Kozue went silent after saying those words, and for several seconds, she simply stood there without saying anything else. The silence around her felt strangely heavy, especially after everything she had just admitted, and even Kouhei could tell that she was struggling to find the courage to continue speaking. It was as though she had finally opened a door that she had kept locked for years, only to realize that she could no longer close it again now that everything buried behind it had started coming out.
She bit down on her already chapped lips, pressing hard enough that the damaged skin split and began to bleed slightly. The pain should have been enough to make her stop, but Kozue barely seemed to notice it, as though the physical pain was insignificant compared with everything she had been carrying inside her for so long.
