Time Mansour - Chapter 126



Only Noblemtl

Episode 126: When the Starlight Falls

“Where are you immigrating to?”

A tired line came out of my mouth. I opened my eyes wide and looked at the director. To be exact, I looked at the carrier he was holding in both hands.

This manager is pushing two 30-inch carriers the size of my body.

Every time he staggered, the sunglasses on his head shook with him.

“This has also been reduced a lot.”

The manager shrugged. He had not one, but two 30-inch carriers. They were big, and they looked quite heavy.

I wondered what was inside. I was only going on a one-month trip. I stood there with my eyes glued to the carrier, wondering what was inside.

“But what about Youngjun? Have you already packed your bags?”

The manager looked at me and asked. I shook my head without saying anything in response to the question. Then, he shrugged his shoulders and showed me the laptop bag on his back.

“That’s it? I’ll be in Thailand for over a week?”

“That’s enough.”

“Other things aside, what about the clothes?”

“I have. Two sets, top and bottom. One set in the bag. One set for me to wear.”

“Two sets…? Is that enough?”

“It’s okay. The weather is hot, so it takes half a day for clothes to dry. I was planning on taking only one set, but I brought a spare just in case.”

When I said it as if it was nothing, the director’s expression became strangely distorted. His lips twitched. The director tried to say something, but swallowed it.

Seeing that look on the director’s face, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Okay. Let’s just quickly pack up the carrier. This is so heavy, I won’t be able to move around.”

I turned my back as I answered.

at that time.

“Excuse me. My shoelace is untied.”

The manager squatted down. While he was tying his shoelaces on one knee, I grabbed a carrier.

“Ah. Are you going to listen? Thank you···”

“What? It’s right here. Let’s quickly throw it in the luggage.”

I pushed the carrier while repeating the same words. The small wheels moved forward under the weight.

I went to the airline counter, checked in, and checked my luggage.

The carrier sailed away along the rails. My hands felt lighter.

As we entered the departure hall, duty-free shops lined up on both sides greeted us.

The manager’s gait becomes slower and slower. The store’s lights catch the manager’s feet. He slowly walks down the floor again, like someone carrying a heavy load.

“Chief Lee?”

“Just a moment. Let me look around. There’s still some time left.”

Manager Lee smiled brightly. He went into the store first, waving both hands vigorously.

“How about this?”

Seeing this manager striking poses here and there while carrying a bag on his body.

I was about to answer that the bag’s capacity was too small and that it would be inconvenient to carry on one side.

“It’s okay.”

I held my breath and nodded. After hearing my answer, Director Lee burst into laughter.

I guess it was obvious that I had swallowed my words. I took a step back and watched this director running around.

Before I knew it.

The manager had shopping bags dangling from both of his arms.

I checked the time on my phone and urged the manager.

“I’m really going to be late.”

“Okay, I bought everything. Let’s go.”

I got on the plane, checked my ticket, and glanced around to see the seat numbers.

After sitting down like that and fastening your seat belt.

“This may be your first time riding this, but this is economy class.”

Ta-da. He looked at the director and spread his hands out exaggeratedly.

Director Lee shakes his head in disbelief at my appearance.

“Youngjun? I’ve ridden smaller planes in the US, too.”

A small plane? Oh! A private plane? Let’s joke around like that.

Boohoo.

The director’s fist takes off into the sky. Analyzing the flight path, the landing point seems to be somewhere near my face.

so.

“I’m joking, I’m joking.”

I waved my hands left and right to signal.

The fist was flying in the air.

Bam.

He lightly touched my shoulder and I fell down.

“What do you really think of me? I’ve flown economy class before.”

“I’m just kidding. Do you usually fly economy class often?”

“No, that’s not it… This is the second time.”

He scratched his head awkwardly, as if he was embarrassed to say it himself.

I nodded and agreed with the director’s actions.

“Same thing. Me too. This is my second time.”

I’ve been on a plane twice in my life. As I answered that, I leaned back deeply in my seat.

Soon the plane started to take off. It was Nya’s second flight. The weather was clear and there was no turbulence.

and.

Well, I still didn’t like clouds.

**

Chiang Rai Airport.

As I came out of the airport, Siriu was holding a card with my name on it. I noticed it first and raised my hand to show my recognition.

“It’s here.”

Sirius looked surprised at my voice and looked back and forth between me and Director Lee.

“Who is it? Your girlfriend?”

First of all, he asked who it was.

“No.”

“no.”

Director Lee and I shook our heads at the same time.

“Then are you colleagues?”

“Oh, similar.”

Well, this manager was just a guy who came to play.

That’s similar to me too.

They are colleagues who came to play together.

But still, at the sight of Sirius tilting his head again and again.

“This person is famous.”

I answered with a playful smile.

“Really? Are you a developer?”

“No. I’m not a developer. You’d be surprised if you knew who I was.”

Let’s look at Siri like that.

“Youngjun, stop teasing me.”

The manager shook his head. While exchanging light jokes like that, we headed to the parking lot.

Siri opened the SUV’s door. Ugh. He twisted his whole body to put the carrier in the trunk.

Siriu got into the passenger seat, and Director Lee and I pushed ourselves into the backseat.

There was a stranger in the driver’s seat. Was he the chauffeur? That’s what I thought to myself.

“Someone who can help with interpretation. And also drive.”

Siriu was the first to extend one hand and introduce herself.

