Friday, the 16th of October – the day Mingyu had eagerly looked forward to. Clubs had started, and he couldn't be happier. It was just the little escape he needed from his life.
His timetable had been adjusted with the help from Professor Choi; Mingyu was technically supposed to be doing another class for Human Resources for an hour and a half, starting from the same time clubs did.
Instead, he was sitting alongside his friends in Pledis' massive auditorium; a professor headed the entire theatre club, along with five more seniors, and was giving an introduction to all the gathered students. "We have two departments for you all to choose from: it's either the basic play shit, or it's musicals and performing." Professor Lee announced. He handed out small slips of forms to the front row students to take and pass on behind. "Please fill these in to let us know of your choice. You are allowed only one of these."
Several groans surrounded Mingyu. He was part of those, and Minghao was too. Mingyu badly wanted to join both, but he would have to choose only one of them now. Making his mind up by the time the form slips reached his row, Mingyu decided to go with the first option. He had always had an interest in watching plays, only he never got a chance to pursue something similar. He knew that was out of question, and attending Clubs for it would have to do, just for these four years. And then he would lose all touch with it once again.
"You're taking musicals too?!" Soonyoung whisper-yelled next to Mingyu, as he asked Minghao. "Mingyu?"
"The other one."
"Aw man."
"Acting interests me much more than musicals." Mingyu tried not to be sour about the fact that his only friends went with something else. Not that he'd have to be away from them, but it definitely won't give him as much time as he expected to spend with them.
"It's alright Mingyu, it's not like we'd be at different ends of Pledis, both would be taking place in the auditorium itself."
"Yeah."
Minghao and Soonyoung thumped him encouragingly on the back. Professor Lee's voice boomed across the auditorium, telling the students to separate according to their chosen departments, making Mingyu move away from his friends.
He wondered how he hadn't caught that annoying blob of dusty blond hair swimming amidst the students; Wonwoo seemed to be moving in the same direction as him. He wasn't in the same Club, was he?
A condescending smirk sent his way, as Mingyu observed from the corner of his eye, confirmed that he was going to have to deal with Wonwoo's disgusting competitiveness for the entire time until the first show Theatre Club put up.
--
First day of clubs hadn't been as enjoyable as Mingyu wished it would've been. It was mostly introductions, and briefings of the projects it would be carrying out throughout the year. And to his dismay, since it was too late to begin a new performance since the term ends in less than two months, everyone would have to wait until the end of the next academic year
That meant having Jeon Wonwoo's sorry ass compulsorily around him, twice a week, for nearly two years more. Mingyu's life couldn't get any worse. He was starting to regret asking for the favour from Professor Choi now. Not only did he not get to spend more time with his friends, but instead he now had to deal with Wonwoo even more often – he never missed an opportunity to put Mingyu down.
The automatic gates leading Mingyu's car inside on the Kims' wide, gravelly driveway, slowly opened as it approached. Mingyu hated his chauffeur, solely because he was bad at his job. Mingyu could finish reading an entire novel by the time he reached the mansion in one trip from Pledis. He wished his mother would allow him to drive himself to university. But Mingyu, apparently, needed to stay safe, although he was sure his slow chauffeur would be the cause of a road accident if he decided to drive any slower.
When Mingyu entered the mansion, he saw new packing boxes strewn across the living room, and the maids designated to the ground floor swarmed around them to pass them on where required. Most boxes went to the first floor, Mingyu observed, and into his mother's bedroom. As far as he could see from the bottom, only one maid handled it all near the bedroom. She was the most trusted one, as Mingyu recognised her.
He felt sorry for her; his mother wasn't one to own minimal stuff. She was quite the opposite, in fact, boisterously showing off her worth and wealth so that everyone was constantly reminded of her position and power.
"Good afternoon, Young Master," the maid bowed, when Mingyu reached the floor above. He would give anything to have superpowers that let him jump as long as he could; that way he wouldn't have to walk a spiral flight of thirty-three fucking steps just to enter his room.
Mingyu stiffly nodded, yet again reminding himself to remain silent. Not even a minute had passed since he entered his room, when the door opened without prior warning. His mother stepped inside, uninvited.
"Since when were you allowed to shut the door?" She questioned sternly.
"I was about to change out of the uniform just now." Mingyu said, voice devoid of any emotion his mother could catch.
"You weren't supposed to answer back."
"Sorry, Mother."
"Why did your timetable change all of a sudden? I got the update last week."
"Professor Choi thought it would be better if I took an extra class for Human Resources."
"Are you failing?"
Her incessant questions could keep the tinge of annoyance from his voice. "No, I'm not failing, Mother,"
"Watch your tone, Mingyu."
"I apologise. Professor Choi wanted me to practise a little more. Nothing else." Mingyu hoped his tone silenced his mother's interrogation. But again, he should have known she was quite insistent until she got everything she wanted.
"That better be the case. You will not have it easy if I find out you're failing any of your classes."
"I'm aware, Mother."
"As you should be. You're not allowed to remain absent at dinner again, tonight. You must be responsible enough to complete your work like a sane person, not skipping meals. A successful businessman knows how to manage their time."
"Yes, Mother."
And his mother left right after, and her heels clicked farther away from Mingyu's room. The receding sound would have provided him the slightest of relief, but it only weighed heavier on his shoulders.
Fuck his homework, he needed to calm down to prevent any accidents right now. He didn't want another of those specific painful headaches just because of the uncontrollable rage he held for his mother at the moment. Stepping into the hallway after checking if his mother was gone, Mingyu walked to his closet – another room dedicated to his clothes and accessories – to get a pair of shorts and a tank to invest some time in the gym.
It was a long walk from his room to the gym constructed specially for him at one end of the mansion. The moment Mingyu laid his eyes on the driveway extending from the comically huge garage from the gym's tall windows, he felt like running away, just for a while.
But the mere sight of the several guards positioned with handguns near the menacing gates made Mingyu chuckle mirthlessly at the idea, because there was no way he would get a break from his life.
