Hario and Takara taking some losses again. Takara should continue to disengage and not get caught back up in this anymore. It should be up to Emma to make a decision, at this point. At least Takara is aware how unfair all this has become. Also, is this chapter alluding to Emma having been with other women intimately while married already? I'm forgetting some earlier info. Were we aware of this before? There's about 11 more chapters from here to wrap this up (4 or 5 more on the Japanese side), so I'm wondering how that'll happen given how avoidant Emma has been up until now. It feels like if they end up together it'll be right at the last chapter, if at all.

last edited at May 31, 2026 9:02PM

Also, is this chapter alluding to Emma having been with other women intimately while married already? I'm forgetting some earlier info. Were we aware of this before?

Yes!.

This is the first time Emma feels like she is cheating on Takara so let’s assume the next chapters are going to be about the Hariophant in the room and things will (finally) move on.

last edited at May 31, 2026 8:29PM

Hario and Takara taking some kisses again. Takara should continue to disengage and not get caught back up in this anymore. It should be up to Emma to make a decision, at this point. At least Takara is aware how unfair all this has become. Also, is this chapter alluding to Emma having been with other women intimately while married already? I'm forgetting some earlier info. Were we aware of this before? There's about 11 more chapters from here to wrap this up (4 or 5 more on the Japanese side), so I'm wondering how that'll happen given how avoidant Emma has been up until now. It feels like if they end up together it'll be right at the last chapter, if at all.

Ya seems like Ema had an intimate fling with Kanon because she wasn’t emotionally fulfilled in her marriage. Honestly, I don’t think she’ll abandoned Hario anytime soon because she’s too dependent on him financially. Her renting a separate apartment and learning the ropes of running her own business may allude us to believe she’s planning on leaving Hario and being with Takara in the future. Takara mentioned her lease is up at year end and will need to find another place to live, so they may end up together. On the flip side, I have a feeling Ema’s favorite book that she gave to Takara might foreshadow their ending, so we shall see.

The skin of a woman is cold and soft

omg title drop!! I've always wished it had just gone with that literal translation (I think the current English title's meh) but now that opinion of mine's really been cemented. That line's punch relies on the title being how it is in Japanese! For anyone who can't read Japanese, 冷たくて柔らか (tsumetakute yawaraka) literally means "cold and soft."

Hario and Takara taking some losses again. Takara should continue to disengage and not get caught back up in this anymore. It should be up to Emma to make a decision, at this point. At least Takara is aware how unfair all this has become. Also, is this chapter alluding to Emma having been with other women intimately while married already? I'm forgetting some earlier info. Were we aware of this before? There's about 11 more chapters from here to wrap this up (4 or 5 more on the Japanese side), so I'm wondering how that'll happen given how avoidant Emma has been up until now. It feels like if they end up together it'll be right at the last chapter, if at all.

Oh, there's a set chapter amount of chapters left? That's nice to hear, sounds like there's more than enough chapters left to properly wrap this up.

This is reallly messed up. And I thought it could not possibly be worse than the previous chapter.

I hope Ema comes to terms with herself soon, I can't continue with how confused Takara is about about their relationship. It also sucks that this is Takara's first experience with a woman, and she's low-key being strung along. I hope we reach the point where Ema needs to finally make her choice, either one is gonna suck but it's something she'll need to come to terms with. I feel like we might even get a scene where Takara finally snaps about these wishy washy actions, which honestly I would be so up for. Still loving this series so far, can't wait for what's in store.

Yeah, I agree with this largely. I felt sad for both Takara and Hario. But lowkey Ema has the hardest job, I'd imgaine she had already accepted her life with Hario, and then she met Takara. And then finding out Takara might feel the same way about her...
Like how do you choose between the person who saved you in middle school and the person who saved you in college. They're both clearly very important to Ema, but she can only choose one atp.

last edited at Jun 1, 2026 4:06AM

Okay, let's say they both finally come to terms with their feelings, start dating, and stop dragging each other around. Would Ema and Hario actually get divorced?

I don't know why, but despite there only being around 10 chapters left, I can't see the series ending on that note. I can much more easily see it ending with them officially acknowledging their feelings for each other a sort of "new beginning" ending rather than fully resolving everything.

That said, if the confession in this chapter actually gets acknowledged and they have a proper conversation about it, then I could end up being completely wrong.

Anyways Happy Pride month!!

last edited at Jun 1, 2026 10:55AM

fully expecting nothing to get resolved and the series just ending with everyone sad at this point

financially dependent on Hario

loathes the thought of him touching her

Yeah that's sustainable /s

I think what Ema "needs" to leave Hario is basically a full 100% assurance that Takara will be there for her when the dust settles.

