(BACKSTORY)

(24) JOONMYUN I

Joonmyun had been sheltered all nine years of his life, basking in the glory of his king sized bed all to himself, and even having a house full of butlers and maids to comply to his every command. Though he rarely had to ask them to do anything, because it was mandatory for the workers to make Joonmyun happy, anyways.

Joonmyun even had his own personal teacher at home who went by the name Mr. Lim. He was a man that always abided by the rules, he being the one to have set them all in the first place to make everyone else’s lives harder. With a permanent frown on his face and the deep wrinkles in between his eyebrows, Joonmyun was scared of him when he was younger and even now tended to try and avoid the man at all costs. It was a difficult task, proven to be true even more so since the man guarded Joonmyun’s mom like a hawk.

His mother was sick ever since he could remember. Her porcelain skin looked clammy under the small amounts of sunlight that teemed in from the window, and it was the only natural light that she got until Mr. Lim changed the plastic blinds to thick, gray curtains so that she wouldn’t even be able to look outside. Joonmyun had no idea how she was able to smile in such a dreary room and had to force himself to put up with it whenever he went in to visit her. As time went on, Joonmyun really thought that it was the room that affected her health and worried endlessly as wrinkles lined her pretty face. Or how skinny she looked despite never exercising and eating three meals a day. That didn’t mean much since what he ate in one sitting was more than what she ate in an entire day. The maids said that the cook always made her healthy food to help her get better, and Joonmyun genuinely thought that this was true until growing up and becoming an adult. It was all lies to hide the truth from his naive mind, and even now, it’s hard to believe he didn’t realize it before- all because he was simply too young.

He can’t remember his father at all. Leaving soon after he was born, Joonmyun never even got the chance to speak his first words before he was gone. He didn’t really mind though. Whenever his mother would speak about his father, her face would look paler than usual and sometimes, she would cry too. Joonmyun hated that and would have rather had his endless questions about why he doesn’t have a dad stay unanswered just to keep her from crying.

It was obvious that Joonmyun loved his mom a lot, and anyone in the house could vouch for it if anyone said otherwise. The staff, minus Mr. Lim, always tried their best to get him a few extra minutes when visiting the woman. She was always restricted from leaving her bed and had it so that Joonmyun sat on the plush cushions with her, singing songs or just watching him as he talked about what he did in his lessons or how well he could play the piano for her. The maids and butlers were all fond of the woman and although were paid a lot, would rather trade it in to watch the mistress of the house smile and laugh along with her son. It was a beautiful sight to see when the woman was usually very sad and forced to remain in a room for her entire life.

The boy gave her life and that’s all they wanted. Of course, they looked after Joonmyun’s health as well, not forgetting to make sure he ate all of his vegetables and did all of his homework on time. The less his mother had to worry about the better.

“Can I see mom when I finish school today?” Joonmyun asked curiously as the maid and butler that accompanied him on his walk out in the garden.

Their heights compared to his was great although they constantly spoke of how tall he was growing every day. With the maid on his left and the butler on his right, he walked in the middle, swinging his arms back and forth as he held onto their hands. For some reason, he felt warm in between them. He wished he could do things like this with his mom.

“We’ll, let’s see… Did you finish all of your homework?” The butler asked, his eyebrow arching as Suho nodded his head happily.

“How about your chores?”

Joonmyun’s eyes bulged out and he jumped up and down, almost squealing as he tugged their hands. “Really? You’re really going to-”

“I was kidding, kid.” The maid leaned down and poked his forehead playfully. “Your mom would be worried if we let you do work around the house.”

Joonmyun rolled his eyes and rolled up his sleeves, flexing his arms while in his stomach to try and puff out his chest more. “I’m strong, though!”

“Yes we know. I’ve never seen a kid fight so hard over trying to fold clothes that he actually ripped an entire sleeve off.” The butler sighed, recalling the scene as if it just happened yesterday.

Joonmyun was a helper and he loved to do whatever he could around the place to make sure everyone was smiling and enjoying their day. While scouring around near the maid’s quarters, he found a room that smelled like his shirts, becoming intrigued by how such a thing could be possible when all of his clean clothes needed to be washed for the day. He stumbled across a pile of warm clothes and stuffed his hand in the large basket, melting in the sweet warmth and hopping in it as if he were in the bathtub. The more he buried himself under the white button ups and pajama pants, the sleepier he felt, eventually dozing off while basking in the heat.

He awoke later that day because his maid screamed that she had found him while washing the next load of laundry. Since the house was so big, the others weren’t alerted until everyone was running for the room, coming across Joonmyun who was crying and trying to hold onto the shirt as the maids tried prying it away from him.

“Mom said I can though…” Joonmyun grumbled.

“Yes, but only if we allow it. I’m glad you’re a good son to her though. You’re a nice boy, Joonmyun.”

Hearing such praise made Joonmyun break out into a grin, forgetting all about how he wanted to help with laundry. The maid and butler were relieved, but their day wasn’t done just yet. Joonmyun still needed to be fed, bathed and properly dressed for bed.

“Can I have cookies and milk before bed? I promise to brush my teeth extra good.” Joonmyun chimed, revealing his pearly whites as the maids swooned at how cute he was.

“Of course, but is there anything else you’d like to request?”

