It’s been a while since I’ve done a review. I thought it would be nice to get back into the swing of things with one of my favorite series.
Chapter 21
We begin with Itsuomi-san and Yuki on their way home from their Botanical Garden date. (The date was covered beautifully in the anime.) The train home is crowded, and Itsuomi unknowingly dazzles a group of girls while trying to protect Yuki from the pushy crowd.
Yuki understands the girls’ reaction, but rather than explain to Itsuomi-san, she playfully decides to keep it a secret.
Once she arrives home, Yuki can finally read Itsuomi’s message explaining why he loves to travel. We get treated to a flashback of Itsuomi-san when he and his family moved to Germany when he was six years old. He was having a bit of a hard time adjusting to his new life, especially not knowing how to speak German to communicate with other children.
Itsuomi-san explains that his first time successfully communicating in German with another child brought him such joy that he realized that he wanted to use the language, not just memorize it. The child who invited Itsuomi-san to play soccer helped change his outlook.
Beginning from his seventh birthday, Itsuomi decided that traveling wasn’t just fun; he wanted to learn as much as he could via culture, history, and language. He also hopes to teach children. What happened on his seventh birthday that inspired his dream remains a mystery for now.
Yuki is happy to have a better understanding of Itsuomi-san’s dreams. She finds his resolve admirable. She even admits to herself that thinking of the future can sometimes be a bit scary.
At the end of his explanation regarding travel, Itsuomi-san writes Yuki a note that is so sweet that she can’t find the right words to reply as she gets ready for bed.
Chapter 22
The next day, Oushi-kun is near campus with his friends. They try to get him to spill the beans on what kind of girl he likes, but all he says is that she is really cute.
Oushi-kun’s friends spot a pretty girl, and as they speculate about her, Oushi-kun realizes she’s talking to Itsuomi-san. Oushi-kun tries to play Mr. Detective and follows them to the arcade, although he doesn’t go inside. Meanwhile, the mysterious girl, Emma, admits to Itsuomi-san that she knows he now has a girlfriend. Emma admits her surprise that he would start dating someone younger than him when she has made her feelings known several times. Itsuomi-san politely reminds her that he has let her down each time in the past.
Emma thinks about why she “likes” Itsuomi-san. Since she only focuses on his looks and voice, I think she’s not actually in love with him. We would call her feelings a “capricho,” a whim in Spanish. She compares Itsuomi-san’s cold and aloof nature towards her to how Shin-chan treats her and feels like she’s “cheating” on Itsuomi-san.
Itsuomi is kind and very firm when explaining to Emma that although there is nothing wrong with her as a person/woman, he has no interest in her. Itsuomi is even honest in saying that there are several people who he could probably perceive as love interests, but for him, Yuki is the girl that matters.
After being let down once again by Itsuomi-san, Emma’s first instinct is to talk to Shin-chan. Fortunately, given Shin-chan’s feelings for her, she realizes how unintentionally unkind that would be.
Outside of the arcade, Oushi-kun is facing a moral dilemma as he worries about whether or not Yuki is being cheated on.
Bless his heart. Oushi-kun spots Yuki as she walks by, but she doesn’t see him and moves on. He thinks about all the opportunities he’s had to be honest with her about his feelings. Oushi-kun thinks about how the rain makes it difficult to communicate with Yuki because of the need to carry an umbrella. Yuki spots him as he waxes poetic about her, and she offers to share her umbrella.
Yukii, having no idea that he spends about 90% of his days thinking about her, finds his behavior a little strange. She is surprised when he unexpectedly side-hugs her.
Chapter 23
As Oushi-kun keeps holding on to her, Yuki remains confused. He brushes off her confusion, saying he doesn’t want her to catch a cold. He stops himself from saying, “The truth is, I want to treasure you.”
Seemingly out of the blue, Oushi-kun asks Yuki about Itsuomi san. When it becomes obvious to Oushi-kun that Yuki is unaware of him meeting up with anyone, he tells her not to worry. At least he’s smart enough to realize how much it would hurt Yuki for him to accuse Itsuomi san of cheating without proof. Yuki worries about him as Oushi-kun runs off in the run.
We cut to Emma feeling lower than the rent on a burning building when who should come to cheer her up? Shin-chan, of course!
Emma is happy to realize that Shin-chan is always there for her no matter what. (Girl, that’s because he loves you.) Shin-chan makes it clear to Emma that he is 5000% serious about his feelings for her and that for him, there’s no turning back.
Later that evening, Yuki stares at her phone, contemplating whether or not she should tell Itsuomi-san about Oushi-kun hugging her. She doesn’t want the two men to have a misunderstanding. As she wonders what to do, she gets a message from Itsuomi-san. He explains that he saw Emma today and told Emma he and Yuki are dating. Yuki realizes that Oushi-kun must have been referring to Itsuomi meeting up with Emma when Oushi-kun asked about him. Itsuomi-san asks to have a video call to make sure Yuki is okay and not feeling uneasy about his chat with Emma.
After Itsuomi-san’s honesty, Yuki feels slightly nervous about telling him about Oushi-kun.
Chapter 24
The two lovebirds continue their video chat and agree to meet once Yuki is off work. Itsuomi-san offers to have Yuki stay at his place and go to school together from there. The invitation makes Yuki feel nervous and excited.
When Itsuomi-san finishes his call with Yuki, who should call him his new best frienemy, Oushi-kun. Since Itsuomi-san is so good at reading people, he knows something’s up with Oushi-kun immediately.
The next day, Yuki gets hit on by a random guy as she waits for Itsuomi-san. Thinking Yuki is ignoring him, the rando decides to get in Yuki’s personal space. (For real, my dude? Move on.) Just when Yuki is startled, Itsuomi-san arrives and explains that what the other man thought were “earbuds” are Yuki’s hearing aids. After giving the guy a look to let him know to keep it moving, the man finally leaves.
After the man leaves, Yuki reassures Itsuomi-san that she’s fine. Itsuomi-san seems worried about her when she realizes he looks a bit different, and he admits he’s a bit drunk.
Yuki finds Itsuomi-san’s somewhat peculiar drunken behavior charming. She’s happy to discover this side of him, too. Yuki hugs Itsuomi-san, and the two share a deep kiss.
Overall impression? 10/10 Another winning volume. I know Yuki hasn’t gotten a chance to tell Itsuomi-san about the hug with Oushi-kun yet, but I’m sure they’ll be fine. I’m glad that his talk with Emma didn’t become a ten-chapter-long point of miscommunication between the two of them. For this review. I re-read both the digital and physical volumes. Did any other readers notice slight translation differences between the two editions? Especially in chapter 24? Nothing major, just a phrase here and there. I never noticed translation differences between physical and digital before.
