Okay, so it looks like my predictions were wrong? This is what I meant by two volumes being too short to cover so much ground. Hikaru going from a happy marriage to leaving her husband with this lady in so few moves, that was the wild card option. As for how this affects the quality of the overall work, I will need more time to think.

The fact that Hikaru left everything for Hana does doesn't really bother me. It happened too fast for sure, but it's not that far stretched from her portrayal since the beginning. Like wanted to quit her job, just so she can be sure to greet Hana when she arrives.

What bothers me the most is how Hana is portrayed. From the easy going, playful and manipulatrice girl, to a harmless little girl? That's weird. That doesn't match and worse, this is extremely infantilizing. As if she wasn't responsible for her actions, and she was only acting that way because of how she was treated before. Even with a longer development, I'm not sure I would have accepted that. The girl is 35, not a teenager anymore.

While we don't know if this was axed or not, at the end of the day, this is bad writing. The story didn't developed that much in volume 1. And there were lots of superfluous moment that could have been cut in volume 2 to allow for better development.

I would have preferred if both girls would have go their own way, as a mean for self discovery and reflection. That would have been less conclusive, sure, but it would have been possible to wrapped up the manga in a more logical way I think.

I wanted to like this...but I'm rooting for a het ending tbh. They had a chance to have what's her name grow in her confusion and hurt over the slap, but the second she found out it was only cause hikaru was upset (aka controlable) she reverted back to her manipulative self. Then the sudden elope was super sudden.

absolute cinema! well i'm kidding but I liked it nonetheless. I love the idea of being so devastatingly in love with a woman that after you settle for someone else, after you settle for someone who is probably better for you, you still take the first chance you see her again to run away and leave everything else behind.

Now it was kind of a mess, and I do feel like this scenario could have played out in a way more believable fashion, but even then the story is just about how Hikaru can't really help it she fell for Hana day one and it just never left her and all the love she had for Harutaka simply didn't compare. It's a shame for him but also, hell, I support women's wrongs.

Though I will readily admit I like this story more for what it could be and tries to be than what it actually textually is.

last edited at Mar 17, 2026 1:56PM

There's gotta be a term for this writing style, because Ive seen a lot of them. Love stories where one character is basically just the object of infatuation for another. Almost everyone is strongly calm and/or melancholic. Setting is very grounded. And it usually ends with chasing the source of infection, or said source vanishing.

Honestly I feel like the story would be more interesting if we actually followed the couple for 2 more volumes after this stunt. See how this works out, ir doesnt

Well, that sucked. I think the bones of the story aren't bad, but this was executed in an uninteresting way with next to no character work. 1/5

Yeah it really does feel like they wanted to cancel it during the volume 2 chapter publication.
The themes were extremely undercooked.
Probably got too sour with the readers when the Hana womanchild arc started.
Harutaka is also like 40 something so the thread on his end isn't that compelling for the other side. I get the impression he was gonna have more of a backstory too with the stray adoptions.

last edited at Mar 17, 2026 2:19PM

i've liked ohsawa yayoi's works before but this left me cold. i don't really get much of a sense of interiority from hikaru, and none at all from hana. their motivations seem inscrutable. it ends up being more harutaka's story, and while i liked him well enough it didn't amount to that much

Harutaka is very likeable, but he's a passive character, not usually one to drive the story.

Esh this wasn't bad until the last few chapters. Not only did I side with the man in this story I also felt awful that he thinks burning the divorce papers and trying to hold out that she might come back while also showing her chunk her ring into the ocean knowing she has no plan whatsoever to go back...

For the first time like ever the man did nothing wrong but fall in love with a woman obsessed with her past.

Heh, women

Chapter 10 of feeling bad for Harutaka.
Thanks for the update!

Didn't like a single character, including Harutaka. Such a huge miss from someone who made much better manga.

I'm in the minority by saying this but, how Hikaru left Harutaka was portrayed somewhat realistically (at least for the US). People leave their partners abruptly for flings, first loves, etc. It sucks but it happens. Yes, Hkaru is trash and I feel awful for Harutaka but it definitely is a realistic portrayal of how marriages break up. (Source: my sibling did it 4 times much like Hikaru did).

Overall I liked the story and enjoyed Hikaru and Hana's relationship, but I wished the last 2 chapters focused more on Hikaru and Hana's thoughts/life than on Harutaka's. That's the only meh thing for me. I really wanted to get more into Hana's head!

Thanks for translating this series!

I'm in the minority by saying this but, how Hikaru left Harutaka was portrayed somewhat realistically (at least for the US). People leave their partners abruptly for flings, first loves, etc. It sucks but it happens. Yes, Hkaru is trash and I feel awful for Harutaka but it definitely is a realistic portrayal of how marriages break up. (Source: my sibling did it 4 times much like Hikaru did).

4 TIMES???

why the hell did he burn the divorce papers. that was a pretty selfish move? also for a story that's allegedly about hikaru and hana's relationship, it felt a lot more like a story about harutaka and how we should feel bad for him. i honestly don't. hikaru is a mess but at least she has the decency to attempt divorce, but this guy refuses to let her go. it's kind of creepy! overall really disappointing manga, way too much focus on the man and how sad he is.

