[Joke’s on you, Minegishi. One doesn’t reach this level of straightlaced, workaholic nerdery without trying. Liem can only say this with a straight face as a result of decades of earnest, applied effort spent becoming the most milquetoast person possible. He couldn’t possibly be offended by the assertion that he’s making it look easy.]
Well… partly, I cherish the opportunity to do mundane things for just that reason. The routine helps me feel normal again.
But you’re right—it doesn’t always work. That’s why I’m out here.
[Certainly there are times when he’s too physically, mentally, emotionally compromised to even pretend to be fine. Those are the times when he shuts himself in his room, avoiding contact with other people—or when he wanders out into the night to lose himself in the bustle of the city or the vastness of the wilderness. When even pausing for an unexpected chat makes him stir restlessly and aim wistful glances further down the path with that unspoken desire to keep moving.
He suspects that if he were to offer to let Minegishi talk about what’s bothering him, he would only be met with more scorn. In Venera, he’d seemed dead-set on pushing through regardless of how much their mission set him on edge. But he really does seem like he needs to figure out some way to be at peace with himself. He may be young to have to shoulder this kind of duty, but at this point, he has no other choice. Right now, everyone in the Kenoma is relying on each other to have it together and do what needs to be done.
He adds, after a pause,] I know I said after we met properly for the first time that I owed you. That’s still true. More so now, even. I didn’t pull my weight in Venera, and you, and everyone else, were the ones picking up the slack.
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Well… partly, I cherish the opportunity to do mundane things for just that reason. The routine helps me feel normal again.
But you’re right—it doesn’t always work. That’s why I’m out here.
[Certainly there are times when he’s too physically, mentally, emotionally compromised to even pretend to be fine. Those are the times when he shuts himself in his room, avoiding contact with other people—or when he wanders out into the night to lose himself in the bustle of the city or the vastness of the wilderness. When even pausing for an unexpected chat makes him stir restlessly and aim wistful glances further down the path with that unspoken desire to keep moving.
He suspects that if he were to offer to let Minegishi talk about what’s bothering him, he would only be met with more scorn. In Venera, he’d seemed dead-set on pushing through regardless of how much their mission set him on edge. But he really does seem like he needs to figure out some way to be at peace with himself. He may be young to have to shoulder this kind of duty, but at this point, he has no other choice. Right now, everyone in the Kenoma is relying on each other to have it together and do what needs to be done.
He adds, after a pause,] I know I said after we met properly for the first time that I owed you. That’s still true. More so now, even. I didn’t pull my weight in Venera, and you, and everyone else, were the ones picking up the slack.