Trash Simple Minded

P1 Box: To summarize: Adachi was almost taken home by his business partner Tachibana at a drinking party, but was saved at the last moment by Kurosawa. A: I think it was also careless of me to not notice his ulterior motives. K: It's not your fault, Adachi. A: I still have to continue business with Tachibana-san's company so, for the future, uhm… A: I'd like for you to teach me this stuff about the tactics of love (alt: "dating tactics/strategy"), if you could…

P2 K: Me, teaching Adachi about the tactics of love…? Box: Content warning: Sensitive Content Kurosawa has marked this fantasy as sensitive content. Button: Show

P3 A: Kurosawa? K: gasp K: Sorry. Hearing things like "tactics of love" from Adachi's mouth was so lew- I mean shocking, my brain was in space for a moment. A: Space. K: That's right, now that you mention it the fair itself is still a while away, and to ask them to change the person in charge would be… A: That would bother me. A: What happened, happened but Tachibana-san has a good eye for quality. A: And they went through the trouble of entrusting this job to me, so…

Like, first time doing penetrative sex wasn't all pleasurable, but Yuu puts all the responsibility on himself and says that Ijuuin shouldn't do anything. While Yuu's idolization may be at play here, I think that Yuu still doesn't think that he's someone suitable for Ijuuin. (Which reminds me of the Sentiment chapter where Ijuuin goes to Yuu's house, and Yuu was about to break up with him and explicitly told him that there must be someone more suitable for him)

I've already talked about Yuu's self-esteem as a professional here, but is really interesting (and kinda sad ngl) how he actually has a low self-esteem in general. Like, this though bubble he has on The ☆ Kan exhibition, after thinking how amazing Ijuuin is for being able to reunite so many fans that genuinely love him.

... That's precisely why I don't understand why someone like him loves me.

A lot of time has passed, but Yuu realizing that he isn't capable of making interesting stories and giving up on becoming a mangaka must have really deal a blow in his confidence and self-esteem, even to this day (´・ω・｀) Like, in a way, he doesn't think that he deserves being loved by Ijuuin, because he's so awesome, so why would he end up falling in love with him?

Yeah, Yuu still idealizes Ijuuin, but can we blame him? Like, I think it's not far fetched to think that Yuu started drawing because of The ☆ Kan. In a way, Yuu wouldn't be the person he is today if it weren't for Ijuuin.

Which! Makes me love Ijuuin's response even more. Yuu tries to dismiss Ijuuin by telling him that he doesn't need to do anything, because this is something that he decided on his own, but Ijuuin tells him that he should accept (a little more) the fact that he loves him, meaning that he wants to try his best to make Yuu feel good too, because he loves him. He wants to do things for Yuu too and Yuu should let him, because those actions are born from Ijuuin's love towards Yuu.

Also, Yuu thinking that when Ijuuin says things like that, he blocks his escape routes makes me insane. Like, Ijuuin tells him that he wants to make him feel good too, because he loves and he should accept that fact and Yuu feels kinda threatened? I think that kind of response (from Yuu) comes from the fact that he's kinda scared of facing his feelings for Ijuuin, because they're more deep than he likes to admit. Like, he just isn't ready to be honest with himself and to face the fact that this relationship isn't as casual as it was when Ijuuin first proposed it.

Bonus of Yuu panicking about the fact he's dating Ijuuin✨

Is relatively common to hear stories about female assistants dating their mangakas or marrying them.

If I think it's the same as that, I understand that it isn't something specially weird.

BUT!!!

Is it really fine?!

This is the author of The ☆ Kan, the best super popular mangaka in all the world!

Is it fine for someone like him to date me?