A MOTHER'S WORRY

HOW could Eunji and her husband refuse when they both saw their son's wilted expression, as if he had already expected that they would not agree with his decision? Especially right after she had decided that she would do all she could to encourage Haneul to be more open with his own emotions from now on. If she disagreed at that moment, she was sure he would close off that 'dam' once again. Maybe this time, he would never even bother to ask them for anything. That's something she absolutely could not let happen.

So, she and her husband just agreed. Even though Eunji's mind that time was just filled with all the danger this idol survival program could pose on Haneul. Those worries didn't lessen this past week, but only increased even more.

Since she had no idea what an idol survival program was, she searched online for information. However, all she found were reasons why she shouldn't let her son join such a show. The contestants faced a stressful environment, and if the production team didn't want a contestant to debut, they would edit them in a way that made them look bad to the viewers.

Then, there was the problem of staying with all the contestants in the same place during the duration of the program. Since this particular survival show allowed all secondary genders to join, there would surely be Alphas there. It would not just be one or two of them, it would definitely be a lot. How could she just let her Omega son live under the same roof with a group of Alphas?

But despite all that, Eunji couldn't make herself stop Haneul from participating in this public audition. Especially after hearing him sing. He sang to them when they got back from the hospital. And she was just shocked to the core by how good he was. That's why she had no doubt that her son would pass this audition. Unless all the judges there were tone deaf, then there's no way they would reject Haneul.

Although, based on that, she and her husband were probably worse than any tone-deaf judges. Considering that they had lived with Haneul all his life and were now only discovering the fact that he had such a beautiful singing voice. It even got worse after finding out later from Haeun that Haneul would sing secretly inside his room.

Eunji had never considered herself and Hyunwoo to be strict parents. Therefore, she was surprised to learn that her son didn't even dare to show his talent to them. Did he believe they would criticize him for it? Perhaps not; maybe he felt there was no point in sharing it because he never considered using that talent for anything.

It's probably her fault because she had always lectured him and Haeun about the importance of education and not neglecting their studies. Haneul, being such an obedient son, likely concluded on his own that it would be better to follow a 'standard plan' in life—like getting into a good university and then securing a good job.

But something must have changed in Haneul for him to suddenly decide to become an idol. Despite all the worries she and Hyunwoo had about this decision, a part of them were also happy about this change. At least now it felt like their son was living his life for himself, rather than the life he believed his parents would want for him.

"Mom, thank you again for allowing me to audition. You even volunteered to accompany me like this. Really, thank you so much."

Her son's gentle voice interrupted Eunji's thoughts. She quickly glanced at the other before turning her gaze back on the road.

"How can we say 'no' when it's the first time you ever asked us of something?"

Haneul felt a twinge of guilt after hearing that. The thought of not causing trouble to his parents was like embedded in his psyche. That's why, ever since he was a kid, he had never asked them of anything unreasonable. It's only when he became a working adult that he realized how stupid that was.

To him, it might have felt like he was just being a 'good kid', but for his parents, it probably felt like they were not being trusted or relied upon. Really, if he could just shake his younger self to let him realized that it's not bad to act like a kid once in a while, he would. Thankfully, he was still given a chance to correct that mistake.

Even if he could hardly call himself a kid at 18, there's still enough time to change how he interacted with his parents. Especially since he had now prevented that accident from happening.

With what happened in the hospital a week ago, it was obvious that his parents really wanted him to rely on them. It's probably a good thing that he had that emotional outburst. If not, then he wouldn't have known that his parents had been waiting for him to open up to them. Making it easier for him to tell them about the public audition and his plan to be an idol.

Although there was a moment that he really thought they wouldn't agree. He was still reeling from the emotional outburst he had, so he wasn't able to control his expression. But maybe that also helped in making his parents agree to his decision.

"To be honest, both Mom and Dad are uncertain if we made the right decision in letting you go to this audition," his mother added. "Your voice is truly beautiful, so we believe you'll pass. Our concern is what comes after once you join that survival program. But since this is something you want to pursue, we also want to support you. It's just that, as parents, it's difficult for us not to worry—especially considering you're an Omega."

Haneul fully understood his parents' concerns. Yet, it warmed his heart that they were so confident in his abilities. Their worries were solely about what would happen after he joined the survival program.

"Don't worry, Mom. I will be very careful. I will also carry pepper spray with me all the time," he assured her. "Besides, there will be cameras everywhere, following all the contestants. I doubt anyone would try to do something that could disqualify them, and even end their dream as an idol."

"Still, it's not bad to be careful. So don't just bring a pepper spray, also bring a taser with you," his mother said very seriously.

Haneul blinked and just laughed softly. "Yes."

And just like that, they arrived at the venue of the public audition.