His Feet Lead Him There

Jacob knows Simon’s schedule better than his own, takes a “random” detour into the wrong wing three days in a row, and picks the grey figure out of any crowd in a fraction of a second. That is not how dislike works — that is how the brain’s salience system works: it automatically tracks whatever matters to it most.

Jacob’s conscious mind tells itself a story called “he annoys me”. But routes, gaze and memory obey not the story — they obey the motivation he refuses to look at. The difference between “I can’t stand him” and “I can’t stop thinking about him” is visible to any outside observer. To everyone, in fact, except the person himself.