Thank goodness for Youta! Although he REALLY couldn’t see what was going on, he was able to help Koyuki get out of a bad situation. It was really funny how him squinting in vain attempt to see was seen as an imitating glare to get the two men following her to back off.
Luckily it all worked out, and best of all, Koyuki and Youta were able to hit it off pretty well thanks to Miki being as common link they share. In-fact both Youta, Minato and Miki had gone to the same cram school during middle school, so the two of them actually know her true self. Youta even mentioned he wished she’d act like her old self rather than the saintly character she has going on at the moment, something which Koyuki agrees with and is pleased to hear. On top of that, Youta’s vibe is pretty mellow rather than say the nosier type like Minato whom Koyuki has repeatedly shown she’s uncomfortable around him. The duality of her response between him and Youta is night and day, to the point even Minato’s feeling completely thrown off to see them talking to comfortably with each other. It even crossed his mind that perhaps the two might even be dating, that’s how bewildered he was.
This is the thing about Minato that Koyuki probably senses and is rightfully wary about are his motives. It seems he’s the type to approach hose he notices to be outsiders who are often misunderstood, and find themselves alone because nobody is either willing to approach them, or wants to be friends with them. But is he doing this because he’s good at seeing people’s true characters? Or is it a saviour complex? Honestly I think it’s more so the latter, but it is possible that both can be true at the same time. Minato may be just that good at identifying nice people who others don’t think to give a chance to.
Now the reason why I brought up the possibility of Minato having a saviour complex falls in line with his recent breakup (which is just another number to his overgrowing list). Minato’s now ex-girlfriend had broken up with him because she can’t trust him when she feels like felt like he never truly liked her (probably in a romantic sense) to begin with. And we can kinda certainly see some truth in that considering how utterly indifferent he was to being dumped for what feels like the millionth time for him. The girl had described him as someone who lacks a sense of self, which is an interesting observation to make, and I wonder if anyone else has said the same to him as well. And again this is where the savior complex comes into play. It’s could be it’s “fulfilling” for him to be ‘saving others’, filling that in that void he doesn’t know how to fill.
Which brings us to Koyuki. It turns out she’s been on Minato’s radar for a while already, but now that she has become acquaintance with Youta (to the point Youta had just suggested to form a group chat with her and Miki) it is sort of throwing him off his whole game so to speak. But his sticking his foot in the door approach may or rather, will most likely cause him more problems than making an progression of getting close to Koyuki. She’s the type to raise her guard when someone is being extra nosy or she doesn’t like the vibe they are giving off. She’d rather not draw attention to herself, especially with someone who’s as “high profile”in popularity so to speak.
Additionally, Koyuki’s already experiencing hesitation about whether or not she likes this development of becoming comfortable with just Youta in her circle with Miki. After everything she’s been through, she’s turn between whether it’s better to be alone than together with others. She has noticed she’s been smiling more as of the late, enjoying the company and having fun. But then there’s the other part of her, the one who’s responsible for maintaining those icy walls she has raised around herself. She doesn’t want the warmth to let the ice melt, if because if she does, she won’t be able to protect herself. So it’s a matter of taking that leap of faith. At least with Youta, has passed the Miki vibe-check, and Koyuki doesn’t feel like she needs to be constantly on her toes around him.
Overall another great episode, but this one definitely made me a lot more wary of Minato’s intentions. While he may not be seeking to approach Koyuki for any malicious reasons, if he has been planning to make headway because he thought of her as ‘pitiful’ that’s certainly not going to help him at all. Nobody wants to be approached because they are ‘pitiful’, they want to be approached for being seen and accepted as who they are. So it will be interesting to see how his own motives mixed with curiosity will evolve, and adapt to the walls that Koyuki’s firmly keeping up in front of him.
