Considering everyone just places their coats over their chairs, it is a bit unusual for someone to hang it on the rack in the office — at least, so notes Yukawa’s coworker. Meanwhile Yukawa has reasons to do this, and it all began with an accidental meeting with who she originally called vanilla girl. With that vanilla scent and beautiful looks, the only thing she knew was they were both in different departments, so unless something unusual pops up it’s hard to see them meet again aside from job-related meetings or gatherings. Well, Yukawa having a keychain that’s not hers in her coat pocket can count as unusual! Yukawa then uses this mix-up to formally meet Mizuki, who then one day leaves a note in Yukawa’s coat pocket to meet up for dinner/lunch. And since then, that’s how these two have communicated.
But while Mizuki’s being sweet, open and friendly, Yukawa’s slowly finding herself entranced by being with her…and not simply as just a friend.
The start of If We Leave on the Dot is simple enough, but it personally becomes better when Yukawa starts to realize she likes Mizuki but frets over how personal she wants to get with her. She soon realizes the solution was actually simple (LINE is a popular app!), but her constant interactions only makes her fall for Mizuki even more. It’s just that, does Mizuki actually like her in the way she wants? Does Yukawa really want to change how their current relationship is by asking her out?
That opportunity does actually pop up, and Mizuki…becomes uncertain as she accepts!
Mizuki’s perspective on how she saw her relationship with Yukawa was pretty good. She didn’t actually believe she liked her until Yukawa confessed, and the swing of emotions from confession to what happened over the next couple days makes sense. When they did talk again and she couldn’t accept how reluctant Yukawa was regarding everything, her response to go with it only spoke to what her heart was saying but her brain just couldn’t keep up. It can be like that sometimes — and it could be considered heartless in taking advantage of someone who’s committed to making it work no matter what, but this was more or less a case where Mizuki really wanted to care for Yukawa in a special way, and that was great to see.
There’s much to like in If We Leave on the Dot, ranging from how these two truly want to be around each other to them eventually realizing at their own pace the level of love they have for each other. Of course, we’ll see how the upcoming volumes go as they navigate their feelings, how much they want to reveal at work, etc — but here’s hoping things will be as sweet and as lovely as possible. With cute art and a moving story, there’s a lot to enjoy and like in this manga.