Mother enrolled me in an academy first

When I turn off the light, the words I heard during the day come back into focus. Someone else decided what I’ll study tomorrow, but the sleepless night is…

This is the story of twenty-four-year-old Minjae, who has always said he would follow the career path his parents chose, only to face the owner of that answer every night before falling asleep.

Without asking Minjae, Mother enrolls him in an academy for the civil service exam. Minjae replies “Okay” in the family group chat and sits at his desk for days, but cannot sleep when night comes. In the counseling room, Dowon uses saju not as a chart of destiny but as a map for looking at temperament, and together they look back at the moments when Minjae mixed his parents’ expectations with his own feelings in a single sentence. This story ends before those words can come out, with him stopping in a darkened room.

When your parents’ expectations get mixed with your own path

When you don’t rush to tie your parents’ hopes and your own path into one sentence, but look at them separately first, your next words become a little clearer.

Before answering your parents recently, what was the first thing you wanted to say?

The scene of the academy enrollment message resurfacing even after the lights went out stayed with me. I felt that Minjae had not stopped because he couldn’t study, but because he was taking one step after another without knowing whose path he was walking. If you’re passing through similar nights, please tell us about the story of when you stopped, too.

Scenes

01 · A Path Chosen Without Warning — Before dinner, Mother completes Minjae’s enrollment in a civil service exam academy without asking him. Mother: You can start going next month. I’ve already signed you up. Minjae: You didn’t decide this after talking it over with me.
02 · An “Okay” — When Mother posts the enrollment news in the group chat, Minjae pauses, then sends a short reply. Minjae: Okay. Mother: Good. You thought it through.
03 · A Night That Won’t Go Dark — From that day on, Minjae sat at his desk every night, then lay down in bed. When the lights went out, the words he had heard during the day came back sharply. Minjae: What is it that I really want to do?
04 · A Map Split in Two — Only in the counseling room did Minjae say aloud exactly what he had been told: to enroll in the academy. Dowon treated saju temperament not as an answer sheet, but as a map for seeing where his feet were stopping right now. Dowon: Minjae, now that we’ve placed the two paths on one page, we can see a little where your words get stuck. Which sentence makes your eyes stop first? Minjae: The path Mother wants.

Mother enrolled me in an academy first

Scenes

Stories by Dowon