Chapter 1The Vinegar Bell Peppers

We were having a family barbecue in the backyard. I told my girlfriend, Maya, not to brush vinegar on the grilled bell peppers.

My cousin, Julian, overheard and laughed.

"Grilled bell peppers need vinegar to taste good!"

My mom immediately chimed in.

"Julian’s right. A little vinegar definitely makes them better."

Afraid Maya would brush vinegar on all of them, I quickly warned her:

"Maya, remember, leave two bell peppers without vinegar."

She didn't even look up.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

By the time I finished cutting the fruit, the bell peppers were done.

They were neatly lined up on a platter, looking charred and appetizing.

I set down the fruit platter and grabbed a skewer of bell peppers.

The moment I opened my mouth, a strong, sour waft of vinegar hit my nose.

* * *

Refusing to give up, I swapped it for another skewer, and then another.

Without exception, every single one was drenched in vinegar.

Staring at Maya’s back as she tended the grill, I asked with my last shred of hope.

"Are all the bell peppers done?"

She didn't turn around.

"Yeah, you love bell peppers the most, so of course I grilled them first for you."

Hearing that, it sounded like I was really important to her.

If I didn't know that every single pepper was soaked in vinegar.

I might have actually felt lucky.

But right now, I had completely lost my appetite.

I didn't even want her as a girlfriend anymore.

Julian looked at me, confused.

"Arthur, why aren't you eating?"

He picked up a skewer, took a bite, closed his eyes, and let out a dramatic sigh of satisfaction.

"Mmm~ so good. This is exactly it. You have to use vinegar on grilled peppers."

Seeing that I still wasn't eating, a thought seemed to cross his mind.

"Maya, Arthur didn't want vinegar. Did you save any for him?"

Maya flipped a steak on the grill and glanced back at him.

"Didn't you all say they taste better with vinegar?"

Julian jogged over and playfully nudged her shoulder.

"Arthur specifically asked you to leave two without it!"

Maya let out a squeak.

"Ah! Be careful! I'm brushing the hot sauce right now. If I put too much, you're going to complain it's spicy again!"

Julian smirked triumphantly.

"If it's spicy, I'll just make you eat it all."

As they giggled and flirted, my bell peppers were completely forgotten.

Maya was my girlfriend. My fiancée, actually, since we were already engaged.

I had brought her home to meet my family a grand total of three times.

I didn't realize she and my cousin Julian were already this close.

I put the skewer back on the platter.

I deliberately made the clatter a little louder than necessary.

Maya finally turned to me with an apologetic smile.

"Arthur, they were all grilled together. I wasn't paying attention, and I just brushed them all out of habit."

Seeing that I didn't immediately let her off the hook, she frowned.

"Besides, your mom said to use vinegar too. Stop trying to be so difficult."

I genuinely couldn't understand.

Is asking to leave two skewers without vinegar considered being "difficult"?

I asked her.

"Taking two skewers out before you brushed them, or just leaving two for me to grill myself—was that really so hard?"

Maya didn't know how to answer.

My mom let out a dramatic sigh.

"Arthur, Maya is already exhausted from grilling. Stop nitpicking."

"It's just a little vinegar. You're just being dramatic."

As if to prove a point, she immediately picked up a skewer and took a bite.

"See? This is perfectly delicious."

After finishing her sentence, she handed a skewer to my dad.

My dad didn't say a word. He took a bite, nodded vigorously in agreement, finished it in three bites, and reached for another.

Encouraged, Julian beamed at them.

"See, Auntie? Uncle? I told you they're better with vinegar."

Just then, my younger sister, Chloe, walked out onto the patio, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"What smells so good?"

Julian immediately picked up a skewer of peppers and held it out to her.

"Chloe! You're finally awake. We're eating grilled peppers, try one and tell me if it's good."

"Thanks, Julian."

My sister took it, casually thanking him.

She devoured it in seconds, and before she even finished swallowing, asked if there were more.

Her reaction made everyone laugh.

Everyone except me.

It was obvious that everyone loved that plate of vinegar-soaked peppers. Except me.

It was always like this.

Nobody ever liked the things I liked.

Whatever Julian said was good, everyone agreed was good.

In this family, I was always the odd one out.