The girl was quite obviously frightened by Jun’s unexpected apology. He could hear it in her voice, in the way she stammered out her response. But he didn’t want her to be afraid of him. He was still unsure exactly what led him back here, but he knew he didn’t want to worsen her situation by causing her more worry.

Jun straightened his posture but kept his eyes fixed on the floor. He couldn’t meet the girl’s gaze; he was still too ashamed of himself for that. He hesitated, grasping for words. No matter what he said, there was no justification for what he had done. He would just have to be straightforward with her. He took a breath and slowly looked up, “I didn’t know… I wasn’t trying to hurt you...” He paused again, collecting his thoughts. “I’m sorry. I know there is nothing I can say to make up for my actions. I just want you to know that I know it was wrong of me to treat you the way I did, and I regret every second of it.”

With his feeble apology completed, Jun found a spot to sit on the floor, leaning his back against the wall. He made sure to keep as much distance between himself and the girl as was physically possible in the confines of the room. He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable or lead her to believe this was all some sort of twisted plot to trick her into letting her guard down.

“I paid for two hours,” Jun said, looking away from the girl again. He drew one knee to his chest and draped his arms over it while he reclined on the floor. “I hope that’s enough time for you to get a break from… all of this.”