Blue [Chapter18-20]

Summarised by Yakitate no J.L

Chapter 18

As Yousuke continues to hug Mimi, she starts to get confused. (Hugging in Japan is a big deal.) The rain falls loudly and it’s a perfect setting for their feelings, but Yousuke’s hug becomes too strong for Mimi. She tells him that it hurts and he lightly apologizes. He doesn’t understand what he is doing by hugging her so desperately. He thinks that he is getting weak and asks Mimi if she is going to avoid him from now on because he is dating Mariya. Mimi tells him that he is being stupid and she would never avoid him. She doesn’t care if what he is doing is right or wrong; she is on his side anyway. Mimi then asks Yousuke to have a love talk with her, just like how she had told him about Sensei. The beginning was two years ago in the summer, during freshmen year in high school. Yousuke - “I was bored.” High school wasn’t as fun as he thought it would be. Romance and afterschool activities didn’t make high school raise the tensions for him to be so childish. Yousuke was lying down by the beach and saying that he was bored. “Then why don’t you work at my shop?” A voice asked. That’s when he met Mariya. He started working at the accessory/jewelry store. Mariya talks a lot and laughs so much that it surprises him. She works a lot too. She is a funny woman. One day, Yousuke apologizes to Mariya for being a boring person. She bursts out laughing and starts to slap his back. “You think of yourself that way!? When you said ‘I’m bored,’ were you not only saying that the people and things around you are boring but also yourself?” Mariya has hit the point. “I think it’s a good thing to think that you are boring, it’s a proof that you have aspiration.  You-chan is just getting anxious at not being able to grow up when you want to! You’re going to be a good man when you grow up.” Just like that, she changed him from a boring person to be someone special. He then told her that her husband must be a really good guy, after noticing her ring. “I suppose he is a good guy, not that I’m loved, just kidding!” replies Mariya. She must have some anxiety herself about her husband but always hide it behind her big smile. Yousuke notices that and from that day, he vigorously begins talking to her and laughing with her. He made the distance between them closer and closer and he finally kissed her. They were dating from that day on. Yousuke tells Mimi that romance is scary because you can’t control yourself and ignore the ideals made by the society. “I don’t even know what to do anymore,” said Yousuke.

Mimi then meets Hikari and tells him that Yousuke is indeed going out with Mariya and he doesn’t know what to do. Mimi doesn’t know what to do either. Hikari decides that he is going to go tell Mariya to breakup with Yousuke and they run to the shop. Mariya is surprised when she sees them. Hikari bluffs her by saying that they want to make their own engagement ring because they noticed the advertisement for it. Hikari gets distracted when they start learning how to make glass. Mimi gets him to focus and he tries to talk to Mariya. But she starts to laugh at him because everything that he is thinking is shown on his face, and he knows “What’s correct.” Mariya says that You-chan doesn’t say anything, doesn’t show anything on his face, and he never gets angry at her. If he does get angry at her even for a little, Mariya thinks that she would feel better. Hikari burns his finger so Mimi takes him outside where there is cold water that he can use to cool his finger down. While they are gone, Mariya looks at the rings they made and talks to herself. “Just because they are getting married, it doesn’t mean that their love is going to last.” Back to Hikari and Mimi, they are discussing outside on what they are going to do with Mariya. Mimi thinks that they should wait. She notices that Mariya-san do have feelings for Yousuke and it’s cruel to forcefully separate them. But Hikari cannot accept that. He doesn’t think that it’s okay for her to love two people at the same time. But most of all, Yousuke isn’t the person to get into such a relationship. He used to like Mimi for such a long time since they were little. Even after Mimi moved away, he still liked her. So the next person he ends up liking is Mariya, which is so wrong in Hikari’s opinion. Hikari strongly states that the person he should fall for cannot be someone who hurts him. Mimi agrees, she only likes Hikari too. If true happiness means that the person you love only loves you, then Yousuke must be miserable. Yousuke sees them kiss after saying that, and he feels even more broken. “Hikari, we only go against their relationship because Yousuke is our important friend and we care for them, right?” Yousuke turns around without them noticing that he is there, and he runs off.

