Thank you so much for your comment! (AND thanks for letting me know about the typos, guess they slipped through my check :p)
I'm glad to hear the literary analyses felt familiar! I'm an English lit graduate, so I was really trying to evoke how discussions took place in class.
I'm happy to hear you want to learn more about the characters! I intentionally left the 'getting to know them on a personal level' out, since I really wanted to show how meeting new people goes when you only see each other for like an hour a week. Thanks for the tip about the idea for a sequel, I'll definitely consider it!
To answer your question, yes! Kai wears hearing aids. He briefly talks about how it is sometimes hard to hear what people are saying in busy rooms. It's something people I know who wear hearing aids often bring up as a problem. I wanted to touch upon this topic without getting too personal for Kai, since you as the player are still a bit of a stranger to him.
I'm really glad to hear you liked the illustrations, too! I'm happy these also got the point across that the characters grow to like you and grow to want to hang out with you over time instead of liking the player instantly.