His voice broke.

Oh that. Yeah sure no problem I will tell you." She said shyly. It was an opposite reaction to just a few seconds ago, when she froze up.

"Hey, you don't have to force yourself, really. I am sorry to even ask you about this." Kanako had guilt in his eyes, wondering if Ayane grew to hate him.

"I know you bear no ill intent, Kanako-kun. Don't worry. I am okay now, it's just that... those past just terrifies me right now." She broke eye contact with him, staring at her hands, placed on her thighs. "Remembering it now... I became scared. Death is a scary thing, isn't it? My heart closes up when I think what would've happened if I really didn't hesitate and went for it. That's all."

"That's... all?" Kanako was shocked at how lightly she was taking her emotions and thoughts. "Please... I beg you... take better care of yourself and your emotions... these aren't something you can say 'thats all' and leave it be. Confront it, fight it. Do whatever it takes, otherwise it will come back. Seriously, I can't afford to lose someone this close in my life."

Ayane was already in his arms as he finished speaking. He had unintentionally wrapped his hand around her. Flustered, he quickly removed his grasp, but Ayane clung still, before taking a deep breath.

"Thank you." She said before she stopped clinging to his chest and started resuming her eating as if nothing had happened. "So the thing that happened the days before that night was, I was rejected from every single 'acting job' that I participated in."

"Acting job?"

"Its like a rehearsal where they select participants for the movie or acting. I really wanted to make my debut but it didn't happen. They said I lacked emotion or didn't look as motivated for the film."

"You looked fine this time though?"

"If you say so." She proceeded to tell Kanako the bullying she faced while she was in middle school, the home abuse she faced from her father, and also the recent incident where her high school classmates bullied her. But she still didn't have the courage to talk to him about her 'cousin' who was blackmailing and torturing her. "... that's all."

As she looked at Kanako's direction, she could see the stream of tears flowing through his face. "Kanako-kun? Are you okay?"

"Am I okay? Are YOU okay?" His voice broke.

He wrapped his hands around her, this time intentionally, hiding her face from the outside world. The fewer people made it convenient. "You must've had a very hard time... I must've been very hard for you..." he gently stroked his hands over her golden hair.

If it were the time where she needed, she would've burst into tears. But now, she didn't. Kanako had already healed her stitched up heart plenty that she was feeling true happiness. He shared his warmth with her.