Wake up in his windowless room, blinded by the bright light on the ceiling… lying there with his arm over his eyes and remembering the dream he had.
(Finally, nothing from the past is bothering me anymore. Only the future to worry about.)
*hearing noise from outside of his room*
(Mom and Dad must be home.)
Jump out of his bed and get out of his room to look for his parents. The outside has gone dark, the living room light is still on, and Sunz sees his mother standing near the door, removing her high heels and talking with someone.
Mom: Make sure to make as little noise as possible. I think Sunz is sleeping since the light is on. You know how much he's scared of the dark.
*see Sunz quietly standing in the hallway*
Sunz: Hi Mom.
Mom: Hi to you too, son. Have you eaten yet?
Sunz: Not yet, I fell asleep when I got home.
Mom: Were you tired? *walks toward Sunz and turns her back at him* help me pull down the zipper of my dress.
Sunz: I was before, but not anymore.
*pulling the zipper of his mother's black and red dress down from the neck height to the middle of her back, an action he is too familiar with*
"All done."
Mom: Thank you, son. We are both tired from today's work. So, lucky for you, we bought some roasted duck.
Sunz: Ok.
His mother then walked into the parents' room, which is opposite to his room in the hall. Then his dad walked through the front door wearing a t-shirt and trousers while carrying two bags in his hands.
Sunz: Hi Dad.
Dad: Hi son. How was your trip to Korea? *removing the shoes with his foot, then walking inside*
Sunz: It's good.
Dad: Ain't that just nice. *place the two bags on the table* dinner will be ready in 5 to 10 minutes
Sunz: Ok, I'm just gonna wait here *sit down on the sofa*
Dad gets the food containers out of the bags, then Mom gets out of their room with a more at-home outfit, and the two of them switch places.
Mom sits down on the floor with one leg up, her back leaning against the sofa, and with the remote in her hand, switching the channel on the TV. Her eyes are focused on the screen, but for some reason, Sunz feels like she is glaring at him, scanning him for information.
Sunz nervously sinks into the sofa:…
Mom:… you planning to tell us something?
Sunz: What? Maybe. I don't know.
Mom: Honey, our son has something important he wants to tell us.
Dad: Give me a few more seconds…
*come into the living room wearing his tank top and shorts*
"Ok, what does our big man want to tell us?"
Sunz:… well… you both know I have no plan or career path for the future, so you two created one for me. I think I know what I want to do, and I want to know if both of you agree for me to do it.
Mom: You're saying you have a new career that you want to follow.
Sunz: Yes… I feel I have more potential with this career than other but it is also more risky.
Mom: *yawn* we'll talk more about this tomorrow with my Fortune Teller.
Sunz: Fortune… Teller… you are kidding me, right?
Mom: No, I'm not. Been working with her since you were still in my belly, and she is really accurate.
Sunz: Ok then, never expect my whole life to be planned by a Fortune Teller.
Mom: She helped us choose the path that best suited you.
Dad: Most of the time, it's word of mouth. The first and last time she saw you was when you were 6 years old. All she had to describe your future was.
"Nothing, this kid is too indecisive, only bring him in when his left and right brain cells can finally say Yes or No."
Sunz: I was 6 at that time. How do I even know what I want?
Mom: It was still a very funny but accurate description of you from her fortune-telling skill. Since it's still accurate to this day. So, we'll bring you to her for better future reading since you finally know what you want.
Sunz: But you two don't know what it is yet.
Mom: If you know what you want and it doesn't rely on your above-average academic record, then I can enjoy my youth a bit longer.
Sunz:…
(I don't think knowing your son might die on his job is better than knowing he might fail a class.)
"Sure, tomorrow we'll discuss that with her… there's also one more thing that might please both of you."
Dad: Knowing you are healthy and well fed is pleasing enough for us both.
Mom: Well, I do wish he would bring home his future wife. But with his personality, I'll probably be wishing until I'm in my 70s…
"But don't force yourself, I found my handsome and diligent husband when I was in my mid 20s. Right, Honey?"
Dad: Well, you did find me, but you did have to fight your whole family to get the approval.
Mom: And love conquers all *kiss her husband on the cheek*
Sunz: Great to see you two still in love with each other… but, if I don't force myself, and the opposite happens. Like, she forces herself on me, what do I do?
Dad: You accept it with pride, unless you have someone you want, then you reject them. Your mother did throw herself on me, or to formally put it, she was on the offensive, and she was stalking me for a year until we started officially going out.
Mom: Don't paint me in such a bad light in front of our son. At that time, I liked you, but you were neutral to me. So, I forced myself to talk to you at least once per day, even saying 'Hi' is good enough, anything more is better.
"And my strategy worked."
