THE LOVE THING. THE FRIENDSHIP THING.

There is this shoujo manga i've been reading recently. And i easily get hooked with it, though i did not really thought so before i began my reading. It revolves around an average (or below-average, maybe) highschool girl who happened to live with 2 very pretty boys (who were cousins, and very popular) in the same apartment. This girl, F, has a crush on D. But this other guy, I, like this girl F. The three of them has a wonderful friendship, and neither were willing to expose his/her feelings. But F gave in to the pressure of her friends, and confessed to D, who automatically turned her down, because he doesn't know what that kind of affection really means. She was so heart-broken, and I decided to step in. Eventually, the two of them grew very close that I confessed to F, who was still hurting from D. She did not gave her answer yet.

After some time, D and F became friends again, but D felt that he is becoming a third wheel between the two (he doesn't know that I confessed to F, but felt that something was up). An incident brought the three of them together and I again confessed to F in front of D, so everything became clear. After more incidents, F realized that she also likes I, but kept it inside. Meanwhile, D was beginning to fall for F.

Actually, there's nothing preventing F from also fessing up to I, because both likes each other. And when F decided to brave it all, and tell I her feelings, another girl (since her name also starts with I, let's just call her J) came into the story, who shared a past with I. With that, F sucked up.

After a series of incidents which showed that I is still not over J, F felt farther and farther away from I. In that critical moment, D decided to confess to F, which really made her more confused. And more hurt, because she really, really likes I. When I decided to talk to F, he told her that he will try to start anew with J. And in that exact moment, F finally told I her feelings, but it also ended their somewhat relationship. That also ended their friendship.

D was there to comfort her most of the time, and told her that he would never make her cry. During this time, I was also having conflicting emotions with J, who already has a boyfriend, but still kept on seeing I. I knew all about this, but because he likes her so much, he decided to stay by her side (because she was always on a fight with her guy) and comfort her.

To cut it short, D asked F to go out with him (as a couple). At the same time, I and J worked out their situation, and J chose her boyfriend over I. So I, who has also finally made up his mind and worked out his feeling towards F, decided to return to her.. just as he overheard F telling D that even though that in her heart there are still pieces of I left, she will try to forget him. And she chose D.

Well, so far, that's what i only got from the downloads. There are no scanlated continuations yet, so i don't know what would happen to their bizaare love triangle. In one chapter, the cousins' nice obaachan (grandmother) told F this:

"Be with the one who will love you more. A woman must be loved. If you're loved, you'll be able to continue cooking for that man until your hands look like this (she is an old lady, so go imagine)... If you're the only one doing the loving, eventually you'll get exasperated and think 'To hell with this!' Ideally, you want someone you can love 120% and be loved 150%."

I don't know if i would agree with that 100%, but yes, she has a point. Maybe i'm also too young and inexperienced to understand such a philosophical view. Although the story was too feminine (even for my taste), the story touched something within me. The tension between the three of them is really powerful.

The troubles of friendship and love.