behind the scenes ! junhao

14

AFTER spending time with Jun for a couple of hours, they returned to their residents as the sun was saying it's daily goodbye to switch positions with the moon. Minghao watched as Jun was unlocking his front door, giving the younger a grin and a wave before entering his home. Minghao who watches his figure disappear removes his lanyard from his bag and fidgets with the number of keys to find the lock's counterpart. But, during his time of searching, the front door opens on its own. Startled by the sudden action, he finds himself staring at his mother who was obviously not happy. "Inside, now." Is all she says, Minghao doesn't rebel and enters his home without a fuss. He kicks off his shoes, ready to dash to his room but he feels a hand grip around his left wrist. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To..my room?"

"Care to explain why you were hanging out with a boy?" She shortly brings up Jun. But, he told his dad that he'd be tutoring someone, how'd she know about Jun? "Are you going to lie to your mother Minghao? Telling your father you're going to tutor a student but I see you from the window carelessly hanging around! Why are you wasting so much time?"

Minghao forcefully removes her hand from his wrist, putting his hands by his side. His mother was always like this, controlling and making him feel bad. He understood her reasonings, she simply wanted the best for Minghao but acting as if mere activities like hanging out with friends were damaging his schedule was too much. "I'm not, I just want to have some fun."

"There's no time for fun Minghao. We've wasted so much money on lessons and tutoring. You have gotten so much more than other teens, you're acting ungrateful right now."

"I'm not ungrateful..." He mumbles, he then feels a finger poke at his chest. His mother began to shout, even more, the same words he's heard for the past sixteen or so years. It was the same lecture each time, but this one would be more brutal as he's been caught red-handed with Jun. Minghao had no regrets, Jun made him feel free - that's all that mattered. If he felt like he could breathe, even for a couple of hours, he was happy.

"I'm so disappointed in you Minghao, you even walked out on violin practice today. Hanging out with a boy will not make you any better!"

"I know.."

She shakes her head, letting out a scoff as her hands cross against her chest. "You're better than this. Did you know your cousins have already been enrolled in prestigious schools for music and have gotten multiple awards for academics? Why can't you make me proud and accomplish something like that!"

"I'm trying!" Minghao shouts back, glossy eyes present as he did his best to hold back the tears. His lips tremble, but as he looks at his mother with a torn expression, she once again shakes her head.

"Not enough. Keep this up Minghao and I'm sending you back to China to live with your aunt. Maybe your cousins can teach you something about succeeding in life." There, the conversation ended and his mother went up the stairs to return back to her room. Minghao still stands in front of the doorway, unable to keep his emotions inside he breaks down on spot. He wasn't afraid to let out his tears, all his locked feelings have been kept and now it was time to dispose of them once again. His father, who peeks from down the hall shortly comes out of his office as he heard the conversation. He walks over to his son quickly to comfort the young boy,