The boy's expression stiffened slightly.
He saw his mother standing beside his homeroom teacher.
For a moment, he couldn't make out the expression on her face.
He blinked.
At his homeroom teacher's words, his feet began moving on their own.
As he drew closer...
The boy finally saw his mother's face clearly.
His mother smiled at him.
But the smile soon faded.
His mother furrowed her brows.
There were faint dark circles under her eyes.
She didn't look very well.
The boy's heart tightened.
"M-Mom..."
The boy stammered.
The woman beckoned to him.
The boy obediently went to his mother's side.
But his heart was pounding like a drum.
"Sit."
The homeroom teacher invited mother and son to sit down.
"Both of you."
This looked like it was going to turn into a long lecture.
The boy unconsciously furrowed his brows.
A sense of resistance welled up inside him.
He just wanted to pull his mother away and leave as soon as possible.
He didn't want his mother to hear the teacher talk about those things.
He didn't want to hear it either.
He didn't like lying.
But sometimes, he had no choice.
He felt agitated.
He even felt a little suffocated.
He wanted to get out of there.
The air in that room made it hard to breathe.
But...
All he could do was think about it.
When he saw his mother sit down, he could only sit beside her.
His hands fidgeted together unconsciously.
He glanced at his mother.
Up close, the weariness on her face was even more obvious.
He pressed his lips together.
His mother didn't notice the boy's gaze.
She looked at the teacher.
"Teacher Li, I'm sorry for all the trouble this