Chapter 37: Alone Is Freedom

Ethan spent the entire Saturday holed up in his rented room. He didn't even step outside, completely focused on finishing the paper flowers for the class decorations - specifically for the upcoming Vietnamese Women's Day event on October 20th.

With each paper flower he completed, Ethan felt a rush of satisfaction. He looked at the pile of completed flowers, now 80% of his planned amount, and felt immensely pleased with his progress.

For an introvert like Ethan, finding a legitimate reason to stay home was the ultimate happiness.

Ethan still remembered how he and his younger brother, Victor, enjoyed those long days at home during the nationwide lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

That year, Ethan was 13, and Victor was just 11. It was during that time Victor began experimenting with writing.

For nearly a year, Victor immersed himself in a world of knights, wizards, halflings, elves, and orcs - creatures he brought to life from his imagination. He was a huge fan of Western fantasy literature and the vast worlds created by Tolkien.

He wrote a novel - spanning ten notebooks - each one filled to the brim with words. Ethan was also swept up in his brother's optimism and vivid imagination.

At that time, Victor's only reader was Ethan, who also took on the role of the illustrator for his brother's novel. For every ten pages of Victor's writing, there would be one pencil sketch illustrated by Ethan.

But now, Ethan could hardly remember the plot of that novel anymore. It was as if the memory had shattered into fragments along with the pages that were torn apart, burned to ashes, when their parents discovered the two brothers' secret project.

"Tell me, are there any writers or artists in Vietnam who are rich?"

The two boys fell silent; they couldn't argue back when their father shouted that question in their faces. They were too young to find the right arguments to defend their dreams.

"No more writing or drawing! I won't allow anyone in this house to become a writer or an artist. None of my children are allowed to dream such pointless, delusional dreams. Find something useful to do! Got it?"

Ethan gave up quickly. He stopped drawing at home altogether. He only dared to draw during art classes at school. And even then, he would only show just enough skill to pass the class - never more than that.

But Victor had cried like a little child on the day his cherished work was destroyed.

It seemed like Victor would give up too. BUT HE DIDN'T. Victor remained resolute. He persisted, despite the torn notebooks, the burnt pages, and the harsh scolding.

Victor continued to write, even though Ethan no longer dared to read his stories or illustrate for him.

When the COVID-19 pandemic was brought under control and schools reopened, Victor diligently attended class. He made use of the school's computer lab to retype his novels from memory. He then posted his works daily on various online novel platforms. This time, no one could tear or burn his creations anymore.

In the end, it was their parents who had to give up on Victor. They eventually let him do what he wanted. But they never stopped comparing Ethan's academic achievements with Victor's poor performance in school.

And that created an invisible barrier between the two brothers. Gradually, they no longer had much to share with each other.

The gap grew even wider when Ethan received a full scholarship to Harmony High and moved to Harmony Town to study.

Ethan sighed.

At first, when he had just moved to Harmony Town, Ethan felt quite regretful - living away from home and becoming independent at 17 was a harsh reality.

But now?

Here - in this 15-square-meter rented room - Ethan could freely spread out his crafting materials and spend the entire day cutting and gluing paper flowers in plain sight. And he even had a legitimate reason to do so.

Ethan had come to understand the law of exchange in life. One can only be truly free if one accepts solitude.

Of course, Ethan's current freedom was only relative. He was still underage, still dependent on the monthly financial support from his family.

If things continued as they were, Ethan would have to choose a university that aligned with his parents' expectations. His parents always wanted both him and Victor to pursue high-paying careers like software development, for example.

But did having more money truly equate to happiness?

It was hard to say, since Ethan's family had always been just middle-class - neither rich nor poor.

That's why the full scholarship from Symphony International University was so appealing. It promised years of independence and the freedom for Ethan to choose his own career path.

But back to the present, Ethan first needed to secure the scholarship for his senior year at Harmony High.

Ethan knew that planning this far ahead seemed a bit too ambitious. But once he got a taste of this newfound freedom, he wanted to keep it at all costs.

Ethan stood up and stretched.

His Gen-Z spine cracked and popped as he twisted from side to side.

Only now did Ethan finally pick up his phone. He felt dizzy looking at the flood of notifications from various apps.

He checked Zalo.

There were just a few weather updates and random news alerts.

Nothing from his parents. They were probably still upset with Ethan for missing the exam to qualify for Harmony's Math Olympiad team.

So Ethan could only hope that Victor continued to be showered with their parents' affection during this time. After all, Victor was only 15. Aside from the stubbornness and mood swings of adolescence, Victor also had the sensitivity typical of artists.

Ethan opened up Telegram.

He saw that he had just been added to a bunch of new group chats:

"Harmony Showbiz"

"Harmony Music Club"

"Let's Dance 2025"

Ethan skimmed through all the information from the groups he had just been added to. He also browsed the messages in each group to get a sense of what was going on.

(Ugh… What a hassle!)

Harmony Showbiz was a group for all Harmony High students involved in any form of artistic performance - regardless of the type. For example, music, theater, film, stand-up comedy, circus, and magic. There were even fashion shows and beauty contests. It was like a miniature showbiz world.

Harmony Music Club was a dedicated group for students who performed music. This club encompassed singers, musicians, choir members, brass band players, drummers, and dancers. Basically, anything or anyone that makes musical sounds is part of the Music Club - just as Lucas had mentioned.

And Let's Dance 2025 was a brand-new dance team created specifically for the upcoming event on Vietnamese Women's Day, October 20th.

From what Ethan read in the Harmony Music Club chat, Harmony High already had a professional dance team. However, Let's Dance 2025 required male dancers to be at least 1.75m tall to be visually appealing to the female audience.

Very few members of the existing dance team met that requirement since most of the boys were still growing. So Let's Dance 2025 was established, gathering a bunch of fresh faces including Ethan.

Ethan noticed that his name had been tagged in a message in the Let's Dance 2025 group chat.

"Hi everyone! This is our new dance team member: Ethan Duong from 11D."

The group's admin not only sent a welcome message but also posted a hilariously awkward photo of Ethan in the chat.

"Hi everyone! Glad to join the Let's Dance 2025 team. I look forward to working with you all."

Ethan quickly replied with a greeting to the group.

Only the admin, Chris Vu - a senior from 12C, it seemed - reacted to Ethan's message with a like and a heart emoji.

"The practice schedule with the Choreographer is from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. But next Monday's session will be moved to Tuesday because it's the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"I'm sending the MV 'Kiss you, Bite you' by Crimson Veil. Watch it carefully to understand their vibe. The dance moves will be a bit different since the Choreographer will adjust them for us."

"Don't worry - everyone in Let's Dance 2025 is a first-timer… except me - hahaha."

A flurry of laugh emojis and heart icons flooded the group chat in response to Chris's message.

Ethan opened the 'Kiss you, Bite you' MV that Chris had sent.

Oh my god! The music of Crimson Veil was absolutely not Ethan's taste at all.