doing it for Yuu's sake too.



She wanted to make it seem like she was just an easygoing carefree girl who just got over him, like it was just a fleeting romance. So that he doesn't get hurt too much, so that he doesn't start blaming himself.

This shows that she was trying to be gentle on him with the break up but doesn't say anything about the motivation for the break up. Just IMO. Not trying to argue.

 

[fakeburst]

Yeah because that's what the artist and writer are going for right? Stop reading our story for 2 years and come back because we can't tell it properly on a bi-weekly release.

Sounds like a good business model.

Paying much?

But for real though, the entirety of the original is being posted on twitter, on artist's page. They do not try to sell the audience the bi-weekly chapters as those are public and self-published. Whatever ✨spice✨ the author is cooking, it seems to be more of a passion project given that it is for free.

I've seen they do sell physical editions, but at this point why not? It's a way to support author/artist or to collect a physical copy which is a hobby on its own. (for example, you can see this with some popular webtoons getting printed as well)

 

[GennArc]

This shows that she was trying to be gentle on him with the break up but doesn't say anything about the motivation for the break up. Just IMO. Not trying to argue.

Ah, no, I didn't mean it like it was a motivation for the break up. I meant exactly what you said - she was purposefully not showing the intensity of her feelings and instead playing it like it's not a big deal.
The motivation is clearly the thing with the mother. Maybe I just phrased it wrong initially.

 

[noleafclover75]

Paying much?

But for real though, the entirety of the original is being posted on twitter, on artist's page. They do not try to sell the audience the bi-weekly chapters as those are public and self-published. Whatever ✨spice✨ the author is cooking, it seems to be more of a passion project given that it is for free.

I've seen they do sell physical editions, but at this point why not? It's a way to support author/artist or to collect a physical copy which is a hobby on its own. (for example, you can see this with some popular webtoons getting printed as well)

As much as I dislike the series. I did purchase volume 1 and pre-purchased volume 2 because I do want to support the artist and author of a series i have been reading. And for better or worse I love the art a lot.

 

[LordofAlI]

So she broke up because of guilt?