I was 10, and suddenly I turned 25. Episode 8: What does it mean to like someone as a woman? ~The difference between a 10-year-old's 'like' without knowing about sexuality and an adult's 'like'. Like vs. Love~
Opening: Mirai's counter-question
From the final scene of the previous episode.
Mirai (smiling gently): "Thank you. But Naoto-kun, what kind of 'like' is that?"
Naoto (freezing for a moment): "Uh...? 'Like' is... I like you! I really, really like you!"
Mirai (looking troubled): "...Is that as a friend? Or as a 'woman'?"
Naoto (inner voice): "As a 'woman'...? Huh...? What does that mean!?"
Naoto searches for 'like as a woman' on Google
As soon as he gets home, he opens his computer and starts researching.
Naoto (inner voice): "'Like as a woman'... does that mean... the difference between 'like' and 'love'?"
The search results show words like 'romantic feelings,' 'sexual desire,' and 'the desire to be together.'
Naoto: "W-what is this... sexuality? Huh, what is this!?"
Awkwardness at work
Naoto spots Mirai, but he can't figure out the right distance to keep. An awkward atmosphere.
Mirai: "Good morning, Naoto-kun... have you thought about what we talked about yesterday?"
Naoto (looking away): "U-um... well... 'liking someone as a woman'... that's quite a heavy phrase, isn't it..."
Mirai smiles a little, and says it with a hint of sadness.
Mirai: "Naoto-kun, you really are like a teenager..."
Naoto is startled and tries to play it off.
Shocked by hearing male employees talk about their love lives
In the break room, male employees are talking about their love lives.
Employee A: "Honestly, when you're dating, isn't physical compatibility important too?"
Employee B: "Personality matters, but, you know..."
Naoto, listening in secret, is shocked.
Naoto (inner voice): "Wait, is that what 'liking' someone means!? You think about... doing those things with a girl? I don't understand that at all..."
Naoto remembers his childhood
Flashback: Telling a girl at the same elementary school I liked her and having her run away.
Naoto in the flashback (10 years old): "I like you, [Name]!"
Girl: "Ew, are you stupid or something!" (Laughs and runs away)
Naoto's eyes look lonely.
Naoto (present): "Back then and even now... I just can't seem to get my feelings of 'like' across..."
Reunion with Mirai and pouring out his heart
On the way home, he happens to run into Mirai.
Naoto: "I don't think I really understand what it means to 'like someone as a woman.' I don't really know about the physical side of things... but I do want to be with you. Is that not good enough?"
Mirai (quietly): "No, it's not that it's not good enough. But that might be a little different from 'love.'"
Naoto stops walking, looking a little sad.
Naoto: "'Love' is... really complicated, isn't it?"
Naoto (inner voice): "There are many forms of 'like.' But I wonder which 'like' I want to know about. I still don't know the answer."
Next time: To the final chapter