A proud feeling grew in his chest as he saw his son strived harder in order not to disappoint him. But, when he noticed that his son seemed too focused that he even skipped meals and ignored his friends, he knew that something was wrong. Although he tried to tell his son that he needs to rest sometimes and relax his mind, all he got was a smile and an "I don't want to disappoint you."
Rei's father felt his heart ache after hearing his son's words. He wanted his son to inherit the legacy that was passed on by his grandparents, however, by no means, he wants his son to live miserably because of it.
This continued for months and every time that he saw his son's miserable face when he failed in cooking, he felt his heart was being repeatedly stabbed. He tried to endure this kind of feeling but when he saw his son cooking at midnight something inside of him snapped. He took the knife from his son and told him to sleep, Rei wanted to retort but seeing his father's angry face he quickly acquiesced.
He talked his wife about it, and they decided to let Rei stopped cooking for a while and let him find any other hobbies for the moment. At first, Rei protested and rebelled but seeing the stern face of his mother and father he finally gave up.
His parents convinced him about sports and Rei tried to do it. Though after trying it out for several days, he noticed that his body was not suited for sports so, in the end, he gave up. But it wasn't completely useless because after trying out different sports Rei started to notice the importance of having a fit and healthy body. So aside from cooking and learning a different kind of recipes, Rei began to exercise to make his body get used to it. He found some strange exercises on the internet that was quite weird. Nonetheless, he still tried it in real life.
It was quite amusing at first seeing his body bend in different directions but after weeks of using the strange exercise it made his body more flexible and agile. Combined with the heat of the kitchen and his daily exercise, unknowingly, it made his body as flexible as an acrobat.
Rei's life continued like this for at least a year until he found out about novels in the local library. At first, it was just a typical day and after doing his daily routine, he wanted something new, so he tried to visit the library. There, he discovered about some novels which were quite dusty so he asked the librarian about it and he was told that not a lot of people chose to read that kind of book.
It did not make Rei discouraged as he decided to read that novel. When he read the first part of the novel, he finds it slightly interesting. So he started to read the second part. But like a drug addict who was addicted to drugs, when he finished reading the second part he quickly read the third part of the novel!
His eyes shone brightly as he continued to read the following parts of the novel. If it were not for the sharp alarm that resounded throughout the library, then Rei wouldn't have noticed that it was going to close.
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A confused Rei quickly questioned the passerby on what that alarm was. "Oh, Is it your first time here? That alarm notifies everyone that the library is closing within ten minutes." Said the man in a state-of-fact tone
There was still confusion on Rei's face, but he nodded as if he understood the situation. 'As far as I know the library closes at six... It's only two in the afternoon for god's sake!'
He quickly checked his watch and was shocked when he saw the time. "This... It's already six?! How come I haven't noticed?!" He shouted loudly, and he was met by the 'shush' of the people. His head quickly lowered down in embarrassment as he quickly left the library to go back home.
His parents were quite worried seeing that their son was not home at this late. Usually, their son would never get out of the house besides from buying ingredients and exercising, so when they noticed that it was almost night, yet their son was not home yet made it made them quite worried.
As they were about to call the police to find their son, their doorbell rang, and they were greeted by a smiling Rei. A chill went down to their spines as they saw the unusual smile of their child. His mother quickly asked him if he was using drugs but it only made Rei smile in amusement.
"I found something interesting in the library."
Rei told them about what happened and how he haven't noticed the time. His parents were amazed that a book would take his interest since the only time that he lost track of time is when he was cooking. His father quickly noted the genre of the book and ordered lots of them. Rei took notice of this and jokingly reprimanded them about saving money, but his father just shook his head laughingly and said.
"If it's for you then we'll do everything!"
Since then, there were four things that he did every day. That was, cooking, exercising, hanging out with his family, and reading novels. Although he was not as focused on cooking like before, he still improved slowly. By the time that he was sixteen, he even started to teach people on how to cook!
Rei laughed bitterly at the memories that resurfaced in his mind when he ate the soup that was filled with various meat and vegetables. Although there were some mistakes that he could point out, he needed to consider about the food difference here in this world and on Earth. 'The food that they like here might be different than those of the food on Earth.' This was Rei's first thought when he started to criticize the food in front of him.
With a loud 'gulp' Rei finally finished the bowl of soup in front him,