Surprise, surprise, Koyuki now has a ton of regrets. But as cold as this sounds, I don’t feel bad for her or Minato. Even though I think most of the blame falls on the guy, this is what they both wanted. Koyuki just wanted to be friends; she lied to herself and pretended that she would be fine as long as she got to be in his life. Well, she got that. On the flip side, Minato didn’t want to gross Koyuki out by giving off the appearance that he liked her. He always has to be the good guy; he never wants anyone to dislike him. He got that. They both got exactly what they wanted, so why cry about it? Live with your decisions. Oh, Koyuki didn’t think seeing him date someone else would hurt her this much? Welp, time to put up or shut up. If your situation sucks, do something about it.
But instead, Koyuki puts herself in this weird limbo where she won’t confess her true feelings to Minato, but she also won’t distance herself from him either. I winced when she briefly got separated from Minato at a festival, so he had to go and grab her hand. Look, there’s nothing wrong with friends spending time with friends. And if your friend is about to fall, you help them up. But is that what’s really happening here? It’s not… cheating, but I dunno, it’s iffy. It’s in that grey zone. Koyuki’s being oddly intimate with a guy who is dating someone else, and this has the potential to blow up in her face. Nothing justifies bullying, but the girl is playing with fire.
Out of nowhere, Akine confesses that she thought Yuki, Miki’s younger brother, had liked Koyuki, and that was the only reason why she was trying to pair Minato up with Momoka. Why would you get involved in someone’s love life like this? Unsurprisingly, Akine really, genuinely likes Yuki. But due to who she used to be — this timid girl who would often get bullied by her own sister — she can’t see herself dating him. She’s just like Koyuki in a way; she says she’s just happy to be in his life, but how will she really feel when he actually starts dating someone else? Man, nobody can tell each other how they feel, and nobody can mind their own damn business either.
This weird strain of cowardice seems to be infectious, because Miki also holds her tongue even though she wants to tell Minato off. She doesn’t want to come off as biased due to her own situation with Giraffe Guy. Weak. Weak, weak, weak. At least where I’m from, true friends aren’t afraid to tell it to each other straight. True friends look out for each other, so I dunno about these guys… Still, two different people have tried to talk to Minato about his behavior. Two different people have questioned him about the way he keeps half-assing his relationships with girls. They’re his friends, too. Is anything ever going to sink in? Is he ever gonna say to himself, “I dunno, maybe my friends have a point.”
But like I said up top, most of the blame falls on Minato. He’s half right, half wrong. Yes, you date people to get to know them. You date people to see if the spark turns into something. But “spark” is the key word here. There still has to be some base level of mutual attraction, but if he was honest, he would admit that he never felt a spark with Momoka. So there’s nothing to grow! You’re nurturing nothing! It’s like trying to get a fire going, but you don’t even have kindling in front of you!
Most people know right off the bat if they can see themselves with someone in the long run. I bet you Minato has made that same gut check about Momoka; he has never seen her in a romantic light, and even now that they’re dating, he still doesn’t. But like I’ve said in a previous post, Minato doesn’t want to look like the bad guy, so he forces himself to think, “Well, maybe I’ll change my mind about her. I’m a good guy; I’m giving her a chance!” Yes, he invites her out to the festival, but it felt obligatory. It felt like he was just doing what a boyfriend should do, not because he actually wanted to spend time with her. You’re supposed to feel giddy at the possibility of hanging out with someone you’re dating, but before Minato called Momoka, he was staring at his phone as if he had to do something unpleasant.
And you know, maybe Minato would have a point if he wasn’t still pining for Koyuki. But he’s still jealous when other guys interact with Koyuki, e.g., when Yuki dragged her away for a moment midway through the episode. Also, what was he thinking when Momoka told him she was too busy to go to the festival? Was he secretly happy on the inside? Was he relieved that he could now spend time with his friends but mostly Koyuki? It sure felt like it. All I’m saying is that if he is honest about giving Momoka a chance, then give her a real chance. He can’t do that if he’s still crushing on someone else. Would he have held Koyuki’s hand for that long if Momoka was there? Even Koyuki is questioning it (to herself), so let’s be real. They’re all just cowards, though. They’re all cowards who keep lying to themselves.
