Time Mansour - Chapter 24



Only Noblemtl

Episode 24: The Strange Person

Rustle. Rustle.

For a moment, there was a rustling sound on the other end of the phone.

–

“hello?”

Soon after, Chae Dae-ri’s voice follows.

Hello. How have you been? The cliche greeting just came out of my mouth naturally.

“Yes, Director Jeong. What’s going on?”

“Nothing much. Where are you going these days?”

“No, not yet.”

It’s fortunate that you have a bright voice.

He looked better than when he was at work.

The agent’s voice breaks through the air like sunlight as it comes out of the receiver.

“Mr. Chae. You look good.”

“That’s good. Oh my. I’m always playing at home. By the way. Where did Director Jeong go?

“No, I feel the same way.”

“Really? We’re both still unemployed. But let’s work hard together!”

Go for it!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the deputy shouted loudly.

At that moment, I unconsciously pulled the receiver away from my ear at the sharp sound.

‘You’ve really changed a lot.’

I don’t think he used to be like that.

He looks a lot different than when he was at the company.

That appearance.

Well, it didn’t look that bad.

**

“A.”

The area under my nose is torn.

It’s so damn annoying.

Huh. After blowing my nose, I just throw the tissue carelessly on the floor.

Bam.

It hits the wall and the tissue falls to the floor.

Snow is piling up in a corner of the room.

The waste paper is piled up as if it had been pushed through a shovel.

“Ah. Why did it have to be like this today?”

But I had an appointment with Manager Chae 4 hours later.

I was in no condition to go out, so I ran into my sister’s room in a hurry.

I just stare blankly at the ceiling with my head sticking out from under the blanket.

‘I’m dying.’

I’m dying. I’m dying. I mutter like an old man and pull the blanket over me and sit up.

I think I need to rest here for a few days.

Except for going to the bathroom and eating, there’s no reason to go out.

Two or three hours should be enough.

I try to close my eyes while thinking that.

Cough, cough, cough. Here I go again.

Every time I shake my head back and forth, I hear a constant phlegm-boiling sound.

Kaaaak.

Spit phlegm into a tissue.

Bam.

Stack the snowball again.

Wow. Seriously. You got it right.

I have a fever and a cough that just won’t go away.

Every time I swallow, it feels like there’s a thorn stuck in my throat.

‘As soon as my cold gets better, I have to go see Manager Chae.’

Still, I’m glad I have my sister’s room.

With that thought, I close my eyes again.

**

A week has passed in the blink of an eye.

Apparently there were still 4 hours left until the appointment time.

As I tossed and turned in bed, an hour passed by in no time.

Three hours passed.

I thought that three days at the latest would be enough.

Contrary to expectations, a week has already passed.

I’m going to be late. I’m going to be late.

I ran in a hurry without even drying my hair properly.

The wind blows through my wet hair.

‘I’ve been out of work for a week because of a cold.’

I was sick for much longer than I thought.

My body has really become very weak.

I find myself laughing inside.

Even after staying up for three days and nights, my body was fine.

Even during the height of the respiratory epidemic, I never caught a cold.

Now that I think about it, I almost died back then.

Not because of illness, but because of work.

During a busy time, Manager Chae and Manager Jo fell ill at the same time.

At that time, the Samdocheon River really appeared before my eyes.

“Is this it?”

I arrived at the meeting place a little late.

At the same time, I glanced at the sign.

I opened the cafe door and went inside.

Then he squints his eyes and looks around.

“Director, over here.”

“Sorry, I’m a little late.”

He bowed his head slightly as he pulled back his chair.

“No, I just got here.”

After a quick greeting, I stood up again to order.

So, holding the drink in both hands, he sits back down.

“I’m studying English hard these days.”

Manager Chae proudly makes a V sign with his fingers.

I can’t help but laugh at Manager Chae’s bright appearance.

“Have you found out anything?”

“Not yet. I’m mainly looking at foreign companies. My English is still lacking.”

“Large corporations or domestic big tech companies?”

“Hey. I graduated from a local university. You know that.”

I recommended foreign companies first.

Compared to large corporations, global IT companies tend to look less at academic background.

Regardless of salary or treatment.

It was just that it was harder to get past the threshold of a large company’s human resources team, so that’s why I recommended a foreign company.

“Mr. Chae. Domestic big tech companies. Don’t you even want to interview them?”

“yes?”

“I came to Ive’s place. I did make a recommendation.”

“Me?”

Yes, I nodded.

“Wow! Director Jeong! You have connections at Ive too? Well. If I can get an interview, I definitely do it. I think it’s a good experience.”

Thank you. Thank you. Manager Chae smiles and lightly claps his palms together.

From the beginning, I had no idea that I would be accepted.

It’s not that I didn’t understand Manager Chae’s reaction.

The HR department at a large company was a bit tight.

No matter how many recommendations were made by the on-site staff, if they felt that the education level or qualifications were even slightly below the standard, they were cut off without mercy.

And I need to have connections.

There’s no way that line would reach the executives.

Because Manager Chae also knew it well.

“Thank you so much for always caring for me.”

There was no anticipation in his eyes.

I was thinking of explaining this in more detail.

“It’ll be okay. Just watch the interview once. You never know.”

