[ His smile is awkward. Why did he feel the need to apologize? Why, because he has a case of eternal guilt, of course. His privacy is sacred, more important than anything else— and yet he also feels for Faruzan, for her situation, for how he may have made her feel by rejecting her questions so harshly.

And yet she's as kind as always, leaving him to falter, for his smile to become gradually more genuine, turning after a moment into a laugh. ]

I would say some are better than others, when it comes to communication. I— [ He shakes his head. ] Well, as you could probably tell from the message I sent you accidentally today, I could stand to be a little more forward with my own.