i feel the same way, while hina did have feelings for taiki, it would have been wrong of him to be with hina if he did not feel the same way. its natural to feel nervous or shy if someone is actively flirting with you, but it doesn't equate a feeling of love immediately or over a short amount of time. from the start taiki loved chinatsu, and we learned more about what goes towards his love and admiration for her in these previous few episodes and how that compared with hina. although it took some time, for taiki to be honest with hina was the best solution in this situation.
the communication between characters this series brings is truly a breath of fresh air. itsuomi told oushi how important yuki is to him, and oushi seemed to understand that he may not be so bad as a result by the end of the episode. i was really looking forward to seeing a glimpse at oushi as a character, so i really enjoyed this episode! the interactions between these two characters as well were super fun to watch (⌒▽⌒)