Unlike the Midareru and Ochiru prequels, in this series, the uke is the one who makes the first move and kinda has an unrequited love for the seme. The overall plot is predictable to some extent, yet I am very excited to see how Kijima is going to fall in love with Ichikawa.
Also, the mangaka is on vacation currently, so the next chapter is not going to be released until late March or April. The cliff hanger is driving me crazy. The appearance of the former lover of the uke in the next chapter maybe? Love triangle!
It turned out that the person on the phone was not the third person for the love triangle. The person Ichikawa "used to love" was the sensei in his hometown, whom has not yet made his appearance. He is said to be a married man, yet I am still curious about him though, like his look, age, and especially his notion of Ichikawa's feelings. If Ichikawa's love is really unrequited, then does that mean Kijima is not going to compete with anyone? I hope not, because the story might become less thrilling that way (yes, I am one of those evil people who want all the characters suffer in love before they earn it lol).
Besides, it was absolutely unpredictable when Ichikawa confessed that he has not yet given up his one-sided love for the sensei. I had assumed that he was head-over-heels for Kijima. So, after all, what is really his feeling for Kijima? More importantly, who weigh more in his heart NOW, Kijima or his sensei? And when is Kijima going to realize his attraction to Ichikawa and start his days of cute jealousy (lol)? Also, it is unclear how deeply the character Makita will be involved in the story. It might be a cliche but satisfying twist if he turns out to be secretly in love with Ichikawa for a long time.
So many questions are raised in this chapter, which is short but important in a way that it is a good foundation for other layers of revelation and twist to be built upon in the near future. The story up until now is like a roller coaster that is slowly going up, with me sitting inside anticipating for the moment for it to drop and all the fun to begin. With that being said, I am looking forward to a longer and more dynamic chapter coming next from Takanaga sensei. In my opinion, 4 chapters are long enough to set up the background, and now should be the time all the main characters go out, interact, and work the romance out.
One last thing, I have not really thought about this before, but, as someone mentioned, Ichikawa is no ordinarily shy uke. He sure is shy, but he is also one of the rare ukes in Takanaga sensei's works that is bold enough to seduce the seme. It is also quite fresh to read about Ichikawa after a long read of "The Tyrant Who Falls in Love", which ended not to long ago, where the uke was just sometimes unbearably unreasonable and made the seme suffer to no end (it was still a good read overall though).
It is so hard to wait for the release of mangas with gorgeous art and decent plot like this. I might have white hair by the time chapter 5 comes out x"(