The Son They Threw Away for a Stranger

On New Year’s Eve—my 20th birthday—my parents left me a single boiled egg as a birthday gift and said they had to work overtime. I didn’t question it. I’d long learned not to expect much from birthdays.

But as hunger gnawed at me, I sneaked out to buy a pack of instant noodles from the convenience store nearby. On the way, I passed by a luxury restaurant—and froze. Through the grand glass windows, I saw my parents. They weren’t working. They were celebrating a boy’s birthday.