I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

"That's good." He couldn't help but smile with relief.

"Don't talk to me in that tone, it's disgusting."

Tsk, I take that back.

...........

I have to say, I haven't had such a sumptuous dinner in a long time. The taste is very different from that of a restaurant. It tastes like home-cooked food, which naturally makes me think...

Ye Jin had no complaints about this...it would be better to say that there was no reason to complain at all.

Well, I feel like this still doesn't quite capture the joy and excitement I felt, so I won't go into detail. As for the food's appearance, aroma, and flavor, I'm too inexperienced to find the perfect words to describe it... Well, thankfully, I don't have to recount my observations to a kind of audience, leaving them to imagine the food's aroma... and appearance.

"Oh, thank you for the treat!"

After feasting on the meal, Ye Jin happily said this to Ye Hui in front of him.

"Hey... no matter how you think about it, you should say this to me, right? I am the master of this house." I reminded her helplessly.

"Shut up, you shameless old thief." She slammed the table and yelled at me, "Did you prepare this meal?"

"..."

This is probably what it feels like to be ungrateful. What an ugly face.

"I helped too..." peeling and cutting... I put in the necessary work.

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"Don't you know it doesn't exist?"

"No, no, no, all the shining points about you don't exist." She even emphasized it on purpose.

"...you..."

"You two siblings have a really good relationship~" Ye Hui smiled and stood up, then looked at the clock on the wall, "There's still some time, so I'll go to your room first."

"...Oh." I nodded.

This sentence is enough to be misunderstood... Wait. Now she doesn't seem so angry anymore, so..., if I say I want to help now, I shouldn't be rejected, right?

"Um, Yehui."

"Um?"

"How about I help too?"

"Ah, that's not necessary."

The tone suddenly became cold.

"..."

I knew very well that this attitude was not because I had done anything wrong. It was because... because of what? I didn't know the reason, but she didn't seem to want me to disturb her painting process.

"In that case...then...forget it."

"Well~ don't worry about me."

..............

"Are you being disliked?"

"perhaps."

Ye Jin and I are currently in the kitchen of my home, washing the dishes after use.

"How could this happen..." Ye Jin may have realized his mistake in judgment, so he showed a puzzled expression, "I thought she would grant you any request."

"How could that be? Although she and I have a good relationship, she would definitely refuse any excessive request."

"Did you just say something too much?"

"Not really...but I don't understand why her mood changed so much." I felt a little annoyed.

"Maybe it has something to do with what she encounters in her daily life." Ye Jin guessed, "Sometimes, certain words can stir up people's thoughts, and these thoughts can cause a lot of emotions."

“…”

I seem to understand something.

Creation of gaps

"Hey, Ye Jin...the theory you just mentioned."

My movements gradually slowed down, and my eyes turned to the bowl in my hands. The residue had been rinsed away, leaving only the mixture of detergent and water. After rinsing it again with clean water, I handed it to Ye Jin beside me.

"Is there any basis for this?"

I asked this question.

"Is that based on?"

She took it with her left hand and immediately wiped it dry with the towel in her right hand. She looked like she was truly thinking, but her movements were unaffected. "I don't know. If I had to say, it was probably a reflex or something."

"Pah."

I heard the sound of the bottom of the bowl hitting the plate.

"What about the conditioned reflex..."

I repeated this sentence unconsciously and looked at the basin again. It seemed that there were still a lot of tools that needed to be washed. Thinking about it this way, maybe ordering takeout would save time and effort.

"Yeah, it's a conditioned reflex. For example, when I see you, even if I'm not thinking about it, I blurt out "Stupid brother."

What is this...

"Sounds like a bad habit, you'd better change it quickly."

"Impossible." She shook her head helplessly. "Under the influence of your IQ, the prefix 'idiot' has been rooted in my mind."

"You sound like an idiot too."

"Oh, really?" She herself was not aware of it at all. "But you just need to know that I'm only targeting you."

"...You guy..." I don't know how to complain.

I've actually gotten used to her targeting me, but I always complain after she says something like that. If it's not my sliver of self-esteem at work, then it's probably just a habit I've formed.

Is this what is called a "reflex" that triggers a "condition"?

"Well, let's put my affairs aside for now. Don't you have any clues about that girl?" She took the initiative to change the subject. "Her attitude before going upstairs was completely different from her attitude when preparing to go upstairs. This is definitely not normal."

"...I know... There has to be a reason for this." Wait, "She's not just 'that girl'. She has a name, and it's not the first time you've met her. You've even been to the beach together. How could you not know her name?"

