Secretly Holding Hands with You Behind Our Friends’ Back. Falling in Love That Cannot Be Told to Anyone

Description

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Youth is not just about love. But – only this love must not be noticed.

“Youth = getting a girlfriend? Youth or anything is not at all just about that.”

A high school student with a trauma in love, Koga Junya, believed that youth is definitely more about making merry with friends and developing friendships than about love; that watching the beautiful starry sky, and chatting in a family restaurant till morning with the five best friends was precisely their youth.

――And yet, why do we fall in love with someone even if they’re our friends? Even though we might not be able to have the same relationship as before.

Upon discovering the true hidden thoughts of one of the group members, Narushima Yoru, a complicit relationship between Junya and her is born, leading them to unintentionally touch each other’s wounds.

This a youth love drama depicting straightforward and twisted feelings where friendship and love intersect.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Tomodachi no Ushiro de Kimi to Kossori Te wo Tsunagu. Dare ni mo Ienai Koi wo Suru.
友達の後ろで君とこっそり手を繋ぐ。誰にも言えない恋をする。
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. To Be Read
  2. I'd like a tasting
  3. My list (Average-looking Protagonist)
  4. personal favorites(literally all romance though)
  5. RecentlyAddedRomance

Latest Release

Date Group Release
11/08/22 I Cant Read JapaneseTL v1c6
07/12/22 I Cant Read JapaneseTL v1c5
06/03/22 I Cant Read JapaneseTL v1c4
04/23/22 I Cant Read JapaneseTL v1c3
03/28/22 I Cant Read JapaneseTL v1c2
02/15/22 I Cant Read JapaneseTL v1c1
02/15/22 I Cant Read JapaneseTL v1 prologue
02/15/22 I Cant Read JapaneseTL v1 illustrations
Review
7 Reviews


mastercoyote
mastercoyote
Mar 02, 2023
Status: v2c5
this is a good read so far

just the definition of friendship which the MC thinks is right, feels wrong to me, I think friends dont need daily interaction to deepen or to continue, I have many close friends and we live far apart because of our colleges but we still keep in contact, and when we meet at our hometown on holidays we pull pranks, go on outings, throw random insults at each other etc etc, whenever one of us has a problem we are there for them.... always, so... more>> ultimately I just want to say that not being in contact with someone for a while dosent mean u are not friends with them anymore, the trust u built in the friendship dosent go away...... if u have a good friend they will always be there for u, and if ur friendship is so fragile that u feel insecure that they might leave u then u havent met a good friend yet <<less
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momonday
momonday
Jul 29, 2022
Status: v1c5
Despite having only a few chapters recently translated, the novel hooks the reader right from the beginning through its unique plot and characters. The author does well to flesh out the contrasting ideologies of both the MC and FMC, making the characters in the novel not only relatable but also captivating. The development of both characters makes this novel interesting as they gradually understand one another, making this a fascinating romance novel. If the quality of the story remains constant, I would highly recommend anyone interested in romance novels give... more>> this novel a shot. <<less
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yanaro
yanaro
Jun 27, 2022
Status: v1c4
Seems like a very good story, not sure if I should give it a 5 since it barely starts (not much has happened so far as most of the story was just to establish MC's reason for his point of view).

Looking forwards to more release although it might be slow since this is 2022 LN. Hopefully it doesn't need 10+ volumes to end.
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Ast3ral
Ast3ral
Mar 25, 2022
Status: v1c1
I personally really liked the novel so far (considering the low amount of chapters).

The story is somewhat unique, which is nice and fresh.

Since the story of the beginning part has only been translated; I cannot give it 5 stars right now, but I will heavily recommend to give it at least a try to see if it's your cup of tea or not.
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-Isa-
-Isa-
Apr 25, 2022
Status: v1c3
What a powerful opening. This might be one of the better Japanese romance novels lately that tackle some interesting themes. Also the writing quality is certainly above average.

