This chapter was hilarious, I loved it. I feel like Mine is so sharp and aware of what’s going on that she purposely brought up Nonoka’s business in front of the girls, knowing they were listening in. I just got that feeling. If anyone can pick up on the situation with women’s intuition, it’s her. And the fact that all the ladies came to visit, only for things to play out the way they did at the end, makes me think Mine definitely said what she said about Nonoka on purpose so they could hear it.
But here’s where one of my pet peeves comes in. Right now, Hiromi and Lili are in the car, and Lili wants to see the places where he grew up in Wakayama. On the surface, that’s not a bad thing, but it feels like the writer’s way of slowly bringing them back together. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end Lili doesn’t even get on the plane back to Tokyo. What I think is going to happen, and I could be wrong, is that Lili will try to sleep with Hiromi. Partly because she misses him, but also because she’s afraid he might move on.
Whether she accepts it or not, the conversation between the girls makes it clear that they all see Nonoka as a threat, even if that relationship never goes anywhere. It’s just the writer’s way of stirring things up and pushing the characters closer to voicing their romantic feelings for Hiromi. Out of everyone, Anju seems the least cautious and the most mature about Hiromi and Nonoka’s dynamic. She’s fine with it, she just wants to be with Hiromi, regardless of whether he starts dating Nonoka or not. From the way she responded, I can only conclude that even if they became official, Anju wouldn’t stop pursuing a relationship with Hiromi. Whether we think it’s fair or not isn’t the point, because Anju has already made up her mind that she doesn’t mind being the other woman, or at least that’s what I speculate.
Lili, though, is clearly the one under the most pressure, because she actually used to be in a relationship with him. She probably can’t stand the thought of him being with someone else. That’s why I feel like the next chapter is going to be really interesting. My money’s on them being intimate, or at the very least Lily asking if Hiromi was intimate with Nonoka.
That’s just how I see it.