The lock was heard from inside Pablo's office, causing Minjun to freeze in shock.
"He just locked us in," he muttered, shaking his head. He tried to twist it open, but it was truly locked.
"Stay in there," June said firmly, his voice muffled through the thick door. "Talk it out."
On the other side of the room, Lena sat quietly, eyes tracing the curve of her son's back as he simred in front of the door. She could see the frustration in the tightness of his shoulders as well as the anger he didn't know how to express.
"Minjun, sit down," she said softly.
Out of everything that June did (except for being such a good and handso guy in 'Everyday, Everynight'), this was sothing she really appreciated.
"I'm leaving."
He pulled at the door, but it still wouldn't budge.
"You're not going anywhere," she sighed, sounding tired. She hadn't been getting any sleep. "We need to talk."
Minjun's hand slipped off the doorknob. He turned to face her, bitterness lining his words. "What's there to talk about? You're not going to listen."
Lena flinched but held her ground. "I will. Please, just talk to ."
Minjun scoffed, pacing the floor with his head bowed. "You'll hear what I say, but you won't listen. You never do."
His words cut deep, like a blade sinking in slowly into her flesh. Lena swallowed hard, her throat thickening with the pain of the truth. She had tried, hadn't she? She had always tried to be there, to give him the best life she could. But now, face-to-face with her son's anger, she wondered if she had ever truly understood him.
"I'm listening now," she whispered, eyes pleading. "Did sothing happen, son? I thought everything was going well. We didn't even fight before you ran away."
Minjun stopped, his breath heavy as he looked at her. His lips trembled before he finally spoke, "It doesn't matter anymore. I've already made peace with it."
"With what?" Lena's eyes softened.
"The divorce," Minjun muttered, staring at the ground. "I'm alright with it. I've been alright for a long ti."
She had always worried how the divorce would affect Minjun, but he had never said anything. He had just... accepted it.
"You didn't need to be alright with it," she whispered.
Minjun's hands balled into fists. "But I had to be. I had Grandma. She always told why you and Dad were away. You were both working hard for us to give us a good life. She made understand that."
Lena blinked, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. "I thought... I thought I was doing what was best."
"I know," Minjun sighed. "Grandma explained it over and over, and I believed her. But sotis..." His voice broke, and he shook his head. "Sotis, I wonder what it would've been like to have a different kind of richness."
Lena's brow furrowed. "What do you an?"
Minjun t her eyes, and she could see the years of loneliness in them. "I didn't need all the stuff. The house, the fancy things. I just... I just wanted a family. I wanted ti, not money."
Lena's throat tightened, tears falling now, no longer able to hold them back. She had convinced herself for so long that she was doing the right thing, working so hard for Minjun's future, that she hadn't seen how much she was losing in the present.
"Then June ca," Minjun continued, his voice softer now. "He was so pathetic at first. He didn't have anyone. But he worked hard, he pushed through everything, and... I admired him a lot. And the craziest thing is, he treated like I was his real brother."
Minjun shook his head. "I've never felt like anyone's real anything. Not with you, not with Dad. But June? He made feel like I mattered like I wasn't just this... this project you both dropped off with Grandma while you went off living your lives."
"And then," Minjun's voice cracked again, "when Grandma died, and you ca back, I thought... I thought maybe things would be different. That maybe, finally, we could live like a
normal family, even if it's just the two of us most of the ti."
Lena couldn't breathe, her chest heavy. "I wanted that too..."
"But it wasn't different."
"You were still busy. You still didn't have ti for . And sohow..." He paused, his face twisted in pain.
"Sohow, it hurt even more. Because this ti, you were right here, but you still felt so far away."
Lena pursed her lips. "I'm sorry..."
Minjun sighed, slumping against the wall. "Don't get wrong. I'm thankful for everything. I know not everyone gets to be loved like this, with so much money. But it still hurts."
Lena's chest heaved, and she wiped at her tears, unable to stop the flood now. "Is that why you left? Because you hate ?"
Minjun shook his head slowly, looking at her with sadness she hadn't seen before. "No. It's because you hate ."
Lena gasped, covering her mouth as his words sank in. "What? No! How could you think that?"
"You never asked what I wanted."
"I liked school, but you pulled out to hoschool . I liked our neighbors, but you took away from them. And I liked June - he was the only one who made feel like I belonged sowhere-but you didn't want to talk to him anymore."
"He's already having such a tough ti, but you're pushing him away. He's been there with when no one else was. I want to be the sa with him."
"I don't really know why, but I really want to help him. Maybe it's because he truly is pathetic, or maybe Grandpa's genes passed onto , and I just like helping people who have way less
than I do."
"But, again, you're starting to push him away. You accepted that Lei guy so easily in your life when he hadn't done anything worth trusting for, but you're here, taking away the person I
care about the most."
"So, you really, really hate ."
"Minjun," she muttered.
"Sotis," Minjun interrupted.
"I think it would have been better if I wasn't born at all."
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