Although I love Uta's weird pigtail friend, her whole thing is baffling and has no clear thematic relationship with anything else. Is she ace? Is she just emotionally closed off? Like... legit a sociopath? I thought maybe the idea was that nontraditional, weird, idiosyncratic relationships are okay, so she and whatshername can make it work despite her inability to be in romantic love, but now I'm not sure.

Kuro isn't even remotely incapable of romantic love, just unwilling (by this point it's mellowed more to "merely reluctant" tho) due to acute disillusionement with the whole concept on account of her father; this was pretty clearly spelled out in the narrative. The last we saw those two Kuro was trying to adjust her comfort zone to accommodate Miyabi's desire for affectionate gestures and generally be more considerate of her while the latter was trying to adjust her relationship expectations to not push Kuro's limits too much (also turning into a blushing mess at the mention of -shock horror- kiss on the lips...).
Basically they're trying to reach a middle ground both are comfortable on.

I think the problem here then is that it's not really very believable. Plenty of people have messed up relationships with their fathers and then go on to have intimacy issues, but they don't act like Kuro. They don't have weird one-sided, platonic friendships that they let the other person call "a relationship." It'd just take a lot more to explain what on earth is going on.

And then again, thematically, what's this have to do with Uta and Kaoru?

(also shouldn't Kuro and Uta address how weird it is two lesbians became best friends just by coincidence?)

Kuro acts more like an asexual than just a person with intimacy issues although I suppose it could be argued either way. Have you ever seen a real world asexual relationship? Often, but not always one partner is asexual and the other is not and it looks a lot like what those two have going on except Kuro seems to have some non-sexual intimacy problems on top of that.

I'm not sure two lesbians becoming friends coincidentally is particularly weird, maybe a bit uncommon. In my high school group of friends all but one of my close female friends ended up being bi just by coincidence. That was 3 out of 4 and the one that "wasn't" admitted to finding some other girls attractive but never actually got together with anyone beyond a drunk kiss, I mean the odds on that have to be pretty rare but it wasn't really something we talked about at the time.

Risako really looks like a two-faced bitch. Good at lying, probably was having sex with Reiichi but called Kaoru to know her exact whereabouts. And talked about a future baby as if is wasn't concerning her, and even expected them to have one.

Meaning, she doesn't really care about keeping Reiichi.

Even if Kaoru has a baby, she will keep on having casual sex with Reiichi. If their relationship is found out, she will or will not stop it. It's up to Reiichi to take responsibility. She doesn't really care either way. She's in total control. And I don't think she actually sees Kaoru as a real friend. She never did. She kept contact with her partly because of Reiichi and partly to keep the facade of a good relationship with her former classmates.

Typical of a sociopath.

Risako really looks like a two-faced bitch. Good at lying, probably was having sex with Reiichi but called Kaoru to know her exact whereabouts. And talked about a future baby as if is wasn't concerning her, and even expected them to have one.

Meaning, she doesn't really care about keeping Reiichi.

Even if Kaoru has a baby, she will keep on having casual sex with Reiichi. If their relationship is found out, she will or will not stop it. It's up to Reiichi to take responsibility. She doesn't really care either way. She's in total control. And I don't think she actually sees Kaoru as a real friend. She never did. She kept contact with her partly because of Reiichi and partly to keep the facade of a good relationship with her former classmates.

Typical of a sociopath.

Wowzers. You might have uh... put a little much headcanon into that one. I can roughly see where you are coming from, but dang, that's one hell of an escalation with miniscule evidence.

I mean we kinda jumped from "Kaoru saw them together when Reiichi was supposed to be at work and Risako lied about not having met him" to "Risako is a sociopath who constantly cheats with Reiichi and cares about neither of them."
I feel we are missing a few dozen steps somewhere between those two.

The way this is super popular and causes explosions in the comments reminds me of Citrus. Admit it guys, you like this. You LOVE this. You will come back for more, especially if the characters get more twisted up and wrung out by the author.

Honestly I'm hoping for a good end for Kaoru and Uta, but I have to admit I'm as much in it for the explosion of the Kaoru and Reiichi's relationship as anything. Ideally I'd want to see Reiichi get caught out entirely and given the 3rd degree. I want him to suffer a bit for what he's done.

I am watching this for the car crash and I know I'm not alone. I want Kaoru to find strength and happiness, but I also want to see a glorious mess on the way.

People can continue reading stories they don't like. Hell, I read Her Pet all the way through (and payed for it) and it was fucking garbage and by the end I just wished I could unread it but I was driven to finish it for the sake of getting closure and the faint hope that maybe it would stop sucking (it didn't).

