Gal no Jitensha wo Naoshitara Natsukareta (ギャルの自転車を直したら懐かれた) is a romantic comedy light novel series written by Shouga Naiya and illustrated by SuperPig. I just started reading it today after getting a suggestion from a friend. There are three volumes available currently, and I have read the first one so far.

The story follows a high school boy named Kutsuzawa Kousei who is very good at crafting and repairing items, something he does every day as a hobby. On the way to school, he finds a flashy-looking gal classmate called Mizoguchi Seika whose bicycle chain slipped off, leaving her unsure of what to do.

He decides to help and quickly fixes the problem. Seika is overjoyed and decides to publish a small post on her personal Twitter account after getting permission. However, she mistakenly publishes it on her business account (she is actually a professional model) and the news of her getting involved with a boy spreads quickly.

I said Kousei is the protagonist earlier, but honestly speaking, I think both of them are the protagonists. The story alternates between the two in every single chapter, allowing you to see the thoughts of both characters as their interactions develop. This is a very welcome element in light novels that I have seen happening more often recently (like in Yumemiru Danshi). Knowing their thoughts really helps make the heroines more likable.

Almost immediately, we learn that Seika has been interested in Kousei for a while because he seemed to show no interest in her despite her looks (which she is fully aware she has). Even realizing what she is doing, she starts sort of stalking him (she even followed him home!) to learn more about him.

She is quite impressed by his ability to craft items and asks him to build small figures representing her friends and, of course, wants a figure of Kousei himself too. This creates a connection between the two that otherwise wouldn't exist due to their social distance at school (since Kousei is usually alone, while Seika is with the gal group).

While doing that, she realizes that he is Kou-kun, the childhood friend who built her a figure back when she was a sick kid in the hospital and whom she has always kept a crush on. Helped sometimes by her gal friends, she starts her approach to try and get closer to him.

The story continues as the two try to settle into a relationship, considering that Kousei has some sort of trauma (unexplained as of now). As suggested by her friends, Seika wants to first become his friend and be able to talk freely with him before moving to a confession to avoid being shot down immediately.

One particularly cute scene was when Seika came to his home to visit him after he got some fever. She almost immediately got discovered by his sister that she's in love with him creating an extremely cute scene with her in total panic unable to understand what to do. 

So far, the story has all the elements that it should have to deliver a solid narrative: well-developed protagonists, supportive friends (Chika and Ria), and a rival element to keep things interesting (an ikemen from the class who keeps pestering Seika).

Seika has all the characteristics of a gal (looks, accessories, and way of speaking) while also being criminally cute in her interactions with Kousei. She is easily embarrassed, very often scared that her actions could make the other side annoyed, and is generally well aware of her position in the class.

Kousei is generally a loner, but he can speak normally with Seika and the others. He has good humor and his interactions with Seika are usually extremely fun to read. The reason why he prefers to stay alone is unknown, but his relatives imply that something happened to him in the past.

As of now the two are still in the "just became friend" stage and I'm not sure where the author want to take the story, but it's a solid start and definitely a light novel I'll keep reading in the future. Hopefully I'll make some another post in the near future when I read the second volume!