[Liem wonders if Minegishi is this prickly with everyone in his life, or if something about him specifically rubs him the wrong way. As far as Liem is aware, he hasn't done anything to aggrieve the young man—unless gentle sass is enough to pass that threshold. He watches Minegishi scowl and shovel pasta into his mouth like it's the last meal he's ever going to eat.]

I'm fairly confident in my recipes, [he says with a small tilt of his head that stands in lieu of a shrug. His posture remains as straight as ever.] But perhaps not so much that I believe that would convince someone actively adverse to doing a small bit of work. Ultimately, I would hope what prevents you from running off is your integrity.

[If Minegishi skips out on the work he said he'd help with, he'll save himself a few minutes' effort—but he'll lose Liem's trust in his word about anything else thereafter. And that seems like a silly thing to ruin Liem's impression of him over.]

Don't worry about me working you into the ground. As you can see, the kitchen's mostly tidy already. I'll clean the rest of the dishes, so you can put away the things on the counter.

[None of the boxes, jars, or tins are large enough to need two hands to lift—and frankly, Minegishi will have an easier time reaching to put them back up in the cupboards than Liem would, even if it takes him slightly longer with just one arm.]