Time Mansour - Chapter 1



Only Noblemtl

Episode 1 Sister’s Funeral

**

I wished my sister were dead.

so.

My sister died today.

**

“Thank you for coming.”

“I pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased.”

Two black stripes on a white background. Wearing an armband on the left forearm, he receives visitors.

I can’t even remember how many years it’s been since I’ve worn a suit.

“Director Jeong… did you have an older sister?”

“yes.”

After getting up and exchanging greetings.

Manager Cho asked while glancing at the memorial photo. I nodded slightly in response to Manager Cho’s question.

My older sister in the photo is smiling brightly.

I got a call from the hospital and looked through my phone album, but there was no picture of my sister.

If I hadn’t contacted my sister’s assistant and received a photo, we would have had a funeral without a memorial photo.

“Manager Cho. Manager Chae. You’re here. Please eat before you go.”

“No, I still have some work to do.”

I forced a smile and guided him to his seat.

Manager Cho and Assistant Manager Chae shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads.

“No. It’s nothing serious. Don’t worry. Get some rest.”

“Okay. No matter what happens, we’ll defend you from our line. Don’t worry about it. Mr. Director, take this opportunity to rest for a few more days. You didn’t get a vacation last year either.”

He returns with a smiling face, repeatedly telling her not to worry.

As the few mourners leave, the smell of incense fills the funeral parlor instead of the bustling noise.

I sat alone in the empty funeral parlor and blankly stared at my sister’s photo. My sister was smiling brightly at me.

‘I’m sorry, sis.’

I’ve resented you my whole life. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I found myself crying.

My older sister who always smiled with her teeth exposed.

A person who lived in a different world from me.

A smile never left his face.

That’s why I hated it more.

Because I feel like my sister took my happiness away.

**

Rattle. Rattle. Rattle.

The bus shakes as it goes down a steep slope.

The day of the funeral. On the way to the columbarium with the employees of the funeral service company.

I rested my chin on my hand and stared blankly out the window.

“Son. A son must protect his older sister.”

My mother asked me to take care of my older sister just before she died.

So, he left after making a request that was difficult for a ten-year-old child to endure.

The promise we made together, holding each other’s thin hands.

In the end, I couldn’t keep it.

The voice of my mother, whose face was vague.

Heartbreaking memories raise their heads.

It was reflected on the bus conductor dimly, like an old movie.

While I was struggling for a moment, lost in such old memories.

“Zeeing. Zeeing.”

A sudden vibration brought me back to reality. I rummaged through my pockets.

This is Cheon Dong-jin, Sales Director.

What’s happening all of a sudden?

He tilts his head and fiddles with his phone.

Zing. Zing.

The cell phone that keeps shaking like that.

I answered Director Chun’s call without thinking.

**

“Really. No matter what you do, you’re going too far. Today is my sister’s funeral! It’s her funeral! It’s not even my job, and you’re contacting me about something that was passed on from another team… Oh my… That’s not right.”

I found myself getting annoyed with Director Chun without realizing it, but soon I quit.

He is the person who recommended me to the company.

Because I thought I had received a favor, I couldn’t harshly refuse work outside the scope of the offer.

“Director Jeong, I’m really sorry. I’ll ask you just this once. The data team is short on manpower…”

“First… I’ll finish the funeral. I’ll come look for it tomorrow.”

I answered curtly and hung up.

Data Team Products.

Even though there is a responsible organization in the country, there was no support at all, so I was providing support temporarily.

After trying it out a few times in a hurry, it naturally became my job.

‘Should I just hit him?’

He asks me, looking at my face reflected in the bus window.

What are you going to do with the money you earn?

‘I don’t have a sister anymore.’

I needed money.

Because I was working at a variety of small and medium-sized businesses, it was hard to make a living.

My sister’s medical expenses, hospital fees, additional expenses for activity assistants, etc.

Every month, I was running out of money that I couldn’t afford.

So, if they offered me even a penny more, I would change jobs without caring about the workload or the environment.