The timing of Kaoru sending text and immediate phone call from Risako reminds me of a delaying tactic for Reiichi to get his pants back on and hurry back to his house before Kaoru comes back. When Kaoru drops the information about being at the train station, Risako lightens up and Reiichi doesn’t have to hurry back so fast.

That’s a little detail readers haven’t picked up yet.

The state of Risako’s undress is a good clue.

daaamn. nice catch. definitely missed that the first time.

here i thought kaoru was reacting the way she was because she knows risako is lying about the day she fell, but there is a good chance she might be picking up on a what you noticed. the flashback might be a hint to the fact that she believes their affair is still going on.

maybe the whole baby thing is a way of her pushing him to see what he does. like, maybe she's hoping he'll have to deal with the fact that he doesn't want to get completely stuck in a relationship he's not really enjoying at all. if he balks, its just more evidence.

he seems to be the type of man who thinks that carrying on in a dead relationship is for the best as he doesnt want to hurt kaoru. the social repercussions, shaking up her life, and maybe even the fact that he feels guilty about what happened with their mothers. it isnt that he doesnt care for kaoru, but he doesnt want to be with her either. pretty shitty, but typical. its hard to see that ending things clearly will be much less painful than dragging on the failing relationship.

my guess is that there are like 2-3 more volumes of them finally getting divorced, uta getting into college and then she and kaoru move in together and get hella gay. i hope at least. if this has a tragedy ending i will be sad. i doubt it will, and it would certainly be a bold move by the author, but i still want this to end the obvious and happy way.

edit: also, i really enjoy when i can read a bunch of chapters at once of a new-to-me story. when a new chapter comes out in a month or so, i won't still be super involved with the story/characters as i am now and it won't have the same impact as reading it thru in one shot.

I agree that the baby question is a test of commitment in their marriage. He stuck to the marriage as it was necessary for Kaoru to care for Uta when he isn’t there. Now that Uta is gone, the whole basis of their unspoken social contract is no longer necessary for him to appear to stay faithful... I wonder how Reiichi would react if Kaoru became just as unfaithful as him? (I.E. their marriage turns into a double open relationship) (Probably wouldn’t care as long as the food was good and house was cleaned).

Now we have at least four more chapters till this storyline resolves.

Clueless1 posted:

Now we have at least four more chapters till this storyline resolves.

That's so kind of you. You assume it'll get resolved.

People can continue reading stories they don't like. Hell, I read Her Pet all the way through (and payed for it) and it was fucking garbage and by the end I just wished I could unread it but I was driven to finish it for the sake of getting closure and the faint hope that maybe it would stop sucking (it didn't).

Ugh. Pito... and "My Joy"... I was so MFin' bitter with that twist at the end. Hadn't been that legit mad at anything in a while, my rage was mighty but impotent, lol.

Kinda hoping Reiichi gets busted and there's a similar sort of furious separation like in My Joy though, lol.

We should probably stop talking about a bunch of terrible manhwa and focus on this arguably barely better manga.
and yet I hear people always talk about how superior yuri in manhwa is. Her Pet and WDTFS sure didn't show me that

[Reiichi]: stuck to the marriage as it was necessary for Kaoru to care for Uta when he isn’t there. Now that Uta is gone, the whole basis of their unspoken social contract is no longer necessary for him to appear to stay faithful...

Evidence for this assertion?

I would love to see this story give an actual explanation of why Reiichi and Kaoru got together after he had rejected her a number of times previously, and based on the few hints we have been given, it does seem likely that it must have had something to do with the death of Kaoru's mother and the breakup of R & U's parents' marriage.

But on the face of it, Reiichi deciding, "Oh no, mom killed Kaoru's mom, now I have to marry her so she can babysit Uta (even though both our parents are still alive)" makes zero sense pending further clarifying information.

last edited at Sep 30, 2019 9:01AM

Doubly so given Uta only moved in with them well after they got married due to as-such unrelated parental problems...

There is a yuri story where woman with uninspiring husband has love affair with her daughter childhood friend. This is prequel. But seriously story got off rail when Kaoru fell from the stair. Now it’s a mess. And, yeah, some people do think that kids reinforce not-a-good marriage.

And many children suffer from that belief.

How can I feel bad for her if she never even tried to fix them properly in the first place?

It's a bit more complicated that you make it sound like.It's not your classic misunderstanding situation, we talk about cheating with straight up lies. It's easy to say that Kaoru should walk up to Reiichi and ask him about that but in reality it's more complicated, Kaoru is in a mess after the whole Uta storm and she still trying to stay focus. Reiichi is now the only thing that keep her not alone, so it's difficult for her to ask Reiichi about that because if he say it's true and decide to go with Risako then Kaoru will be alone and depressed.

