HITOMI MY LOVE

Bro Ken and every child has the right to get angry and obviously if there's a third person between the parents they will blame that person like they won't look how it became like that or why especially at their age so yeah his behavior is totally understandable

Not once has Ken accused Tarou of "turning" his father gay or bi, what are you on about?? Tarou's presence didn't ruin the family because he influenced the father's sexuality, but because it drew the father away from the family. Even if Tarou was a woman, it'd be the exact same situation: his father fell in love with someone else and their family subsequently fell apart, thus Ken hates both his father and the new person who came into the picture. This is a perfectly reasonable reaction (especially from a teenager).

You say "if anything the dad and mom probably just had a clean split and then they got together" but this is entirely based on a hypothetical as compared to everything else we've been told in the story. Ken and Kyouichi literally went to stay with their father in the divorce in order to "shackle" him because they felt like their mom deserved freedom while their father deserved to be restrained: does this sound like a "clean split"? Do you think the mother would have agreed to this if it was a "clean split"? Or is it more likely that everyone was aware the father had fallen in love with someone else already?

Also, can I just say, I find it incredibly ironic that you root for Hitomi, seeing as he's constantly pursuing someone who's in a committed relationship already, he won't back down even after being rejected, he continues to stake claim to Kirara even after being told by Kirara he has no interest.... indeed, much like someone pursuing a married man with children. I guess it makes sense why you think Ken is so unreasonable in his dislike of Tarou; going after people in committed relationships is A-OK, after all!

You couldn't have write it any better like your totally right with everything !!

Yea no— the way he is towards his dad is getting tired like it’s been yeeeears even the brother has gotten past it for a while. “Third person between the parents” I get ppl will want their parents together but if u rlly value ur parents as individuals especially when u get OLDER you’ll want them to be happy instead of together & miserable. He has a right to be angry bc every kid wants their family to be together, but when u get older it’s easy to see it’s never that easy / black & white

Regarding the first part of your comment, na IKYFLLL literally ken AND kyouichi said they hated gays since they were kids and even into their teenage years (less kyouichi cuz he saw the genuine feelings his dad and tarou had for each other and, how tarou helped out a lot). Like?? How does the natural thought process not click for you, ken heavily resented his dad growing up for getting together with tarou and being gay (or more accurately bisexual bc his ex wife) and he HATED Tarou san and still holds disdain for him bc he’s gay and got with his dad. Homophobia is like a theme in the story and a big reason why kirara was so confused in the beginning chapters bc of ken’s actions since he “hates gays” and how it ruined his family.

And the clean split part I said— YES I can 100% see the fact that since the dad and tarou started seeing each other(I’m thinking AFTER the dad already confided in his wife about it), and how much the boys hated that, that they would restrain and “shackle” their dad vs. their mom bc they feel sorry for her and want her to be “free” bc in their POV it’s their dads fault for even falling for tarou. Bc that’s why the split happened bc the dad fell out of love NOT the wife.

& Ofc if it wasn’t a clean split, it’d make so much more sense if the author included a scene like the ex wife being angry and feeling scandalized if Ken and kyouichi’s dad really DID cheat and knowingly have an affair before breaking it off or telling her. But like I said I don’t think he did that and he was honest with her, but like u said yes that’s my own hypothetical. I feel like it would make more sense tho if the author clearly stated he cheated and truly did her wrong bc that’d give the boys more reason to hate tarou and their dad but it was never shown like that it’s just that their parents separated and the dad got with tarot when they were young.

Ok first of all mfs ain’t even married and have KIDS like how the dad and his ex wife did. This is a high school setting but still I don’t condone cheating at all but the circumstances are so different bffr.

And oh please I do NOT think tarou “pursued a married man with children” ffs now that’s YOUR own hypothetical. Tarou cleans the house weekly, is keen to stay out of the boys sight because he knows they hate him and “gays” yet he still stays with their dad bc he has genuine feelings for him and wants to support him (vice versa) and has no animosity towards the boys and still looks out for them. He would not do all that just out of pure guilt if he truly did have the dad cheating around while he was married.

