Time Mansour - Chapter 40



Only Noblemtl

Episode 40: The Clumsy First Class.

When I forget, the memory comes back to me again.

It appears out of nowhere and makes my heart ache.

And then time stops for a moment.

An awkward silence fell in the living room.

“Have you ever talked to Da-eun’s mother?”

Sohyun’s father spoke first.

A voice that has become calmer.

Before I knew it, I was uncrossing my arms.

Ah. Ah. My throat is so sore that I can’t speak properly.

Instead of answering, he shook his head from side to side.

“I thought so… Then… I’ll make sure to tell Da-eun’s mother first.”

He looks into the distance as if he is looking at me.

My gaze is blankly focused on the empty space.

But his face was still expressionless.

Still, it seems like he’s opened his heart a little.

I carefully unzipped my backpack.

So I’m trying to take the contract out of my bag.

Whoosh.

For a moment my hands did not move.

“Oh, that’s okay. My father is alive and well. What’s going on?”

I can earn money myself. Sohyun’s father grabbed my arm.

The bag cannot spit out the contract and puts it back in its mouth.

No. Still. I strain my body as I answer.

So they grabbed my bag and started struggling.

‘I feel even more sorry because it seems like only Da-eun is getting special treatment.’

With that thought in mind, I squeezed out all the strength in my body and resisted.

at that time.

suddenly.

bang,

I heard the front door open behind me.

In an unusually loud voice.

Sohyun’s father and I. We both stopped moving at the same time.

“I’m back. Huh? What’s up? There’s a strange old man there too.”

At Sohyun’s voice heard from over my shoulder

I turned my head naturally.

“Hahaha. What’s wrong with your face, sir? You’ve really gotten uglier.”

Sohyun points her finger at me.

She smiles brightly, looking into my swollen eyes.

That’s how it is.

That is, muttering to yourself.

“What! Sir! What did you just say!”

I guess it came out of my mouth without me knowing.

Before I knew it, Sohyun was putting both hands on her waist and grumbling.

**

We’re still one person short of participating in the hackathon.

Sohyun posted a message in the school chatroom, telling people to just trust her.

Luckily, there was a student who wanted to learn coding.

Sohyun raises her head and looks at me.

“Strange old man.”

“why.”

“But I’m not close with Junwoo. You don’t need me to go with you, right? Why are you taking me with you?”

“Because I’m not close with you either.”

I’m acting childish for no reason.

Sohyun pouts at my words.

You look even uglier when you frown. This time I held it in and didn’t say anything.

So, I followed Sohyun and followed her small footsteps.

“Are you here?”

“Yes. Junwoo’s mom is a piano teacher here.”

Music emanates from beyond the building, its raw melody hitting the glass windows.

“hello?”

When we opened the door and went in, the teacher was nowhere to be seen, and only the children greeted us.

‘I guess you’re in class.’

I guess I’ll have to wait a moment.

Since I couldn’t find anywhere to sit, I sat on the piano bench in the hallway.

When you sit on the piano bench like that, your hands naturally move towards the keys.

‘Should I play just one song while I wait?’

He sits down on a chair, places his hands on the keyboard, and begins to play.

Everything, white and black, was transformed into music without distinction.

It’s been a really long time since I’ve played the piano. I was just moving my fingers while feeling sentimental.

“Wow, you play well.”

“Sir. Sir. Are you the new piano teacher?”

Before I knew it, the kids from my academy were gathered around me.

“What? Why is that weird old man so good at playing the piano? What was that nose? Not that. Please teach me piano.”

Sohyun’s eyes also became round.

He sits next to me and pulls at my collar, asking me to teach him how to play the piano.

“Why are you bothering me like this again?”

As I kept looking at Sohyun, I didn’t think she was that cute anymore, so I just closed my ears and looked somewhere else.

Because he was so blatantly ignoring me, my body started shaking on its own.

Hurry up. Piano. Teach me too. I swayed from side to side to the beat of Sohyun’s whining.

**

“Still, I’m sorry. Please give me some tuition.”

“No, I need help.”

Oh, no. He repeated the same words and waved his hands left and right. Judging by the atmosphere, I can’t even bring up the subject of the contract.

I fiddle with my bag while secretly looking at Junwoo’s mother’s expression.

“Teacher. But my child wants to learn, so I’m doing it. How can I do that?”

“No. I don’t even have a coding instructor license. In the first place, it would be illegal for me to teach this for money.”

“Hey. Who’s reporting this?”

So, with the tuition issue at hand, the conversation continued to repeat the same thing without making any progress.

Time just passes like that.

at last.

The office door opened slightly and a boy came inside.

“Junwoo. Come quickly. I need to say hello to the teacher.”

“hello teacher.”

The smart-looking child bowed his head. When Junwoo greeted him, the glasses he was wearing also slipped down.

“Me too. Nice to meet you.”

“Yes, teacher. But when does our class start?”

“That… will probably start soon. Oh. Right. Can I ask you something? Junwoo, why do you want to learn coding?”

“I think I’ll do well. I’m the best at math in my class.”

“···”

Oh, I see. I unconsciously added meaningless exclamations to myself.

I can’t think of a more positive answer than this.

What’s the use of being good at math? You should be good at English. English. I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether I should tell you about the dire reality of developers.

