Falling in love is exciting, especially the part where you’re suspended in the waiting. The quiet anticipation of what might happen next. Even in the confusion, even in the awkwardness of trying to untangle your own feelings from someone else’s, there’s always that electric thread of hope running beneath it all, waiting for its moment.

That feeling sits at the very heart of Countdown to Yes.

Adapted from Roji’s manga Shinyu no “Dosei Shite” ni “Un” te Iu made, the series follows Yokoi Minato (Yoshizawa Kaname) and Nakano Wataru (Amemiya Kakeru), two best friends brought together in high school by a shared love of photography. Their bond deepens over the years, carrying them through university, shared living spaces, and adulthood, until distance fractures what was once effortless. When Minato moves away for work, Wataru is left alone in their apartment and finally forced to confront the truth he’s been avoiding: he’s in love with his best friend.

Three years later, Minato’s sudden message about transferring back home reopens everything Wataru has tried to bury. He wants to protect the friendship. Minato, however, seems to have other plans. Including a simple but nuanced suggestion of “Let’s live together.”

The first two episodes lay the framework, depending a lot on emotion to carry the story forward. Rather than depending on dramatic conflict, it leans into how much these two communicate without speaking. Every moment is heavy with thoughts neither manages to voice clearly.

Will it be today? Will it be tomorrow? Should I let myself fall? Will it ruin everything if I do?

These unspoken questions hover constantly between them, and the actors express it beautifully. There’s something incredibly soothing about watching Minato and Wataru exist together. Through photography, through domestic moments, through small acts, you can feel the deep emotional safety they provide for each other. They are better people when they’re side by side, even if only one of them seems fully aware of it.

The early episodes focus heavily on how Wataru connects to Minato through his lens, how Minato responds to being truly seen, and how that connection quietly deepens into love. We watch the friendship grow, the years pass, the domestic bliss of living together, the sudden heartache of separation, and the emotional whiplash when Wataru realizes he’s in love with Minato.

It’s hard not to notice that Minato has been in love all along. The real question now isn’t if something will happen between them, but when Wataru finally allows himself to stop running from it.

This series shines because of the tension of “almost” it explores. The tenderness of familiarity. The frustration of missed cues. The fear of losing something precious versus the risk of wanting more.

And I’m completely ready to watch that internal battle unfold.

For a soft, emotionally driven slow burn romance about friendship, fear, and the quiet countdown toward saying yes, check out Countdown to Yes now on GagaOOLala. While friends to lovers tropes aren’t always my favorite, when done right, they really do capture the heart.

Rating- 4 out of 5