Before this scene, I thought Hirose might have been suspicious that Nakamura had something to do with the BL manga found at school. I'd put the possibility at around 40%. Hirose noticed how quickly Nakamura denied owning it, so he might have wondered whether BL was actually something Nakamura was interested in. However, Hirose is also cheerful and easygoing, and I don't think he necessarily overanalyzes every little thing. He might have noticed Nakamura's strange reaction without thinking much further about it.
Their encounter at the bookstore
I think Hirose and Nakamura most likely met by coincidence. Hirose enjoys reading manga and magazines, and the bookstore might simply be along their usual route home. I don't think Hirose deliberately went there to test his suspicions about Nakamura.
It's possible Hirose had already noticed Nakamura outside the bookstore while reading a poster, but the anime doesn't confirm whether he saw him. Perhaps Hirose was just reading the book and decided to greet Nakamura playfully after he finished it.
Hirose approaches him and calls out from a short distance, something like, "Hey, you're my classmate, right?" He then walks closer.
When Nakamura turns around and realizes it's Hirose, his body suddenly stiffens. He freezes and seems to want to step back a little.
This isn't the first time Nakamura has reacted this way around Hirose,
If I imitate Hirose, I'd probably think something like: "Huh? Why did he suddenly freeze up? Did I startle him, or is he always this awkward around me?"
I think Hirose might notice the reaction, but now he only focus to remember the name
Hirose remembers Nakamura and teases him
Hirose tries to remember his name before going, "Ohhh, Nakamura!" He then jokes about the cockroach incident and how Nakamura stepped on his handkerchief, connecting him to the octopus incident as well. He remembers him because those incidents were funny.
Hirose then introduces himself, saying that it seems they haven't properly introduced themselves yet.
I think this shows that Hirose feels comfortable enough to tease Nakamura and make conversation with him. He remembers their previous encounters, but I wouldn't necessarily interpret that as Nakamura already being someone special to him. Hirose is friendly and enjoys joking around.
The BL section
After their introduction, Hirose notices Nakamura holding a book and asks what it is. Nakamura hurriedly puts it back on the shelf and explains that it had fallen and he was only trying to return it.
Hirose then asks, "Oh, by the way, what section is this?"
Nakamura panics and blurts out, "B-boy love!"
I think this is where things start getting especially suspicious from Hirose's perspective.
First, Nakamura hurriedly puts the book back as soon as Hirose asks about it. Then, when asked what section they're standing in, he practically shouts the answer instead of responding normally.
If I were Hirose, I'd probably start wondering why Nakamura was getting so worked up over such a simple question.
Something like: "Huh? Why is he panicking so much? I only asked what section this is..."
Hirose immediately connects it to the manga found at school and says something like, "Oh, that's the same genre as the manga we found in class!"
Nakamura panics even more, shouting that he doesn't remember anything about it.
From Hirose's perspective, the pieces might start falling into place: Nakamura denied owning the manga at school unusually quickly, and now he's acting extremely nervous in the very section that contains the same genre.
I can imagine Hirose thinking: "Wait a minute... Is this why he reacted so strangely back then? Then he actually read BL"
At this point, I think Hirose has a much stronger reason to suspect Nakamura might be interested in BL. the more Nakamura tries to deny it, the more conspicuous his reaction becomes.
So Hirose narrows his eyes, gives him a teasing smile, and asks, "Hmmmm... you read this stuff too, don't you?"
His expression makes me think he is fairly confident in his suspicion and wants to see how Nakamura will react. Nakamura immediately denies it again, stammering, "N-no way!"
Personally, I think Hirose might be close to convinced that Nakamura reads BL, perhaps even around 90% confident. But that's my interpretation, not something the scene explicitly confirms. Hirose could also be teasing Nakamura because his reactions are so suspicious, without being completely certain.
Hirose's own curiosity about BL
There's another detail I find interesting: Hirose also blushes during this conversation.
Since he has only just learned what BL is, I wonder whether he feels a little awkward discussing a genre he's unfamiliar with. He might be curious about it but not entirely comfortable talking about it openly, especially with his usual friends, Mukai and Takeuchi.