I couldn’t bring myself to say something so cruel to someone I was meeting for the first time.

“Really? If you’re good at math, you’ll definitely be good at coding.”

I just told you what you wanted to hear.

**

‘Now we have the basics together.’

“ha.”

The way back home, following the breath I exhaled myself.

The night sky has already become dark.

The full moon is unusually bright today.

He told me to chase the moon, not coins. That was a more valuable life.

A refrain that the daycare director often sang.

A person who cared for orphaned children throughout her life without expecting anything in return.

It was a song that only someone like that could sing.

‘It’s not a song I can put into my mouth.’

Sigh. I sigh and my breath comes out again.

There was still one big obstacle left. Da-eun’s parents. No. Probably her mother.

Because I had never heard the word ‘father’ from Da-eun’s mouth.

Given the circumstances, it was correct to assume that the father was not present.

“Anyway, Da-eun’s mother won’t like it. No. She might even hate it outright.”

So-Hyeon’s father said he would speak well, so she had no choice but to believe him and just wait.

It would be better for someone who knows the face to persuade you than for me to persuade you.

Tiring.

As I was letting my worries grow inside me, I arrived in front of my house before I knew it.

I pressed the password and pushed the front door.

I pass the living room and go straight into my sister’s room.

‘Because I’ve never taught anyone before.’

Since this is something I’ve never done before, I’ll have to spend more time on it.

I will have to prepare more thoroughly.

With that thought in mind, I turned on the computer.

**

A few days passed.

The long-awaited first day of class.

I rented a small classroom at a study cafe. I arrived about 10 minutes early to set up the camera and download all the materials.

After checking that the presentation is going well.

Phew.

Take a deep breath inside.

Stand in front of the children. The eyes of the children sitting and looking up at me. Just like I saw on the lecture site, I imitate them.

“Look carefully. Like this. Click on the bottom right and get the sprite you like.”

Even though I said I was preparing in my own way.

“Weird guy. I don’t like cats. I like Siberian huskies. Why don’t you have any huskies?”

“Teacher, it’s too easy. I’m already done. Please hurry up and tell me.”

I’ve hit the wall of reality hard. My head already hurts.

I thought it would be easy to explain the content. I thought about it that simply and prepared accordingly.

Rather, it seemed that the skill of handling children was more important.

“Husky. Press the second line. If you don’t see the sprite you want, you can download it here. No. No. Not there. The second one.”

“Where is it? I can’t see it. Sir, I don’t know how to do it. I can’t find it. Please download Husky.”

“Hey! What’s the big deal about that picture? The teacher can’t teach because of you.”

No. It’s not you. It’s you guys. Kids. I wish you would just be quiet.

Junwoo and Sohyun were still glaring at each other, not knowing whether they knew my feelings or not.

.

As my expression grew darker and darker, Da-eun, who was next to me, glanced at me and started to stop us.

“I don’t want to learn with that kid. He annoys me.”

“You’re more annoying.”

It’s no use.

I feel like if I leave it alone, a fight will really break out.

“Stop. Everyone, stop.”

I came between the two.

I lightly grabbed Junwoo and Sohyun by their collars and pushed them to the opposite sides. I tried to use what I had learned from volunteer work.

**

“Okay. That’s all for today.”

I was so exhausted. As I was putting my laptop away, all I could think about was going home.

But funny enough.

After finishing the first class with difficulty.

Junwoo and Soyeon, who had been fighting throughout class, were now arm in arm.

Is this a secret camera? It’s to the point where I wonder if they intentionally fought to make things difficult for me.

“Wow, really? You’re Dia?”

“Not just a diamond. 2300 points. Almost a master. Master.”

The two suddenly became close.

When I was making games from scratch, I was growling like crazy.

As we talk about games, smiles appear on the children’s faces again.

Yeah. You don’t make games. You just do them.

A phrase that employees who moved to a gaming company always say.

I nodded once again, realizing the truth.

I found myself watching the kids with a happy smile without realizing it.

“Uncle. No, should I call you teacher now?”

I turned my head at Da-eun’s voice.

Da-eun quietly watches me.

“Call me whatever you want. You can also call me Jeong.”

The jokes that we often tell have become a habit. Da-eun tilts her head, wondering if it’s not funny.

“Then I’ll just call you uncle. That’s the easiest. When are you free, Uncle?”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Mom, you asked me to ask you something.”

According to Da-eun’s words.

“It’s come,” he thought to himself, but on the outside he nodded as if nothing had happened.

**

The address that Da-eun gave me.

I didn’t check it properly even after receiving it. I vaguely thought it was somewhere near my house, so I didn’t look for it.

“Here···?”

The taxi drops me off in front of the nursing home and drives away.

‘It’s not like my father isn’t there.’

What kind of situation is Da-eun’s house in?

Why was the kid acting like that?

Now I think I understand a little bit.

-You’re already here? Then there’s a cafe down here. Let’s meet there. I’ll be down soon.

A text from Da-eun’s mother.

I’m worried about what kind of expression I should make when I meet you.

I moved my facial muscles while looking at the screen of my phone to make the smile look as natural as possible.

“It’s all unnatural.”

Is it because I’m looking at it on a cell phone screen? No matter how many times I changed my expression, it all looked awkward.