You can’t sympathise with someone being in the closet?
In a country where it’s legal to be fired over being gay in most places?
Nah. 👎
Your comment made me re-read these chapters to see if I overreacted, and honestly I stand by what I said.
I can sympathize with her wanting to stay in the closet (I'm personally in the closet at work)... But re-reading this reminded me how awful Hirohiko's response feels. She had every opportunity to communicate her desire to stay in the closet, and she probably would have been able to stay in the closet if she talked to Ayaka honestly at this point.
Instead, she takes Ayaka's sincerity and drags it through the mud with a lie that will so obviously do nothing but undermine the trust Ayaka has in her.
This is where our opinions will differ, because this is clearly a panic response from Hirohiko and you seem to think that justifies her actions.
I, on the other hand, don't think that betraying the trust of someone who respects and looks up to you that can be treated so lightly and that Hirohiko should take responsibility for her actions. If I was in Ayaka's shoes, I don't know if I could ever trust somebody that treated me that way and showed no remorse for their action... Not to mention that I would be emotionally devastated for who knows how long.
As a reader, I'm not that heartbroken by it, but instead it just makes me frustrated with Hirohiko's character, and makes it very hard to root for her getting together with Ayaka