Time Mansour - Chapter 38



Only Noblemtl

Episode 38 Slowly Open Your Heart

Inside the cafe.

Music flows down from the ceiling.

The melody was excitedly pooling on the floor.

Crunch. With every step you take, the bottom of your pants thump.

He returned to his seat, holding the tray with drinks in both hands.

The child who got up from his seat awkwardly when I brought him a drink.

Where on earth did you learn that? Even if you tell him to sit down, he won’t listen anyway.

With that thought in mind, he places the tray on the table.

When I sit down, only then does the child follow suit and sit down.

“Have you thought about it?”

“Can I do it? I’ve never even learned how to code before…”

“are you okay.”

At first, it’s all like that. One by one, a sound comes out.

“Oh. Have you looked for some friends to participate in the hackathon with?”

“Just one. But really, does anyone matter?

“Yes. It would be great if there were students who had learned coding, but it’s okay if they didn’t.”

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know much.

Because I don’t know anyway.

I have no idea how the kids’ coding competition is conducted.

The hackathon is about a month and a half away.

Since it’s vacation time, wouldn’t it be better to teach them in a class-like manner and imitate them?

From the beginning, I started this project with just this much in mind.

“So, the coding class? You can listen to it, and then you can participate in the competition?”

“Yes. It won’t be difficult.”

The child tilted his head at my words.

With eyes that still have questions.

“But why is this a part-time job?”

Hit the nail on the head.

“Ah… I’ve never taught students before. So… Okay! Just think of it as a part-time job as an audience member.”

“··· If you want to create coding textbooks, you have to teach students first?”

A child asking cautiously.

The question mark above my head just won’t go away.

‘ha.’

That’s why I don’t like kids who are quick-witted. Suddenly, a line from a certain cartoon comes to mind.

He’s a kid who seems to have lived his whole life just watching what others say. There’s no way my clumsy lies would work.

still.

“Not necessarily. I just… wanted to get used to it.”

I’ll try my best.

What kind of feeling is that? Even as I said it myself, I thought it was nonsense.

so.

Glance. I keep looking at the child without realizing it.

A child with wide-open eyes, lost in thought.

I couldn’t tell just by looking at his expression. My throat was parched for no reason, so I tilted the glass cup to my lips.

Dalgrak. The ice is crashing into each other.

The child put his hand on his forehead and thought about it for a while.

“I’m sorry. And I really… really appreciate it. I’ll definitely repay you later.”

He bows his head. His hair touches the table. He lightly strokes his forehead.

‘Oh really.’

I guess I could just let it go and say it’s just like that.

I won’t be fooled.

The child’s emotions are conveyed to me through the sound of the song.

I’m sorry. Thank you. I keep saying the same thing over and over again.

So the two sentences go back and forth between each other.

“Have some drinks. The ice has all melted. Aren’t you thirsty?”

Stop the race at my word.

The child nodded and lifted the cup.

Before I knew it, my heart was immersed in the music pouring out of the speakers.

**

Another child enters the cafe.

He approaches our table with his hands on his hips, as if trying to scare me.

Put on a serious face.

“Mister, you’re a strange man. You’re a really bad person.”

“Hey. Don’t do that. You’re not that kind of person.”

She looked at me with a small frown on her face.

The child grabbed his friend’s arm and stopped him.

“I came here because I was worried about our Da-eun. She’s becoming more and more docile.”

I always have to take care of you, he said, crossing his arms.

The child’s name is Da-eun.

Now that I think about it, I didn’t even know the name.

Da-eun. Da-eun. I was nodding my head while repeating the name in my head.

“What is your true identity, sir? A cultist? A fraud? Or a pervert?”

Da-eun’s friend raises a finger at me.

A small child deliberately strains his face.

It’s cute, but also funny.

“Nice to meet you. What is your name?”

Just ask for the name.

“I’m Lee So-hyun. No. No. That’s not important right now.”

He suddenly shakes his head from side to side while saying his name.

He looked quite serious, so I bit my lip without realizing it, thinking I shouldn’t laugh any more.

“So what are you not going to drink? I’ll buy it. Sit down.”

“I’ll allow that. I’ll have a strawberry latte. Oh, and tiramisu, too.”

A friend who shamelessly adds tiramisu. No, Sohyun.

Maybe it’s because I said I’d buy you food.

Or maybe I’m just mistaken.

I’m not sure though.

Somehow his expression seemed to have relaxed a bit.

In some ways, it seemed like he was laughing again.

**

Knock. Knock.

Why did I order just one? I ordered Da-eun’s tiramisu as well.

Two tiramisu and one drink.

Before I knew it, there was a lot of stuff on the table.

Trays placed here and there.

The fake nightlight on the wooden table is hidden.

The moment Da-eun picks up her fork to eat tiramisu.

“Da-eun, sorry. Just a moment. I’ll upload this to RickTalk.”

Sohyun takes a video. She sticks a fork into the tiramisu and takes a picture. She shakes the strawberry latte. She records the split second when the strawberry rises and then sinks again.

After taking a few more shots from different angles,

Only then do the children lift their forks.

I cut open the tiramisu with a fork and diligently dust the corners of my mouth with cocoa powder.

“But does that strange old man have a RickTalk ID?”

“None. I only use Macbook.”

Sohyun asked me a question.

When I answered that, I turned my head from side to side.