Chapter 19

“We probably didn’t know the real pain in Yousuke’s heart.”

Yousuke runs off without telling anybody his whereabouts. Mimi is calling Hikari and tells him that it’s already 11pm and he is not back yet. She has checked Mariya-san’s store but she is nowhere to be found either. She hopes that they didn’t go kakeochi*. While they are worrying, Yousuke is by the shore and Mariya finds him, and they go for a walk. The rest of the three friends, Mimi, Hikari, and Sumire meet up. Sumire confesses that she knew about Yousuke’s secret for over a year but didn’t say anything. Then Yousuke and Mariya suddenly comes back home nonchalantly. Mariya blends in with the group naturally and drinks tea as if there’s nothing wrong. Hikari asks her if she was going to go kakeochi with Yousuke. She says that they tried but the island is too small and there’s nowhere to go. And she told him to not get so angry with her because she’s the one who convinced Yousuke to go kakeochi with her. Hikari doesn’t accept that one bit but Mimi calms him down as usual and when Yousuke sees her, he can’t help but to pat her on the head. Mariya stops him with a chop. She then imitates Mimi and asks him if she’s cute and if it makes him want to pat her on the head too. He tells her that it doesn’t suit her but she doesn't mind because she likes seeing him smile. In response to that comment she made, he gives the sweetest and adoring smile to her. After all the trouble Mariya put everybody into, she still sleeps right in the middle of everyone.

Hikari woke up first, and the first thing he says is “Mimi, let’s get married.” So early in the morning, they all gather up by the beach for Hikari and Mimi’s wedding. Mariya is forced to act as the priest. She complains because it’s so early in the morning and tells them to do it by themselves. Hikari says that if they’re going to exchange the rings, they have to do in front of everyone (as in front of Yousuke, Mariya, and Sumire.) Hikari looks through the ring and says “This is the promise that we’re going to love each other forever!” Mimi was blushing with happiness. However, Yousuke and Mariya look pained or filled with anxiety. They both know that marrying isn’t going to keep their love strong and last forever. The ring is not as special as they believe it is. Sumire as well looked pained. She did love Hikari a while ago; it must be hard for her to watch someone she used to love marry her friend. But Hikari and Mimi vowed their love for each other with full confidence.  Mariya’s phone rings and interrupts their ceremony; it’s her husband. Hikari yells at her to answer the phone and tell him that she loves Yousuke and she’s not returning to him. Yousuke stops him and tells him that it’s none of his business. They get into an argument and accidentally push Mariya to the ground. They take her to the hospital and they try to find out how she’s doing. But the nurse asks for her family member or a husband. When Yousuke hears that, he again realizes his position. They wait for her for a while to wake up and the nurse notices that. She tells them that Mariya is calling someone’s name in her sleep. Maybe its Yousuke, the nurse guessed. Yousuke walks into the room where Mariya is sleeping. Mimi says in her head, “Hey Mariya san, can you please make Yousuke happy?” He stands by her bed now, and sees tear falling down her cheeks. “Mariya, are you okay?” Yousuke anxiously asks. “…Ryuu… Ryuu…” she called. Yousuke’s eyes widen but he still holds her hand protectively. Mimi’s wish continues, “Please don’t hurt our Yousuke.”

*To those who don’t know what ‘Kakeochi’ means, it’s an action of a woman who leaves her husband without consulting him for some kind of reason. And in this case, Mariya tries to leave her husband for Yousuke.

Translator's Notes - I personally like Mariya. She’s still a teenager in heart. I think she just got married with the flow and at the moment she probably thought her love was going to last too. Just like Mimi and Hikari. But now it’s not working out with her husband so she has Yousuke to fill her loneliness. It’s cruel for her to do that but a lot of people do that and Yousuke knows the truth too, even though he tries to hide it. And he also loves her even if she doesn’t love him back. I think Hikari and Mimi should leave then alone. I really hate how Hikari and Mimi don’t see that marrying isn’t everything when it comes to love. Even when they have such a good example of sad marriages they still don’t see that there’s nothing to rush for. They are such teenager; rushing with everything, It’s going to be really sad if anything happens to their relationship.