Up to this point Takara has still been more afraid of getting involved and getting hurt, and running away because of that, but the conversation with her mother may have cleared up some of that gloom

I think what Ema "needs" to leave Hario is basically a full 100% assurance that Takara will be there for her when the dust settles.

Up to this point Takara has still been more afraid of getting involved and getting hurt, and running away because of that, but the conversation with her mother may have cleared up some of that gloom

Yeah but that's a ridiculous thing to ask of a person when you're the married one. "I won't leave my marriage unless it's for a sure thing" "I can't be a sure thing if you're married" does put them in a catch 22 situation, but I still think if you're the married one you kinda need to take some steps to separation first.

I don't know exactly how Takara is thinking about this or what the author meant, but like if I found out this woman was sleeping with a bunch of women while married, I would think she'd never leave her husband as she can just have affairs.

I think what Ema "needs" to leave Hario is basically a full 100% assurance that Takara will be there for her when the dust settles.

Up to this point Takara has still been more afraid of getting involved and getting hurt, and running away because of that, but the conversation with her mother may have cleared up some of that gloom

Yeah but that's a ridiculous thing to ask of a person when you're the married one. "I won't leave my marriage unless it's for a sure thing" "I can't be a sure thing if you're married" does put them in a catch 22 situation, but I still think if you're the married one you kinda need to take some steps to separation first.

I don't know exactly how Takara is thinking about this or what the author meant, but like if I found out this woman was sleeping with a bunch of women while married, I would think she'd never leave her husband as she can just have affairs.

I think that's partly why Takara bailed and went home intending to move on. She also called Emma "calculating," which is something the friend talked about previously using different words. I don't think Takara or (once again) Emma's friend are unaware of what Emma has been doing now. They understand her situation but they've both come to the same conclusion about that inability to choose and how's it's hurting everyone including Emma. It does feel like this is on Emma to make a decision. It also does suck for Hario, since he seems sincere and apparently this has been going on for a bit.

I also think Emma does have a landing zone after a divorce. Her friend alluded to this in an earlier chapter. Her mother was mostly dealt with. She does have options and good friends around her. She goes to lesbian bars and apparently has had a few gay friends and according to this chapter, maybe a few relationships too. Takara has shown she is willing to stay. Emma's been scared to make a major life altering choice and has become stuck in circles.

I think she's with Hario not at all for money but because she genuinely does like the guy, just not romantically and he supported her through her worst times. She seems to feel guilty and also scared of what might come next. Even in this chapter she says something like "You actually want something to happen with me? Don't you understand what that means?" She seems to treat divorce like it's not an option. The discussion of it hasn't even come up for her yet, even though people around her seem to push her to decide. If she were unaware of all this, I'd feel differently but it does feel now like she has enough support and knowledge to have that conversation with Hario if she wants it.

It's a bit different from the married woman in "Even Though We're Adults," in which she had little understanding of her sexuality until after being married, had a more difficult husband, a nosy overbearing mother-in-law with no ability to shake her off, a woman who she liked but wasn't immediately sure if it was love (also who she had no prior history with) and no support system around her. Emma is sort of in the opposite position on every point.

last edited at Jun 1, 2026 3:48PM

This has been torturing, I just want to see the ending at this point.

Looks like Ema hadn't still quite understood how much Takara loved her or that she actually had a chance with her. Which explains a lot about her waffling so far... And Takara finds out some new things about Ema from her own mother as well. Things actually look positive again now for a change. ^_^

ahhhhhhhhh i need to know how this all ends

i'm conflicted about how i want this to end too

edit:

I hope Ema comes to terms with herself soon, I can't continue with how confused Takara is about about their relationship. It also sucks that this is Takara's first experience with a woman, and she's low-key being strung along. I hope we reach the point where Ema needs to finally make her choice, either one is gonna suck but it's something she'll need to come to terms with. I feel like we might even get a scene where Takara finally snaps about these wishy washy actions, which honestly I would be so up for. Still loving this series so far, can't wait for what's in store.

Yeah, I agree with this largely. I felt sad for both Takara and Hario. But lowkey Ema has the hardest job, I'd imgaine she had already accepted her life with Hario, and then she met Takara. And then finding out Takara might feel the same way about her...
Like how do you choose between the person who saved you in middle school and the person who saved you in college. They're both clearly very important to Ema, but she can only choose one atp.