"...Ah, maybe it's because you didn't even want to remember. And since you can't even recognize people's faces, you have no right to lecture me, right?"

"..." This guy definitely did it on purpose.

"Forget it, I won't talk to you about this anymore..." Every time I talk to her, as long as there is no clear topic, we will naturally hurt each other with words. I don't know if we had a grudge against each other in the previous life.

"By the way, in your memory, have I ever become strange because of something or something I said?"

Things that happened too long ago are already very vague to me, so I want to confirm whether there is any relevant content in Ye Jin's memory.

“…No.”

"Really? That's how it is... It seems my life before was very dull." Although it is still the same now.

"Then, based on your understanding of her, what are the triggers that lead to her emotions and behaviors?" Perhaps because she is very interested in this kind of thing, she always wants to get some information from me.

"I'm not sure. She rarely tells me about her experiences in class..." And this never happened when she was with me.

"Why are you two so close..." She seemed to have heard something incredible. "Come to think of it, I'm actually quite curious about how you two met. She's not in the same class as you, right?"

"Well... several classes apart. And meeting her was completely accidental. I was slacking off while being punished to run, and I ran into her on the hill behind the school."

"...What kind of strange encounter is this..." Ye Jin couldn't help but sigh.

"You don't need to say anything."

Come to think of it, my encounters with others are mostly strange situations... Maybe I really am the protagonist of a novel or comic.

"She was sitting in the pavilion... She was alone. The sunlight filtering through the leaves shone on her. She was truly beautiful. My whole body seemed to be drawn to her. I stood there quietly watching her... Hmm."

"Don't tell me that disgusting first-person pronoun!" She seemed very angry and nudged my arm with her elbow. "Just tell me the key points!"

"...Tsk..." I was rarely in the mood. "Then we met, and then we found out it was on the same way home, and then we went home together after school, and that's all."

"Oh my god! This is too casual!"

"Watch your words. You were the one who told me to get to the point."

“You call this the point?”

"...What else do you want to hear?"

"That's why I call you 'Stupid Brother'. You are hopelessly stupid. You are the biggest idiot in the world!"

"...You can scold me, but you have to give me a reason first."

My intuition told me that Ye Jin must have a reason for being like this. She must have noticed something and wanted me to realize it myself, and I hadn't moved forward in the direction she expected, so she was angry.

"Analogy, finding connections, and then making bold inferences based on known clues are essential to solving the case."

"..."

What is this? Where did you learn this, a detective novel?

"And you haven't even done the first step yet, stupid brother." She stared at me seriously.

Chapter 18: The Creation of a Gap

"I seem to be a very strange person."

She once said this to me.

She confessed this to me before we even knew each other. At the time, I was simply attracted by her appearance and didn't think deeply about the meaning of her words.

Now it seems... I probably should have noticed it sooner.

"What do you mean by analogy?"

"Even if there's no basis for it, I've sensed that you're planning something, right? And some of it requires her help." Ye Jin sighed and placed the washed bowl in the cupboard. "That should be something she's good at, right?"

"......"

I should have noticed earlier.

"Yes...it's indeed what she is good at..."

She seemed to have mentioned that she was a better artist than her classmates. I'm not sure how much, but judging by her statement that "many people in the class don't really hang out with her," and the fact that her only gym partner was the girl she was close to, she must have spent a lot of time alone.

So, the phrase "I seem to be a strange person" wasn't about her being strange, but rather about "I'm actually quite boring." Despite this, I approached her without even realizing it. What was she thinking at that moment, since she hadn't interacted much with others?

Maybe it's all accidental.

I just happened to show her an attitude that no one else has ever shown her...that's all...If you think about it this way, I really am...

"I think I know the reason..."

So, what she needs is not me.

"Um?"

It's just to be treated gently, just to have someone who can listen to her and stay by her side. Besides me, there are many people who can do it... No, there are already people who have done it.

"Well, even though I've noticed it before... I still tried to convince myself not to believe it..."

But what I have is just luck.

"But... an illusion is an illusion." There has to be a day to wake up, and it's enough to wake up now.

Why should I expect anything from myself...

............

"...Comics? You're actually planning to draw a comic... How could this happen? Why did you find me, brother?"

I was feeling a bit down, but I still told Ye Jin what we were doing. Ye Jin's comments were quite pertinent. Yeah, why did they find me...

"I don't know, maybe it wasn't supposed to be mine..."