Our Boi Rou isn't scummy. However, he is by no means a saint nor a perfect golden child, but that's why his character works. So the beef with Rou was that he looks like he was attracted to Niko. Case 1: Invading Personal Space He kept on getting close to him and invading his personal space. > I say this: I could chalk it up to Rou's personality, especially since Niko was prickly towards him. It looks like that doesn't sit well with Rou, and it looks like he admires Niko's work as an editor/writer, too. That's probably why he wants to get along with him better, especially since they got paired up at work. Getting along with workmates is a must, especially in those close-knit Asian companies. I did say "invading personal space," but he didn't really hug him or anything like that. He just continued to converse with him like any person would if they wanted someone as a friend. > Case 2: The Comments Rou called him "thrilling" to pursue and said, "If I was single, I would go for you." > Again, chalk it up to Rou's personality. Rou is a bit too honest (or direct) with his words. That means he sometimes doesn't think before he speaks. (Well, at this point, he doesn't think before he acts, too.) Just like at the part where he had asked Niko about his wig, Niko had mentioned how Rou could be inconsiderate with how he talks because anyone could get hurt with how he says things. I don't think he means harm, though, or that he's manipulative. > I think the only thing he meant by "if I was single, blah blah" was that Niko is a very great person. He just said it in a way that sounds bad for someone who's in a relationship—an off-hand comment. BUT he is learning and he's still young. Not everyone can learn what to say and not to say stuff, and it looks like Rou was never in a position to try to mince or think about his words, but now, he's learning. > Case 3: Staying Over at Niko's Apartment > Okay, once again, Rou didn't think anything thoroughly. However, the reason is reasonable. He is friendly and kind, as established by Yoshino in the first volume, so understandably, he is very much worried for Niko, but Rou might also be feeling guilty. He was the instigator for Niko to go and answer the call. Although Niko did reassure Rou was not the reason, Rou was probably still feeling at fault and he also wanted to make sure his friend is alright. But once again, Rou was a bit too dense to realize he was doing something that could make Yoshino feel bad. He did realize it after Niko pointed it out. >
I think Rou is not the only one at fault because we all see that Rou always communicates with Yoshino, but Yoshino didn't tell him he was feeling off about Rou's eagerness towards Niko. I understand that Yoshino couldn't have explained it to Rou because he was also feeling confused about it. Still, it does not change the fact that both of them have blind spots.
But by no means is this a bad or red flag for their relationship. It's just experience. We have to remember that Rou and Yoshino were experiencing their first love relationship. That's why they're both inexperienced and still have no idea what the boundaries they have for their partners. They still need to take their time. Plus, not to mention the age gap. Rou might need to grow a little more as a person, to amp his awareness, so to speak.
Still, Rou isn't entirely bad. He's actively learning and striving to give better care for Yoshino. Because he realized his mistake, he immediately went to Yoshino and reassured him multiple times. Crucially, he also stopped talking about Niko altogether, recognizing it as a rocky topic. We see the payoff in the end: Yoshino was feeling more secure, and instead of being anxious or insecure, he was genuinely proud of having Rou and wanted to show him off as his boyfriend instead of being jealous of other people's stare towards Rou.
Another good thing about Rou is that he checks in with Yoshino all the time. He talks to him even on the sleepover part. He's transparent and he treasures Yoshino a lot. He even dyed his hair black just because Yoshino wanted to see him in black hair. Then, he even considered not to dye his hair back to his platinum blonde just because he thought that Yoshino liked the black hair better.
So what I am saying here is... TLDR: Rou isn't a scum of the earth nor is he bad for Yoshino. He's just a human that makes mistakes and off-hand comments. His character shouldn't be defined by his mistakes but by what he did to make up to Yoshino. That's all.
Our Boi Rou isn't scummy. However, he is by no means a saint nor a perfect golden child, but that's why his character works.
So the beef with Rou was that he looks like he was attracted to Niko.
Case 1: Invading Personal Space
He kept on getting close to him and invading his personal space.
> I say this: I could chalk it up to Rou's personality, especially since Niko was prickly towards him. It looks like that doesn't sit well with Rou, and it looks like he admires Niko's work as an editor/writer, too. That's probably why he wants to get along with him better, especially since they got paired up at work. Getting along with workmates is a must, especially in those close-knit Asian companies. I did say "invading personal space," but he didn't really hug him or anything like that. He just continued to converse with him like any person would if they wanted someone as a friend.
>
Case 2: The Comments
Rou called him "thrilling" to pursue and said, "If I was single, I would go for you."
> Again, chalk it up to Rou's personality. Rou is a bit too honest (or direct) with his words. That means he sometimes doesn't think before he speaks. (Well, at this point, he doesn't think before he acts, too.) Just like at the part where he had asked Niko about his wig, Niko had mentioned how Rou could be inconsiderate with how he talks because anyone could get hurt with how he says things. I don't think he means harm, though, or that he's manipulative.
> I think the only thing he meant by "if I was single, blah blah" was that Niko is a very great person. He just said it in a way that sounds bad for someone who's in a relationship—an off-hand comment. BUT he is learning and he's still young. Not everyone can learn what to say and not to say stuff, and it looks like Rou was never in a position to try to mince or think about his words, but now, he's learning.
>
Case 3: Staying Over at Niko's Apartment
> Okay, once again, Rou didn't think anything thoroughly. However, the reason is reasonable. He is friendly and kind, as established by Yoshino in the first volume, so understandably, he is very much worried for Niko, but Rou might also be feeling guilty. He was the instigator for Niko to go and answer the call. Although Niko did reassure Rou was not the reason, Rou was probably still feeling at fault and he also wanted to make sure his friend is alright. But once again, Rou was a bit too dense to realize he was doing something that could make Yoshino feel bad. He did realize it after Niko pointed it out.
>
I think Rou is not the only one at fault because we all see that Rou always communicates with Yoshino, but Yoshino didn't tell him he was feeling off about Rou's eagerness towards Niko. I understand that Yoshino couldn't have explained it to Rou because he was also feeling confused about it. Still, it does not change the fact that both of them have blind spots.
But by no means is this a bad or red flag for their relationship. It's just experience. We have to remember that Rou and Yoshino were experiencing their first love relationship. That's why they're both inexperienced and still have no idea what the boundaries they have for their partners. They still need to take their time. Plus, not to mention the age gap. Rou might need to grow a little more as a person, to amp his awareness, so to speak.
Still, Rou isn't entirely bad. He's actively learning and striving to give better care for Yoshino. Because he realized his mistake, he immediately went to Yoshino and reassured him multiple times. Crucially, he also stopped talking about Niko altogether, recognizing it as a rocky topic. We see the payoff in the end: Yoshino was feeling more secure, and instead of being anxious or insecure, he was genuinely proud of having Rou and wanted to show him off as his boyfriend instead of being jealous of other people's stare towards Rou.
Another good thing about Rou is that he checks in with Yoshino all the time. He talks to him even on the sleepover part. He's transparent and he treasures Yoshino a lot. He even dyed his hair black just because Yoshino wanted to see him in black hair. Then, he even considered not to dye his hair back to his platinum blonde just because he thought that Yoshino liked the black hair better.
So what I am saying here is... TLDR: Rou isn't a scum of the earth nor is he bad for Yoshino. He's just a human that makes mistakes and off-hand comments. His character shouldn't be defined by his mistakes but by what he did to make up to Yoshino. That's all.