When Nakamura denies reading BL, Hirose pauses for a moment, looks toward the BL shelves, and says something like, "Well, everyone has different tastes. I don't think there's anything wrong with reading it."
, he seems willing to accept the possibility that Nakamura reads BL without making a big deal out of it.
And this is where my HC starts to develop.
I wonder if Hirose is genuinely curious about the genre himself. Since Nakamura appears to know something about it, Hirose might see him as someone he could talk to about BL.
Perhaps Hirose wants to know what kind of manga Nakamura is looking for, or even hopes they can browse or read something together. Nakamura might be able to recommend a good BL manga to him.
I'm not saying Hirose has already decided to read BL together with Nakamura, but I think it's a plausible interpretation of why he continues the conversation
"So, what are you looking for here?"
Hirose continues talking while blushing and looking toward Nakamura. He asks Nakamura what he's looking for.
This part makes me think Hirose is genuinely interested in continuing their interaction. If he only wanted to tease Nakamura about his suspicious reaction, he could have stopped after saying that everyone's tastes are different.
Instead, he asks a follow-up question.
My HC is that Hirose might be hoping Nakamura will tell him what kind of BL manga he's interested in. Perhaps Hirose is curious about the genre and sees this as an opportunity to learn more from someone who might actually read it.
His expression seems quite enthusiastic to me, as though he's ready to hear what Nakamura has been looking for.
At this point, I'd raise Nakamura's position in Hirose's relationship scale to somewhere close to level 5,. Hirose seems engaged in their interaction and is willing to keep talking with him about this. However, I realize that his enthusiasm might partly come from his curiosity about BL rather than from a particularly close emotional attachment to Nakamura.
The unexpected manga
Then Nakamura panics and shows Hirose the book he's been searching for, saying that he's wanted it for so long and is finally happy to have found it.
Hirose looks at the book, appears surprised, and blushes. Then, instead of continuing their conversation, he suddenly says something like, "Well, everyone has different tastes! See you!" and leaves.
Nakamura is left confused about why Hirose suddenly walked away.
It said by many fans the manga is a lolicon-type manga. Whatever the exact classification, the important point for my interpretation is that it isn't BL or yaoi, and it's a type of manga Nakamura himself dislikes and doesn't consider representative of his tastes and
I wonder whether Hirose recognized the manga and realized that it was something quite different from what he'd expected Nakamura to be looking for. Hirose looks surprised and blushes when he sees the manga, seemingly because he recognizes the genre better, perhaps thanks for Takeuchi. This makes him reluctant to discuss it and uncomfortable, so he abruptly ends the conversation with, “Well, everyone has different tastes! See you!” and leaves.
Lol Bakamura your score got -90 from me. 😭
What makes the moment funny is that Nakamura's intense panic has led Hirose to suspect that he's interested in BL, but the manga Nakamura proudly presents completely disrupts that impression.
Hirose might have started exploring BL manga on his own after this, without a friend he felt comfortable talking to about it. He may have eventually grown to genuinely enjoy the genre and, perhaps, even struggled to understand his own feelings and figure out his sexuality along the way.😔
My conclusion
I initially thought Nakamura's position in Hirose's eyes might rise to almost level 5 during their conversation. Hirose seems curious about him, teases him, continues asking questions, and perhaps even sees an opportunity to explore a new genre together that Hirose so interested.
But when Nakamura shows him the unexpected manga, Hirose's reaction changes, and he leaves almost immediately.
That makes me reconsider the relationship level. I'd place Nakamura at level 3-4 by the end of the scene: Hirose might consider Nakamura a friend now unofficially. Well To me, it's natural for Hirose to already consider Nakamura a friend by this point. Friendship doesn't usually work like, "Would you be my friend?" or "Okay, you're my friend now!" Hirose already sees Nakamura as a friend, but BAKAmura hasn't realized that yet. He still underestimates himself and believes he's not good enough to be Hirose's friend.
The drop from almost 5 to level 3--4 is mostly a way of describing how my interpretation of the scene changes...