... more>>
Spoiler

The story has done well establishing characters and the conflict that will exist throughout it. The two conflicting topics are love and friendship, and two main characters represent each extreme end of the spectrum. MC represents friendship, a man who comes to hate love because it ruined friendship. It took away one of his friend, and it also took away his previous love interest. He would do anything to maintain friendship among his circle, even at the cost of love. Because of that, he chooses to not make a move on his current love interest. FMC on the other hand represents love. She is doing anything in her power to get close to MC's friend, the man she loves, even if that costs friendship between him and the MC as well as his friends. She openly hates MC for stopping her, and said that she would teach him the wonders of love. Seems like these characters would learn the importance of the opposite stance, and would find balance between love and friendship (and might eventually come to realize the love for each other)

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This is such an interesting opening, and I think you should give this one a try. <<less
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reviwig
reviwig
Jan 26, 2024
Status: Completed
A captivating read. As a fan of romance, comedy and drama, I can definitely recommend this if you enjoy the latter. Comedy is here and there throughout the earlier volumes. As for the romance, it is definitely there, but maybe a tad much? What I mean by this is that this is one of the less wholesome romance. The characters are not innocent, and become pretty warped by the time you reach the conclusion. Of course, the main message being how deformed love can get, there is no problem with... more>> this. However, I personally had a hard time relating with this "love", which again, is probably the aim of the novel. That is to say that the romance was a little less satisfying for me, though some people will surely enjoy that.

The characters are all interesting, and by the time I saw all their wrong decisions and reach the end, I had a hard time telling which one I hated the least. That is not a bad thing! But I do believe all of them need some sort of therapy, and I would definitely not want to have friends like that.

Jun'ya's philosophy on friendship is quite interesting, and he actually has a backbone. Though
Spoiler

his reluctance to not reveal their secret, and the fact that he could not reject Hinoko's advances because of "friendship" was a little irritating.

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Yoru is a cute heroine and I loved her interactions with Jun'ya at first, but her way of thinking is beyond me. It was explicitely written to make the reader feel that way, but it made it hard for me to be happy for their love considering
Spoiler

how f*cked up she is, to say the least. I mean, she literally let her boyfriend date another girl and cuckold her? Can you even call it love?

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Hinoko is also quite charming, and her cunningness was really interesting. That said,
Spoiler

her so-called "NTR" was quite the f*cked up thing to do, especially to your own friend. Also, she should learn how to give up. Though her sleeping with Seiran was kind of unfortunate, and

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I did feel bad for her on that point (just a little).

Shintarou really was the GOAT for helping Jun'ya in his past, but
Spoiler

he should also learn how to give up. I mean, getting excited when seeing your crush think about another man? Have a smidgen of self-respect... And well, pinning down a girl was definitely not a good move,

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though clearly not the worst thing someone has done in this story.

And finally, Seiran. At first, I thought he would probably be the least interesting character, but it was surprising how low he could get.
Spoiler

Failing to refuse advances and sleeping with a friend that got rejected, even though you like someone else is definitely not what a friend would do. Crazy how he had the audacity to rebuke others afterwards.

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As for the other characters, Megumi is the GOAT, and I forgive her for what she did to the protagonist in her past, just because of volume three. Also, adults in this novel are quite terrible. Especially a certain someone that has definitely already flown to Epstein's island in the past, and that should promptly be put in jail.

I feel that after all the drama, the end was a little anti-climactic, though at the same time, I have a hard time finding any other conclusion. I did tie most loose ends though, so it was mostly satisfying. My only grip is
Spoiler

that they waited two years to date again. Why would you do this if you were not meeting with your friends anymore either way?

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In conclusion, if you like drama and the more twisted kind of romance, this novel is for you. At the end of the day, I can wholeheartedly say that it was a interesting read that kept me on edge and made me eager to read the next page. <<less
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Guinn
Guinn
Mar 17, 2023
Status: v2c1
I am absolutely loving this light novel so far. I love the dynamic between the two leads, one of my favorite tropes is when two people openly hate each other and bicker but eventually start becoming close without them even realizing it.

Light spoilers

... more>>
Spoiler

There is some potential for some really messy drama and I have no idea what direction this story is going to go in. If it's going to turn into a complete dumpster fire full of drama and "sinful secrets and betrayals that can never be told to anyone", or if all the characters will talk things out and resolve everything. Or maybe no drama will ever happen and the status quo the group of friends is trying to maintain never shatters. No matter what route the light novel takes, I will absolutely love and look forward to each chapter.

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I also just love all of the characters in the light novel. I've always wanted a story focused on a friend group that wasn't comprised of 4 cute anime girls and a harem MC. Hot anime guys is something that I always wanted more of and I'm finally being blessed with that in this light novel. Looking forward to seeing where this goes <<less
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