Hello everyone, it’s been a minute. Now that the novel is finished (I’m still missing the side stories before I leave this novel), I want to share my thoughts on the novel as a whole, well… I mostly want to tell you guys my experience and everything that has happened this past year. So, I’ll do it in sections.

• Scrapped or Changed Content

Originally, Riku and Sachi weren’t planned as characters. If anything, they were created the same day I wrote ‘Chapter 1 - Kei Ichinose’. However, the two rapidly gave me plenty to work with and as of now, are two of my favorite characters in the whole series.

I’m fully aware that Arc 5: ‘One Step Away From Being Too Late’, could be seen as a disappointment. As Shizuka got off too lightly in contrast with the suffering she gave Kei… In a way. However, this was an almost last minute change (I think?).

Let me explain, back when I was barely starting Volume 1, Even Though I Loved You First was supposed to end on a normal highschool day. Specifically, in Kei’s second year a little after he and Arisa started dating. Some turn of events led to her and Hayato breaking up, and the pair of childhood friends (along with Arisa) would walk home together after consoling Shizuka for a bit. This is a fragment of the scene I had in mind at the time:

—“So, what will you be doing now, Shizu?” Asked Kei as he stared at his childhood friend’s cerulean eyes, which were haunted in sorrow and had barely any light left.

Shizuka pondered for a while, and in a raspy voice, she said. “I wonder, I’ll probably think about my life until now… After all, I’m now fully aware that I brought this upon myself… My problem is mine to solve… Then, I’ll leave here.” She said as she walked to the opposite side from where the other two planned to go.

As Kei stared at her fleeting back, he only turned to his girlfriend and in a slightly lower voice, simply signaled her to keep on. “Let 's go.”—

So yeah, things really toned down in the final version. I’m planning on a commercial re-write though… It’s still not confirmed, but if it happens, I’ll probably give a more serious and realistic tone to that one.

Between Arcs 3 to 5, there was supposed to be a scene of a rivalry between Kei and an upperclassman. Simply put, it was someone who didn’t think Kei was a good match for Arisa. (This idea was given to me by a close friend of mine when I was writing Arc 3). I never got to write it, simply because I didn’t feel quite comfortable with it. Well, if we think about it, it did happen canonically, just… not on camera.

Before Arisa’s parents appeared, one of my ideas was to have Itsuki acquainted with both Kaho and Touya. Simply put, he was supposed to be a senior of the two, who according to his father, acted as the wingman when it came to the couple.

• Behind The Idea For This Novel… Along With Some Motivations

How many harem manga have you read, when the best girl (aka, the childhood friend) is overshadowed by the main girl? Or poster girl, idk. You get my point now right?

Back then, I wanted to start from the ‘after’ of a losing heroine. With the only difference that instead of it being a girl, it was a guy. In harem manga, or in romance mangas in general, the one who has many girls behind him tends to be… pathetic, in some way. Now, not all of them of course, however I was kind of tired of seeing that trope being used. So, that’s how Kei came into being. I wanted someone who wasn’t socially awkward, someone who was really the embodiment of ‘his efforts’... and I think I did a decent job… Now, it was my first time SERIOUSLY writing a character, so bear with me if Kei’s character wasn’t that deep…

I also wanted to have some side couples, simply to give some rest to the main characters. And of course, the troupe of ‘best friend’s older sister was a must!’ all my homies like those (not really).

So yeah, when it came to the idea for the novel, it wasn’t really anything elaborated.

• Motivation

When it comes to motivations, I think that the most simple one was my best friend. He has stayed with me for almost seven years. I remember commenting on my profile about my FIRST novel which I neither uploaded nor finished. It was something I just wrote for fun.

It was a tragedy/romance one, and while I do have plans to touch the document for it, it’s not really in my current roadmap. Anyways, he was the only one that read through it and gave me advice. So yeah, I’m grateful to him.

The next one was simply… other novels. As I read more, my desire to write only grew stronger, and if anything, before I knew it I was already writing on my phone. (Oh yeah, during the first volume, I wrote on ScribbleHub’s interface lol).

• The Future

Now, there are many side characters that have been left hanging with their own backgrounds. That’s what the after story is for, to develop those characters as I go at my own pace. This is a list of the characters I want to cover in the after story. (The list is in the order I plan to upload them, but not in chronological order. So while one may take place during Kei’s second year for example, another could take place during his university days.)

1. Ichirou Segawa - When Patience Runs Dry
2. Hiyori Tsugumi - Restless Spirits, Broken Ties
3. Aiku Kamihate - Liquor of Love
4. Kotone Ichinose - Clumsy Courtship of Selfish Affections
5. Karane Ichinose - For I Have Touched The Sky
6. Hayato Hayasaka - Unyielding Bonds, Uncharted Paths
7. Seichiiro Amagi - The Value of One’s Soul
8. Kaho Kirigaya & Touya Ichinose - Only a Child

Of course, in between arcs (or even in between chapters) I’ll probably add one or two single chapters with most of the cast. but for now, this is my plan.

• Conclusion

To be fair, I wish I could write about more details, but I’m reserving them for the one-year anniversary. So do be patient, after that and the two side stories, I’ll probably leave this novel untouched for what, two months? I don’t know. Anyway, thx for reading all the way, and I’ll see you on my next work… farewell.