Time Mansour - Chapter 41



Only Noblemtl

Episode 41: The Ruined Video

The cafe smelled like a hospital.

The scent of coffee permeates the smell of disinfectant.

A woman walks in, wading through the unfamiliar scent. Dressed in comfortable casual clothes. Swish. Swish. Her slippers drag under the weight of life.

“I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long.”

“no.”

Da-eun’s mother puts her hand on the table.

A clear stain on the sleeve.

I rubbed it so much that only that part became fluffy.

“···I heard you’re doing business.”

“Ah. Yes. That… is similar.”

Da-eun nodded to her mother’s words.

I guess Sohyun’s father conveyed it like that.

Well, that’s not entirely wrong.

Whether it was being unemployed, running a business, or being a freelancer, it all depended on how you packaged it.

“Are you running a school by any chance?”

“No. I do this and that… Right now I’m making textbooks for children.”

After answering, I pick up the cup. My throat is dry. I chew the paper straw while drinking. There are teeth marks on the end of the straw.

I was a little nervous without realizing it.

“Then how did our Da-eun find out···”

“I live nearby. I’ve seen you a few times as I come and go.”

The woman’s expression was still dry. Her face was devoid of emotion.

His eyes are as cracked as a drought-stricken field.

“Did I look pitiful?”

“No. That···”

I am speechless at the unexpected question.

I just stood there with my mouth open.

Da-eun’s mother shakes her head from side to side and smiles bitterly.

“It’s been five years. Since my brother became like that. Since the shock he received at that time. He still can’t get up.”

“···”

Before I could even prepare myself mentally, a heavy story fell on the table with a bang.

“They said they were doing business together. They were friends who had been friends for 20 years.”

He continued speaking calmly again.

He was like a brother to my brother. But… he eventually trails off. The smell of disinfectant drowns out his words.

I can hear it even without listening. I can guess what you’re trying to say.

“I would also like to believe in your kindness, teacher. But I’m sorry. Now I can’t trust real people. No, I just can’t trust anything.”

If you have nothing more to say, I’ll get up. Knock knock. The chair that Da-eun’s mother was sitting on is pushed back.

You had no intention of listening to me in the first place.

I just met your face once as a courtesy.

But I can’t just send it away like this.

I also followed suit and got up from my seat awkwardly.

“Huh. Just a moment.”

.

I raised one hand and grabbed the air, gripping the heavy air tightly.

“I’m sorry. Let me say this again. I can’t believe that someone I don’t know would help me. I’m so sorry.”

“Just a moment. Then··· Then···”

I trail off because I can’t remember. My mind is turning white.

The words in my head were cleansed and disinfected.

If Da-eun’s mother objects, all the work she has done so far will be meaningless.

If that doesn’t work out, you should at least make them take classes.

That way, I can use class as an excuse to buy Da-eun at least one more meal.

That’s how it should be.

Thoughts were coming to my mind, but no sentences came out of my mouth.

So I raised one hand.

It was just standing there, like a picture in a frame.

at that time.

Suddenly, Da-eun came into my sight.

It was a split second.

“mom.”

Da-eun jumped into her mother’s arms.

Mom hugs Da-eun and lifts her up slightly.

“When did our princess come?”

Even Da-eun’s mother’s dry speech is filled with emotion.

The eyes become moist. The expression gradually becomes more lively.

He caresses Da-eun’s face with his hand. The stain on his sleeve caresses Da-eun’s cheek.

He had stroked it so much that the sleeves were fluffy.

A charming child. A loving and warm mother.

If you don’t know the circumstances, they’re just an ordinary mother and daughter.

A blissful smile soon appears on my lips, forgetting about reality.

When such a touching scene gradually fades away.

Da-eun opened her mouth cautiously toward her mother.

“Mom… please don’t let me… even attend class.”

The income is fun. The horse is crawling behind.

“that···”

The woman stopped talking.

and.

He looks at me with a complicated expression.

“I know. I’m not a good parent. But I’m still a good mom.”

“···”

“I hope Da-eun gets better. I really do. And just as much, I hope she doesn’t get worse. Because if she does, I won’t have any more reason to live. No. You won’t understand what I’m saying.”

Da-eun’s mother is talking nonsense.

I can’t bring myself to say that I understand.

So just.

I just sat there quietly listening to the story.

The image of Da-eun’s mother pouring out the years that have passed like a downpour.

I just watched that scene silently.

**

There are no bad people in the world. There are only bad situations.

I don’t really know what the truth is, but that’s what I’ve been taught so far.

however.

The values ​​I learned are starting to waver a little.

– Are you crazy enough to upload this as a lecture video? I can’t hear a single word he’s saying. The editing is crappy. Don’t upload something like this as a Scratch lecture video. These days, the fishing videos on YouTube are going too far.

Someone dumped trash under my lecture videos.

I guess that person had a really hard day today. I tried to understand that.

“You could have just let it pass, but you insisted on leaving a comment.”

Thinking differently made me angry.

Since everyone has different thoughts, I think there are parts that we don’t understand each other.