I thought the story would get too long, so I stopped.

Well, knowing about this director’s existence doesn’t change anything.

“Hey. I don’t expect much. How am I going to get into a big company?”

Manager Chae keeps waving his hands left and right and laughing.

“Be confident. It’s hard to go from a small to a medium-sized company. It’s not that hard to go from a medium-sized company to a large company.”

“··· Is it difficult to move from a small to medium-sized company to a mid-sized company?”

Ah. Manager Chae has never been to a small or medium-sized business.

It was only then that I remembered that Manager Chae had been working at the same company for a long time.

“In my experience, I’ve spent 10 years working at small and medium-sized businesses.”

“Then, the most difficult time must have been when you transferred to Mermaid Zone?”

This is my former company in Mermaid Zone.

No. It’s my former company.

It was the only company among those I transferred to that could be considered mid-sized.

“No… that’s not it…”

My ambiguous answer caused a question mark to appear in Manager Chae’s head.

“If it’s Mermaid Zone, isn’t it a fairly large mid-sized company?”

“It wasn’t like that when I joined… I was lucky.”

Every time I couldn’t get past that low threshold.

Mid-sized company.

So, it was easy for subcontractors of a certain size to build connections with employees of large companies.

On the other hand, the small and medium-sized enterprises that are truly in the deep sea have very little opportunity to do so.

No matter how good your skills are, no matter how hard you work.

Because there was virtually no one to evaluate it.

“Mermaid Zone? There are over 1,000 employees there.”

“When I first joined the company, there were a little less than 100 people.”

Agent Chae’s eyes widen.

“Director, you’re secretly lucky.”

“Luck is also a skill.”

I shrugged and laughed.

Manager Chae also laughs along with what I say.

We spent a long time laughing and chatting at the cafe.

Even until the last time I parted ways with Agent Chae.

In the end, the director’s name was not mentioned.

Well, it doesn’t matter who recommended it.

Anyway, the manager said he would take the utmost care of it.

I thought that if nothing happened, there might be some good news.

**

Early hours.

Break up with Manager Chae.

I came to Ive’s office to meet with the director briefly.

So we talked a little bit about Manager Chae.

suddenly.

Out of the blue.

“He seemed like someone who had grown up without knowing hardship.”

This manager smiles as he looks at me.

“Me?”

“yes.”

When I asked him again, Director Lee kept smiling and nodding.

‘I feel strange.’

This manager told me that I grew up without knowing hardship.

I felt a bit strange.

‘You don’t have a clue.’

It was something I often heard from my friends.

The kids around me all grew up in similar environments.

So it didn’t bother me that much.

Although I’ve been teased because of my older sister, no one has ever pointed a finger at me and said I don’t have a father.

‘Because that was the default in Sayang-dong.’

In that neighborhood, the households with both parents were the stranger ones.

It wasn’t a flaw to not have one or two parents.

so.

Are you the son of a rich family?

Even if you sneer at me.

Honestly, it didn’t really hit home for me.

Anyway, those guys have never even seen a rich kid.

however.

“Youngjun never mentioned the cost until the very end.”

A truly rich kid.

No. Should I call him Miss? Anyway, I was a little embarrassed when this manager said something like that to me.

“…”

“So, you’re someone who grew up in a wealthy environment without having to worry about money. That’s what I thought.”

The director takes a sip of tea. Thump. At the same time, he puts the teacup down.

“I was a bit surprised when I heard the story from Seongtae.”

“Seongtae? You can listen to what he says.”

“Even if you only filter it out halfway there. But Youngjun’s life isn’t an ordinary life, is it?”

“It’s a normal life. We all live similar lives.”

The director smiles brightly again at my answer.

“As expected, Youngjun is a bit strange. In fact, that’s why I wanted to work with Youngjun more.”

The director paused for a moment and looked out the window.

Let’s continue talking again.

“That’s too bad. If you have any thoughts later, please contact me.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I smiled on the outside and bowed my head in my own way.

Honestly, I didn’t quite understand it.

It’s a shame that you’re giving me so much convenience just out of simple curiosity.

‘Well, how could I understand the thoughts of the rich?’

These people are from another world to begin with.

Even though we are facing each other like this now.

This director and I were from different stars, hundreds of light years away.

**

like that.

After finishing up Agent Chae’s work, I returned home.

‘I still have a headache.’

I’ve been lying down all day today for a week.

Still, I wasn’t in perfect condition.

Is it because I’m getting older?

My body really isn’t what it used to be.

I grabbed the doorknob to lie down and get some rest.

at that time.

-Juuwiuwiing -Juuwiuwiing

The cell phone rang.

It’s a messenger app.

I haven’t posted anything for a while, but I’m still getting calls.

Thinking so strangely.

I picked up my phone without thinking.

-Hello! I saw you at Ogabang! I asked because you said you’d help me with my coding homework! Am I weird? The teacher told me, but I still don’t get it.

An unexpected message arrived.

Ogabang. Open Gagaobang. It’s an open chat room.

The moment I saw the message, my mind went blank.

I have never posted an advertisement on Ogabang.

I guess someone did the advertising for me…

-Attached files: Homework. Song.

“…”

sing?

ah!

The moment I saw the attached file, I could tell who did it.