Koibito Keiyaku Chuu ni Tsuki – Matsuda Io

Yanaka is troubled by the frequent advances made by the women around him and one day, he ended up lying that he’s in a relationship with his friend and colleague, Moriyama.In exchange for pretending to be Yanaka’s lover, Moriyama has some conditions set out and they are…?

During A Lover Contract is a fake boyfriend salarymen romance between two long-time friends.

Yanaka is being pursued by a very determined woman, and to get her off his back, he declares he’s dating his co-worker Moriyama. Moriyama agreed with the scheme in exchange for something that was way out of the straight Yanaka’s comfort zone.

The manga is mostly from Yanaka’s POV. He’s a bit clueless, sweet, and always willing to lend a hand, which is what got him into trouble in the first place. The more time he spent with Moriyama, the more he’s pushed out of his comfort zone and found that he’s enjoying it.

The vibe is light-hearted. Had we had Moriyama’s POV, we’d be drowning neck-deep in angst and longing. Because you guessed it, our boy has unrequited feelings for his clueless friend.

My favorite part is how Yanaka finally returning his feelings impacted Moriyama, which made the shift to his POV so damn moving. The way the mangaka drew the confession scene was a devastating shot to the kokoro, devastating in the best way. Also the part where Moriyama had to take a moment, incredibly overwhelmed and half-believing it’s all a dream, I felt that too.

Overall, a poignant tale of indecent proposals, pure motives, and a dream come true.

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