23. You're Not Like Them

Jeon Junu

Junu was deeply embarrassed by the idea of arriving in front of all the students in a black limousine driven by a chauffeur. His parents were adamant that he had to be taken care of. There was no way they could let him use public transport or god forbid, walk. His mother had him make a uniform even though this school didn't have a uniform policy.

"You have to look the part. You are not like them," she reminded him.

Thanks mother, now they will all stare at me.

Look at that rich boy, who wants to be the center of attention.

In his desperation a plan crystalized; ordering clothes he liked over the internet and setting the address to the nearest delivery spot would surely solve his situation.

Let me be unknown, let me be anonymous, please. Junu begged the clothes in the virtual cart like some kind of internet deity.

He remembered the struggle of the first time ordering anything, when he had decided on his clothes. Mother had found out and wanted an explanation.

"Why are you buying new clothes? These are not suitable for you, they are atrocious," poison dripped out of her tongue as she held a printed receipt from his card in her hand, her nails sparkling with blue crystals against the white sheet of paper.

"For charity," the scared son clarified, covering his shock with an unbothered demeanor.

"We will have a donation day at school. For people in need, you know what that is, right?" His answer was deliberately bratty, showing his mother he wouldn't back off from the topic.

Junu had already falsified a charity email and hoped for the best.

"Can I see where you found this information? We are already patrons of charities your father picked. Why donate more?" his mother pressed.

"I do not want to be scrutinized as a freshman, mother. Have some empathy."

He presented his email to her and she let it slide, but now he knew for sure his pocket money wasn't meant for fun. She tracked every purchase he made and now he couldn't even maintain the deluded sense of privacy he had had for so long.

Persuading his parents, or more precisely his mother, to let him go as early as he could to school, was a much easier task.

"I am so excited! I want to start working hard as soon as possible," he pleaded, faking excitement and tugging at the well-known strings.

...

The day before, he had snuck out after entering school grounds and went to pick up his package. He changed from his gray uniform in the bathrooms, hiding it in a cleaning room, which he had expertly unlocked. Junu didn't waste time, being locked in alone at home all the time, he learned many new abilities, like lock picking. Internet access was his only salvation.

This morning he had changed quicker in the tiny room. He bumped into all sorts of brooms and buckets in the dark.

I hate my hair.

His hand messed up the neatly middle-parted hair which his maid had dutifully flattened out that morning.

I hate my shoes, I want to feel the coldness of this ugly, dirty floor.

I want to feel.

Mother would die if she saw this floor.

The small-framed boy grabbed his shoes in hand and stretched his fingers out on the cold floor.

For him that was part of a charm, the free spirit of art.

Now, I can blend in. Nobody will treat me differently.

He had high hopes. He wanted so desperately to at least blend in with the students The teachers already knew who he was because they had granted him his special scholarship. His age did betray him, being just seventeen and his name gave up his status, unfortunately.

It wasn't hard to connect the name of the nation-wide famous painters, Junu's uncle and grandfather with this suspiciously similarly-named and distinct looking boy. His young face was more noticeably reminiscent of his uncle's than his father's. The curly mane and big wide eyes made him seem like a younger copy of the successful family member.

I feel ready.

He went to the drawing room to pick his spot.

Nobody in sight.

...

😳 Author's corner 😊

If you were a descendant of a famous person, how would you feel?

...

🎨Illustrations of each chapter are available on my Wattpad acc, AO3 acc -klubickoArt🎨