Ayaka idolizes Hiroko because the latter represents what she wants to be professionally. At least, that is how her interest in her started out in the flashback. Ayaka has a deeply-seated insecurity about herself, presumably a anxiety about failure, and latches onto a person who she perceives as perfect, oblivious to the fact that she has only ever seen one of Hiroko's facets, her persona at work.
Ayaka is simply intrigued by the fact that Hiroko actually enjoys being at work. She's not envious of Hiroko's technical or people skills. She also never puts herself down for not getting close to her co-workers. She refuses to attend the networking events because she does not want to do work off the clock (reasonable and based), not because of anxiety. In the chapter 8 flashback, she tells Risa that she ended up alone at work due to getting tunnel vision, and does not mention shyness.
When she comes back to the office in the evening and sees so many people still there, she suspects trouble. The part where she realizes that it's her fault that the files disappeared from the server does not betray any chronic anxiety. It's perfectly normal to be a bit stressed if a mistake you made at work made trouble for other people, especially for a rookie.
After she and Hiroko manage to recover the files, Hiroko reassures her that she was never in trouble, and she is moved by Hiroko's kindness, and becomes even more interested in her. No chronic anxiety or distorted self-image is required.
last edited at Jun 13, 2023 8:15PM