And YES I do think Ken is unreasonable in his dislike of Tarou at THIS POINT in his life. He should accept that his dad is happy with someone else. Speaking from experience I know what it’s like to be in a “broken household.” I get that because the dad fell for tarou their family was split up but when you get older you realize that it’s not just bc of affairs or cheating ppl do sometimes just fall out of love.

Wanting the best for your parents is better than holding a grudge for hella mf years especially since Ken has seen for the past few months (or year don’t remember well the timeline well) that Tarou isn’t at all what he’s pictured him out to be as an evil homewrecker and horrible person. The boys have every right to be angry. Don’t disagree with that, but it’s clear to see that those aren’t ken’s real feelings anymore.

Sorry my previous comments were long just wanted to reply to the bit about Hitomi. First of all Hitomi was crushing on Kirara before he even KNEWW who ken was bro. And when he was gunning for kirara they weren’t even together yet. And yea hitomi didn’t give up even after they got together, that’s how second leads literally are?? That’s the whole point of their role to pursue MC. But that aside, in the recent chapters his chasing for kirara is coming on stronger bc of how he sees ken is ignoring kirara for a long period of time.

That’s one of the most basic tropes, for the 2nd lead to swoop in during that time where they see an opening or like “he makes you sad be with me” type shit. Comparing kirara-ken-hitomi to the dad, tarou, and ex wife is just a stupid comparison. Like what?? I just thought it was cute how hitomi is always there for him although I know kirara will always only have eyes for ken it’s just frustrating seeing their progress bc of ken’s immaturity. That’s it.

Yeah, homophobia is a huge theme of this story; I never said it wasn't. Your initial comment, word for word, was "Nobody can force someone to 'become' gay or bi, GROW THE FUCK UPP" but, again, Ken has never once expressed any sort of resentment towards Tarou for 'turning his father gay' or anything of the sort. You could make the argument that perhaps his father's hidden sexuality was revealed through his relationship with Tarou and that's part of his resentment, but not once has Ken said anything about Tarou being the reason why his father is gay. If your issue with Ken is his internalized homophobia, that's one thing unto itself, but that's not the argument I was replying to.

Also, for what it's worth, I don't think the father actually physically cheated on his wife. If he had cheated, Ken and Kyouichi would surely have said so. However, given that they repeatedly pinpoint Tarou as the cause of family falling apart, that would suggest that Tarou was already present around the time of the divorce, even if he didn't have a direct hand in it. It could be that the father simply fell in love with Tarou and divorced his wife to be with him instead. Now, you might think that there's nothing wrong with this and that since the father is happy now, the children should be happy as well, but from the perspective of two children whose family broke down as a result of his father falling in love with someone new, they're under no obligation to be cordial with the new partner, no matter how kind he is.

My issue with your comment about "Hitomi always being there for Kirara and comforting him" is that Hitomi is literally only doing it for his own self-interest. Look at what he does in Ch. 39: when realizing that Kirara and Ken has had a fight about Christmas, he literally busts the biggest smile and goes "You had a fight? Yay!" and asks him on a date, completely disregarding the idea that Kirara's feelings are hurt by the fight with his boyfriend. Same thing in Ch. 41: he offers a listening ear to Kirara, only because "I don't want it to work out between you two," not because he actually wants to help Kirara solve the problem that's making him upset. It's all an opportunity to Hitomi; Kirara's feelings don't actually matter to him. This happens repeatedly, long after Hitomi finds out about Ken and Kirara's relationship.

Sure, his role in the story might be the second lead, but to say that this kind of character is somehow the better choice when he's constantly stepping all over Kirara's emotions and boundaries in order to shoot his shot just seems completely ridiculous to me. And while we have no clear idea about when Tarou came into the picture in regards to the father and his marriage, yeah, I do think it's similar, because if you had it your way and Kirara ended up with Hitomi, then the ongoing relationship (Kirara and Ken) would fall apart to give way for the new love, just like the marriage broke down to facilitate the father's new relationship with Tarou.

