Nov 21, 2025
And now, I've finished. As someone who's also a fan of short and sweet stories, I applaud you for getting this done in just over 26,000 words. As for the story itself, my thoughts are mixed. You're well aware of how I feel about the texting segments, though the good news is they practically vanished during the second half of the story. My biggest issue though would have to be the romance between Kana and Sakuya.
Sakuya didn't do a good job of leaving a good impression on me. I felt more often than not he was more playboy than serious love interest, especially with how Yuto's relationship with Kana was. And that brings me to another point. Yuto and Jun clicked instantly as you put it in the story, which I feel came at the expense of Kana and Sakuya. Jun and Yuto was essentially a perfect fic, while Kana and Sakuya felt more forced. Not to mention, Yuto had far more heartfelt moments with Kana that it made me question why he wasn't her main love interest as in my opinion, he was presented as the far better partner for Kana compared to Sakuya. Now if I glossed over the fact that Yuto was gay from the start, that's completely on me, but regardless of if he was or wasn't, he deserved Kana far more than Sakuya did in my opinion.
In short, I feel I might not have enjoyed this story compared to others. It might be due to me not resonating greatly with some of the shoujo tropes, nor being the biggest fan of the pretty boy band character archetype. There were some good moments, yes, but with the, at times, overindulgence with the texting segments coupled with Sakuya not leaving a good impression on me, I feel this might be a 3/5 at best for me. Regardless, you managed to finish this which is an achievement in of itself. Not to mention, you've got a finalist in another contest, so congrats on that. Best of luck to you in regards to both contests.
