I think some people misunderstand the reason for Kurumi's jealousy, she's not just jealous because Rio is there with them (although she does seem to regret inviting her to sit down) but because Rio evidently knows a side of Ruriko that she has little to no access to. Ruriko speaks informal with her even though she still calls her own wife "Kurumi-san", she has obviously discussed romance with Rio too, which Ruriko and Kurumi haven't (for obvious reasons, as Ruriko is 100% seriously into Kurumi), etc. So I'd say its less that Kurumi believes Rio is going to snatch away her wife, but rather that she's shocked how a seeming stranger can have so much more intimate knowledge of her wife than she does

I think some people misunderstand the reason for Kurumi's jealousy, she's not just jealous because Rio is there with them (although she does seem to regret inviting her to sit down) but because Rio evidently knows a side of Ruriko that she has little to no access to. Ruriko speaks informal with her even though she still calls her own wife "Kurumi-san", she has obviously discussed romance with Rio too, which Ruriko and Kurumi haven't (for obvious reasons, as Ruriko is 100% seriously into Kurumi), etc. So I'd say its less that Kurumi believes Rio is going to snatch away her wife, but rather that she's shocked how a seeming stranger can have so much more intimate knowledge of her wife than she does

Aye, I also think this is the main reason. Hopefully we'll se some progress afterwards.

I think some people misunderstand the reason for Kurumi's jealousy, she's not just jealous because Rio is there with them (although she does seem to regret inviting her to sit down) but because Rio evidently knows a side of Ruriko that she has little to no access to. Ruriko speaks informal with her even though she still calls her own wife "Kurumi-san", she has obviously discussed romance with Rio too, which Ruriko and Kurumi haven't (for obvious reasons, as Ruriko is 100% seriously into Kurumi), etc. So I'd say its less that Kurumi believes Rio is going to snatch away her wife, but rather that she's shocked how a seeming stranger can have so much more intimate knowledge of her wife than she does

Yes, I was trying to word that myself but you've beaten me to it. :-) I would go as far as to go against the entire forum and not call what Kurumi feels here "jealousy": rather, it's her own deeply-seated insecurity and a sense of failure as a wife and best friend at understanding and getting to know her own wife. And Rio over here is poking that insecurity with a red-hot poker by demonstrating that Kurumi could have been on first-name basis with Ruriko within a month, too, if only she had treated their marriage as an actual relationship and not just material for her book.

last edited at Aug 14, 2022 12:49PM

This is fine. Totally fine...

So after rereading and thinking, I agree that "jealousy" is not quite the right word. What bothers Kurumi is that Ruriko seems much closer to Rio than she is to Kurumi despite only knowing her for a month; she lets herself banter/be annoyed with Rio while she always maintains a polite distance with Kurumi (recall this has caused issues in their relationship before). It's very notable too that Ruriko calls Rio "Rio," no honorific, while she still uses "-san" with Kurumi even though she's known her for far longer.

Combine this with the fact that Ruriko never mentioned Rio to her before now, and I think what Kurumi is feeling is the crushing realization that she isn't nearly as close with Ruriko as she thought she was.

So after rereading and thinking, I agree that "jealousy" is not quite the right word. What bothers Kurumi is that Ruriko seems much closer to Rio than she is to Kurumi despite only knowing her for a month; she lets herself banter/be annoyed with Rio while she always maintains a polite distance with Kurumi (recall this has caused issues in their relationship before). It's very notable too that Ruriko calls Rio "Rio," no honorific, while she still uses "-san" with Kurumi even though she's known her for far longer.

Combine this with the fact that Ruriko never mentioned Rio to her before now, and I think what Kurumi is feeling is the crushing realization that she isn't nearly as close with Ruriko as she thought she was.

To add to this and to what Koveras has posted above, I believe that her awakening, not yet conscious romantic feelings towards Ruriko also play a role here in that she not only wants to be close to Ruriko, but wants to be THE CLOSEST to her, an aspiration that Rio just completely shatters. I really hope this will lead to some more introspection about the nature of their relationship in the next chapters with Kurumi realising that she wants more (though I doubt she'll figure out that she wants something romantic immediately)

What a bunch of artificial drama. Ruriko clearly doesn't like this girl. What's the problem? Of course that girl knows more about Ruriko than you since she's the type of outgoing person to actually try to get to know somebody unlike you guys who are in a strictly formal relationship. Holy fish paste this is annoying.