First off I totally thought I replied a long time ago..but I guess I didn’t? Or my comment didn’t post, so if u don’t reply to this cuz it’s old I get it. But yes! I find ken’s internalized homophobia like u said annoying which is a thing of itself.

But Tarou turning his father “gay” tho, and ken having resentment towards his dad bc of it is also still valid to me. I feel like that was ken’s obvious mindset as a kid and viewpoint at tarou. Which is another reason why kirara made sure to hide from ken when he talked with tarou and vice versa as tarou didn’t want to be seen by the sons bc of how they hate/dislike him.
Obviously ken matured to a point, like how his brother did, and knows that ofc you can’t just force a sexuality on someone atp.

About your last bit, I somewhat disagree in the context of the story. Bc obviously as they grow up they’re gonna have to accept his partner eventually esp since they do care about their dad. And yea same I don’t think he cheated physically, but that bc he was present at the time they just hated him for being who their dad got with after splitting w their mom. They don’t have an “obligation” to be cordial however tarou’s never done anything wrong towards them, and he definitely wasn’t a homewrecker, so him as person he should just be receiving basic respect as a human being rather than his father’s partner. Bc they’ve definitely mostly ken have made tarou feel like fucking shit and that’s not his fault

Saying that hitomi doesn’t care about kirara’s feelings AT ALL and that everything is just an opportunity to him is such a farce like IKYFL!!! Hitomi romantically likes kirara, ofc he’s gonna try and shoot his shot. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t also respect him as a person bc he does? He literally protected kirara in that one fight and defended him not to gain any favor but bc he cares about kirara personally.

You say hitomi steps all over kirara’s emotions and boundaries, most of what comes to my mind is bringing him to the cafe and then talking by the river in one chapter. It just seems over exaggerated to me. I just think he’s doing like I said what second leads are supposed to do? Make the ml jealous , move the story along , and ofc just be a side character.

“If I had it my way” but I KNOW that hitomi and kirara would never end up together, it sucks TO ME that he’s 2nd lead but I always have second lead syndrome so, and ken being the ml will always be the best bc of their chemistry the way he is just pmo sometimes fr.

The dad’s marriage breaking down is totally different in the way that he was 1) married for years 2) had kids and a family and both parties were ready to spit/shi was fr not working out anyway unlike kirara and ken where they’re young and in love and figuring it out for themselves. Nd It’s not like they the dad/mom having problems and tarou swooped in and tried to have the dad get w him instead like the main couple+hitomi.

PS, sorry my responses are so long, and late, u can just ignore them

"I feel like that was ken’s obvious mindset as a kid and viewpoint at tarou." If this was actually the case, don't you think either Ken or Kyouichi would have said this? Or thought it at any point throughout the story? They have no problem explaining why they hate their father and his partner, and "we hate him for turning our dad gay" would be a pretty obvious thing to say for someone who actually believed it to be true, but neither of the brothers ever say it. Instead, the call Tarou "the guy who ruined our family," because that's Ken's actual mindset. That's the basis of his dislike for Tarou, which is also why Kirara hid his interactions with Tarou from Ken; Ken literally expresses this to Kirara in Ch. 41 and says that finding out that his boyfriend is hanging out with the person who "ruined our family" feels like a betrayal. Again, no mention of Tarou turning his father gay, so I'm not sure where you're getting the vibe that this is what Ken actually thinks.

I'm also not sure where you're getting that Ken and Kyouichi "care about their dad" to such a degree that they should be ready to respect his new partner. On the contrary, most of their childhood was determined by their resentment for their father. They literally chose to stay with their dad in the divorce in order to become obstacles in his life, to punish him for breaking up their family. They refer to him as their "shitty dad" at every given opportunity, they openly express their dislike of him to his face, and they only put themselves in his company when they have on other choice. As they have so little respect for their father, why do you think the reasonable thing for them to do would be to accept his new partner? Regardless of whether or not it's Tarou's fault that their family fell apart (again, it doesn't have to mean any active sabotage on Tarou's behalf, but simply that his entry into their father's life resulted in the destruction of the marriage), the brothers have no obligations to view him in any other way than they do.

