@Richman ask and you shall receive
What makes this chapter so compelling to me is that we're aware of each of the character's motivations. Gen isn't going to hurt Chako without a reason, but that doesn't mean he knows what just happened or the situation he's in, nor does it mean that he is going to do the right thing. His end goal is to keep Reiji from leaving the town because he loves him, and so is going to try and use whatever power he can to keep him there. Chako also has feelings for Reiji, but her friendship with Minegishi means that she can be their intermediary, but she is ignorant of how much he wants Reiji to stay or that he has feelings for him, so when he does something extreme like threaten to make sure Nagi never approaches Reiji again, she tries to stop him because she thinks he's going too far without knowing that Gen's true intentions are to keep Reiji with him at all costs. Nagi just wants to find someone who will help her to die that reminds her of her husband before he went off the deep end, no pun intended.
This all flings back at Reiji because no one asks or sees what he actually wants, or cares about him beyond using him as a tool for their own means. Chako does signify to some extent that she cares about him in that she follows his wishes to throw off the manuscript to remove all connections with Esemori , but she takes it to mean that they're BOTH going to stay away from the couple as a contract, not that she'll stay away from the author alone. This also neglects how Reiji was recently used by his teacher to impregnate her while he was emotionally vulnerable, which he definitely can't tell either Chako or Gen as the results will universally be negative.
Interesting also how Minegishi's first reaction when Chako tells him to stop is not to harm her in any way, nor to ignore what she says, but instead he goes back to ask Reiji about Nagi and to try and press him for details about his sexual relationship with her. Maybe he's inferring that Chako has feelings about him and wants to undercut them, or to make Reiji embarrass himself? It's complicated. Also, note how Chako knows from Rei's eyes that he's going to try and attempt suicide again, yet her first instinct is to tell Minegishi to stop him, despite knowing how often he abuses Reiji. It not only indicates a desperation, but that she's willing to extort to extreme means to get what she wants.
Also, I find it interesting that they made a "contract" but we all know how well promises in this series tends to go overall.
@Vringi She's 20, but it's implied Esemori is in his 40s and they've known each other for a very long time, implying some underage manipulation going on.
@ICYCOZY Minegishi is heavily implied to have feelings for Reiji, but he can't openly come out to him about them because he knows Rei is straight and will reject him, as well as the fact he's in a social environment that favors the stereotypical assertive masculine traits and him being revealed to be a homosexual may throw a damper on his social standing and his intimidation factor, and so he wants to extort Reiji into never leaving the town so he can be with him forever. He's a complex character, but an interesting one