DISEASE

"Sometimes, a single look of pride can light up a heart starved of love."

Mun never cared about medals. She didn't chase trophies or crave applause. But the day her name was announced on the scholarship list, she felt something stir inside her—a small, unfamiliar flicker of pride.

The result came pinned to the school's bulletin board, printed in uneven ink. Mun didn't expect to find her name there. She had worked hard, yes—but that never seemed to be enough. Still, her hands trembled as she ran her finger down the list. And then—there it was. Her name. Her name.

For a moment, she didn't move. Didn't speak. Just stood there, as if the walls had finally noticed her.

She raced home with the paper in her hands. For the first time in a long while, her father smiled at her—not the tired smile he wore every evening, but something lighter. Something real. Her mother didn't say much, but Mun caught it. That soft pause before she looked away. That flicker in her eyes.

Pride.

It was fleeting. But she memorized it.

The scholarship didn't come with much money, but to Mun, it was worth gold. It meant she was capable. Worthy. It was proof that all the lonely nights and silent sobs hadn't been for nothing.

She folded the paper neatly and placed it under her pillow. On nights when her mother's words burned too deep, or when her father compared her to someone else's child, she would lie down and whisper to herself: They were proud once.

That was enough to keep her going.

---