Would it be nice if they got along? Absolutely! Of course it would, but I for one can't find much fault at all in the anger of two children whose father dissolved his family to pursue a new love. Sure, Tarou is his own person outside of his relationship with Ken's father, but at least from what the story has shown us, Ken has only ever known him as his father's partner, so that's how he's gonna judge him. You're expecting quite a lot of a teenager (or anyone in a similar situation, for that matter) if you want him to be able to separate the emotions related to "the man who ruined our family" from a neutral perspective of "Tarou the individual."

Respecting someone means respecting their feelings and the words they say, neither of which Hitomi is very good at. If he actually respected Kirara as a person, he would take no for an answer; he would not celebrate Kirara's relationship problems. Yeah, it's "his role" as the 2nd lead to pursue Kirara, but that does not remove the fact that he's going about it in an incredibly disrespectful way.

I recently reread the whole manga, and there are barely any interactions (past their first meeting) between him and Kirara that don't end up with Hitomi either asking Kirara to sleep with him, or to dump Ken and date him instead. In chapter 18, when he mistakes Ken for Kirara's boyfriend (before they've actually getting together), Hitomi says to himself that it wouldn't matter if Kirara has a boyfriend or not, because he "will make him mine no matter what." This is the opposite of respecting Kirara's autonomy, because he views Kirara as someone to be claimed, regardless of his circumstances.

In chapter 24, upon being told that Kirara and Ken are now dating, Hitomi reiterates that "there's no need to give up," because again, who cares about Kirara's wants, right? Certainly not Hitomi! In chapter 29, when they go for tea, Hitomi is spiteful over the thought that Kirara and Ken are struggling to have sex, and blatantly asks Kirara to sleep with him instead, because "I really want to do it with you

(previous comment got cut off for some reason, continuation here)
. . .because "I really want to do it with you uwu" and I have to wonder, where is the respect? Kirara tells him YET AGAIN that he's only interested in Ken and no one else, but does Hitomi actually take this into consideration this time? Nope! In chapter 39, he's sooo excited over the fact that Kirara and Ken fought, and asks Kirara to go on a date with him instead even though Kirara is obviously upset. If you take joy in the sorrows of the person you supposedly love because it benefits you, then you do not respect that person. That's just entitlement and selfishness.

So yes, Hitomi protected Kirara in a fight that one time, but if that's all that constitutes respect, then Ken would be the most respectful, caring person in the entire world. I understand that Hitomi's purpose as the 2nd lead is to stir drama, but that doesn't change the fact that he's stepping all over Kirara's boundaries in his attempts to reach his goal. Being in love with Kirara is his role, yes, but him loving Kirara is not, in and of itself, respect.

I honestly doubt that the dad “dissolved” his family to “pursue a new love.” If you find that you can have feelings for someone else during a relationship especially as serious as marriage that just means u fell out of love and need to leave before the worst does happen like leading them on or cheating.

Nobody knows how exactly their marriage ended or the final straw besides it jumped and showed tarou as his next/only partner since the divorce. But honestly it’s already kind of clear that their marriage just didn’t work out bc they(mainly the dad) fell out of love. And the sons stayed w him yea to give their dad hell. But they didn’t separate just so he could get with tarou or else he’d already be with someone else, if he really wanted to pursue a new love so bad during his marriage.

