I got confused with the last page thinking there might be some pages missing?? Until I realized it's supposed to be like an extra from the chapter. Haha.

It's definitely not cheating. Pretty sure it's just that it rained heavily and Reika got drenched. She didn't wanna show up at home looking like a wet sock. Remember, in page 6 she said she wants to always look perfect in front of Ito. Since Sajimoto's place is close by, she borrowed the shower.
Really, sometimes the answers are so simple but all the angst we've consumed may have traumatized us.

last edited at Sep 2, 2024 4:23AM

I got confused with the last page thinking there might be some pages missing?? Until I realized it's supposed to be like an extra from the chapter. Haha.

It's definitely not cheating. Pretty sure it's just that it rained heavily and Reika got drenched. She didn't wanna show up at home looking like a wet sock. Remember, in page 6 she said she wants to always look perfect in front of Ito. Since Sajimoto's place is close by, she borrowed the shower.
Really, sometimes the answers are so simple but all the angst we've consumed may have traumatized us.

It's done 100% on purpose by the author.

There's absolutely no way this is being played straight. given the overall tone.

Obviously. Ain't nothing straight about any of this :P

But yeah it doesn't look like any of us are picking up what the author is trying to put down at the end. Reika is so very clearly head over heels for Ito that there's no way she'd be cheating.

Then miss mangaka pops out from the bedroom with just a shirt on due to the ruckus, solving everything (I hope so).

Did not see that twist coming... Well, no, that's a lie, I did have that thought somewhere back in my mind, and I fully expect it to be the usual trickery, although the situation really looked a lot worse than I may have expected. :D

What is with the "I don't like girls, I just like this girl" thing that constantly pops up in manga? Feels borderline lesbophobic.

It absolutely is, but that's why her gf reacts by going "bitch you need to read more and learn what words mean." It's not the manga forwarding a lesbophobic trope, it's this specific character buying into lesbophobic ideas in pop culture without realizing that's what she's doing, and getting immediately (indirectly lol) told off for it by her girlfriend.
To expand on this a bit: The "I'm not a lesbian I'm just into one specific girl" trope is not actually about claiming the character isn't a lesbian, but rather disconnecting her from lesbophobic stereotypes. It's the author saying "she's not some psycho nympho predator who treats women like straight men treats women she's a nice pure girl in love". This is unfortunately a pattern that sometimes real actual lesbians do to themselves out of internalized lesbophobia, fearing that coming out would mean being seen as a predator by other women. Happens to some gay men and trans people, too. This is why the girlfriend responds that this is a problem of a lack of proper education. I'm sure she's got some very good literature on the subject of gay pride and lesbian identity she can recommend :)

last edited at Sep 2, 2024 3:50PM

Not doubting Reiko at all unless proven otherwise. Her language in thanking them for lending her the pajamas suggests this isn't a normal occurrence anyway unlike what the actual GF does.