It's interesting that you consider that the point of the comic. This may be because of where I currently am in life, but the thing about the comic that struck me the most was that the main character doesn't take time to step back and realize that he has a good friend. Instead, he rushes along with the girl he considers attractive and "perfect", in a way. In doing so, he's more than likely lost a good friend, and considering he's a kid, I don't see his relationship lasting with the girl, either. That beings said, I suppose I'm creating personas for characters that zero backstory beyond those panels, haha. Thank you for the comment - I'm going to keep ruminating over it.
I think he does though, otherwise it wouldn't have been a difficult decision. Also, that he cares about who he's with says to me that he's objectifying himself, much in the way I outlined. That he deals in objects with the intention of providing happiness to others convinces me that the comic is about the objectification of happiness. Though his friendship with Tea might not have lasted is to me, a secondary point as the essence of their connection was incarnate in the book. Which is not to say that those connections weren't real, only that the character keeps that particular connection real in the object that is his memory. Like I said, I see your point in what you wrote; it's just that the comic struck me differently.the thing about the comic that struck me the most was that the main character doesn't take time to step back and realize that he has a good friend