And I’m not expecting that out of ken immediately and RN, but it’s not like the divorce happened yesterday. He’s seen just like his brother has how tarou is and that he’s not a malicious or terrible person (quite the opposite). I get how debilitating divorce is on kids, however even kirara is telling him tarou isn’t a bad guy and ken knows that and has for a while. He knows tarou didn’t ruin their family atp and most of his negativity harbors on the dad. The way he treats nd views tarou like shit is just annoying atp. They don’t have to do it bc they care about their dad bc that’s not why kyouichi did it , it’s bc he just views tarou as a better person than he gave him credit for before and is letting go

Incredibly disrespectful way PLEASEE. To be real there’s not really any respectful way to go after someone who has a partner, that’s why authors w most second leads in stories just have them keep pushing nd then they end up getting their heart broken which is inevitable.
At first hitomi was just interested in kirara bc he’s cute and all but he fell in love with him as a person too which is why he kept and still is being persistent bc he believes he has a chance with how their relationship is still new and fresh and ken ignoring him for a week etc.

Ok but that corny line he said about I’ll make you mine no matter what ?!!?! 0/10 for originality and I know it doesn’t sound any better when I say that it’s a recycled line but it’s true which is why I just looked past it?? Like if the author went the route of kirara actually liking the older brother making ken pursue him I know damn well he would use that same line

And the last part yes I totally agree with it ts was disrespectful like brother he is not sleeping with you bffr. It’s clear that kirara doesn’t view hitomi as a remotely bad person even if he is pursuing him still. When hitomi just recently confessed, and got rejected kirara was also shocked when he said his heart keeps breaking and was surprised showing he didn’t really think hitomi would get that affected .

While hitomi is in love w kirara I think he also respects him as a person and is just glad to hear him out when he sees kirara sad or moping. Likewise kirara appreciates him as a friend and thanks him for treating nd listening when they goto twilight (hope I didn’t get that cafe name wrong). I know it sounds weird when I say he respects him as a person when he does cross these boundaries and says certain shit but hitomi does wish for kirara to be happy even if it’s not with him

Dam we b writing paragraphs over these mfs

With the way I just wrote about hitomi the author better give him Justice with another partner as great as kirara or a side story

I guess we just have different definitions of what it means to "break up" a family. In my opinion, once you take marriage vows and have kids, you can't just say "welp, I found someone else I love beside my wife, so I'm gonna get divorced and be with the other person instead." To me, that's literally dissolving the family. And I gotta ask: at what point does it show the parents "falling out of love" before their divorce? You keep saying this, but I have no memory of Ken or Kyouichi ever mentioning their mother ever falling out of love with their dad pre-divorce. I might just not remember it at all, so if you can point out when this is mentioned, I'd appreciate it. As far as I remember, all they've ever said is that their family fell apart because their dad is gay and he wanted to be with Tarou, so that's what I'm basing my understanding of events on.

"they didn’t separate just so he could get with tarou or else he’d already be with someone else, if he really wanted to pursue a new love so bad during his marriage." Not sure what the logic is here: are you saying the reason he wouldn't get a divorce just to pursue a new love is because if this was the case, he would've cheated pre-divorce anyways? Um, no? The former does not necessitate the latter. He can want to pursue a new love without cheating first, which I believe he did, but the result is the same: a splintered family.

"He knows tarou didn’t ruin their family atp." What makes you think this? Several years might have passed since the divorce, but that doesn't change the fact that Ken still seems to think that Tarou is the cause for their divorce (at least based on the fight he had with Kirara in chapter 41, where he reiterates, "That man is the bastard who ruined my family!"). The resentment over something like that doesn't just go away. It's easy for us readers to think he should get over it, because we see Tarou as a sweet person who helps Kirara out and is supportive and kind, but Ken doesn't see that. Tarou actively avoids Ken and Kyouichi, they never interact, which means little to no effort has been made at all on behalf of the adults to help Ken process his emotions in regards to the divorce and help him move on.

So when realizing Kirara has been getting close to Tarou in secret, Ken had an emotional reaction, which he's perfectly entitled to, and after calming down, he acknowledged his own immaturity and said he has no right to control who Kirara talks to. I'm not sure how this is supposed to be "annoying." It's literally character growth, which doesn't happen instantaneously.