MID SPOILER WARNING because itherwise it makes no sense.
I'll be honest: The drama aspect was NOT done as well as it could have been. Somehow it lacked emotional impact and was written somewhat strangely so I didn't know whether or not the MC was right or not. And the reveal of Haru pretending was feeling random because of it. If however the author had included chapter 5.5 IN THE STORY at any point prior, this could have worked SO very beautifully. Would have been a real tear-jerker moment in the end with MC misunderstanding and then talking to haru in the park.
It's really disappointing the author included this crucial information about Haru's mental state/true feelings as an extra, which is usually ignored or just treated as not relevant to the actual story. That was simply a bad choice.
In a way I also think this might have been a bit aimless in writing, maybe that's why the crucial info was added at the end, kind of like a sidenote I personally make in notebooks "include this and that over here so the reader know this was going on". That's what it felt like, a rough draft point being overlooked or someone finishing a story and then thinking: Oh, THIS would have made that moment better, let me add that real quick!
The writing overall is really great but this little mistake turned out to be what made the story loose points in terms of writing. Which is a shame since, if you rearrange the extra chapter INTO the story in your mind afterwards, it would be really impressive. :')
I still recommend it, but would suggest treating the extra as an inbetween shortly before ch. 5 so it makes the story more impactful.
MID SPOILER WARNING because itherwise it makes no sense.
I'll be honest: The drama aspect was NOT done as well as it could have been.
Somehow it lacked emotional impact and was written somewhat strangely so I didn't know whether or not the MC was right or not. And the reveal of Haru pretending was feeling random because of it.
If however the author had included chapter 5.5 IN THE STORY at any point prior, this could have worked SO very beautifully. Would have been a real tear-jerker moment in the end with MC misunderstanding and then talking to haru in the park.
It's really disappointing the author included this crucial information about Haru's mental state/true feelings as an extra, which is usually ignored or just treated as not relevant to the actual story. That was simply a bad choice.
In a way I also think this might have been a bit aimless in writing, maybe that's why the crucial info was added at the end, kind of like a sidenote I personally make in notebooks "include this and that over here so the reader know this was going on". That's what it felt like, a rough draft point being overlooked or someone finishing a story and then thinking: Oh, THIS would have made that moment better, let me add that real quick!
The writing overall is really great but this little mistake turned out to be what made the story loose points in terms of writing. Which is a shame since, if you rearrange the extra chapter INTO the story in your mind afterwards, it would be really impressive. :')
I still recommend it, but would suggest treating the extra as an inbetween shortly before ch. 5 so it makes the story more impactful.