"You're a disgrace to our lineage, Mingyu."
Minkyoung's voice was the first thing Mingyu heard, entering the dining room for yet another stressful dinner. He didn't react, retained his composure, and took his usual seat across his mother's displeased face at the table.
The first half of dinner went by in a series of cutlery clanking and ceramics padding on the tabletop, as though his mother deliberately made her eating utensils sound louder than they were supposed to. But Minkyoung soon disrupted the white noise by banging her glass beside her plate. The glass shattered, making Mingyu look up from his plate, only to witness his mother seething, steam nearly billowing from her ears. "Mother?"
"I didn't think I would have to tell your toddler-aged brain to follow a few basic rules over and over again,"
"Which rules?"
"They're necessities to maintain our image! How many times have I drilled it in your dense skull to not mingle with anyone lower than our status?!"
Mingyu didn't have to confirm what his mother went on about. "It's just studies, Mother, it's not that deep,"
"YOU'RE RUINING OUR REPUTATION!"
"What reputation, Mother? No one knows about this..."
Mingyu's voice faded in unsurity, brows furrowed as he thought twice about completing his statement.
How did she know? If Mingyu was just about to claim no one knew about this, he thought again. There was no way Kim Minkyoung – a busy woman leading the country's news – would ever find out about such a negligible matter. That is, unless someone had been tipping her off with information.
Maybe it was his ridiculously loyal chauffeur, Mingyu concluded. Although he had a gut feeling it wasn't as simple as it looked on the exterior, he wanted to concentrate on his dinner instead.
"Mother? May I know where and how you got to know about this piece of information?" Mingyu asked, careful to sound as harmless as he could.
"Where I get that is none of your concern. Stop being so inquisitive. All you need to do is stop associating yourself with people like him,"
Mingyu stood his ground, though he knew he might regret wanting to continue his meetings with Wonwoo, some time in the future. "No Mother, I won't. If you don't understand, I don't want to be a turtle stuck in its shell like you have been all your life. It makes sense for me to have at least one person outside of the house to talk to,"
"You have Chaeyeon,"
"I'm not aware if it's my problem, but she hasn't been interacting much with me, Mother. And I'm not going to go beg for company,"
Minkyoung looked thoughtful for a moment that brimmed with hope for Mingyu. To his utter surprise, she gave in eventually. Mingyu found it hard to believe, and couldn't help but think something seemed out of place. The thought of studying with Wonwoo didn't delight him much; it was the fact that Kim Minkyoung gave in to Mingyu's demand which made him bloom in happiness.
--
"What's gotten into you these days?"
Mingyu sat inside an empty classroom, absorbing the silence, when he was interrupted by a familiar voice which he hadn't heard quite as much recently. "Chaeyeon? What are you doing here?"
"I knew you had a free class right now,"
"Okay..?"
"We haven't talked much these days," her tone sounded almost accusatory, and Mingyu didn't think it was right of her to show up days later with such an attitude.
"And how is that my fault?"
Chaeyeon stumbled a bit over her words, clumsily uttering a few incoherent excuses here and there. "You don't seem to have time," was the only thing Mingyu registered.
"I don't have time? We're just friends, for heaven's sake, don't be so uptight and play the victim!"
"Yeah, it's because you're around that stupid fucking Jeon Wonwoo all the fucking time!" Chaeyeon gritted, stomping her foot. Her demeanour switched dramatically, and she composed herself, going back to a much relaxed state.
Mingyu scoffed, not wanting to tolerate such childishness. "So is this what it is about? Are you just sour because I'm hanging out with him now? He's a person too!"
"I don't like this new side of yours, Mingyu,"
"Well, like it or not, I'm not going to cut all contact with him just because you come back sounding desperate, after nearly ghosting me for a month, Chaeyeon,"
Chaeyeon looked like she wanted to cuss the universe out, but her face quickly eased. "Fine," she slammed a hand on a desk, "if you're being this way, I couldn't care less. Have fun studying with Jeon fucking Wonwoo,"
Her shoes clicked away from Mingyu, as she exited the classroom, leaving Mingyu to bask in the regained silence once again.
Except he couldn't, since he kept finding newer details every time he talked to his mother, and now Chaeyeon. Why did all of it seem like it was connected but distorted at the same time?
First he hadn't expected it when his mother had mentioned him studying with Wonwoo, and now Chaeyeon did too. Not that Mingyu had purposely kept it a secret from her, but he hadn't exclusively spoken it out loud either – Chaeyeon's absence playing a major part in it.
All of this made Mingyu's head hurt, quite literally. Too many unexpected pieces of information suddenly bombarded him, trapping him in their midst.
And just when Mingyu was about to shut his brain off, he was reminded of himself subtly, subconsciously defending Wonwoo minutes ago, when he'd been arguing with Chaeyeon. Surely having someone to study with couldn't be that deep, could it?
Mingyu sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. He just wanted to sleep and dismiss all these unnecessary thoughts away.
Slumping forward on a desk, Mingyu hoped to get a quick nap before his next class, when something, or rather someone's figure flashing through the little glass window on the classroom door distracted him. It was two different people, both going in the opposite directions, after what seemed like they'd caused a huge scene.
