I was a bit afraid that chapter two would kick up the drama, but instead, we got an interesting look into the routine behind the affair. It's a great narrative choice, because it drives in just how slow things are going- this isn't a feverish, passionate one-night stand, but a grinding, near-stagnant ritual spawned from two lesbians with communication issues and the marital equivalent of a sinkhole. It isn't challenging or difficult or dangerous- the issue is that it's too damned easy for everyone involved. The husband goes about bar-hopping, Yukako and Chinami use their friendship as a cover, and nothing demands bravery or change. Nobody needs to make a choice, and so, they fester in uncertainty and guilt.
The earlier segments of this chapter resembled something out of a cute, fluffy adult yuri series, bright and optimistic, and I love how suffocating the panelling becomes once we cut back to the home. Yukako and her husband barely even look at each other, and it's like the dialogue bubbles only serve to separate them instead of bolstering communication. It's a bit hard to be sympathetic for Yukako because of how indecisive she is, but that's the entire issue- she's not a girl looking for a prince and she's not a heartless seductress. The best she can do is stick her hands between the bars of the cage, but she's too scared to venture out into the cruel, wide world, and uses Chinami as her drip-feed of freedom instead.
I wonder how long Chinami can keep playing the devoted, patient lover- she seems driven by both an urge to give Yukako some agency and a genuine desire for Yukako to take charge. The smooth, charismatic mistress isn't a role that comes easily to her, and yet, just like Yukako, she takes an agonizing, ambiguous situation over outright loneliness and rejection. The main issue here isn't distance- it's that they're so close that they're actively stepping past each other, and the further they take things, the further away they'll grow. Someone, somehow needs to sacrifice something, but all bets are off on who it'll be. To be honest, it doesn't seem like this relationship would be too healthy even if the two end up together, but there's a part of me that's rooting for them, if only because the alternatives are too miserable to bear.
