The sounds of kids laughing and playing in the neighborhood filled the air. Roh Yoon-ho, unable to resist the urge to find out the source of the sounds,got up from his study table and walked over to the window. He watched the group of kids playing freely in the neighborhood.
The kids were around his age. They went to the same school as him but he rarely interacted with them because he didn't have a chance to. His mother had always warned him against interacting with such kids claiming they were bad influence on him. This deliberate isolation got him to develop an introverted and slightly unfriendly nature.
His mother had always designed and controlled his life.His entire life was limited to studying non-stop. His mother designed study timetables for him , hired different tutors and even installed CCTV cameras in his study room to monitor his studying behaviour. Any slight misstep was equal to a chance of getting into Harvard slipping away.
His mother Jung Ha-na,was a well known doctor in one of the prestigious hospitals in Busan. She was a sophisticated, proud forty year old woman ,overly ambitious and insanely protective of her son. She held high expectations for the young man. Now that she had a three day leave from work, Roh Yoon-ho had been under constant watch.
Even on her days off,Jung Ha-na was busy working on a few medical reports on her laptop in the living room. In the large living room where everything was exquisite the place felt like a cemetery. There was no movement and even the large smart TV hanging on the wall was merely a decoration. Roh Yoon-ho wasn't allowed to watch TV and if he was,his mother would only allow him to watch educational shows and monotonous documentaries.
During his ten minutes short break,Roh Yoon-ho came downstairs to have a drink. None of the drinks in the fridge suited his taste but he had no choice but to take them. Most of them were diet based drinks like diet yoghurts and other tasteless drinks. He guessed that was all that came along with his fate of having a doctor in the family. Not only his studies were controlled but also his diet. He wasn't allowed to enjoy junk foods like other kids of his age did. He didn't even get a chance to go out to eat at regular restaurants with his peers. Whenever he and his mother went out for a meal it would be at some lavish restaurant where they would eat some special salad and vegetables which costed more than beef dishes at regular restaurants.
"Ten minutes are over why aren't you back to your study room?" there came his mother's stern voice. Roh Yoon-ho was standing beside the fridge still drinking the yoghurt.
"I will go back in a few minutes,"he said in a small fearful voice.
"What did I say about wasting time? Time wasted can never be recovered!"Jung Ha-na scolded him,"You're going to be in your final year after this holiday you have to work extra hard."
"Aren't I working hard enough?"
"If your were working hard enough you wouldn't be getting such shameful grades in math,"Jung Ha-na said in a judgemental tone,"With your current grades in math you won't make it to Harvard."
"Seriously what's your obsession with Harvard? I hate it. Is it because dad studied there or is it because you want to prove to dad's family that even without him you can make me go to Harvard?"Roh Yoon-ho raised his voice and what came next was the harsh sound of his mother's palm against his cheek. Roh Yoon-ho instinctively held his cheek the stinging pain lingering on the soft delicate flesh.
"How dare you! I'm trying everything I can to ensure you have a bright future ahead but you've decided to become some uncultured, ungrateful brat. I was only going to ground you for a week but now you're grounded for a month! Now go back to your study room I will hire another math tutor for you,"she commanded angrily.
Now that was Roh Yoon-ho's life - his life was planned and controlled almost like a robot or electronic device and his mother happened to be the one keeping the remote control. Whatever button she pressed he was required to carry out the authorized action.
He stormed out of the kitchen and rushed to his bedroom instead of his study room slamming the door behind him with rage. He hated his life,his whole existence and was on the verge of rebelling and if not he would lose himself mentally.
Roh Yoon-ho was a connoisseur of music and instruments. When his father was alive he was allowed to attend music classes and he discovered his passion for music. When he joined highschool which was a year after his father's death,he joined the school's music club secretly which was against his mother's will. She regarded non-educational clubs as a waste of time. Being extra talented,he earned the favour of the music teacher and he even participated in a few music contests. When his mother found out,she broke his cherished piano, cut the guitar strings and threatened him to withdraw from the club and he did for a while but he couldn't stand it. In the last semester of third year he won an award at the high school musical contest and when he came home with his trophy, instead of being congratulated,he was welcomed by a one hour lecture and got grounded after that. His own home felt like a prison ,his mother being the prison guard.
Roh Yoon-ho threw himself on his bed and sobbed loudly.Sometimes he wished his father was still alive. His father died in an accident a few years ago. He used to his anchor that he could rely on whenever he was feeling down. With him he felt loved and appreciated like any other kid with loving parents. His father supported his pursuit for music and promised to build him a music production studio one day. His father though was a graduate from Harvard University with master's degree in law. His mother wanted him to follow his father's footsteps not knowing that everyone had their own interests. It was like she had forcefully carved a path in his life for him to follow.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and he immediately fished it out wiping the tears off his face to check the notifications.
It was a message from his music teacher. He had sent a picture of an auditioning poster.
"Hey Yoon-ho, didn't you say you would love to go to Seoul one day I think this is your chance. If you need help with your mother you can always call me."
After his father,the music teacher was his biggest supporter. He was aware of Roh Yoon-ho's issues with his mother and was more than ready to help him thrive well in his music and proceed to a higher level.
He held most of Roh Yoon-ho's secrets. Roh Yoon-ho had always wanted to go to Seoul because his father told him Seoul was a very beautiful city . He had promised to take him there but he died before fulfilling his promise.And now ,Roh Yoon-ho had found a chance to fulfill his father's promise on his behalf.
Over the years when his father was still alive,his father had opened a bank account for him and saved some money and he had also saved some money from his allowances. That day he planned his escape from the prison of a home. When his clueless mother whose three days leave were over left for work,he snuck out of the house with his luggage and took a flight to Seoul without giving a damn about the consequences.