Time Mansour - Chapter 45



Only Noblemtl

Episode 45: Different People

‘Why on earth are you following me all the way here?’

He is a famous developer that even global companies are trying to recruit.

I don’t know how much it would cost to get consulting from Jaeshurong, though.

Well, anyway, he’s a really expensive gentleman.

To the point where even our branch manager has to come out to greet you when you come to Korea.

Because they are considered high-level personnel in this field.

however.

Such high-level human resources.

He was crouching down next to me right now, lathering up the spoon and the bowl.

Even for free.

“here.”

“thank you.”

Soak the spoon and fork you received from Jaeshirong in clean water.

Place in a red rubber tub and rinse off the foam.

The squatting position looked a bit awkward though.

If you just look at the way he washes the dishes, he looks like just another neighborhood uncle.

So Jaeshirong finishes washing the dishes and cleans up afterwards.

“Wow. It’s hard. But you guys are doing a good job.”

“It just happened that way.”

I just nodded to Jaeshirong’s words.

“I thought they would be some kind of unusual developers.”

“why?”

“You guys always do things that don’t make money.”

“Was it like that?”

Jaeshurong bends over and shakes the moisture off his rubber gloves.

And then he asks casually.

“Is there something you want to do? Something you want to achieve?”

“None. I just live day by day.”

Everyone lives like that. They blurted out their answer together, pouring the water in the basin onto the floor.

Water collects on the floor for a moment, then quickly drains into the drain.

After finishing cleaning up, I got up from my seat. My legs are a little numb.

I’m taking a short break and doing some light stretching.

“Excuse me, student. Come and help us with this. It’s too heavy for us to lift.”

The kitchen lady gestured towards me.

‘You call me a student?’

I didn’t feel too bad

It just sounds like something you’d say to make things sound nice.

Still, I didn’t mind being told I looked difficult.

So I was just laughing alone.

“Why? What did you say?”

Jaeshirong looks at me and asks.

“I guess there’s something else to do. Let’s go.”

“okay.”

So Jaeshirong and I walked together towards the kitchen lady.

suddenly.

“No. No. Not you. The American man over there is here for work and he needs to clean up the food waste.”

The woman shook her head. Her gaze was on Jaeshilrong.

Sigh.

I can’t help but laugh at the lady’s words.

Even though you are the best in the world, here you are just an American guy.

like that.

The American man looks at me without knowing English.

He asked me what I meant.

“The old man asked me to take out the food waste.”

I interpreted honestly.

**

Jogesa.

It is a large temple in Jongno. It is not a temple with a long history, but it has its own charm, so it is a place that many tourists visit.

I think it might have felt different from a foreigner’s perspective.

“It’s nice here. It’s tough, but I feel like I’m finally back in Korea.”

Jaeshirong looks out the window and mutters to himself.

on the other side.

We, native Koreans, had no time to experience such scenery.

‘I’m dying. I’m dying.’

I didn’t have the energy to talk, so I just thought to myself.

We all sat in the kitchen together, completely exhausted, with blank expressions on our faces.

“Don’t even mention volunteer work next time.”

Gukyoung didn’t even have the strength to scold him. He just glared at Seongtae.

I came here wondering how hard it would be to wash the dishes.

“Wow. I almost died. Why is it so hard?”

Myung-gyu frowned. There really wasn’t a single spot on his body that wasn’t aching.

“That’s because there are fewer volunteers. That’s why we came.”

Seongtae scratches his head.

After the pandemic, educational policies also changed, and the number of volunteers decreased.

Since the assigned work remains the same, the work is difficult.

“When we were young, we all did a lot of volunteer work.”

“Isn’t it funny when I think about it now? We weren’t in a position to help anyone.”

As we talk, an old story comes up again.

Just sit there like an old man and open your mouth.

I enjoy sharing stories that I have told dozens of times before.

While we were reminiscing about old times like that.

“Oh! It’s surprisingly spacious. What is that?”

As Jaeshillong walks, he looks out the window.

It looks like he wants to go out and do some sightseeing.

Seeing that sight, Guk-yeong secretly gets up from his seat.

“I’m going to go and get some drinks.”

After looking at us like that.

“Hey. Gou.”

He calls out to Jaeshirong in broken English.

A temple in the middle of the city.

If you walk a little bit, you will find smoking areas here and there.

It looks like he’s trying to give me a quick look around what’s nearby on my way to smoke a cigarette.

‘Ugh. I should get up too.’

I’m worried if you only send Jaeshirong and Gukyoung.

Because if Guk-yeong made a mistake, this sloppy play could have been exposed.

Oh my. He got up from his seat, making a noise like an old man.

**

It was dark in the morning so I didn’t notice.

Now that I look at it.