Dad: I mean, I did contribute with my fake suicide threat.
Sunz was shocked to hear that: You did what, Dad?!
Dad: Your mother's strategy worked so well that it creeped me out. Every day that I'm not at home, I always feel like someone is watching me, so one day I threaten to kill myself if she continues to keep following me.
"Which worked surprisingly well, your mother backed off… only for a week though. And the day she returned, I have never felt such murderous intention before, and mind you, I was feeling this without me seeing her."
"Then, when I was alone on the rooftop, she quietly appeared from nowhere and pushed me against the wall, both hands were grabbing on my collar, her eyes were soulless, and the bags under them emphasized that detail even more. Her breath was cold on my neck like she was preparing to bite into it."
Mom: Stop for a bit. It's a bit creepy for you to remember those details so vividly.
Dad: Honey, I thought I was gonna die that day.
Mom awkwardly laughs: Fair point…
Dad: Luckily, your actions and your words carry different emotions, from what I remember you said.
"Is this long enough? Please don't kill yourself! I was just slowly expressing myself so you and I can confess with the same level of emotion…. I like you, please go out with me."
Mom: You see, son. Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to step back.
Dad: Not true.
Mom: What are you talking about?
Dad: Because of the situation I was in, combined with your physical strength and your current mental state. I have to agree to your confession.
Mom: You are saying you were not in love with me at that moment.
Dad: Yes, I'm sorry to finally reveal that to you.
Mom: Sunz, close your eyes now!
Sunz followed his mother's order. Then all he could hear was the sound of two lovers kissing each other passionately.
(Glad that they are still happy.)
Then he heard his mother and father speaking in Chinese.
Mom: You did not love me before, but you loved me after that, and you still love me until now. All you knew was me, myself, and nothing else. If you had known about my f-
Dad: Remember what we promised each other. It's our past, not his. Under no circumstances and language, we shall not mention them if our son is here.
Mom: Sor-
Her sentence was cut off and was filled with the sound of intense kissing.
…
Sunz: Mom, Dad, can I open my eyes now? I am so uncomfortable.
The noise stopped when Sunz spoke up.
Dad: That's right, we still have dinner.
Mom: You can open up your eyes now… and what were you talking about earlier?
Sunz opens his eyes and darts them around: Uh, well, I made some new friends on my trip to Korea.
Dad: Amazing, now you don't have to rely only on Jihu… but, are you still our son?
Sunz (???): What? I've only made some new friends. How could anything change? I am so confused right now.
Mom laughs at Sunz: He is still the same clueless boy. Nothing about him has changed.
Sunz: Mom is laughing at me, and you asked weird questions, Dad. Did your moment of intimacy make both of you forget that you have a son?
Mom still laughing: Look at him talking like he is an adult, how adorable.
Dad: Son, looking at you this moment compared to the last time we saw you. You are still the same young man, but you now have the confidence and the ego to believe in yourself.
Sunz: Well, that is normal when you have to grow up. Also, this is just another variety of your compliments, Dad. I don't have that low self-esteem.
Mom laughing already stops: Enough about this emotional stuff, there is something else important about you I need to ask.
Sunz: Yes?
Mom: Your body seems to have a bit more muscle, healthier…
*glare at him, and her voice becomes sterner*
"You didn't neglect eating right? I told you before, when it comes to food, we spare no expense. I didn't fatten you up all those years just for you to become a husk of yourself after two weeks of no supervision."
*open two boxes of the roasted duck*
"Finish both of these, and we still have more if you are hungry. I'll even have your father go out to buy more if needed."
Sunz: Mom! I'm just-
Mom glared at Sunz with gentleness in her eyes, but her words were filled with murderous intent: Eat your food! It's getting cold.
Sunz: Ok.
…
*After fishing dinner*
Sunz: I'm finished. Uggh, so full.
Mom: I'm very happy, three boxes of roasted duck. You can go to your room now.
Sunz: Thank you, Mom.
*went to the bathroom to clean up, then headed to his room, out of his parents' sight*
Dad: There he goes, quietly back to his room… so, what's the issue with him?
Mom: My sister got to him. She got her calligraphy etched on his hands.
Dad: Damnit, is it anything bad?
Mom: She wants his memory, but I don't know what she will do with it… *sigh* anyhow, I'll let Miss Yan take care of this…
"Such a nuisance, we had an agreement… if they drag our son into this family affair, I'm going to kill them all."
Dad: Let's not get hasty with that option. He only had it after his trip to Korea, something might have happened there. For now, let's see how things go. We now have him wanting to be a Hero.
Mom: Yeah, probably a better option than a normal career. If he can fight and is good at it, sure, why not? The only problem, his stamina.
Dad:… we'll see.
Mom: Yeah, we'll see.