Read all the chapters in one go, and I noticed what the author might have cooked up had this not gotten the axe.

An wasn’t depressed at when she met Hiiragi. An was just overwhelmed, but this meeting set-up An’s presence in Hiiragi’s life. It was An’s infectious cheerfulness and plucky attitude that got rubbed off Hiiragi. Even the manager’s gruff and no-nonsense attitude helped as well.

Shiriaishi likely would have been Hiiragi’s foil, and would have served a couple of purposes: to remind Hiiragi of her progress thus far, and a way for her to pay it forward. Shiraishi would also help An move forward by identifying (through analogy, I suppose) which areas she would need more work in–not through rumination, but by witnessing someone else act in the way they’ve been acting.