Two people striving to make each other’s hopes and dreams come true.
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ⓒ callista valkyrie
<aside> <img src="/icons/partly-cloudy-night_gray.svg" alt="/icons/partly-cloudy-night_gray.svg" width="40px" /> It doesn’t matter how far this will go. As long as I’m able to laugh by your side, that’s enough. There’s no other wish I want more than this.
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Ritsu and Yurika’s relationship holds the trope of co-workers to lovers and the classic secret relationship, given their line of work and background.
Their romance and intimacy levels happen slowly, and issues such as breakups are experienced before they are able to establish a stable romantic bond properly. The period of their breakup is extremely important in the development of their relationship as well as character growth.
Yumeship Anniversary Date: July 22
<aside> <img src="/icons/partly-cloudy-night_gray.svg" alt="/icons/partly-cloudy-night_gray.svg" width="40px" /> About Shimizu Yurika
<aside> <img src="https://prod-files-secure.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/97cba202-2613-422f-9b92-32848af02541/b4b10aa0-5c51-469a-8d2a-3a073514a8da/Untitled14_20240630172912.png" alt="https://prod-files-secure.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/97cba202-2613-422f-9b92-32848af02541/b4b10aa0-5c51-469a-8d2a-3a073514a8da/Untitled14_20240630172912.png" width="40px" /> Yurika is a gentle, soft-spoken, and slightly timid girl who has a head that’s far too loud for her own good. Despite being the embodiment of what her peers would describe as a walking mess, Yurika is able to pull herself together when the time calls for it. She is passionate when it comes to her craft and quietly works hard to meet the expectations of people, but her occasional airheaded nature makes her colleagues think otherwise.
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Ritsu-kun is such a kind person. He always looks after people who are dear to him and gives them his utmost attention every time they’re in trouble. He took care of me well too when we were co-stars. He’s also very talented, isn’t he? Ritsu-kun has a voice that’s so tender and sweet – a tone that has the power to bring a sense of comfort to a person’s heart. Sometimes, I wonder how is it possible that I have someone as amazing as him in my life. I never thought we would be able to reconnect like this again. As his girlfriend, I want to give him my full support and help him achieve his dreams!
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<aside> <img src="/icons/partly-cloudy-night_gray.svg" alt="/icons/partly-cloudy-night_gray.svg" width="40px" /> About Sakuma Ritsu
<aside> <img src="https://prod-files-secure.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/97cba202-2613-422f-9b92-32848af02541/4d4db52d-2e97-4826-ad32-d111e10d9d37/174FB9D9-7ECD-4E60-901E-9AC849EF7455.png" alt="https://prod-files-secure.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/97cba202-2613-422f-9b92-32848af02541/4d4db52d-2e97-4826-ad32-d111e10d9d37/174FB9D9-7ECD-4E60-901E-9AC849EF7455.png" width="40px" /> Ritsu is a playful and intelligent person at his core. Energy isn't something that comes naturally to him, and he is instead quietly passionate, and likes to tease others, enjoying their reactions. He loves music and is known for playing the piano. His songwriting reveals a much deeper and more wistful side of him, something that he almost never reveals to others, preferring his smug and sleepy persona.
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Yuu-chan is amusing. When she’s happy, sad, or even a little bit frustrated she cries. I guess that goes on to show just how soft her heart is, and yet she competed in that grueling survival show, and even put up with intense team mates. Yuu-chan, you’re amazing sometimes. I would have just died if it was me in that position, you know? Well, the ‘old’ me, probably. I’ve changed ~ I’ve been working hard nowadays. Maa-kun and Suu-chan even praised me recently for my hardwork. Anyway, it makes me glad to see Yuu-chan living her days with a smile. I hope you continue on having good days.
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Dynamic
As co-stars in a reality and variety show
While filming for We Got Married, Ritsu pushed upfront his usual knight-like demeanor to better appeal to the audience. He never allowed himself some room to be taken care of or spoiled despite wanting to be. Meanwhile, Yurika followed through with his pace and allowed him to stir up how their bond in the program would progress fully.
As lovers
Ritsu is often the one who initiates, while Yurika receives. Given his background in fan service and his expertise in sweet talk, the Knights member comes off as the bigger flirt between the two. Yurika, on the other hand, struggles a bit harder in making romantic advances – her attempts usually clumsy and awkward – perfectly exposing her lack of familiarity when it comes to love affairs. However, there are instances where she does take the lead. Yurika is the one who plans and asks Ritsu out on dates, suggesting the idea of matching and sharing clothes and wearing each other’s perfumes.