Honestly, yes Kaoru can do it but it's really difficult for herself right now to not but even salt in the injury and we talk about a simple cut here.

Exactly! The problem is that Kaoru is so afraid of abandonment that she will do anything to avoid confirming what she knows is true about her marriage and finding herself alone.

I dont get it I dont get it I dont get it I dont get it I dont get it

If in the Next chapter NOT break up with Kaoru i give up this Manga finally.
Kaoru is a freakin Blind Stupid Woman.

See above...

Still had she said anything about either issues (her husband or Uta leaving) this situation wouldn't happen.

I seriously doubt that saying something about Uta would have prevented her parents demanding that she move home for their own reasons. She IS still a minor. The fact that Uta agreed to it and didn't try to fight it, maybe, but, again, what exactly should she have said? She isn't at a place where she is ready to tell Uta that she returns her feelings. She really wants the little sister relationship they had before. (Though, in a sense, Kaoru is more like the little sister in the relationship in many ways, despite being older.) As for her husband, I spoke to that above... she has too much fear of abandonment to speak her mind.

It... it kind of seems like a lot of people here somehow can't tell that Kaoru saying she wants to have a baby is supposed to be desperate, sad, and alarming? Like, there might as well be neon lights flashing that this is a bad choice, the way it's written? It couldn't possibly be clearer?

I'm just like absolutely baffled anyone is reading this and thinking it's the story of Straight Couple Drama when 1. the relationship should end immediately for many reasons the author has spelled out very well, and 2. Kaoru questioning her sexuality is a big part of what's going on here.

I agree with #1, but Kaoru has far too great a fear of abandonment to even think of instigating that. As for #2, she might be doing that, but she is unlikely to act on it for the same reason. If she does act on Uta's feelings, it will most likely be because Reiichi leaves her and then her motivation will be suspect. Would she be accepting Uta's feelings because she has truly come to realize she loves her or because she's so afraid of being alone that she'll take advantage of the girl who loves her. (To a certain extent that seems to be what is going on with her and Reiichi. There seemed to be a certain amount of obligation involved in their relationship from the beginning.)

The way this is super popular and causes explosions in the comments reminds me of Citrus. Admit it guys, you like this. You LOVE this. You will come back for more, especially if the characters get more twisted up and wrung out by the author.

Honestly I'm hoping for a good end for Kaoru and Uta, but I have to admit I'm as much in it for the explosion of the Kaoru and Reiichi's relationship as anything. Ideally I'd want to see Reiichi get caught out entirely and given the 3rd degree. I want him to suffer a bit for what he's done.

I am watching this for the car crash and I know I'm not alone. I want Kaoru to find strength and happiness, but I also want to see a glorious mess on the way.

Waouh exactly my thought ^^ I couldn't agree more... Finger cross !!!

Maybe I'm hecka sleep deprived, but didn't Kaoru think that Risako wasn't lying?

No. She was commenting on how great Risako was at lying, so great that she sounded 100% truthful, but Kaoru knows better from experience. First she had a momentary flashback to high school where Risako was lying to her about Reiichi not being her type (they dated in high school so clearly he was her type) to bolster the opinion that she was a professional level liar. Then of course she caught her in a lie about not seeing Reiichi since the wedding, though clearly Risako has no idea she was seen so didn't create a diversionary lie to explain herself.

And I will have to agree to disagree that Risako was over banging Reiichi or vice versa. She's not in a bra, and she doesn't have bed hair imo, she's just casual and chilled out. She's also not in Reiichi's apartment because the layout is different, and I don't think Reiichi would be stupid enough to go to his mistress on his day off when his wife could come home any minute without warning, especially when it is so much easier to skulk around with a vague "late at work" or "away from town for work" sort of excuse like we've seen him use...

Oh that's what it is. Thank you so much for explaining that to me.

Women relaxing in a bra is a myth. Bras suck, and most women take them off as soon as they get home. So technically her in a bra could be further evidence she's ready to sleep with someone, because bra and panty strip teases are the best let's be real.

It may not be Reiichi though. Mainly because helping people move does suck and it's exhausting. Plus he's still playing video games when she gets back. There's a good chance he got sucked into all day because that's how it goes with video games. Time flies.

Although I guess if he got a text for a booty call during gaming, he'd definitely put it down. Then he'd have to come back and play a video game to make it look like he's just been playing all day.

Dang. Lots of good discussion on what is going to happen, but I want to know by now.

