Silencing his Piano

Yonghwa was playing every day now he could not get rid of the miserable angry sounds

that came out from his fingers whenever he played, he couldn't help it if he was angry and sad the sounds that would come out could only be anger and sadness

he could not make playing cheerful no matter the tune

he was always angry these days his father and stepmother's

blatant disregard for his feelings never failed to tear his heart

he hurt every single time he broke and cried every single time

he was so tired of it he wanted to be able to live without pain someday

he was sick of his father and stepmother hurting him why couldn't he be strong enough

to not be hurt by them so easily? to be able to not let anything they did hurt him

he would have to build an armor around his heart an impenetrable armor so that nothing could get in

what about jhaesun? an internal voice asked him

jhaesun was different he wasn't like his dad, he really cared about him

and worried about him, he was always on his side, always there when he needed him, always just a phone call away he could not leave out jhaesun,

he had to keep him next to him somehow, he wouldn't let go of his only true friend he had in his corner

jhaesun was the only one worthy enough to be allowed to stay in his heart

with his mother, if she was still alive she would probably really like jhaesun, they might even be able to meet each other and be real friends in person,

that would be nicer if they could get the chance to hang out together, they could talk about so many things, he could get to watch jhaesun playing his guitar and hear him sing for him,

and not in some little clip on a social media app on his phone as he usually did

just those two were his most important people in his world his mom and jhaesun

there was a commotion downstairs bringing him out of his thoughts

Yonghwa could hear a lot of noises coming from downstairs

he went out to take a look seeing a bunch of workmen

and their equipment coming into the house he father was greeting them

"what's going on?" Yonghwa asked, "who are these people?"

"hello we are a sound technician company here to install sound control technology on a studio"

"sound control technology?" Yonghwa asked "on my studio?"

"What exactly does sound control technology do because thats a recording studio"

"they are here to soundproof your studio so you can stop disturbing your stepmother and me with your playing" his father replied

"Really?" Yonghwa asked "so not a peep of sound will get in or out of my studio?" he asked the man in charge "Will it affect my music?"

"thats correct" the man in charge answered "our technology has the ability to control sound in the room and isolate it effectively, it's a way to mute the excess sound coming out of your studio, so it won't be heard in the rest of the house,

so that you can enjoy your studio without disturbing the other family members within the same household" he explained

"I see then can you do my bedroom too?" Yonghwa asked "Can you make it so that they also cant disturb me I am a composer and noises from outside can be disturbing to me as well"

the workman looked to his father who was actually paying for the job he quickly agreed

his stepmother was on the couch not saying much but she seemed rather pleased

the workmen came into the house and began their work on the studio

Yonghwa knew his dad was trying to silence him for his stepmother

because of her complaints but Yonghwa didn't see it as a bad thing

it would give him more privacy

his father was surprised that Yonghwa had agreed so easily but

if it accomplished what he wanted to please his wife Yonghwas compliance

wasn't a bad thing

Yonghwa realized belatedly he would have to open up his bedroom to let the men in to do their work

he almost wanted to change his mind but he decided to be brave

when the studio was finished and it was time to get to work on his bedroom he

let the workmen in his room his father and stepmother taking the

opportunity to come in since Yonghwa had changed the locks they had not been allowed to enter his room

his father and stepmother came in trailing the workmen looking around his room

laying their eyes on the wall with his mother's pictures and her whatnot Yonghwa had cleaned and polished it and decorated with potted plants below the pictures the sunlight

slanted through the window the whatnot gleamed and shone darkly beautiful

his mother's photos were cast in soft beautiful indirect lighting creating

a reverent space in her honor it was practically a shrine to her

so thats where all his mother's pictures went his father realized

and then his gaze found Yonghwas kitchen

seeing his ex-wife's oak side tables he had not seen in years her hotplates her dish rack her sandwich maker and the hanging baskets filled with food and ingredients

and this is is how he was eating every day and not joining them for meals his father also realized

"huh" his stepmother said softly "unbelievable"

as she gazed at Yonghwa gazing defiantly back at her

his mother smiling beautifully from the numerous pictures on the wall behind him, it was almost as if she was watching silently judging

them from beyond the grave and solidly on her son's side supporting his efforts to keep her memory alive

she might be dead but she wasn't gone and she never would be as long

as her son lived it was like a perfect vengeance against her ex-husband she was an angel on her son's shoulder

his father left the room soon followed by his stepmother the workmen finished

installing their sound control technology were paid and left the house

there was now a control panel in each room that isolated the sound for both rooms

his parents would no longer have to put up with hearing his miserable piano playing

but he also could no longer be disturbed by his parents so easily if they wanted him muted he could now also mute them

which was exactly what he wanted

today it was difficult to say which side had won their most recent tit for tat