Jia remained silent as she looked at June's reminiscing face.
It seemed like the trainee had unlocked something within himself—a memory he had hidden deep inside his heart.
June softly smiled as he recalled his happy days with his parents. It wasn't a long time, nor did he remember every detail of his childhood. It must not have been so beautiful during those times, too…as his parents always fought whenever they thought June wasn't listening.
However, since it was such a short time, June wanted to hold onto those memories, distorting them to be beautiful for the sake of his sanity.
June wanted it to be beautiful.
It was the only time he had ever felt his parents' love, so right now, he didn't care at all about how his mother died because they couldn't afford to take her to the hospital or how his father overdosed due to his sadness.
He wanted to focus on the beautiful things.
"We didn't have a lot growing up," June said, the words spilling out of his mouth without any warning.
"We were a simple family living in the suburbs of the city. There were times when my dad couldn't make enough money to feed our family, so my mom would pretend she wasn't hungry," he chuckled.
Jia felt an ache in her chest. Although June chuckled, there was an underlying sadness in his voice.
"My dad never let her go hungry, though," he continued. "My mom had always been sickly since she was young, so my dad paid extra attention to her. Before I even knew it, I started paying extra attention to my mom, too. For me, she's the strongest person in the entire world."
"I watched her get yelled at by our landlady and cried as she begged for us to stay another month. I watched as she endured my dad's hot temper whenever he didn't receive enough compensation for his work. I watched as she still smiled during dinner time after I came back from school…even when she was hurting inside."
"Truly," June sighed, looking down at his lap. "My mom's the most beautiful person in the entire world."
"Or should I say…was the most beautiful person," he said, his voice turning softer.
Jia felt a lump forming in the back of her throat.
June stayed silent, his thoughts drifting back to the time when his mom was pregnant with Mei Ling. These were the words he couldn't say in front of Jia anymore.
His mom tried hard to endure her pregnancy despite their circumstances and she made a promise with June that they'll take care of his little sister no matter what.
"We'll be Mei Mei's greatest protectors!" her mom's cheerful voice echoed in his mind. "Do you promise to protect your little sister, my Jun Hao?"
Little Jun Hao nodded enthusiastically as he caressed his mom's baby bump.
It was a promise they sealed with their pinkies.
But in the end, June was left all alone to protect Mei Ling.
Her mother died that night after giving birth.
They couldn't afford to go to the hospital.
They couldn't afford to save his mom.
June smiled, looking back up to Jia.
Jia softly gasped when he saw tears glistening in his eyes. June chuckled out loud as he felt himself getting emotional.
"Ah," he said, quickly wiping away his tears before they could even fall. "I—I don't know what to say anymore," he shakily said.
"I just—I just wish that things would have gone differently," he said with all sincerity.
"Then, maybe the world would still have the most beautiful person."
Jia nodded, looking down as she felt a tear fall from her eyes.
"But then again, that's not how the world works," June said, his voice sounding defeated.
"We can never really go back in time. We can't change what's already been done. In the end, we just learn to accept it."
"B–But it's unfair," Jia suddenly said, causing June to focus his attention on her.
"Hmm?" June asked. "Unfair?"
"They're so unfair to you," she shakily said. "They don't know your real story, yet they assume that they do."
June nodded. "That's also the reality of life. It's unfair? Yes, it is. But can I blame them for believing it? I don't know."
"So, right now, I just want to get my story across."
"Because I don't want to be seen as the son of somebody who has a lot," he said.
"I'm my mom's son," he said, a small smile forming on his face.
"My mom, who didn't have a lot, but gave me everything I could ask for."
"And now," he said, looking into Jia's eyes. "I'm fulfilling my dream so I can continue fulfilling my mom's promise."
To protect Mei Ling.
The room turned silent as June said his final words. There wasn't a need for words.
Jia, whose heart felt for June, gained a newfound respect for the trainee. Even though he was portrayed as a nonchalant and straightforward trainee who had a lot of weird charms, there was something else hidden within him.
Something beautiful.
And just as she was about to open her mouth and say comforting words, the door suddenly opened, and her mom came into the room while cursing under her breath.
"Do they have to ask me every single thing? Might as well give them a short course on the functions of editing software if they'd ask me even the smallest things!" she exasperatedly exclaimed as she sat on the chair.
Cindy groaned in frustration and looked at the two young adults with narrowed eyes.
"You didn't do anything while I was away, did you?"
"Mom!" Jia exclaimed, her cheeks burning up. "We didn't. We just…talked."
What would they even do?
"Hmm," Cindy said, still a tad bit suspicious.
"Well, looks like I have to re-edit the majority of the interviews because those people can't edit sad scenes for shit," she said. "So, we need to get this done and over with."
She turned to June and raised her eyebrows. "Are you ready now?"
June cleared his throat and straightened his back.
"I'm ready."
