The reason why it feels a little disconected is that EERR style of storytelling and she/he usually draw the girls the way that they look 'unhappy' even when they are happy. Probably EERR and Ooshima Tomo are awere of this so the next chapter (the Tomo one) starts with a summary. Still, I like his/her style, and give us enough information to know the basics. As I understand, the plot is:
1.Nico overworks and ends in the hospital were she is reunited with Maki after years of lack of contact.
2. Maki tries to act distant at first, but she is pretty much still in love with her. Nico also tries to distance herself as eluding the memory of the promise of reuniting when se becomes a Super Idol.
3.They fight. But is not until she is out of the hospital that Nico realises that Maki waited for her all this years.
4. Nico becomes resolved and decides to enter a contest show for washed up celebrities. She is in a decent position, but not close of what she promised to Maki (a house bigger than hers) so the contest will have little effect if she wins and losing will mean that she would end as a laughing stock.
5. Maki glimpses the show while eating with her fiance and her family. Her marriage is pretty much an idea of her family that she goes along even when she hates it. Seeing Nico in the show makes her realise that this life is not what she wanted (and I hope that what she ended saying with the "I am..." is GAY)
6. Maki runs outside crying, realising that she went against her family wishes and with not place to go. Until she founds the candy box that she give to Nico in the hospital, now with a direction to Nico apartment.
7. They get reunited. If I need to bet knowing what they do in the next chapter, I would guess that the "faded dream" is not talking about the current moment but how they forgot about her dreams and wasted years of their lives as they were doing what "they are supposed to do" to get close to that dream. Both were living in comfortable lives but unhappy with themselves until they remembered that promise with the crystal candy
Sorry for the bad english :p
Thank you so much, I had no idea what was going on.
