𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐄

#.. TWENTY-FOUR

"Mom, Dad, we need to talk." Jooyeon insisted after his parents were home for the first time after a while. They were eating dinner together so his parents were confused on why Jooyeon suddenly wanted to bring something up. Long story short: They did not like it. "I've been thinking about that for the past few years now but now I am sure that this is what I want.." He put down his spoon and sighed, voice trembling as he continued speaking. "I wanna quit modeling..." The silence never has been this loud. No one said anything for a while, they just looked at him, both having the same facial expression. It was scary that he couldn't say what exactly they were expressing.

"Jooyeon.." his mother started talking first. "Stop being delusional. You've been born into it, you can't just step out of the business. What will netizens think of us?" Jooyeon shrugged with his shoulders. "It's not gonna be my problem anymore. I just want to live without any pressure and-" "Jooyeon, darling, life is pressure" his father started, passive-aggressive. "It will get even worse after you quit. You're bound to this life now. Also, people will think of us as bad parents, so the answer is no." Jooyeon groaned, annoyed. "So what if they do? Are you bad parents for letting your child do whatever he wants?" he hissed. "Jooyeon, that's not how the media works-" "I don't care!" he interrupted his mother.

"I just can't handle the stress! My schedule is full the last few days, do you know how hard it is to skip school because of any shootings? Because at the end of the day I still have to be on the same niveau as the other students! Also, I hate being the center of the moment. Why can't I just enroll in a university?" His parents looked at each other, close to snapping. "Son, no." His father said sternly. "You'll take over our company. Your wife can help you with it. You can't just let down a business by your parents. You have to inherit the seat to your future children!" It was Jooyeon, who snapped first. "There won't be any wife!" At first they feared their son was gay, but that wasn't it.

"And there won't be any husband! I simply just- just don't- Ugh, forget it! I won't bring anyone home, let alone have any children so!" His aggressive tone made his parents snap as well. "How dare you talk to us in a tone like that?!" His mother yelled. "I thought you grew out of this phase!" His father added and Jooyeon felt like crying. He felt distressed, angry, sad... Too many emotions to count all of them. But before he could say something, his mother continued talking. "We've considered that for a long time now and we decided in arranging a marriage for you." Jooyeon was left speechless. He just looked at his parents with his mouth slightly opened. He was too shocked to do anything else.

"We already know a girl who may like you. We'll set up a meeting with you two. It's really devastating to see what our son has turned into. The marriage will occur after you graduate!" The tone of his mother indicated that she didn't want to hear any further arguments. But Jooyeon didn't care this time. "Mom, I'm just eighteen! You can't just marry me to a girl I don't even know or like!" But she didn't care. "Of course I can! As long as the law allows that you should shut up and be quiet- Jooyeon! Jooyeon!"

Jooyeon was long gone by the time his mother started speaking again, leaving behind his hearing aids next to the plate. He didn't wanna hear this bullshit anymore as he stormed up the stairs to his room, not hearing his parents scream his name. Closing the door and locking it, Jooyeon felt frustrated as he threw himself on the bed. He felt like crying, so he did. He never should've told them.