Particular Fellow

The sounds of the utensils hitting my plate as I chew on the chicken my mother made, clash with the still calmness in my mind. I was even taking plenty of servings of soup which caused more noise in the room.

It bothered me, yes...but my mind refuses to be shaken through any chaos.

Even those caused by my own hidden negative emotions.

Which still exists, that's for sure. But right now, it's hidden. Dormant.

...my mother looks at me with a caring smile, eating her portion as she stares at me happily.

I undoubtedly feel better now, but I have to do better. I'm going to make it up to her one of these days.

...yet, I still don't agree with her decision to restrict me from getting a job. I'm going to get one anyway through playing the game...but I would be happy if I could get her permission.

It won't feel like a sin if I don't.

I look up at her and stop cutting my chicken. "Ma," I call out, to which she responds with raised brows, her mouth agape as she stops sipping the soup on her spoon.

I sigh at the sight and wave my hands. "Nevermind, you should sip your soup first," I say...but she takes it seriously and immediately finishes the serving on her spoon.

"No, no, tell me," She insists, dropping whatever she was doing earlier.

...I only shake my head, rather in disbelief over the fact that she would stop eating just to listen to me. But oh well, it is what it is, no? There's nothing I can change about her stubbornness.

"About a job..." I say softly, but she only laughs after hearing me say the word 'job' in a hesitant tone.

Perhaps she's going to say 'no' again, but I want to convince her in whatever way I can. "I-" I try to explain, but the words only come out as meek whispers...not that it was going to do anything anyway.

Especially not when she was already saying something to counter my words.

"I agree," She says, biting the mashed potatoes served to compliment the taste of her chicken.

...hold on. 

Did I hear that right?

She agrees? Is that real?

"Wait..." I stop in my tracks and look at her with confusion. "You agree?" I say with skepticism, refusing to believe that this was happening. It's very unlikely for her to do this...there must be a condition.

"Of course, it's with a condition," She smiles sneakily, dipping her chicken into some tomato sauce.

I squint my eyes and sigh, already knowing what's going to happen.

Of course. That's the mother I know. 

Let me just hope that it's not some unachievable condition that she's placed.

"I want you to get a job through playing games," She answers vaguely...which makes this whole situation some fever dream right? Afterall, she just said 'from a game'? Where did she get the idea of that?

I mean yeah, I was already planning on that...but how did she know?

Perhaps she--

"Ma," I call out, leaving my utensils on my unfinished plate. "Why did you suddenly have that idea?" I ask, half-curious and half-cautious. She wasn't avoiding eye contact with me and was...just staring.

Happily even. For some odd reason.

...hold on. Is this even my mom?

What if it was some skinwalker who took over her body?!

"Wait...ma...can I ask you a question?" I ask, and she nods.

"When is my birthday?" I ask with bathed breath, as my heart is beating palpably. I grabbed the fork on the table with intensity...not sure of what was going to happen if she gave a vague answer.

Or an answer that showed that she 'forgot'.

Because she never did.

Her expression turns sour, as she scoffs at me. "It's on January 16, 2005...are you insinuating that I forgot something, Rodrick? Don't you think I'm too young to get dementia?" She states, scowling at me.

A fake scowl.

Yep, that's the mother I know.

I let down my guard and dropped the fork on the plate again, giving her a warm smile.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were a skinwalker..." I laugh, and she's not amused.

"Me? You don't think I could defend myself from one?" She jokes, showing fake anger to me.

"...you know what? Nevermind," I answer back, eating my chicken again. This time, I dip it in the sauce, savoring the delicious taste in my mouth. It's refreshing...bringing me to someplace where I can just relax.

But I know I shouldn't relax.

I want my answers. 

"But still...where did you get the idea?" I ask again, and this time she's grinning.

She's up to something.

She only laughs softly, looking at me slyly...and her grin? It was only growing wider.

Yep. She's definitely up to something.

...so I waited, thinking that I would have to pester her for much longer just to understand what was going on that led to a change in her decisions. 

But it never happens. She's the first to talk about it.

"I was going to keep it a secret from you...but since you're adamant in knowing about it..." She stops talking, adding a dramatic effect to her pending response. "I got the suggestion from a gentleman who came to our house," She smiles.

She's smiling.

...like she didn't even make my jaw drop!

And gentleman? Gentleman who?! My mother is dating someone?!

"Ma, are you da-" I ask, but she cuts me off.

"No!" She adamantly insists...yet I don't believe her! She's being vague! It's suspicious! This whole talk we had was suspicious!

"It was from a young man your age," She answers...and I only look confused. How could she have met someone my age and brought him over to our house? Was she trying to find a friend for me?

...oh no. Maybe it's because I became reserved all my years ago that she thinks that I'm a NEET who has no friends and--

"Don't look so shocked," She laughs, seeing the ghastly look on my face...but I'm pretty sure that she doesn't know what's going on in my head. Nonetheless, it didn't change the fact that I knew nothing!

What was she saying? And why are women so confusing sometimes?!

...luckily, that was cleared up after a lengthy talk at the dining table.

It was rather interesting...how that 'Shun' guy ended up entangled with both my mother and a stressful situation in Sunny's Market. From what she told me, he collided with the table and got his shirt wet with mango juice...which led to him coming to our house.

And then...they drank some cucumber juice together, and then, she found out he was sick and then talked for a long time and then...

You get it right? Don't bother understanding all of that. 

Gossip and information gathering are rather hard to summarize...but I suppose, it clears up some things that I've been thinking about. Of why she was cleaning two cups.

And so far? I think he's alright. She personally thinks positively of that person but doesn't understand a specific thing about him.

This was about how, Amanda, one of mother's workmates, as well as the people in the other market, were all hung up on Shun. It's like they adored and were praising him as some sort of celebrity.

She thinks that it must be because he's handsome.

...but oh well, that was all I got from her since she ushered me to take a heavy rest as soon as I was done eating.

Which I did do.

I'm going to be a good and dutiful son who will follow her orders...and if that's what she wants me to do, then how can I deny her wishes? Of course, what I did was just sit on my bed and just relax while watching toktiks on my phone.

It was a rather mundane experience...as I scrolled endlessly throughout my feed and have already encountered a total of 13 brainrot videos! It's wild, but I can't complain! It really did help me relax a little bit, as I ended up slumping on the bed.

It was a nice yet boring experience. It made me feel sleepy...as I was getting all coddled up in my bed.

I was supposed to sleep nicely tonight.

...until I saw a specific video of the guy that my mother described to me.

It was an interview toktik. An interview that featured a guy who was also called 'Shun' and was also a rich-looking man with slicked black hair and emerald green eyes. 

It featured Shun Cailworth.

Apparently, the heir of a huge conglomerate company.

Thus, my mind exploded. Could it be that the guy that my mom met was none other than that Shun Cailworth? But that's...why would he be in a place like Sunny's Market anyways?

...and I could ramble on and on about my observations and thoughts about this, but I will get nowhere.

So I chose to sleep instead.

And it was not a peaceful sleep in the slightest.

...being entangled with the high-end rich people would bring many problems. Problems that may arise in the future.