It makes no sense, but part of me kind of wants to see Ayumu and the childhood friend get together. It would make for a great rivals-to-lovers arc. The childhood friend does seem to be paying an awful lot of attention to her...
Honestly I kinda feel the same, they have a lot of tension going. It's like the Yuu/Sayaka ship which is actually pretty popular. Not that I expect it to happen but the story is putting more focus on Ayumu and Asuka's relationship than we usually see so I am curious where Asuka's character will go from here.