After changing jobs several times like that.

35 years old.

At a relatively young age, I heard that I was going to be a director at a foreign company.

Although he was a director in name only, his work was not much different from that of an ordinary employee.

Still, as an ordinary high school graduate and office worker, I ended up receiving an annual salary of over 100 million won.

however.

I don’t have a sister anymore.

At the same time, there was no reason to continue going to work.

You don’t have to make a lot of money.

I’m building my own body, and I was able to do it while working part-time.

I wanted to rest.

I wanted to resign right away.

however.

If you quit now.

If you quit the company as if you had been waiting for your older sister to die.

I think my mom will be sad in heaven.

I couldn’t bring myself to do that.

**

Semi-basement villa located in Ansan.

After placing my sister in the charnel house, I returned home and opened the front door.

I pass through the empty living room and grab the doorknob of my sister’s room.

I need to… organize the remains.

Dalgrak.

As you open the door, the first thing that catches your eye is the cute interior.

Pink baby floor mat.

And the yellow soundproofing material that is densely attached to the walls.

A woman’s room without a dressing table. The only furniture is a dresser and a bed.

After scanning the entire room with my eyes.

I rolled up my sleeves.

‘First, the doll.’

Dolls rolling around haphazardly on the floor.

He bends down and picks them up.

‘I should have done better.’

When I touch my sister’s traces, I feel emotions welling up again.

I don’t remember ever saying a warm word to my older sister.

As I lower my head to give her the item, tears keep falling to the ground.

Wetting the floor like that, I picked up the last remaining traces of my sister one by one.

**

When my sister was about five years old, time stopped for her.

My sister’s time didn’t pass like it used to.

My sister’s body grew rapidly, but her mind did not grow and remained in childhood.

When I turned ten, I went into the orphanage holding my older sister’s hand tightly.

Since then, my mother’s voice has haunted my memories.

I have to protect my older sister.

So instead of my sister’s time stopping, my time started flowing twice as fast.

Time passed as if it had been fast forwarded.

So, day after day, I sold my health to buy money.

You have to sleep after you die.

What I habitually answered to my boss’s questions was:

As much as I wish for my sister to die.

Because I also wanted to die.

**

“Are you almost done?”

The room is cleaned up. I emptied the room and finished cleaning up neatly.

The remaining diapers were put in a trash bag.

The doll and its clothes were packed in a box and pushed to a corner of the living room.

After scrubbing the floor thoroughly and wiping it clean, I raise my head to stretch my back a bit.

Gulp.

There’s a noise coming from the boat.

What’s in the fridge? I go to the living room and look around the kitchen.

Even though it was my house, I didn’t know what was inside, so I kept opening and closing the teacup.

I moved every two years.

Every time I tried to renew my global contract, I was rejected.

It wasn’t a deposit issue.

The older sister in that house keeps complaining that it’s too noisy.

The landlords gave the same answer every time.

So when I moved to a foreign company and my salary increased significantly.

First of all, I took out a loan and bought a small villa.

And then I installed a soundproof booth in my sister’s room.

Ah. Fried rice.

I opened the freezer door, remembering the fried rice I had bought in bulk online.

Since I would come in and sleep occasionally, I couldn’t quite remember where things were.

Even when I came home, I didn’t stay long.

Frequent overtime work was an excuse.

When I saw my sister’s face, I got irritated without realizing it and I didn’t want to see her anymore.

Gently open the bag containing the fried rice and place it in the microwave.

“Let’s see. 2 minutes and 30 seconds.”

I muttered and read the writing on the packaging.

then.

Should I lie down for a bit while I wait?

With that thought in mind, I pressed the microwave button.

I went into my sister’s room.

As I lay down on the soft pink mattress, I thought of my sister again.

A space where my older sister spent her days alone and lonely.

The only younger brother avoided his older sister using the excuse of being busy.

‘I bet my sister resented me too···’

I thought I would feel lonely if my sister disappeared.

But this only makes me feel more depressed.

My nose stings at the thought of not having a sister.

