Chapter 35: Sun-young’s Life
"Seongsan University? You must be proud!"
Her mother smiled and looked down at her. Sun-young sat without saying a word, her gaze lowered.
The sun came down and her mother's friend left. Her smiling expression faded with the light.
"I hope you were listening."
"I was," Sun-young replied. She was tall for her age and everyone around her said she was quite mature too. "I don't get it though. Why is school such a big deal? Can't I—"
"You will," her mother interjected. "You will, one day. You'll understand."
"Okay..."
Her mother softened and went down to her level. "Look at me." She didn't. She couldn't. "Look at me, I said."
There wasn't a special reason why she couldn't look people in the eye. She just...couldn't. Ever since she was a child, she had never been able to properly engage with her teachers or her parents.
Her mother thought that if she spent time with friends, she would grow out of it. So she forcibly made friends with the other mothers and made their children hang out with her. Sun-young never grew out of it.
Her father would come home every night wanting food. It was a typical dinner. Quiet and lulled with the background sound of the television. Once he ate, he sat to watch whatever was on. Sun-young regularly joined him.