I probably wouldn't have bought this if the summary had in any way depicted the actual contents of the story, but I guess the misleading description did me a favor, since I ended up enjoying it.
"Okura helps Momo learn about cat parenthood. It isn't long until their conversations turn from pet care to their experiences with romance as Okura finds himself wanting to get to know Momo better."
False. None of this happened.
The actual progression of events is: Momo brings in the hurt kitten (p. 7) and asks Okura to keep it at the veterinary hospital until he finds its owners (p. 11), since he's a college student who lives in a pet free apartment. Okura, despite his coworkers' complaints, agrees, partly because Momo is very much his type and he can't resist that charming, cute face. Momo returns regularly to check on the kitten and to make lost cat flyers to stick up around town, but they don't talk about cat ownership or pet care at all...because Momo has zero intention of ever taking this cat home himself.
They don't talk a huge amount in general; Okura asks a few questions but Momo says his job is a secret, and just gives a little bit of information about school itself - he's a literature major, but is always showing up in super stylish, expensive clothes. Then, pretty much out of the blue, Momo tells Okura that all his female friends had told him about the hot vet they wanted to sleep with, and he starts asking Okura when he last had sex and how he likes it, while describing what he thinks Okura is like in bed (p. 27).
So...yeah. It was incredibly abrupt! It was not at all the sweet, slow "getting to know you" progression described on the back cover.
Okura takes all this as a strongly obvious hint that Momo is hitting on him and kisses Momo...who freaks out and leaves, because he was just toying with Okura a bit and hadn't thought he'd actually do anything.
Not because Momo is innocent or inexperienced himself, or shocked by Okura being interested in him. He's also gay, and his side job is to be a sugar baby for an assortment of lonely older men. He takes them to restaurants, on dates, and sometimes to hotels. He sleeps with one of them immediately after this kissing incident - off screen, thankfully, although it's clear he's keeping that job active throughout the story.
Poor Okura...I really liked him. He's got a very stern, grumpy face but a soft heart, and while he's more awkward around people than animals, he does his best to listen and offer advice. This isn't something the emotionally standoffish, stubbornly independent Momo appreciates in person, but when Okura's coworkers ask the freshly spurned Okura to sign up for a new dating app and he unexpectedly finds Momo on there...well, their communication gets a lot better.
I'll be honest, their texting wasn't written all that well. I absolutely do believe that through the distance and anonymity of text and screens, Okura could talk to Momo more easily than he'd managed in person. On the page, it was mostly a bunch of "lol" responses and kind of overly prying questions. But I'll look past that, because Momo did get comfortable enough with his new "friend" - something he wanted more than a boyfriend - to open up to him about some of his insecurities and secrets.
A big one was that Momo grew up without much family, and got really attached to his best friend in junior high. The typical first love storyline, plus clueless jokes from the friend about how they probably would've dated if Momo had been a girl.
When he runs into this friend - with a girlfriend in tow - near his school, all the old feelings and hurt come rushing back, and he tells "Salty" - Okura's online persona - about it.
Meanwhile, in real life, Okura and Momo talk about the kiss, in a reasonably mature way. Then Momo asks Okura to go somewhere with him to talk, which ends up being a love hotel (p. 51), where he tells Okura about his sugar baby job and tries to have sex with him to thank him for his help taking care of the kitten.
Again!! Not really a slowly developing sweet little romance. They're a whole lot rougher around the edges than I'd been expecting, but they do communicate pretty decently as adults who each know what they want.
Okura asks Momo to quit his job and to date him. Momo gets super angry about this - he doesn't want or need a boyfriend - and leaves Okura in the hotel.
Okura, rejected and hurt again. Poor dude. Although at this point he's leading a double life and not telling app-Momo he knows who he is in real life.
From here, the development does get better. Okura does his best to be the online friend Momo needs, and they relax into friendlier communication in person, even with all the tension lingering between them - sexual on Momo's side, and a combination of sexual and romantic on Okura's.
The pacing was pretty decent, as they got to know each other better, and as Momo began to struggle with the desire to unlock some of his fear and hurt and let himself truly care for someone again. Except he's torn between "Salty" and Okura; Salty is easier and more comfortable to talk to, but Okura is so awkwardly kind in person, and likes him so much...and they do end up sleeping together another time, because Momo really needs the physical connection so he can stop thinking so much.
It's not a perfect story, but I liked how they worked things out and how steady and caring Okura was throughout, even while apologizing and explaining why he'd connected with Momo on the app.
And, to my relief, Momo quit his job when they entered the relationship. It's just a personal dealbreaker for me, which is what would've made me pass on this story if I'd known that whole side plot to begin with.
But it all turned out well in the end, with a happy relationship and a cute kitten, to boot.