I wouldn't say that at all. Sal only wants the hug if he's sufficiently close to Dave. If you're feeling vulnerable, would you want to be touched by someone you're not exactly close to let alone a hug?
Yeah that makes sense...with how reserved and offset Sal is, it’s understandable that it’s seemingly difficult to get the hug (I’m the same way lmao) The reason I called the route unintuitive was because when I was doing my first play through, the choice that stopped me from getting the hug seemed weird at first...I assumed he made my mistake too...sorry :(🐊