‘Yeah, I know. I know the video is crappy, but honestly, I feel a little wronged.’

I edited the video. I had never done it before, but I wasn’t too worried.

Since I had time left anyway and was confident in sitting still, I figured there was nothing I couldn’t do, so I grabbed the mouse.

And then, as I was watching the footage, I suddenly realized something.

It wasn’t a problem that could be solved by editing from the beginning, so it was even more hopeless.

It was my first time using an editing program, so I was a bit confused.

Even so, it is just a static lecture video.

It was much easier to edit than other videos.

However, there was another reason that made me raise both hands.

‘The video itself was just ruined.’

Basically, the video was shot wrong from the beginning.

I’m going to try to film the lecture video in a more realistic way.

We installed a microphone that can even pick up children’s voices properly.

But that was the problem

.

-Lecture 1 of the Real Scratch Lecture.

My voice was barely audible in the video.

My lecture was buried in the sound of Sohyun and Junwoo fighting.

-Strange old man. This is as strange as the old man. This is not right.

-Teacher. Can’t we have class without him? We won’t be able to make any progress.

-Can you all stop this? I think my uncle is having a hard time.

I felt it was noisy even when I was taking classes.

I was even more out of it when I saw the video.

My lecture and the children’s chatter kept overlapping.

Thanks to that, the sense of presence became too vivid.

The chaos in the classroom is clearly evident in the video.

“I didn’t have the courage to edit from the beginning.”

If I reduce the noise, more than half of my lecture content will disappear.

But I couldn’t just throw away the entire video, because I felt it was a waste to have already shot the footage.

I plan to film a proper video on my own later.

I just added subtitles to the existing video and uploaded it to YouTube.

“To be honest, I uploaded it thinking no one would see it.”

however.

In the meantime, there were malicious comments. I was thinking of just taking it down.

“No. How did you find a video that doesn’t even have subscribers? And it’s just kids talking. What’s there to feel bad about?”

Because I got a needless tantrum.

I edited only the parts where the children were talking into a short video and uploaded it again.

Uncle, what are you buying me for lunch today? Piggy, is the teacher the one who buys me lunch? What did you say? Kids, stop fighting, you’re making things difficult for Uncle. Hey, glasses guy, did you call me a pig? Let me show you what a pig is. If you ask me to eat during class, that’s a pig.

My lectures are hard to hear, and instead, the kids constantly fill up the audio. But as I keep listening, I start to feel affection for it.

Even when you just hear the kids say it out loud, they’re pretty cute.

That must be because the face isn’t shown, only the voice is.

I watched the video over and over again like that.

“If you look at their real faces, they’re not cute at all.”

I’m just going to say something I don’t mean.

**

Since class started.

Two weeks have already passed.

Three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

After going through a total of six classes.

“Strange old man. What are you eating today?”

Nothing had changed.

Sohyun rests her chin on the desk and looks at me.

My mind was already set on ordering food at the restaurant.

“Teacher. I think I’ve learned everything about Scratch development, but how about learning Java in the future?”

Junwoo raises one hand and pushes up his glasses with the other.

It’s a look of wanting to die because it’s so petty. You’re not that good. I was about to tell you honestly, but I stopped myself.

Junwoo is a good kid. He’s a good kid. He’s just full of confidence.

“Uncle, I’m fine. You can go home and eat.”

“I’m not okay. Sir, let’s go eat quickly.”

Then, Sohyun naturally links arms with Da-eun. She secretly takes care of her.

So I take the kids out of the building. It’s still cold. The winter wind brushes my cheeks.

It’s so cold. I have to go somewhere nearby. Nearby. So I opened my phone and tried to find a restaurant nearby.

-As the title says, it’s a real lecture. It must be a script, right? The idea is good.

-I can’t hear a single thing the teacher is saying. The kids are just excited.

-Just looking at it makes me feel good.

-The kids still don’t swear. They’re good.

-It’s secretly funny how the teacher gives up.

There were quite a lot of YouTube alarms piled up. I went in and checked the comments one by one.

Ho. Ho. I blew on my breath to warm my hands. Despite the cold, I found myself fiddling with my phone without realizing it.

This was a channel that had less than a hundred subscribers during the week.

But how come the views and subscriptions increased this much in just a few hours of teaching?

Algorithm. I’ve only heard of algorithms. It was even more surprising when I actually saw them.

If we just go with the flow a little more, it seems like it could go over a thousand.

Then wouldn’t it be profitable?

What is the standard for this? I remember that viewing time was also included.

It may not be a lot of money, but wouldn’t it be enough to pay for the kids’ meals?

Even if you say Junwoo isn’t the type of person to care much about that kind of thing.

Anyway, Da-eun will feel less sorry towards me.

And also Sohyun.

“Sir, come quickly. I’m cold and hungry. Let’s just go eat some pork cutlet.”

Nothing will change.

Sohyun, who was going ahead, kept gesturing for me to hurry up.

Every time that happened, it felt like a cold wind was blowing for no reason.