Chapter 20

Yousuke’s heart starts to break from love that that never grows. As he continues to stand next to Mariya’s bed, she suddenly opens her eyes, confused over her whereabouts and what has happened to her. Yousuke tells her that his elbow hit her and she fell to the ground hitting her head. He also tells her that he called her husband for her but she says that that wasn’t necessary, because she has You-chan (Yousuke). When Mariya hugged Yousuke after saying that, Mimi is distressed. Yousuke leaves the room, insisting to be left alone. Mimi couldn’t leave him alone. So later that night, she goes to his room, slamming the door open. Yousuke was lying in his bed and he apparently is hiding something under the covers. Mimi tells him to show it to her, and it was a little dog named Youtarou-chan. Mimi wasn’t surprised by his actions at all. Since he was little, whenever he was upset, he always brought Youtarou-chan into his room. She tells him that he shouldn’t do that since the dog is always kept outside. Then Yousuke asks her if she’s going to sleep with him instead. Mimi doesn’t know how to answer so Yousuke concludes that she didn’t come to console him, instead she came to tell him to break up with Mariya. She then realizes that Yousuke knows best that he needs to break up with Mariya. Mimi tells him to don’t turn his back on her like that, she can’t just leave him alone, and she lies down next to him. Yousuke gets on top of her and asks her why she can say such a thing that makes him marvels. “Don’t you think that I started liking Mariya as a replacement for losing my first love, which was you?” His question confuses Mimi. He tries to kiss her. Mimi freezes. However, she regains herself and bluntly says that it is a lie. Yousuke says that that is what Mariya is doing; she’s using him as a replacement because she can’t say that she’s lonely. Mimi asks him why he goes out with her, and Yousuke replied that he doesn’t know, maybe because he is lonely too. Those words put Mimi into greater confusion.

The next day in school, Hikari tries to have a conversation with Mimi but she’s distracted by the sight of Yousuke reading by himself next to the window. Hikari get’s irritated and starts hitting Yousuke in the head. Hikari yells at him asking what’s up with saying “Leave me alone” yesterday and thanks to him, he is not getting any attention from Mimi. It’s annoying for Hikari to have to deal with a gloomy person for such a long time. Yousuke just blankly stares at him saying that Hikari is lucky because he gets to be so worked up over romance. Hikari gets more irritated and takes Yosuke’s necklace which holds a symbol of his love with Mariya away. He tells him that if he is not “worked up” either, he wouldn’t be wearing the necklace. Hikari yells saying, “Stop clinging on to such a creepy relationship!” He then tries to throw the necklace out the window but Yousuke stops him in time. Hikari continues yelling, saying that what irritates him the most is that Yousuke is not honest with his feelings. If he is lonely, he can say that he is lonely. If he is in pain, just say that he is in pain. He can yells it out if he wants to. If he thinks they are (Hikari, Mimi, and Sumire) going to stay away from him, he is wrong. “Say what ever you want to say in front of us.” Mimi was moved by Hikari’s speech. Sumire joins in, “We’ve known each other for such a long time, and of course we’re going to worry about you.” “Yeah, are we that unreliable?  If you’re in pain, just tell us. We’re here.” said Mimi. “So break up with that woman.” said Hikari bluntly. That started an argument between the three. Yousuke is just listening to them going on and on. He finally says “Childhood friends are annoying.” Then he laughed over their surprised reaction. That day, Mimi feels that she has become closer to Yousuke than she has ever did before. After school, the four friends are hanging out by the beach and Yousuke watches Hikari and Mimi smiling at each other. Then he says, “It’s time for me to settle this.”

Translator's Notes - I wonder what he wants to settle… Is it his relationship with Mariya? Or does he still have feelings for Mimi?

Shmook's sidenote -I can't help but feel sorry for Yousuke. Either way, it seems like he is at the losing end; first love with Mimi (Mimi ends up with Hikari) and his current relationship with Mariya (Mariya is a married woman). C'mon, give this bishie some luck in love =P