Every time I sniffled like that, yellow snot would come out on the flower-patterned blanket.

**

“···”

I get up from my seat, rubbing my half-closed eyes.

‘I fell asleep for a moment. How long did I sleep?’

I think I fell asleep without realizing it.

but.

After crying like that for several days, it was understandable that she would be tired.

As soon as I wake up, I habitually pick up my cell phone.

After confirming that there are no message notifications.

Just in case, I checked my company email.

‘As expected. It wasn’t an urgent matter.’

I mutter as I look at my empty mailbox.

What? Why are you calling me in the middle of a fight about something so trivial?

If it was really urgent, there’s no way you wouldn’t have heard from me by now.

Anyway, what a fuss.

If anyone saw this, they would think the server had crashed.

As I kept muttering to myself like that, I opened the door and went out to the living room.

-Jiinging

I heard the microwave turning.

“Fried rice? But why is this still···”

I ran quickly and turned off the microwave.

I must have pressed the timer by mistake. First, open the microwave door. To check the contents inside.

I lightly touched the fried rice bag with my hand.

“huh?”

It was cold. As if it had just come out of the freezer. It felt icy on my hands.

“It’s cold···”

what?

“I think I slept for three or four hours, even though I couldn’t.”

Feeling puzzled, I took out my phone and checked the time.

5:40.

“···”

Time is the same.

“Am I crazy?”

Even as he said that, his expression didn’t change. It was more calm than I thought. It was coming. That was exactly the feeling.

Frequent stress due to overwork. And recently, I even had a big shock.

It wouldn’t have been strange if I wasn’t in my right mind.

“The hospital···.”

It’s probably a memory issue, right?

Is this neurology or psychiatry?

Find a hospital using your mobile phone.

I was fiddling with my phone, not thinking much of it.

moment.

-Jiying. Jiying.

The damn phone is ringing again.

What the fuck.

I turn on my phone screen, swearing without realizing it, and an unknown number appears.

An unknown number at 5:40 on a weekday.

It’s a company.

.

“Hello, Director Jeong Yeong-jun. This is Lee Seong-tae, Manager of the Data Team.”

“Yes. What’s going on?”

“I keep getting inquiries from JoongAng Bank. I’m contacting you to see if the issue can be resolved by tomorrow.”

“I didn’t receive any separate emails. I don’t know the situation either.”

He spoke dryly, without any emotion.

This is the job they were supposed to do.

I thought I was holding it in well just by not getting angry.

So while answering the phone with one hand, I press the microwave button with the other.

You have to eat to live.

2 minutes 30 seconds. 2 minutes 29 seconds. 2 minutes 28 seconds.

After making sure the microwave is running.

I went back into my sister’s room and closed the door.

“I just sent an email.”

however.

The moment I closed the door, the voice on the other end of the phone suddenly stopped.

Hello. Hello. Is the signal not working well in the basement?

I kept calling, but there was still no answer from the other end.

Oh, dear. Did the call get disconnected?

To check if the call was working, I casually took the phone away from my ear and looked at the phone screen.

Voice 00:35 / Recording 00:34

010 – 8453 – XXXX

huh?

The call time on my phone has stopped. Time doesn’t pass no matter how hard I stare at it.

No matter how many times I blink and check, the numbers on the screen do not change.

no way.

moment.

A thought suddenly occurred to me, so I grabbed the doorknob.

No way. No way, right?

I opened the door with some doubt in my mind.

Squeak.

As soon as I opened the door again.

“Well, I think it would be best if you contact Jo Seong Bank.”

A voice came from the other end of the phone again.

A data team member continues the conversation naturally as if nothing happened.

“···”

No. No way. No way?

I closed the door again, muttering to myself.

“We are short on manpower.”

As expected, the phone rang suddenly. The sound of the microwave oven running disappeared as soon as I closed the door.

“This… is a lie?”

He kept mumbling the same thing to the air with his eyes wide open.

The moment I entered my sister’s room.

Time stops.

Something unbelievable happened to me.