It’s quiet normal to me. If I’m in Kurumi’s situation I’ll also feel jealous or uneasy even if I know they’re just friend. Natural feeling for an unfamiliar face I guess

THIS.

I think some people misunderstand the reason for Kurumi's jealousy, she's not just jealous because Rio is there with them (although she does seem to regret inviting her to sit down) but because Rio evidently knows a side of Ruriko that she has little to no access to. Ruriko speaks informal with her even though she still calls her own wife "Kurumi-san", she has obviously discussed romance with Rio too, which Ruriko and Kurumi haven't (for obvious reasons, as Ruriko is 100% seriously into Kurumi), etc. So I'd say its less that Kurumi believes Rio is going to snatch away her wife, but rather that she's shocked how a seeming stranger can have so much more intimate knowledge of her wife than she does

AND THIS.

Dear Kurumi, that is called jealousy, and you're feeling like this because you're head over heels for your wife. ;)

last edited at Aug 14, 2022 4:07PM

Well one thing this chapter has made me realize is I really need to reread the series because I’ve apparently forgotten a lot of details, I thought the short haired one was more upfront about her feelings and the long haired one was putting up barriers, but all the comments are making it sound like it’s the opposite lol

I completely forgot Ruriko Was the one who brought back up the marriage plans 5 years later lol

Okay I think I see why I was so mixed up, I feel like the character dynamics changed up a bit after the hospital plot line, that and the washer/dryer stuff back to back made me think Ruriko was much more distant, while Kurumi has been much more actively into wanting to get closer to Ruriko, so I just kinda forgot a lot of the earlier stuff lol

last edited at Aug 14, 2022 6:17PM

This is a great chapter and you're all dumdums for not liking it.

I legit laughed a lot at this. XD First Japan conquered the West thru manga and anime, now we're being conquered by China.

Smh Kurumi doesn't have much right to be jealous when she's the one that called it a date and then proceeds to screw it all up telling annoying Rio to sit down and join them come on girl get with the program. I guess if this somehow awakens something in her great but someone needs to keep their jealousy in check when she's the person that caused it on herself.

I'm thinking out loud rather than trying to correct, but...I think the intended plot point is that she didn't imagine she would be jealous, since they're just friends.

Wait I don't get the vinegar meme

You all missed the funniest moment of the chapter where Kurumi was nervous about giving her crush a present, but finding comfort in the fact that they're already married

last edited at Aug 14, 2022 6:36PM

We can't have nice things because they go over people's head

Quickly marry her before she gets away! Oh...wait...

I think some people misunderstand the reason for Kurumi's jealousy, she's not just jealous because Rio is there with them (although she does seem to regret inviting her to sit down) but because Rio evidently knows a side of Ruriko that she has little to no access to. Ruriko speaks informal with her even though she still calls her own wife "Kurumi-san", she has obviously discussed romance with Rio too, which Ruriko and Kurumi haven't (for obvious reasons, as Ruriko is 100% seriously into Kurumi), etc. So I'd say its less that Kurumi believes Rio is going to snatch away her wife, but rather that she's shocked how a seeming stranger can have so much more intimate knowledge of her wife than she does

That's an interesting observation, but to play Devil's Advocate, perhaps Ruriko's use of informal language on Rio implies that she doesn't respect her the way she does Kurumi.

My prediction is that Kurumi will think that they're in love, according to the rule that the two of them can break up if they find other people. There will probably be a flashback chapter elaborating on Ruriko and Rio's relationship, showing that Ruriko feels some combination of irritation, pity and affection for Rio, in varying qualities, but she's through with Rio now. By the end of the arc, Kurumi and Ruriko will probably take another step toward becoming an actual couple, if not completing the process.

Wait I don't get the vinegar meme

Drinking vinegar is the most common Chinese metaphor for jealousy. You read it all the time in Chinese novels. "Every time he sees his crush flirting with other guys, he drinks vinegar." means that he's damn jelly when he sees that.

So when Kurumi saw that the other girl had a deep intimacy and familiarity with her wife that she didn't have, you can be certain that her ice cream soda started tasting like vinegar.