To be fair, it's clear she's only into women (sexually) and holds a deep love for Hario because he's been there for her every time. I think that's a difficult place to be but ultimately the author makes a clear point that she has never felt more desperate to not have someone touch her as when Hario touches her. I'm sympathetic to her choices thus far in her life -- but she knows she can't keep living like this.

last edited at Jun 1, 2026 5:23PM

I think what Ema "needs" to leave Hario is basically a full 100% assurance that Takara will be there for her when the dust settles.

Up to this point Takara has still been more afraid of getting involved and getting hurt, and running away because of that, but the conversation with her mother may have cleared up some of that gloom

Yeah but that's a ridiculous thing to ask of a person when you're the married one. "I won't leave my marriage unless it's for a sure thing" "I can't be a sure thing if you're married" does put them in a catch 22 situation, but I still think if you're the married one you kinda need to take some steps to separation first.

I don't know exactly how Takara is thinking about this or what the author meant, but like if I found out this woman was sleeping with a bunch of women while married, I would think she'd never leave her husband as she can just have affairs.

I think that's partly why Takara bailed and went home intending to move on. She also called Emma "calculating," which is something the friend talked about previously using different words. I don't think Takara or (once again) Emma's friend are unaware of what Emma has been doing now. They understand her situation but they've both come to the same conclusion about that inability to choose and how's it's hurting everyone including Emma. It does feel like this is on Emma to make a decision. It also does suck for Hario, since he seems sincere and apparently this has been going on for a bit.

I also think Emma does have a landing zone after a divorce. Her friend alluded to this in an earlier chapter. Her mother was mostly dealt with. She does have options and good friends around her. She goes to lesbian bars and apparently has had a few gay friends and according to this chapter, maybe a few relationships too. Takara has shown she is willing to stay. Emma's been scared to make a major life altering choice and has become stuck in circles.

I think she's with Hario not at all for money but because she genuinely does like the guy, just not romantically and he supported her through her worst times. She seems to feel guilty and also scared of what might come next. Even in this chapter she says something like "You actually want something to happen with me? Don't you understand what that means?" She seems to treat divorce like it's not an option. The discussion of it hasn't even come up for her yet, even though people around her seem to push her to decide. If she were unaware of all this, I'd feel differently but it does feel now like she has enough support and knowledge to have that conversation with Hario if she wants it.

It's a bit different from the married woman in "Even Though We're Adults," in which she had little understanding of her sexuality until after being married, had a more difficult husband, a nosy overbearing mother-in-law with no ability to shake her off, a woman who she liked but wasn't immediately sure if it was love (also who she had no prior history with) and no support system around her. Emma is sort of in the opposite position on every point.

I have nothing to add, this was just a great follow up.

Ok, so I have a lot of thoughts. I didn't want to write anything because I started reading this not long ago and chapter 28 was already posted here for a time, so I didn't want to write so late, but now that we got a new one I wanted to write again.

A lot of people are quick to judge Ema, I'm not saying she is right, I do think that what she is doing is not right, but she isn't a bad person. The more we learn about her past, the more I understand her, her mother is an awful awful person, in this latest chapter we learn even more how her mother was just not ready to raise a kid, she was left alone, things that your parents should help you, she was helped my a mother's friend. And after years of not taking care of her daughter, she asks of her to do what she wants, to marry, to have children, her never being enough. And then to protect herself she decides to hide in the safeness of what society expects of her, she will have a husband so her mother and others don't keep asking about marriage and a husband to protect her if things go wrong, she doesn't believe in herself, she doesn't believe she could ever do what she wants, because she is alone.

Hario for her was really never about the marriage, was about the protection. And talking about him, the first time Ema was the one to call him, was because of her mother, it was the moment she was feeling in her lowest and she was after that safety net and Hario was lucky to be there. And he knows that, that chapter that he tells about that, when looking to all other things that happened in this story, deep down he knows Ema never really loved him. When Ema finally got the courage to stand up to her mother, the way he reacted at first was really interesting for me and how he confirmed later that he should be happy for what Ema did, he wasn't really, just made all even more interesting, because the way he reacted almost trying to stop Ema to do that, its because he didn't want her to be free of that, to be able to stand up for herself. Look, I'm not saying he did all that on purpose, its all something unconsciously he is doing, the way she always need his protection, he wants her to be able to do things alone, because he likes her, but he also is the reason why she can feel safe, he is the one protecting her from her mother, so when he sees that she doesn't need him anymore for that, he is losing what makes her want to be with him. And all that doesn't help with the obvious way she acts when she is with Takara, in the first chapters him saying how she wished Ema could smile like she is smiling to Takara is brutal, he obviously knows he is losing her and he even if he doesn't know completely, what is making Ema still being with him is just the fear she has and she is losing that fear the more she is with Takara.

