Spotlight

3

"Ye- what? Excuse me sir, but you want me to join?" Nathan stutters.

"Yeah. You have a great voice. Well at least for me. You can use the TV to practice." The employer slowly walks away.

Victor was teary eyed. It was one of his so called milestones. He knew that if he won, he'd have some money to kickstart his singing journey.

So without a moment to waste, he picks a song from the TV and sings his heart out to it while still doing his chores.

His employer watched from afar. He could see how dedicated he was in his practice.

As Nathan was walking home, he saw a few posters about the contest so he stopped by to read.

It had a few mechanics, which weren't that hard. He thought he could easily nail them.

"You have a week, do your best." The posters said.

He folded one up and posted it on their room as his siblings were asleep.

He walked towards them and kissed them all goodnight.

He went to sleep with his thoughts still clouding up his head.

The days passed swiftly as Nathan did all that he could to improve.

A day before the competition.

"Boss.." Nathan slowly approaches the employer.

"You should take a leave tomorrow. I'll watch over the store, it's just a day anyway. " His boss lowers his newspaper.

"Thank you!" He bows in gratefulness of heart.

"Welcome. Practice all you want now." His boss smiles.

He nods and smiles away.

He couldn't help but feel thankful to the point where he wanted to cry. Though he pulled himself together and tried his best to practice while multitasking his work and having to stop in embarassment when a customer walks in or when his voice decides to fail him at the higher parts.

Nonetheless, the day passed with Nathan's heart pounding real hard.

"Good luck tomorrow. I'll be there to support you." His boss waves goodbye as they close the store.

He bows as his boss walks away. He goes home, and he was shocked with what he saw.

His mother and father were sitting at their torn up couch.

"What is this?!" His father slams the poster at the table.

His mother was beside him, and she looked a bit terrified. She didn't really want to yell at Nathan, since she wants to support him. Unlike his father who seemed to be blinded by what they'd be using to buy food next.

It's basically practicality versus passion between the three. Of course, with the mother not knowing who to side with.

She tries to calm her husband down.

Nathan takes a deep breath and explains himself as calm as he could though he was tired from working and his throat was quite sore from practicing.

"Father, this is what I want to be, I know, life is hard here, but please let me try out!" He begs.

"No. You are not going to that show tomorrow!" His father seems angry with him.

"But I want to!" He couldn't contain it anymore.

"I said no!" His father gives him one solid punch.

His mother gasped and tried to pull them apart but they won't budge. Good thing all his younger siblings were asleep already.

"Give up okay? You won't succeed." His father pushes him out of the way and goes outside.

His mother felt devastated seeing them fight like that. She takes a sigh as she follows her husband outside.

Nathan went to their kitchen and grabbed a pitcher of cold water. They didn't have any ice cubes since their fridge didn't work properly.

He takes the pitcher and puts it against his sore cheek. No matter what had happened to him, he was still determined to join and win the competition.

Soon his mother goes inside and sits beside him on their couch.

"Son, I'm really sorry about how your father acted. He should support you." His mother pats him on the back.

"It's fine. I don't mind." He plainly says.

He couldn't reply much since his jaw ached.

"It must've hurt." His mother whispers.

It was late at night since Nathan's shift was a whole day and some overtime too.

"It's fine really." He tries to make it all better.

"Son, don't listen to him, okay? You have the gift. Just pursue it." His mom smiled.

"From a young age you've loved singing and I think you should go for it." His mother hands him the crampled poster.

"Thanks mom. You're the best." He smiles.

His mom gives him a hug. She then bids him goodnight as they both went to their rooms.

The next morning.

Nathan woke up with his lower face still a bit swolen. He looked at himself at the mirror and hoped it would lessen before his competition.

He looks down at the desk and sees a note with some money.

"Pack up son, you have a bright future. Here's some of my savings. I hope it's enough for you to get to Seoul. I am rooting for you my dear boy. Send me letters when you get there. Come visit soon too. I love you!" A letter from his mom said.

Inside was 30000 Won. Which would be enough for a cheap bus ride and a few snacks.

Another letter was behind it, with a picture of their whole family saying,

"I left some gimbap and japchae for your trip later on. Try and see if you could stay in the store for the day to get some food too. I'll handle your dad so get out of here as fast as you could." His mom wrote.

It was emotional to read about his mom making him follow his dreams. He couldn't help but let a few teardrops slide.

After a while, he regained himself and locked the door to start packing up.

He brought everything he needed in small bags that were available. In the end it took him an hour.

He ate up some eggs again for breakfast as always, and rushed to the store.

He looked back after a few steps. He knew he might not come back home again any time soon. He conteplated for a bit and he ends up returning to leave a note for his whole family.

He then once again runs to the store.

His boss gets shocked seeing all that he brought.

"Aigoo...Did you leave home? Did your parents disown you?" His employer grabs some of his baggage.

"No, sir." He looks at his boss.

" I want to go to Seoul, to follow my passion in singing." He feels a bit scared.

His boss takes a breath.

"Well, whatever you do boy, I'm rooting for you." He pats him on the back and they go inside.

His boss lets him practice all day long without disturbing him. His boss kept his word of watching the store too.

The day slowly came to an end as he took a break from practice.

"Here, have some hot water. It'll soothe your throat." His boss gives him a cup as he sat on the stool.

They both faced the street as they watched the trees shed their leaves and the vehicles pass by.

They had a good talk and his boss even gave him a few snacks for his trip.

At the end of the day, he was so thankful for all his boss' generosity towards him.

45 minutes before the competition.

Nathan changes into an outfit he has only worn a few times so it still looks new. He decides to leave a note on the counter as he leaves the store.

"I'll see you there!" His boss waves at him.

He leaves his baggage at the store first since he can't be going around with all that stuff with him.

He takes a deep breath as he walks to the plaza where the contest would be held. He feels nervous as it was quite a new thing for him.

He could feel the pressure upon his shoulders. He knew some people had already given their all for him, so it's his duty not to let them down.