Suspicious. Suspicious. What’s Mace Book’s ID? Let me see. I’ll have to check. Hey. Let go. I told you it’s a bit suspicious. This old man.

His gaze changes again. Give it to me. Let me see what kind of person you are. While saying that, he opens his palm and holds it out.

‘Jae’s emotions change all the time.’

He chuckled and put my phone in his little hand.

So, Sohyun checked my Macbook profile.

“Wow, what is this? This thousand followers? Why do you have so many? I’m so jealous.”

He opens his eyes wide. He looks back and forth between me and the screen of his cell phone.

That’s all because Jaeshirong frequently links to my posts.

so.

That’s why.

“What the heck. This is really boring. Why is it all in English? There are only foreigners in the comments. Is this really your account?”

Even if a child saw it, there would be nothing he could know.

He frowns and then immediately hands me his cell phone.

They lost interest in teasing me and started talking amongst themselves.

Even though he sometimes glares at me, he smiles brightly when talking to Da-eun.

Before I knew it, only cocoa powder remained at the bottom of the plate.

The ice inside the cup also began to melt slowly.

“So, the nose… what was it? Take a look at it. What exactly is it supposed to teach you?”

Only then does Sohyun speak to me again.

**

-Hey, you crazy bastard. No. You crazy bastards. Are you guys making textbooks for kids right now? I said that’s a waste of talent.

-Waste? That’s harsh. It’s a job of nurturing the dreams of the future.

-No, sir. That’s why you guys are raising them! It seems like you’re not very good at teaching either. Do what you’re good at. What you’re good at. No. Right. And why didn’t you come to the Singapore conference? Huh? You guys…

Jaeshirong. He talks too much. It doesn’t match his neat appearance.

In my memory. No. The image of Jaeshilrong that I saw in the video was very different from what I saw.

Jaeshrong himself was a person who stood out among the developers.

At an event where executives from global companies were all gathered.

In front of that huge crowd.

He went up on stage wearing shorts and a light t-shirt. Sometimes he even wore slippers.

Usually, developers’ presentation videos start after they come on stage.

Jaeshirong’s presentation was played from the moment he went up on stage.

A developer walks up on stage with both arms outstretched and giving high fives to the audience like a professional wrestler.

Even when he went up on stage, he would keep coming and going, dancing as he made his presentation, drawing out the response of the people.

If that was what Jaeshil Long looked like in the video.

If it had been like that.

-Scratch, there are many people who can do it besides you. Spring! Do Spring. Why are you gathering Spring developers and making a children’s textbook? Why are you interfering with the children’s play? That’s destroying the ecosystem. I barely held back as I tried to say something to the publisher.

The reality is that he’s just a middle-aged foreign man who nags a lot.

I gave up halfway through reading Jaeshirong’s message.

It was so annoying that I just threw my phone on the desk.

I’m sorry.

Especially now.

It was not a situation where I could tolerate Jaeshirong’s complaints.

“Strange old man. Strange old man. I’m choking because I only eat hot bars. Buy me a drink.”

“Press the order button over there and it will order for you.”

He answers by pointing to the upper right corner of the monitor.

I’m not in my right mind.

Because Sohyun kept nagging me about trying to code, I ended up going to the PC room.

Sohyun asks for a drink while eating hot bar food.

And Da-eun takes a bite while observing the situation.

One of them is too observant.

The other one will have to keep an eye out.

To begin with, the two of them have very different personalities. The more I looked at them, the less I understood why they were friends.

“Sir, this is too difficult.”

After clicking the mouse a few times, Sohyun finally takes her hand off.

Before I knew it, Sohyun’s chair had fallen backwards.

He looks at me as he leans back and sways his rocking chair from side to side.

“So, sir. Coding? Is this all you teach?”

“Okay. Just try it during the vacation. Go to competitions and it’ll be fun.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Sohyun answers. Then she pulls her chair closer to the desk. Now, I think I should really work hard. I look at Sohyun’s monitor screen.

“Excuse me? Why are you entering the game?”

“The strange man is joining in too. This is fun. Da-eun, you too, quickly.”

“···”

Yeah, yeah.

Because I didn’t plan on doing anything from today.

Let’s keep to the rhythm.

With that in mind, I created an ID and logged in.

I didn’t enjoy the original game. No, it’s safe to say I didn’t play it at all.

But I thought we could hang out together just for today

I was looking at the loading screen with the intention of lightly playing with the kids.

clearly

That’s what it was.

“Hey, why doesn’t this gun work? It’s weird. I think my gun is broken.”

“It’s your finger that’s broken. Oh, well. If you can’t hold it there, you’ll die… Oh.”

“Uncle. Please. If you can’t catch him, don’t show your face. Just stay still. Stay still.”

Before we knew it, the three of us were pressing our faces against the monitors and clicking the mouse.

No, what kind of girls are so good at shooting guns? And why does Da-eun’s personality change? Now I think I understand why the two of them are friends.

I spent a long time typing on the keyboard, complaining and complaining.

What can I say? It makes me mad, but it’s also fun.

“Did you see it? Did you see it? I told you to shoot me. I shot you a few times. You got the hang of it right away.”

Before I knew it, I was screaming.

Did you see it? I’m going to shoot you. You’ll catch on right away.

Repeating the same old words over and over again.

I looked at the children sitting on either side of me in turn.