I also want to talk about Takara and Ema, before this chapter, I thought Ema was faithful to her husband and things with Kanon never got to anything and she went to lesbian places to feel like she is not alone and just being in those places would help her feel better. But no, she did actually have some other flings with other women, including Kanon and that does change a lot of things I had thought. That trip they had, the way they are always doing everything a couple would do but not kissing, it always felt something both were trying to reach something that was inches close, but they could never get it, because of the marriage and I thought that both were the same, but Ema was not, her being faithful to Hario is not really an issue for her, she already did that before, but what maybe make this different from all those other times is that I think since the start, this was never about just being with a woman, this is her first love and she doesn't want to treat Takara as an affair, so she also never wanted to take that final step. And now that things came more clean about the two, now that Ema knows that Takara truly loves her, that she would want to have that type of relationship with her, being in an affair with Takara isn't really an option, like she said, this is the first time she doesn't want her husband to touch her, all the other times she was being selfish, it was just for her pleasure while she could still be safe in the marriage, but this time there is something way bigger than pleasure, its about her being with the person she truly loves, the person who makes her smile like no other person can, right now, she feels like the person she is cheating is Takara.

I am curious to what is going to happen next, I expected Takara to be away from Ema longer. But I think she is going to be back, but trying to be a friend, because what she saw when her mother told the story, is that Ema is alone and she really don't want to let her be alone, I don't think that will be enough for Ema or Takara. My guess is that Hario himself will ask for the divorce, I don't think Ema and Takara will do anything together before the divorce, I think Hario will just see how Ema really doesn't want him anymore and he will just let her go. I enjoy how the story is going, now to wait for the next!

Ok, so I have a lot of thoughts. I didn't want to write anything because I started reading this not long ago and chapter 28 was already posted here for a time, so I didn't want to write so late, but now that we got a new one I wanted to write again.

Nothing more to add. Enjoyed your thoughts. It's been an interesting story.

I have nothing to add, this was just a great follow up

Thanks. There's lot to talk about with this one.

last edited at Jun 1, 2026 6:47PM

Every chapter in this series breaks my heart a little. I hope this doesn't end in tragedy.

I don't think Hario is the evil villain some of you make him out to be. Looking for a villain to blame or tallying points on a moral scoreboard misses what makes this story so great: the complex messy adult relationships between realistically flawed people. If there is any villain to be found here its the misogyny and homophobia of Japanese society.

Having said all that...you can't make me like a man who doesn't take no for an answer and continues to pursue a woman. Even without Ema's perspective, I think it is very clear that Hario knows deep down that Ema has never been in romantic love with him and his behavior throughout the whole series reflects that insecurity, with almost every kindness also an act of possessiveness. It reminds me a little of people who try to keep wild animals as pets or the men in folk tales who hide a selkie's skin. I'm not going to cry any tears when men like that get cheated on.

last edited at Jun 4, 2026 1:59AM

This has been torturing, I just want to see the ending at this point.

Honestly this.

oof, that uhp-uhp-uhp pull away from Hario. fully like "nah boi, this smell is for Takara-chan only"

I don't think Hario is the evil villain some of you make him out to be.

seriously agree with you on this point. I've read kakeoshi girl, I know what it looks like when the guy fits a villainous role in this story

Having said all that...you can't make me like a man who doesn't take no for an answer and continues to pursue a woman.

but also, he's an absolute scumbag in my eyes for this reason. a villain? nah he doesn't come close. but if a guy won't take no from the onset, what else might he not take no on? and having been raised and socialized masc, honestly a woman who says yes only after the 20th time is gonna leave me feeling hella unloved. maybe moreso than a woman who only likes the masculine eggshell I was wearing then

Hario being the one to ask for the divorce very much feels like the more likely situation to happen than Ema taking that step (I would love to be proven wrong). But if it actually plays out that way, it feels like a cop-out for Ema's character because up until now she hasn’t hinted at or acted like she has any solid plans to build a real future with Takara. If Hario initiates it , it just conveniently spares Ema from having to make THE decision, the exact thing she’s been avoiding this whole time and which her friend has been hinting at her to do so. It puts the responsibility on him to take the final step and give her the push to have something real with Takara instead of Ema actually coming to the realisation on her own that she is ready to make that step. Takara deserves better than the crumbs she gets from Ema and this girl on her break away from the city calls the very person because of whom she left within the first day of arriving. Taking into account that she is a baby gay , navigating her very intense emotions for a woman , something she didn't feel for her ex boyfriends plays a very important part in this because Ema has the upper hand in their relationship.