This is about a two-hour TV drama I saw a long time ago...
A family of three lived in an apartment complex: a father, a mother, and an only son. The father was an ordinary salaryman, the kind of easygoing, generous boss who used his ample allowance to treat his subordinates. The mother (the protagonist) was a gentle, easy-going housewife. Their son was in the sixth grade that year, happily going to elementary school.
However, the times were marked by the frenzy of the entrance exam wars (right around the time it started becoming a hot topic). Seeing his friends get good scores on tests, the son began to feel a secret anxiety. That anxiety intensified when he was teased by his peers for not going to cram school: "How can you not go to cram school these days?!" Meanwhile, the mother finally started worrying about entrance exam preparation as well, as the wives in the apartment complex began talking about cram schools and entrance exams.
However, when she looked at the cram school tuition fees, they were exorbitant. On top of that, an enrollment fee was required. She thought to herself, "Our household budget can't handle this..." But seeing her son's tears as he pleaded, "Mom, I want to go to cram school! I don't want to be left behind by everyone!", she resolved to cut household expenses to send him.
The one who drew the shortest straw was the father. The allowance he had received so generously until then was reduced; they could no longer eat out, and he even resorted to hunting for newspapers left on train overhead racks. Naturally, his subordinates began to talk behind his back, whispering that their boss was "so uncool!" The mother also started a part-time job, but at the cram school, it wasn't just the monthly tuition—mock exam fees, summer camp fees, and all sorts of other expenses piled up.
Gradually, those amounts began to strain the household budget, driving the father to borrow as much money as he possibly could from his company. When the time came for the expensive "two-week summer camp," the cost was simply too high, and the father finally told his son, "We can't afford to pay this much." At that, the son screamed in tears: "I'm so pathetic! Why was I born to parents like you?! If our family were rich, I could study more! I wouldn't have to end up like Dad!!"
Stabbing deeply into the parents' hearts, those words led them to agonize over the situation, and they ultimately decided to let the son participate in the summer camp. Not only that, they decided to let him take as many special cram school courses as he wanted. To pay for it all, the mother borrowed money not only from her own mother, but even from loan sharks. The father was also driven into a corner...
And then came the day of the acceptance results. The mother and son headed to the announcement board with tense expressions. Today, they would learn the results of all their hard work and suffering. Holding their breath, the mother and son searched for his examinee number. And there it was—the son had successfully passed. Tearfully, the mother and son hugged and rejoiced. All their struggles had paid off in an instant.
Meanwhile, however, the police were on their way to the father. Yes, to pay for the entrance examination expenses, the father had embezzled company funds.
After watching that drama, I had such a bad taste in my mouth. They went through all that agonizing hardship just to pass, and now it was all ruined. I mean, what on earth were they planning to do about the enrollment fees... The dynamic of the mother rapidly aging from hardship while the son became single-mindedly obsessed with exams was subtly terrifying. Back then, as a junior high school student, I swore to myself: "I won't let my kids get dragged into the entrance exam wars—I'll let them grow up free and easy!" Well, that's the trap of still being single... (lol)
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