Aoki has a crush on Hashimoto, who sits next to him in class. One day his friend Aida, Akkun for short, refuses to lend him an eraser, so Hashimoto does...and when he takes off the paper sleeve, he finds that it says "IDA" with a heart! Realizing that this must mean that Hashimoto likes Ida, who sits in front of him, Aoki freaks out and drops the eraser - which Ida picks up. In order to save Hashimoto's secret, Aoki pretends that he's the one who likes Ida, and then Ida takes him seriously and wants to "start as friends" while he figures his feelings out, at which point Aoki starts to fall for him for real, which feels like a betrayal of both his feelings and Hashimoto's...except that isn't that eraser superstition about how when you wear the person's name off the eraser they'll like you back? And who is that who refused to lend Aoki an eraser in the first place...?
This book, despite only really focusing on four characters, has enough love geometry to put Marmalade Boy to shame. It's silly, ridiculous, and absolutely a ton of fun. In large part that's because Ida isn't upset that another boy likes him, nor does he just reject Aoki out of hand because "ew, gay." There's an earnestness to all of the characters that's really charming, and even when Aoki realizes that Ida's a great guy and he might really be falling for him, all it takes is two people reminding him that there's nothing to be ashamed about to walk him back from believing that he's "weird." It's a comedy with its heart in the absolute right place and I'm really looking forward to how Aoki will make his own life more difficult (and how Hashimoto and Ida will talk him back) in the next volume.
Also, this has another one of Viz's great ratings explanations. You'll be relieved to know that "no cinnamon rolls were harmed in the production of" My Love Mix-Up.