I definitely agree with the sentiment a reader made earlier regarding the reason behind Kurumi's jealousy. Kurumi isn't jealous of Rio for knowing Ruriko, she's jealous of how close they appear to be and how Rio appears to know details about her wife's life overseas that Kurumi does not. Ruriko seems to be the type that keeps a lot to herself, not necessarily because she doesn't want to be open with Kurumi, but because she doesn't want to trouble her wife with matters that she doesn't deem relevant to their relationship. I believe that another reader, who commented that the informal manner in which Ruriko addresses Rio comes more from a lack of respect rather than any kind of familiarity, hit the nail on the head. Ruriko tends to show her deep affection for Kurumi through subtle acts of consideration and kindness. Part of that consideration is using the honorific "-san" to indicate just how much Ruriko respects her wife.

That being said, Kurumi is only human and when people are jealous, they rarely think rationally. To Kurumi, all she sees is a pretty girl acting casually toward her wife, she isn't necessarily thinking about how Ruriko is responding or why. So, although Kurumi's reaction may seem forced from the reader's perspective, it's actually not that hard to believe when viewed through the lens of the character. Also, these feelings of jealousy are completely new to Kurumi, so she's not even sure what they are, let alone how to work through them.

I'd like to point out a very interesting detail in this chapter, and one that Kurumi happens to miss during her little internal turmoil: Rio's response to learning that the woman with Ruriko is Kurumi. Immediately, Rio comments about how Ruriko must have finally worn Kurumi down...if I am not mistaken, the two didn't get married until after college, but Rio met Ruriko when she was still a student. So, in other words, either Ruriko confided in Rio about Kurumi because she assumed they would never meet, or Rio simply picked up on Ruriko's obvious attraction to her best friend. Either way, Rio basically just let the cat out of the bag that Ruriko has always wanted to be with Kurumi, even before their current arrangement. Granted, we already knew this about Ruriko, but Kurumi doesn't seem to realize just how deeply Ruriko cares for her. Overall, I think this chapter did a good job of illustrating Kurumi's slow but steady progression toward viewing Ruriko as her actual lover and not just as her place-holder spouse (honestly, I think Kurumi is completely in love with Ruriko already, she just hasn't woken up to it yet), as well as adding a minor obstacle that may hopefully push Ruriko toward actually confessing (perhaps in an effort to clear up this whole misunderstanding Kurumi has concerning Rio). It's nice to see the story building some forward momentum.

I think some people misunderstand the reason for Kurumi's jealousy, she's not just jealous because Rio is there with them (although she does seem to regret inviting her to sit down) but because Rio evidently knows a side of Ruriko that she has little to no access to. Ruriko speaks informal with her even though she still calls her own wife "Kurumi-san", she has obviously discussed romance with Rio too, which Ruriko and Kurumi haven't (for obvious reasons, as Ruriko is 100% seriously into Kurumi), etc. So I'd say its less that Kurumi believes Rio is going to snatch away her wife, but rather that she's shocked how a seeming stranger can have so much more intimate knowledge of her wife than she does

That's an interesting observation, but to play Devil's Advocate, perhaps Ruriko's use of informal language on Rio implies that she doesn't respect her the way she does Kurumi.

It may well in this particular case. But nonetheless, using someone's first name without honorifics is still usually an indication of closeness or even intimacy, so it's hardly weird for it to make Kurumi feel weird. And, the whole "finding her annoying" thing . . . let's not forget that Japanese very often treat annoyed bickering as a form, or sign, of closeness; how often have we seen a character cheesed off with another character, only for someone to say "You two sure get along well"? And how often has that in fact turned out to be a sign of things to come? Ruriko treating Rio as an annoyance is not something Kurumi can be expected to feel comforted by, even if in this particular case she doesn't actually have anything to worry about.

last edited at Aug 15, 2022 3:00AM

Smh Kurumi doesn't have much right to be jealous when she's the one that called it a date and then proceeds to screw it all up telling annoying Rio to sit down and join them come on girl get with the program. I guess if this somehow awakens something in her great but someone needs to keep their jealousy in check when she's the person that caused it on herself.

It was her jealousy that prompted her to invite the girl to sit with them to begin with. All of a sudden this cute mystery girl showed up and acted all close with her wife and it just ate her up not knowing who this girl was.

why am I feeling like this

Because you're gay, stupid

You all missed the funniest moment of the chapter where Kurumi was nervous about giving her crush a present, but finding comfort in the fact that they're already married

You're right, I did. That's adorable.

last edited at Aug 15, 2022 3:47AM

Forget the citrus Hand cream presie, Kurumi . Get her a citrus scented vibe. Might reduce the idiocy level between these two.

I fully blame welease.wodger mentioning the scent twice for this.