beta
Pacing in chapter 3 is really odd and makes an already bad situation look much worse. In a way, I can understand that the author probably intended the sex scene to come across differently, but Sakura just looks like a pushy loser that can’t understand that no means no. There isn’t enough dialogue or time to convince us that Haruto has sobered up, but I think the author wants us to believe he has? His reason for saying no is tied into his low self esteem and fear of disappointing others/committing, but there’s not enough substance to convey this so Sakura just looks like he’s forcing himself on Haruto. It also doesn’t help that Sakura is taking the very overdone “don’t let other guys do this” approach instead of just reassuring Haruto that he’s not disappointed in the slightest. Haruto ends the encounter feeling better about their relationship so it’s clear we aren’t meant to see this as an assault but it’s just written so badly that we have no choice but to take as it is. There’s also just way too much going on in this chapter. Sex, feelings reveal, trauma reveal, new character, Sakura’s major secret backstory???