
Despite being loved by almost all the girls in his school, he has no interest in any of them. He can be somewhat intimidating to other students at Tonan, particularly the bottom ranking class F, which Kotoko is a part of. He is rumored to have an IQ of 200 and is very popular among the girls due to his intelligence and good looks. Yuki Furukawa, who plays the role of Naoki Irie Naoki Irie is the smartest and most handsome boy at Tonan High School. This leaves her initially shocked, but she happily accepts. After this realization, Naoki soon admits his true feelings and proposes to her. Despite her effort, she realizes that she is unable to ever let go of her love for Naoki. Towards the season one finale, when Naoki is about marry Sahoko, she finally gives up on him and tries to move on with Kinnosuke. However, she does not reciprocate his feelings and likes him as a close friend. Kotoko is also close friends with Kinnosuke or 'Kin-chan' who openly expresses his love for her. Despite his indifference, Kotoko still works hard and tries her best to help Naoki and his family whenever she can. This is mainly due to Naoki giving her mixed signals of his feelings towards her, when he himself doesn't even understand them. Throughout the first season, Kotoko feels as though Naoki hates her and is slow in realizing that he is actually falling in love with her.

Although Naoki and his younger brother are initially cold to her, she is openly welcomed by their parents - especially their mother, who develops an instant attachment to Kotoko due to always wanting a daughter. Due to an incident with their new house, Kotoko and her father are forced to move out and now live with the Irie family. She lives with her single father, with her mother having died when she was young.


Though she is not good in academics, she works hard to succeed. She has had a one-sided love for the school's most popular boy since her freshman year of high school. Honoka Miki, who plays the role of Kotoko Aihara Kotoko Aihara is the protagonist.