Sawaddikraap. He bowed his head slightly and clasped his hands together.

The moment I finished my simple self-introduction and leaned back against the back of the chair.

This time, Siri looked at the director and asked a question.

“So who is this person?”

“Ah! Who is it···”

I thought for a moment about how to introduce this director.

When I glanced at the director, he smiled awkwardly and opened his mouth.

“He’s Youngjun’s colleague. He used to work at Ive. He’s currently taking a break.”

At those words, Siriu’s eyes widened. As expected, questions about who he was poured out. Director Lee, who was answering, seemed to be getting more and more embarrassed.

“But how long does it take to get to the village?”

I slyly changed the subject.

“About three hours?”

Siriu held up three fingers.

“Didn’t you say that the village is also in Chiang Rai?”

“Oh. Right. But it’s on top of a mountain, so it’ll be a bit of a hassle.”

Three hours in the same city. It must be a traffic problem rather than a distance problem. The road is probably not well maintained. The moment I thought that, the car started going up a mountain road. My body was swayed to the left, then to the right.

Rattling.

The SUV climbs up the dirt road. I look in the rearview mirror and see a thick cloud of dirt at the rear of the car.

Bread. Bang.

The driver lightly honked his horn every time he turned a curve.

“We’re the only ones on the road, so why are you honking your horn?”

“It’s a road where only one car can pass. You have to signal to the car coming from the opposite direction. If you hit a sharp curve, you’ll get into an accident.”

There is only one lane. The traffic is definitely inconvenient. It is a mountain road without any tunnels. As we continued to drive along the winding road, this director’s face turned pale. My expression must be similar.

I was getting more and more nauseous. My stomach felt like it was clogged up. I had to sleep. If I didn’t, I felt like I would throw up everything inside me. Thinking that, I forced my eyes shut.

**

“They’re all here. Get up now.”

My eyes widened at the sound of Siriu’s voice.

Oh my. How many hours did you sleep?

I turned my head, wiping my spit. Outside the window, the sunset was blushing shyly.

After getting out of the car like that.

Director Lee and I looked around the village.

“It’s more ordinary than I thought.”

A village of ethnic minorities. None of the residents were wearing traditional costumes.

It’s just an ordinary rural town, nothing special.

In a word.

“It’s peaceful.”

The director muttered with a smile. I nodded at his words.

As the director said, the only word that came out was peaceful.

Animals such as pigs, cows, dogs, and chickens walked slowly among the residents. Their leisurely pace was evident from the footprints left on the ground.

So we slowly moved forward, following the flow of this town.

“Let’s unpack quickly first. It’ll be dark soon.”

I had no choice but to push the carrier harder due to Siriu’s urging.

**

There isn’t a single streetlight nearby.

As the lights in each house went out one by one, the surroundings became completely dark.

Siriu and I went outside together. We sat on the stairs and stared blankly at the sky.

It was late, but I couldn’t sleep. Well, I guess that’s understandable since I had been sleeping in the car for over two hours.

“It’s not as bad as I thought.”

“Well, it’s just a rural area with inconvenient transportation. The educational environment is a bit poor, but it’s not to the point where you’ll have trouble making a living.”

“Yeah. I see.”

As he answered, he threw his arms back and leaned against the night air.

“Of course there are many places that are more difficult than here.”

“Then shouldn’t that be the priority?”

“I can’t. There are places where business people can’t receive support.”

“Huh? Why?

“For example, a refugee camp. But, you know, there are places where if you support them recklessly, it can be a problem.”

Ah! I understood what Siriu said and nodded belatedly.

Since the military coup in Myanmar, a significant number of people have crossed the border into Thailand. This has been a hot topic in Thailand recently.

‘That could be possible. Mint Market can’t openly sponsor them.’

Mint Market was providing services in two countries: Myanmar and Thailand.

To the Myanmar government, the refugees were no different from anti-government forces, and the Thai government did not welcome the refugees either.

If we supported refugees in the name of Mint Market, there would be criticism from both countries. Not only that, but in severe cases, we could face disadvantages such as government sanctions.

As I nodded, Sirius smiled faintly.

“I’m talking about the donation platform you run.”

“huh?”

“I think it’s great. You can do that. Something that companies or organizations can’t do···”

Nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit organizations. Even UNICEF was ultimately sustained by corporate sponsorship.

Because of this, sponsorship of non-profit organizations also involved a complex web of vested interests.

On the other hand, the donation platform I run had no corporate sponsorship.

Well, I didn’t do it that way on purpose.

I just made it in a small way, so I didn’t even think about it.

“I understand what you mean, but there is a limit to what individual donations can do.”

It was difficult to maintain welfare services stably through the efforts of individuals. There was a reason why large organizations worked with companies.

“In some ways, there are limits, but in other ways, there are no limits. Even if they have a lot of money, there are things that groups cannot do.”

Well, I’m the only one running the donation platform.

Also, all those who donate are individuals.

So, I was relatively free from responsibility.

While talking with Siriu, I stared blankly at the night sky.

“There are a lot of stars in the night sky.”

“That’s right. There are a lot more of them here. There are hardly any stars in Seoul.”

“If we put all those stars together, wouldn’t they be brighter?”

Could it possibly shine brighter than the sun or the moon?

Sirius pointed to the night sky with his finger.

As the stars poured down from the night sky, we were completely absorbed in the sentiment.