Although maybe because Risako is in a bra, it suggests to me that she's about to have sex, not that she just got done having sex. So that's why I think Reiichi wasn't there with her. But do authors think about such a thing, or have movies just painted a false picture of real women?

So that's why I think Reiichi wasn't there with her.

You must admit that Risako call timing was on point. As soon as Kaoru send the message to Reiichi, Risako call, not only that but she call and first thing she ask is if she is out.You admit that is a strange question to ask out of the blue.Why would she assume that Kaoru is out ? I think she call because she see the message on Reiichi phone about how she is on her way home and so call her to know where she is exactly so Reiichi can go home in time.

Women relaxing in a bra is a myth. Bras suck, and most women take them off as soon as they get home.

Really? I relax in my bra pretty fine. Not all bras are super tight and also depends on the breast size.
To me it seems like the time Kaoru leaving wouldn't suffice for Reiichi to go there and then also come back.
The bra detail felt like it was there to give a certain impression for Risako. Like her being lusty. (not saying hanging pit with your bra is lusty in general, just in this situation and context). But I don't think it matters that much either way much tbh.

Edit: Wait nvm. There was plenty of time for him to go out. Because when Kaoru checks her phone it says 16:10, then in the train scene it says 18:00

last edited at Sep 30, 2019 12:23PM

Because of all this bra talk I've been reading the chapter again, as it confused me.
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_unrequited_love_ch26#22
This doesn't look like a bra. It looks like a loose top. I mean you can wear that like underwear, I guess, but it's not a bra.

I also checked the room several times, but it isn't congruent with Kaoru's home at all, so it must be Risako's place.
It's pretty ridiculous to believe Reiichi would go to Risako though. First of all he had no idea how long Kaoru would be gone or if she would even inform him of her return. Somehow I doubt he is so much of a horndog that he will rush to Risako at every goddamn opportunity. He has plenty of chances when he is "at work" already if any of this were true.
This entire thing about changing, driving to Risako's place, cheating on Kaoru, driving back just in time and putting back his gamer clothes and look the same way as when she left seems to be real stretch. Time wise this would only work if Risako lived very closeby and he was absolutely certain Kaoru warned him way ahead, which is... stupid.

I'm not saying that this isn't what the story is implying, but if it actually turns out to be true, now that is bad writing. Way too unbelievable. If Reiichi were that incompetent he would have been caught ages ago. His "slip-up" by meeting Risako at a place Kaoru could conceivably pass by is already hard enough to stomach.

last edited at Sep 30, 2019 12:39PM

So that's why I think Reiichi wasn't there with her.

You must admit that Risako call timing was on point. As soon as Kaoru send the message to Reiichi, Risako call, not only that but she call and first thing she ask is if she is out.You admit that is a strange question to ask out of the blue.Why would she assume that Kaoru is out ?

Maybe partly because of Kaoru's hesitant answer, but primarily from the ambient sound. It's very easy to tell if someone you're calling on a cellphone is inside or outside, particularly when it's somewhere with a lot of inherent noise like a train station.

It's pretty common for people to first establish where the other person is when calling their cell. Ultimately you may be right about why she's calling, but her question isn't necessarily evidence one way or the other.

Re: Risako's lingerie: At first I though she might be wearing a black slip because of the way it bulges against her arm (going outwards at the spot where most bras go in), but there's a tiny bit of the artist's characteristic vertical shading at the bottom that shows where it stops. Another example of that "significant or just sloppy?" question that at this point supplies the series with much of its interest as a work of narrative art.

omg my marriage feels empty and unfulfilling to the point where i'm starting to resent my husband for it
better make him my baby daddy lol

omg my marriage feels empty and unfulfilling to the point where i'm starting to resent my husband for it
better make him my baby daddy lol

Marriage is shite? Time to add a baby to the mix. 100% of the time it makes life easier! It's Trailer Trash Rule #1. Yeehaw.

It's not about being easier, it's about having a distraction. Babies are quite good for that.

It's not about being easier, it's about having a distraction. Babies are quite good for that.

Pets are also good for that.

It's not about being easier, it's about having a distraction. Babies are quite good for that.

Pets are also good for that.

Pets are mostly passive. Babies will tear down the walls until you pay attention. Aside from that, it's a person and something that is related to you. That is a good anchor for the future. Let's call it Uta 2....

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFF HAHAHAHAH "I always dreamed to play Akane" lmao

It's not about being easier, it's about having a distraction. Babies are quite good for that.

Pets are also good for that.

Pets are mostly passive. Babies will tear down the walls until you pay attention. Aside from that, it's a person and something that is related to you. That is a good anchor for the future. Let's call it Uta 2....

1x1/2 intensifie