Hino seems to have a lot of past trauma/baggage. I don't expect any true romantic development before we get a ''Koguma helps Hino come to term with stuff'' arc
Yeah, I mean, it generally is easier to work through issues when you've got someone near and dear helping, and it's been clear from the first volume that there are issues. Tropes generally don't develop in a vacuum. We still don't know any details about them, which is kinda remarkable 96 chapters in, all we have are hints and theories. Hino mentioning her grandma in this chapter stood out to me as well in that regard.
hino's grandma knowing the area is interesting in itself.
we know extremely little about hino's family, but we do know she's moved around a bit. i'll have to go back to a very early chapter with a flashback and try to suss out more details.
when kogu stays over one night (and shares a bed with hino in her underwear), hino tells her that she doesn't expect her parents to return that night. kogu also notices a family altar.
does hino live alone? is her grandma around? if so, why haven't we seen her? we can assume her grandma (if she's real) has lived in the area for a while at least. is hino lying about her grandma to hide the fact that she spent a lot of effort trying to find the perfect spot for a kiss on her own? or is hino's grandma dead and she remembers her grandma showing her this spot as a kid? maybe her grandma is in a hospital? etc.
... tbh, I don't really care that much as long as there is more teasing. all i really need to sustain myself is loving bullying. it's what gives me life.
you need air and water? i need gentle bullying manga.