Due to being grounded, Lee had to often limit himself to what was in his house to entertain himself. Due to him being a huge horror fan, his go-to activity was always finding the latest horror hits. Come nightfall, he would often be in a self-made blanket cocoon with the lights down and a bowl of popcorn in his lap. His gaze focused solely on his laptop.

Over time, this had become a reoccurring nighttime activity for Lee on the weekends; with no school, he didn't have to worry about being up early, though that didn't stop his mother's nagging. Also, combined with the school's mandatory one-year detention, his mother incorporated a one-year grounding rule.

At first, he would often complain about being unable to go out with his friends. However, after a couple of weeks, he didn't mind the restrictions as much. Before grade 10, his weekends often involved hanging out with Cam and Holger and being out of the house. It resulted in him not being able to indulge in his guilty pleasure. The realization made the weekends more welcoming to look forward to. Often, he would find himself daydreaming about what he planned to watch.

Indulging in horror was the plan for tonight as well. Lee had already completed the week's homework in advance and was lucky to see a new movie by one of his favorite producers released. He knew he still had school tomorrow, but as Lee had completed his homework a week in advance, he felt less guilty about being tired tomorrow.

Limiting himself to the night was also an intentional choice by Lee. He always felt a dark atmosphere helped and found it hard to enjoy horror movies in their full glory when there was still light outside. By the time the sun had set, Lee was already in PJs and wrapped in his blanket with a bowl filled with popcorn.

Despite being a longer movie than the norm, Lee lost himself in the masterpiece. He was enjoying the plot combined with proper moments of unexpected twists. He always appreciated when movies were smart with their choices and maintained an enjoyable plot level rather than just spamming blood everywhere.

Even though he stayed awake later than his usual schedule allowed, his parents were already asleep. For Lee, that meant he could have his headphones on and not worry about anyone interrupting him.

With everything set, he continued to watch the movie, with his anticipation only growing as it progressed and reaching its highest during the climax. His attention was so focused on the movie that he didn't notice someone enter his room.

On the screen, a razor was being pushed next to someone's jaw, but before any blood spilled, someone's hand squeezed Lee's shoulder.

Completely caught by surprise, he screeched, kicking away from the unknown person, knocking his blanket off, and throwing his popcorn all over the room.

He backed into the corner, whipped his headphones off, and squinted his eyes, trying to focus on the person standing before him in the dark. He needed every single one of his instincts sharp if he planned on being able to take this person down.

He wasn't sure if it was someone connected to Barrage or somebody looking to silence his dangerous curiosity. Whoever it was, he didn't care and wasn't planning to let them take advantage of his surprise.

He bent downwards, getting ready to lunge at the intruder when they flipped the light switch.

Standing in front of him wasn't an enemy strapped with weapons. Instead, it was his mother with messy hair, a worn-down night robe, some popcorn on her, and a very irritated expression.

"M-mom, what ar-" was all Lee could get out. "What on earth are you doing, Lee?" His mother grumbled, no doubt just being asleep a few minutes ago. "I - uuh - well - you see - I got scared when you grabbed my shoulder," he finally managed to get out. "I wouldn't have had to if you'd just answered the door; I was knocking for over two minutes." "Oh, why? I thought you were sleeping." "I was, but then I forgot I left my phone in your room and came to get it. When you didn't open the door, I just came in."

Lee didn't say a word, either worried that his mother would get upset or embarrassed that he screamed like that over a touch. His mother, noticing how her son felt, grabbed her phone. "Just clean up your popcorn and get some sleep. Please try to wake up at a reasonable hour tomorrow."

Lee was confused by her request for the popcorn until he turned around and saw that he had spilled his popcorn over his desk, bed, carpet, blanket, and laptop in his less-than-manly reaction to his mother.

He sheepishly paused the movie and began cleaning his room. Once done, he called it an early night and went to bed.

TOMORROW MORNING

Still aware of last night, Lee talked less than usual as he ate breakfast. His father noticed this and asked, "What's the matter, son? You're not talking much this morning." Lee eyed his mother, who sensed her son was looking but didn't say anything. "I don't know, just not in the mood to talk," he responded, hoping to signal an end to this conversation.

"Oh, that's fair, not everyone wants to talk all the time...but son, last night you seemed in the mood to talk."He chuckled while Lee blushed and continued eating, too embarrassed to respond.

His mother smacked his dad and told him to eat in Korean. Once done, since Lee had school and his mother's job started before his father, they left the house before him.

The car ride was silent for the most part, but arriving at the school, Lee finally spoke up. "Thanks for not making a big deal...of what happened last night." "It's fine, dear," she said before pausing, "But you should fix that scream of yours. Otherwise, you won't get a girlfriend anytime soon," she joked. "Ha-ha, very funny," he said, annoyed and getting out of the car. "Love you," she said before parking the car.

Despite the embarrassment, Lee was still thinking back to the movie and planned on finishing the rest next weekend, preferably without headphones.