It is also worth noting that despite being the initiator, Ritsu gives Yurika complete rein to control the stage and pace of their relationship (in contrast to when they had to pretend to be a married couple in We Got Married). He only makes his moves when Yurika hints that she’s ready – hence why it took them a while before they officially started dating and gave themselves the titles of boyfriend and girlfriend.
The same sentiments apply to the progression of their intimacy level. Their proper first kiss only happened when Ritsu deemed that Yurika wanted it as much as he did.
ⓒ knewxyz
Our melody: A tune that describes you, me, and our love
Even if you’re not the way you want yourself to be; Even if I’m not the way I want myself to be; “I couldn’t have met you if it weren’t for the way I am right now.” I hope you’ll be able to feel that this is enough.
– TOMORROW X TOGETHER: Hydrangea Love
Profile
| Name | Shimizu Yurika | Sakuma Ritsu |
|---|---|---|
| What their partner calls them | Yuu-chan | Ritsu-kun |
| Height | 159cm | 171cm |
| Date of Birth | December 4 | September 22 |
| Graduated from | Tokyo Heights University | Yumenosaki Private Academy |
| Favorite Color | Pastel hues | Black |
| Occupation | Idol (Formerly), Advertising Assistant | Idol |
| Likes | Dresses | Sleep masks |
| Dislikes | Thunders | Disturbance of sleep and garlic |
| Specialty | Graphic design, styling clothes | Sleeping anywhere, piano |
| Hobby | Going through magazine catalogs | Making sweets, sleeping |
Our Couple Bucket List: Together Let’s
| Go stargazing | |
|---|---|
| Kiss under the rain | |
| Travel to romantic places | |
| Exceed in our respective fields | |
| Buy a home together | |
| Get married | |
| Start a family |
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No matter how many times we get separated, I’ll be here always.
Thanks to a decision she made on a whim, Yurika would spend her last year in high school under the bright stage lights with four other girls who share the same hopes, aspirations, and dreams as fellow idols in a temporary unit. She also would later meet Sakuma Ritsu, a member of Knights and fellow co-star in a reality and variety show, who seems to bear a viewpoint of the world that differs from hers.
Through Ritsu, Yurika would find out other motivators of becoming an artist and what it means to be one, the challenges that go beyond the lens of a survival show participant, a friend who understands, and perhaps the first signs of love.
However, as the classic saying about life goes, nothing lasts forever. These experiences will all soon come to an end and will eventually be forgotten – which Yurika thought would happen when her show with Ritsu concluded.
Little did she know, years later, she’d meet the charming knight once more, though in a circumstance that she probably would least expect it to be.
I couldn’t have met you if it weren’t for the way that I am right now.
Now that Leo has returned, and their unit is complete once more everything ****is finally how it should be, so what’s the point of change and moving forward?
As graduation nears for the third-year students in Yumenosaki, Ritsu would find himself perplexed with the direction that both his life and unit are about to take a turn to. The months seemed to pass by quickly, and soon would this feeling of familiarity. Maybe the scandal that blossomed out with that temporary unit was a blessing in disguise, a merciful way for the heavens to distract him from the upcoming change in his life’s timeline.
That was the mindset that Ritsu carried as he accepted the offer to star in the reality and variety show with co-star Shimizu Yurika, yet as he navigated through the program, the Knights member would find that there was more to this than the mere ‘distraction’ that he made it out to be. The time with Yurika felt like witnessing winter turn to spring, and it was a shame they fell out of touch before the actual season came.
But something tells Ritsu that they’d possibly cross paths again in the near future. Not as Knights’ Sakuma Ritsu and GALAKTIKA’s Shimizu Yurika – just Ritsu and Yurika.
I missed you. Did you miss me too?
Act 1: Moon meets the ocean
After the disbandment of GALAKTIKA, Yurika disappears from the spotlight and chooses to live her life as a normal girl. She enrolls herself in university, where she befriends Akae Itou and Kousei Watanabe. At the same time, Knights continue to rise in popularity, and Yurika often stumbles into their commercials or advertisements when outside. The sight of Ritsu brings back old memories, and she finds herself reminiscing and missing her time with the Knights member.