Heh, women

Tee hee, pero ;p

why the hell did he burn the divorce papers. that was a pretty selfish move? also for a story that's allegedly about hikaru and hana's relationship, it felt a lot more like a story about harutaka and how we should feel bad for him. i honestly don't. hikaru is a mess but at least she has the decency to attempt divorce, but this guy refuses to let her go. it's kind of creepy! overall really disappointing manga, way too much focus on the man and how sad he is.

I wouldn't call anything Hikaru did decency. And you call him selfish, but what she did isn't selfish? That's crazy work.

There are plenty of reasons for him not to sign the divorce, such as settlement money for divorce because of adultery, though he doesn't seem the type to ask for that. There are also legal benefits for both of them if they stay married. She's not going to be able to marry Hana legally so she'll have more insurance benefits and she can inherit anything he leaves her when he dies.

last edited at Mar 17, 2026 3:52PM

I loved it so much. It was good, unpredictable and just pure egoism, characters calmy driven only by desire.

I'm in the minority by saying this but, how Hikaru left Harutaka was portrayed somewhat realistically (at least for the US). People leave their partners abruptly for flings, first loves, etc. It sucks but it happens. Yes, Hkaru is trash and I feel awful for Harutaka but it definitely is a realistic portrayal of how marriages break up. (Source: my sibling did it 4 times much like Hikaru did).

Of course it happens. A lot of crazy things happen in real life. But this FAR from the norm and not what I would say is realistic.

This is just toxic, soap opera stuff.

why the hell did he burn the divorce papers. that was a pretty selfish move? also for a story that's allegedly about hikaru and hana's relationship, it felt a lot more like a story about harutaka and how we should feel bad for him. i honestly don't. hikaru is a mess but at least she has the decency to attempt divorce, but this guy refuses to let her go. it's kind of creepy! overall really disappointing manga, way too much focus on the man and how sad he is.

I wouldn't call anything Hikaru did decency. And you call him selfish, but what she did isn't selfish? That's crazy work.

There are plenty of reasons for him not to sign the divorce, such as settlement money for divorce because of adultery, though he doesn't seem the type to ask for that. There are also legal benefits for both of them if they stay married. She's not going to be able to marry Hana legally so she'll have more insurance benefits and she can inherit anything he leaves her when he dies.

what she did IS selfish, but what he did was scummy and possessive. im saying that they're both awful people, and i have zero sympathy for him.

also "can't marry her legally" may not be the case for much longer, fwiw. so he's effectively tying hikaru to himself indefinitely. whether there are benefits or not, she clearly left him, and he should respect that. big ew.

Moral of the story human beings are indecisive creatures
Does anyone know when the last chapter will be? Because I thought this would be the last chapter :)

last edited at Mar 17, 2026 4:36PM

why the hell did he burn the divorce papers. that was a pretty selfish move? also for a story that's allegedly about hikaru and hana's relationship, it felt a lot more like a story about harutaka and how we should feel bad for him. i honestly don't. hikaru is a mess but at least she has the decency to attempt divorce, but this guy refuses to let her go. it's kind of creepy! overall really disappointing manga, way too much focus on the man and how sad he is.

I wouldn't call anything Hikaru did decency. And you call him selfish, but what she did isn't selfish? That's crazy work.

There are plenty of reasons for him not to sign the divorce, such as settlement money for divorce because of adultery, though he doesn't seem the type to ask for that. There are also legal benefits for both of them if they stay married. She's not going to be able to marry Hana legally so she'll have more insurance benefits and she can inherit anything he leaves her when he dies.

what she did IS selfish, but what he did was scummy and possessive. im saying that they're both awful people, and i have zero sympathy for him.

also "can't marry her legally" may not be the case for much longer, fwiw. so he's effectively tying hikaru to himself indefinitely. whether there are benefits or not, she clearly left him, and he should respect that. big ew.

If he signs the divorce, then he owes her half his assets. Considering her infidelity, that would certainly not be equitable. If she wants the divorce so bad then she can sue him. He did respect her choice, he's not chasing after her, and he's not pursuing her nor is he suing her for compensation. That doesn't mean he owes her half his assets.

I do agree that burning the divorce petition is probably selfish, but scummy is I think a bit much. And if I were to guess, you would probably have 0 sympathy for him even had he signed the papers.

If he signs the divorce, then he owes her half his assets. Considering her infidelity, that would certainly not be equitable. If she wants the divorce so bad then she can sue him. He did respect her choice, he's not chasing after her, and he's not pursuing her nor is he suing her for compensation. That doesn't mean he owes her half his assets.

Okay so, the division of assets would only happen if they pooled their assets together on marriage which is certainly most common but unless Japan sees it as the only option not guaranteed. If they kept their assets divided a divorce would not entitle Hikaru to his assets so you're genuinely reaching for a reason why him burning the divorce papers is a good move on his part and not just an emotional thing because he can't move on.

Also forcing someone else to sue for divorce is not the epic respecting her choice you describing it as. You can disagree on if he's a creep for doing it. But like unless actively stated otherwise a divorce would not have him lose house and home. You just cannot take that as a fact.

last edited at Mar 17, 2026 5:07PM