“I want the milk in two glasses, one for mom and one for me. I would share with her, but I don’t want my bacterias to get her more sick, so... And I want the low sugar cookies so that she can eat as much as she wants and not have to worry.”

The adults’ expressions turned soft and they all went off by Joonmyun’s request, some helping him into his pajamas while others prepared his late night snack with care. He peeked around the corner by the stairs and saw two of the maids talking to Mr. Lim and as soon as his back was turned, they motioned for the second group of maids to take the platter of milk and cookies up the stairs. They were almost caught after one of them tripped on the top step, but the butlers that were waiting managed to catch her and the food.

“Hurry!” Joonmyun whispered, voice almost yelling if he wasn’t trying to keep it down while still trying his best to get his message across.

They sped down the hallway and wandered down to the last room on the right, carefully opening the door to reveal the lights still on. On the bed sat a very frail woman, her arms already outstretched towards the door to welcome them.

“Joonmyun! Come to mommy, ooh I missed you so much.” She cooed, taking him into his arms as he climbed up onto her bed. He snuggled his head into her chest and his mother was unable to see the frown forming on his face. Her collarbones poked his head a bit more than usual and he automatically took a step back, motioning for the maids to present them with their desert for the evening.

“Low fat and as healthy as it can get without tasting bad.” He grinned, picking up a cookie and dunking it into one of the glasses of milk. He took a big bite and hummed happily as his mother giggled and wiped away the crumbs that were on his face.

“My son always thinks about me, doesn’t he? You’ve all raised him so well. I’m very grateful to all of you, really.”

His mother turned to her side and bowed as far as she could go while sitting down, alarming the butlers and maids that were in the room. They all assured her that it wasn’t that big of a deal and urged her to get comfortable in her bed again before she had hurt herself.

“So, what did my beautiful boy do at school today?”

Joonmyun stuffed his face with another cookie before swallowing the last bit of chocolate in his mouth. “I learned how the animals in the ocean can breathe underwater. Isn’t that cool mom?”

“Really now? How do I know that you’re telling the truth?”

“Because Mr. Lee and Ms. Chae told me so and they’re never wrong! They even showed me a video of how the big whales are super duper big and how starfish can grow back their arms when it breaks off!” The butler and maid both flushed after being praised by the small boy and his mother just hummed gleefully as he ate another cookie.

He noticed how his mother had only taken a sip of her milk and felt bad for eating without her, breaking a small piece of the cookie off and holding it to her lips. She accepted it gratefully and chewed slowly, but still happily before thanking him for the treat.

A sudden knocking on the door startled Joonmyun and he almost fell of the bed, being pulled back by his mother who held him tightly in her arms. The door swung open and slammed into the doorstopper before Mr. Lim had stormed in, crease in his brow even deeper than usual. “Kim Joonmyun! How many times have I told you that your mother is not allowed to eat any of this, this- sugary mutiny!”

Mr. Lim rushed over to Joonmyun’s mother’s side and shoved him away to take the plate of cookies, tossing it into one of the maid’s hands before shooing them all out of the room. Joonmyun was the most reluctant to leave and even the other staff members took their sweet time just so that Joonmyun could see his mothers face before he wouldn’t able to see her for a while.

Before Joonmyun could turn around to give one last goodbye to his mom, Mr. Lim had stepped in front of his way. He promptly closed the door and stood in front of Joonmyun while hovering over him with a grimace.

“I told you that you weren’t allowed in there, Kim Joonmyun.”

Joonmyun held his head low and twiddled his thumbs after being warned so much and still ignoring the man’s orders. He was only doing this for his mother’s benefit, but he needed little happiness in his life too and couldn’t stand how unhappy she looked while being stuck in that room by herself.

“I’m sorry…”

Mr. Lim shook his head and stood firmly in place, alarming Joonmyun who usually was let free after this kind of incident happened. “I don’t think you’re sorry. This is the third time this month that you’ve done this, and I’m beginning to think that you’re not learning your lesson.”

Joonmyun, with shaky legs and warming ears from embarrassment, lowered his head a bit more at Mr. Lim’s scoldings. He knows that the maids and the butlers were silently listening in as well, but Joonmyun did his best to keep quiet for them. This didn’t concern them- this concerned his right to see his mother and be there for her. A little bravely but mostly timid and afraid, Joonmyun speaks up.

“She’s my mom,” he says, curling and uncurling his fingers nervously. He tries not to make direct eye-contact with Mr. Lim, wavering his gaze to the white door behind him. “She’s my mom, so…-”

“Your constant bickering is not healthy for her,” Mr. Lim bites, and Joonmyun shrinks a little. “I’ve warned you plenty of times, Mr. Kim, but your mother is-”

“But, she’s my mom, and I want-”

“Enough!”

The loud booming voice echoes through the halls, vibrating in Joonmyun’s eardrums until everything is silent for a few more seconds. Listening a bit more carefully, there is faint coughing coming from behind his mother’s door. He scrunches up his eyebrows, though still a little startled by Mr. Lim’s sudden outburst.

The man looks pretty infuriated. Joonmyun actually believes that he may even hit him, but instead of whacking him against his cheek, he whips out something from his pocket instead. He punches in a few numbers into his cell-phone, other hand on his hip as he waits impatiently. He blabbers on about something, but Joonmyun can’t really understand, even if his name is brought up a few times. He looks behind him to find a few maids and