SpringHaze's manga / #Playboy(4)

I liked this a lot (Pretend Narcissist, haha). It's fuckbuddies with a bitter seme who doesn't believe in feelings (because he had a traumatic experience in high school) and an apparently playboy uke who's been in love with him since high school. There were a few scenes that squeeze a tear, because uke is quite sweet and never confesses his love, only wants to be close to him.

This seme got the BL award in 2019 (?) and I love that he is actually such a decent guy, even though he seems to be a one-night-stand playboy. Art is lovely and the relationship is sweet. Edit: Ooo, ongoing 3 volumes.

I just ordered this and read it afterwards and I have to say no regrets, this is good! Art did not appeal to me in the beginning but I think it gets prettier - it's just that the mangaka favours slim, lanky body types and the faces are overly feminine on the protagonists (even on the ML) while everyone else gets the ugly treatment. Story is all drama, but the FL manages to make it more grounded and more mature than just the usual miscommunication and people running away slamming doors, she's just that level-headed (and on that note, she's one of the few FLs I've ever read who stays true to her character of cold-blooded workaholic, she is all that, all logic and very little feelings, though she is yearning for connection in her own way). ML is deceptively warm at first, when we are limited to her POV and then he comes across as the playboy who he really is, all about the game and never one for love. He's actually the more confused one of the two, possessive and jealous and not mature enough to realise why (he's also a little younger if I'm not mistaken).

Aimi Shuu is very popular and the rumors about him are also widely known. Everyone knows about how he would date anyone as long as they accept his condition to never get jealous, even when he's fooling around with others. After another of his girlfriends breaks up with him, Aimi is asked out by Kaede Manato, an underclassman. Surprisingly, Kaede follows the condition very well, he never gets jealous and actually looks up to Aimi for living life in his own way, but... Now this is one of those 'this is fictional' stories, cause uke seems either too laid-back or a doormat and the seme's life style makes him look like a douche. But I love this scenario, eat it up with a ladle. Senpai sleeps with everyone who asks and is very upfront about what he can give in a relationship and Kaede is a ray of sunshine cutie pie who is just happy to spend time with Aimi (low self-esteem, but it's fictional). Aimi does a lot of growth and self-discovery in 5 chapters and he never stops developing, which is so great to watch. He starts paying attention, realizes he must put his feelings into words or he'll never get through Kaede, and becomes a happier person all around. I adore this as a fictional trope.