oh shit son

noooooo why it had to end there?

this cliffhanger is brutal

What the heck? There's really something wrong with body proportions in recent chapters.

Kaoru is stupid and a coward.

Come on! This kind of cliffhanger should be considered a federal crime!

I hope this doesn't build up only for it to be dismissed next chapter. That kind of thing gets to me.

RED ALERT!

I hope this doesn't build up only for it to be dismissed next chapter. That kind of thing gets to me.

Same. I'm ready to see this plot finally progress.

That being said, this was a nice, cozy chapter and I look forward to the next.

This has been the slowest and angstyiest burn I've read in a looong time. And yet I keep coming back for more, knowing, somehow, that I probably will be disappointed with the ending no matter which way it turns because I've had to sludge through so much muck to get to that point.

Gah.

I just caught up on three chapters. But i don't rememeber the brother being such a bastard. I actually liked his character. But in the last few, it's as though the mangaka has been changing his personality so that we would dislike him and to give reasons for divorce.
Maybe a missed earlier hints but this felt very sudden and a little bit forced.
Anyone else feel the same?

There was foreshadowing dropped at the very beginning. Comments about cheating, he's always late, he's always forgetting things, Risako is late to the reunion with Kaoru and gives the same kind of excuses as Reiichi.

But I don't think his personality is changing at all. People have this image in their mind that only dispicable assholes cheat, and it is definitely true that when someone cheats, they are -being- a dispicable asshole at least in that moment, but people are complex. A person can be a shitty husband but a good brother. They can love their wife but still have feelings they can't let go of for someone else. A lot of people feel uncomfortable with that, but it's the reality of it.

I still strongly suspect that his feelings of affection towards Kaoru are not the main reason he is with her. He likes her, he's known her forever, but I think he married her and stays with her out of some kind of guilt. Time will tell if I'm right on this, but it seems pretty likely he doesn't love her the way she loves him, or probably the way he loves Risako.

What the heck? There's really something wrong with body proportions in recent chapters.

Kaoru is stupid and a coward.

She's not stupid or a coward. She's afraid, but those fears are justified. However, she is talking to Reiichi's /SISTER/. She can't just come out and say "I think your brother is having an affair with Risako". Whether she's right or not, it's not her place to nuke his relationship with his sister on the basis of suspicions. And it is super common for someone being cheated on or betrayed to become fixated on the idea that it's somehow their fault.

She's giving Uta the most honest answer she can under the circumstances.

It looked like Uta was more or less trying to do the same thing in reverse, by the way, explaining what her issues are while leaving just enough details out to avoid too much drama, although Kaoru's (pretty good, under normal circumstances) response may have blown Uta's reason center out of the water.

If this had ended before the last two pages, it would still be heavy dramatic irony (where the audience knows the significance of what's said but the speaker doesn't), but Uta pulling back to face Kaoru directly really ups the ante big time.

Kdramas have a nasty habit of setting up these big pre-revelation moments, then bailing by having the characters say, "Never mind--it's nothing." I really haven't minded the slow build-up in this story (although both the withheld details about the past and Uta's general passivity have been kind of annoying), but, as REDflame23 says, if this scene fizzles into nothing next chapter, well, . . .

[Uta: "The one I like is . . ." Phone suddenly rings. It's Reiichi, checking in to chat. Cut to him in a hotel bed with Risako smoking a cigarette beside him.]

Sorry, I've been watching kdramas for too long.

Oww shiet here we go , brace for impact bois and get ready to abandon the ship at any moment !

My guess is Uta loses her nerve and ends up pausing then saying something like nevermind, but due to her delivery and facial expressions Kaoru realizes it.

Would allow it to continue on sorta as it has been, while still technically progressing.

wut

What Japanese thing is this?

-Also, deciding to put the cliffhanger there just means to me that she won't confess. At least, that's typically the way things go.

last edited at Apr 22, 2018 7:43PM

What Japanese thing is this?

Yumomi at Kusatsu onsen

What Japanese thing is this?

Yumomi at Kusatsu onsen

Thanks, Reejun. I'd have been guessing at that for, like, ever.

"In Gunma prefecture’s Kusatsu Onsen hot spring town an attractive show called “yumomi” takes place every day at Netsunoyu Bath House. Singing a local folk song, people stir the hot spring source with large wooden paddles to cool down the water to bathing temperature."

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF DAMN CLIFFHANGER. nice chapter trough I really liked the art of the faces

I honestly can't see how this can end up well, but I'm hopeful looking forward to it

last edited at Apr 22, 2018 8:53PM

I still strongly suspect that his feelings of affection towards Kaoru are not the main reason he is with her. He likes her, he's known her forever, but I think he married her and stays with her out of some kind of guilt. Time will tell if I'm right on this, but it seems pretty likely he doesn't love her the way she loves him, or probably the way he loves Risako.

I think you make a bunch of really good points that I've never really thought about before. Maybe he really is staying with her out of guilt- that's a possibility that I think isn't much of a stretch. Reminds me of the Commander in The Handmaid's Tale- he was kind to Offred only because he felt guilty about the previous handmaid being so miserable and killing herself. Maybe it's something like that? Or even something else, like pity; or maybe they just didn't think their marriage through very well.
Whatever it is, I don't think their relationship is based on just love. And even if it is, a very watered down version of it.
Well, guess we just have to wait until more chapters to find out more, won't we. I'm sure it'll be well worth the wait though. Great series.

Oh, I didnt notice this before, but maybe this was a hint from the author that the cheating part was planned from the beginning https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_unrequited_love_ch04#14

I may be thinking of a different story, but IIRC, weren't Kaoru and Ryuichi in a relationship in their youth before breaking up and getting back together again? It's been awhile since I read the early chapters of this series, so I could be totally wrong, but I remember their relationship being described as strained even then. It's not difficult to fall into the trap of becoming dependent on a previous relationship, no matter how unsuccessful and toxic it may have been. Even the smartest and most independent of people find themselves in these kinds of mental traps.

Oh, I didnt notice this before, but maybe this was a hint from the author that the cheating part was planned from the beginning https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_unrequited_love_ch04#14

Damn, I think you might be right.

I may be thinking of a different story, but IIRC, weren't Kaoru and Ryuichi in a relationship in their youth before breaking up and getting back together again? It's been awhile since I read the early chapters of this series, so I could be totally wrong, but I remember their relationship being described as strained even then. It's not difficult to fall into the trap of becoming dependent on a previous relationship, no matter how unsuccessful and toxic it may have been. Even the smartest and most independent of people find themselves in these kinds of mental traps.

They were childhood friends, and she chased after him as they got older. He rejected her many times before they finally got together. There's also some implication that there's some kind of drama involving parents? But we don't have any details on that yet. Assuming the dream sequence we saw was a flashback, he broke her heart at least once with Risako, and Uta comforted her afterwards. If it wasn't a flashback, it could be that she was subconsciously aware of what was going on.

I think he was always more into Risako, but had known Kaoru too long to fully break things off with her. Then -something- happened, and he felt responsible somehow and started going out with Kaoru out of pity? Not sure. There's still a lot to speculate on.

Oh, I didnt notice this before, but maybe this was a hint from the author that the cheating part was planned from the beginning https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_unrequited_love_ch04#14

Damn, I think you might be right.

Yeah, a lot of people overlook the strong foreshadowing. It's not a mistake that Risako shows up right at the end of that conversation (late, as if she was...busy with something?)