Chapter 12: Chapter 12 Words that should not be said — Rebellious Symphony

Three days before the semi-finals, Bảo Châu accidentally saw something that no one should have seen.

After school, Châu went back to class to get the water bottle he had forgotten, just in time for Minh's phone, left on the table when he went out, to light up with a message appearing on the lock screen: "Five more days left. If you're still silent, don't blame me. The whole school will know who Z is, and your class president will follow you along with cheating on exams. — Kiên."

Châu intended to put the phone aside for simplicity, but the text that caught her eye made her stop and read it again to make sure she hadn't seen it wrong.

She's not someone who likes to meddle in other people's private matters, but that text message directly mentioned "class president's daughter" and "exam cheating" — words directly related to her best friend. Châu stood there, wondering for a long time, and finally decided to take a screenshot before Minh returned to get his phone.

That night, Châu called Linh, his voice was different from usual seriousness.

"Linh, I need to show you something," Châu said, sending the screenshot via text message. "I happened to see it on Nhật Minh's phone this afternoon. I didn't mean to peek, but this line mentioned you, so I thought you needed to know."

Linh opened the photo, her heart pounding as she read each word. The blood in her body seemed to freeze.

"Do you know anything about this?" Châu asked, her voice worried. "Who is Kiên? Why did he threaten you too?"

"I... I don't know," Linh replied, her voice trembling, even though she had already pieced together part of the story in her head: Kiên was the old friend in the Neon Tide group that she had eavesdropped on through the warehouse door the other day. But she had absolutely no idea that Minh was still being threatened so continuously, and especially, she had no idea that she was also mentioned in that threat.

"Linh, I'm really worried about you," Châu said, her voice filled with sincere concern. "If something serious is going on, you have to be careful. Don't let anyone drag you into unnecessary trouble, especially right before the important semi-finals."

"Thank you, Châu," Linh said, trying to keep her voice calm despite the chaos inside. "Let me figure this out first."

Hanging up, Linh sat quietly on the bed for a long time, anger gradually replacing the initial fear. Minh had known about this threat for a long time - perhaps even a week ago, based on the unusual signs she had noticed - but he chose to keep it secret, not saying a word to her.

***

The next morning, as soon as she met Minh in the hallway before class, Linh pulled him to a deserted corner, her voice cold.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" she asked directly, her eyes staring at him.

Minh paused, immediately realizing something was wrong through her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Kiên," Linh said, her voice gritted through her teeth. "How long has he been threatening you? And why am I the last to know about this, when my own name was mentioned in that threat?"

Minh's face turned white. "You... where did you know that?"

"It doesn't matter where I know it from," Linh interrupted, her voice starting to shake with anger. "The important thing is that you kept me in the dark for the past week, while I thought we were partners... friends on the same front line. Yet you left me in the dark, not knowing that I was being threatened with being involved in exam cheating."

"I don't want you to worry more before the semi-finals," Minh said, trying to explain, but it sounded like an excuse to Linh's ears right now. "I intend to resolve the matter with Kiên myself, not letting it affect you."

"Affects me?" Linh almost laughed at the absurdity of that statement. "Do you know that this is directly related to me? My reputation, the scholarship I've tried my whole life to win, all can collapse if Kiên really spreads that rumor. Yet you decide for me that I 'don't need to know'?"

“I was just trying to protect you—”

"Protect me by hiding the most important information from me?" Linh interrupted, her voice rising higher than she wanted. "That's not protecting, Nhật Minh. That's belittling my ability to make my own decisions and face my own risks. Do you think I'm a fragile glass doll who needs to be protected from all unpleasant truths?"

Minh remained silent, unable to find any words to refute, because deep down, he knew she was right.

"I thought," Linh continued, her voice now lost with both hurt and anger, "after everything we've been through, after I told you my mother's story, after I trusted you enough to share the things I've never told anyone, not even Bảo Châu, you would trust me enough to share your own difficulties. But it turns out, you still chose to handle it alone, just like how you left Neon Tide without saying a word. anyhow."

That last sentence was like a knife cutting deep into Minh's heart. "Are you comparing me to that?"

"I'm just pointing out a pattern," Linh replied, her voice so cold that even she felt alienated from herself. "You always choose to silently shoulder the burden alone, then let others make their own inferences, hurting themselves because they are not trusted. Perhaps, that is why Kiên felt betrayed when he left the group. And perhaps, I am feeling the same way right now."

"Linh, that's not—"

"I need time to think," Linh interrupted, her voice exhausted from the anger that had just flared up. "For practice this afternoon, I'll be on time because we have three days left before the semi-finals. But after that, don't expect me to happily talk to you like before."

She turned and walked away, leaving Minh standing rooted to the spot, feeling like he had just lost something precious just because of his own decision to stay silent.

***

That afternoon's practice session took place in an oppressively tense atmosphere. Linh played the piano with perfect technique as usual, but lacked the emotional connection she had worked so hard to learn over the past month. Minh edited the audio in silence, not daring to voice his opinion as usual, afraid that any word could make the situation worse.

"You played a bit hard that part," Minh finally couldn't help but voice his opinion when he heard the climax lacked the necessary vibration.

"Really?" Linh replied, her voice cold. "Maybe because I'm distracted by some unnecessary things."

Minh remained silent, knowing clearly what that statement meant. He did not object, just quietly recorded the recording, even though he knew the quality was not up to the mark.

When the practice session ended, Linh packed her things quickly and did not stay to chat like usual. "See you tomorrow," she said curtly, then left without looking back.

Minh sat alone in the dark storage room, watching her figure disappear behind the door, his heart heavy with a feeling of loss that he had never experienced with anyone else before, even when he left Neon Tide.

He took out his phone, read the last message from Kiên, then looked at the laptop that still had Linh's unfinished mix open. Two pressures weigh heavily on his shoulders at the same time: the risk of having his identity revealed, and now, the risk of losing the only person who truly understands his true self.

He wondered if there was a way to save both of them, or would he have to accept the exchange of one of the two most precious things he had ever had during his anonymous life.

Outside, the sunset finally disappeared behind the rows of high-rise buildings, leaving warehouse number 4 in darkness, as quiet as the distance that had just formed between two people who were once very close to each other.

***

That night, Linh came home, closed the door, sat down on the floor, her back leaning against the edge of the bed. She pulled out her phone, intending to text Bảo Châu to tell her everything, but then stopped, her fingers stopped halfway on the keyboard.

She played back the recording of this afternoon's practice session and heard herself playing the piano with perfect technique but empty, just like the Sonata she had performed for Mr. Hoàng the first day. That feeling made her shiver. Just over a month ago, she had learned to let her emotions guide her hands, but after just one argument, she was back to her old shell of cold perfection.

She lay down on the bed, looked up at the ceiling, thinking about what she said that afternoon: "You always choose to silently carry the burden alone," Perhaps she told the truth, but the way she said it, that mixed harsh and hurt tone, was it fair to Minh? He hid it from her not because he despised her, but perhaps, because he was so used to bearing all the difficulties alone that he didn't know any other way to protect the people he cared about.

But then she remembered the panic she felt when reading the screenshot Bảo Châu sent, the feeling of being left out in a story directly related to her future. Anger and hurt welled up again, erasing any sympathy that had just rekindled.

She fell asleep without realizing it, her phone screen still lit up with an unfinished text message to Bảo Châu, and another text message, equally unfinished, to Minh: "I'm sorry for speaking so harshly..." — words she typed and deleted immediately afterward, not having the courage to send it on this night full of emotional turmoil.