One day, she and Ritsu stumble upon each other in a cafe. As she didn’t have a pen with her to scribble her number, Yurika gave him her student I.D. card instead, which confused Ritsu momentarily before he figured out the female’s intentions at the end. (Read: Butterfly’s Dream)
Later that night, Ritsu would text Yurika and the two would meet again so the Knights member could return the I.D.
Act 2: Bringing back old feelings
Now, knowing where Yurika resides and studies, Ritsu would drop by to visit whenever he had some spare time from work. There are also instances where he goes directly to Tokyo Heights University after class so he and Yurika can eat dinner together. They rekindle their friendship successfully, and it definitely raises a few suspicions from close friends. Both Akae and Kousei would wonder why there are instances wherein Yurika is out late at night, while Arashi and Tsukasa grow skeptical of Ritsu’s “plans” after unit practices or classes.
Akae and Kousei would later discover why during a dorm visit (Read: To Mark, To Claim, To Own), while Arashi and Tsukasa get their answers after stumbling upon the pair in a nearby mall.
Where feelings are realized
Act 3: I’m the happiest with you
Ritsu and Yurika help each other in any way they can as they respectively navigate college life and idol work. In the same season, feelings slowly build between the two; however, they haven’t been realized yet. Yurika still believes that what she feels is that for a friend, while Ritsu thinks that this means Yurika has just become another person in his life that he has come to treasure – it’s an affection similar to the one he has for Knights. However, he’d come to eventually realize how wrong he was when a girl confessed to him right after their graduation.
“Ritsu, isn’t that a little heartless?” Anija asked, right after I told him about the incident that occurred in school today.
“That’s called being honest, you bug,” I answered, ignoring his gripe about rejecting people like a gentleman.
I know I could have said it in a nicer way, but during that time, at that moment, all I could think about was how I didn’t feel bad turning her down. Maybe if her hair was shorter like Yuu-chan’s, I would accept. Maybe if her voice was softer, I’d consider. Or perhaps if she called me “Ritsu-kun” in a manner that was filled with nothing but genuine love, I’d answer her confession.
But she didn’t and neither did the others that followed after.
The only person who I’d accept, the one who I’d allow in my life and would want to spend eternity with, is no one else but you, Yuu-chan.
Yurika, I like you, and I’m disappointed that none of the confessions I received today were from you.
– Sakuma Ritsu
It also won’t be long until Yurika comes to terms with her own feelings, and it happens during a small reunion with her former GALAKTIKA unit mates. Homura notes that Yurika seems different, followed by Haruna, who points out she seems to be glowing in a way she never did before. Yurika says, “Ah, I guess that’s thanks to Ritsu-kun. He has been taking care of me well!” which rouses the rest of the girls up. Yurika shares stories about her current relationship with Ritsu, and as she tells the girls of her feelings, it is Momoka who points out that Yurika possibly might have a crush and is falling in love.
Momo is right. When did I stop seeing Ritsu-kun as a friend but a potential partner for me to be with?
These feelings, I’m sure they were from long ago – they probably formed while we were in the middle of filming for that variety show.
Everything is starting to make sense.
The reason why I felt disheartened and cried when our time as co-stars ended, why I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness when we stumbled upon each other in that cafe one day, why I tend to feel lonely every time you’d leave my dorm, and why I craved for you to always stay by my side.
Why didn’t I notice until today?
Ritsu-kun, I like you.
– Shimizu Yurika
Act 4: Our hearts are the same
Upon realizing their feelings with one another, certain aspects of their relationship shift. Yurika finds herself staring at Ritsu longer, and what used to be normal routines such as cuddling in bed or sharing clothes have become heart-fluttering moments to her. Ritsu, on the other hand, grows clingier with the female and has the tendency to get jealous more easily compared to before. Their feelings towards one another would eventually be revealed in a moment of misunderstanding.
Around November of her second year in college, Yurika starts avoiding Ritsu, fearing that this growing feeling of love might ruin the relationship that they had built. Ritsu quickly notices the change in her attitude and one day asks if he could have a word with her.
Ritsu brings her to a nearby open park and probes her for the answer.
It’s pathetic, especially as the strategist of Knights, but I can’t always read people, Yuu-chan.
This would eventually lead Yurika to admit her feelings.
You’ve got it all wrong, Ritsu-kun!
Right after her confession, Ritsu pulls her into a hug, relieved that it isn’t anything serious and happy that Yurika shares the same romantic feelings.
Just let me love you
