Eh, I’m fine with this explanation so long as he keeps it as “I just want to clarify things for my own sake, you don’t need to forgive me or anything,” and he just leaves them alone. Better than him just being some one dimensional shithead for Kaoru to save her from.
I guess it’s just that I’ve been in situations where I’ve ruined relationships in the past and always dreamt of at least clarifying myself to them even if it isn’t returned with forgiveness.