The sight of the temple buried in snow was spectacular.

The temple in the middle of the city gave off an atmosphere as if it were in the mountains.

Six men look around, taking in the scenery.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I had a great time. It was a great experience.”

“No. It seems like you’re just having a hard time. We’re sorry.”

“Hard work? No. It was really fun. Do you guys usually do this kind of thing? Do you often go out and help people?”

Jaeshirong looks at us all and asks a question.

Of course I was going to answer.

however.

“I did it for me.”

What the fuck.

That wasn’t the sentence that came out of my mouth.

The answer came out of Gukyoung’s mouth. He answered in English unconsciously.

‘I did it for myself.’

I made a mistake trying to act cool.

This is the guy who just said he would never volunteer again.

In the first place, that’s not a sentence that should come out of that guy’s mouth.

I wondered if he did it on purpose, so I looked at Gukyoung’s expression.

He was looking at me with his eyes wide open, perhaps embarrassed as well.

Jaeshirong looks back and forth between Gukyoung and me, listening to Gukyoung’s fluent English pronunciation.

Tens of thousands of thoughts come and go in my head.

“Uh… just now?”

“···”

“Right? I didn’t mishear you. Did you know that guy speaks English?”

A very short period of time, long enough for the wrinkles on the face to fold and then unfold again.

In that fleeting moment.

What I had been squeezing out of my head came out of my mouth without me knowing.

“That Breaking Dead! Walt White’s famous line!”

He really enjoyed Breaking Dead. Embarrassed, Guk-young nods his head up and down vigorously. Don’t. Don’t nod. If you do that, it seems like you understand what we’re saying. I secretly squeezed Guk-young’s shoulder.

All the American dramas on Netflix are in my head. No. Not just American dramas. I watch them indiscriminately, including cartoons, documentaries, movies, dramas, comedies, and variety shows.

The time when we spilled cookie crumbs on the floor and threw them away.

They say there is no time in the world that passes by in vain.

They say that every moment has its own meaning.

Suddenly, my mother’s smile pops out of my memory.

But Jaeshirong still looks at me with suspicion.

“okay?”

“Oh. I really like it too. Breaking Dead. It’s a masterpiece. You haven’t seen it yet?”

Because I don’t think any more excuses will work.

I desperately tried to change the subject by pretending not to know.

**

I look at an unfamiliar building.

no.

I looked up at the building, familiar yet unfamiliar.

I had no choice but to come because Jaeshirong told me to just come and look.

I originally didn’t want to come. There are some people I find awkward when I meet them.

however.

I lied, and I feel bad for making you have to do the dishes because of me.

I came here just to show my face.

-White soft.

It’s our company. No, it’s our old company.

I worked there for about 3 years.

But it’s a building I’ve hardly ever been to.

Since I always went to work at the bank, which was a client company, I could count on one hand the number of times I actually went inside the company building.

“Was there enough space in this building to hold an event?”

Was there a separate lecture hall or a large conference room?

Honestly, I don’t remember at all.

I had no reason to come to the office. They had removed Tio from the office for remote support, so there was no place for me in that building.

There weren’t that many people I knew. I exchanged work-related emails with quite a few people, but there were quite a few who knew my name.

The number of people who have actually seen his face can be counted on one hand.

so.

“Director Chun… of course he would have come.”

Just one person.

You just have to avoid one person.

Just avoid meeting Director Chun.

With that thought in mind, I enter the building.

**

Thinking back now, I think I quit a little childishly when I did.

Because I resigned without any sense of responsibility, like a reckless child quitting his part-time job at a convenience store without permission.

So honestly, if we ran into each other, I think I would feel a little embarrassed rather than angry.

As I went inside, I noticed that the lobby was already busy.

There were definitely more people than before. What kind of event was it? We don’t usually have such large events at this time of year.

I’m embarrassed, but I don’t know where to go.

First, I went to the information desk and received a pamphlet.

“Yes. To the basement? Oh. Yes. Thank you.”

A pamphlet with a large picture of Jashlong’s face on the front.

I roughly held it in my hand and took the elevator to the basement.

So, in the elevator, I carefully read the pamphlet to see what kind of event it was.

Spring. AI Big Data. Private Cloud.

This is something I say every year. If you go to other IT company conferences, you will see the same words written.

There doesn’t seem to be anything special about it?

What kind of event is this? Why did they invite Jaeshirong?

Without resolving such questions.

Ding.

I got off the elevator.

I walked towards the event venue with my head down, looking at the pamphlet like that.

“Huh… Director?”

I heard a familiar voice behind me, and I turned my head without realizing it.

**

To be honest, I thought we would meet.

Manager Chun brought two cans of soda and handed one to me.

“How have you been?”

“Yes, I’ve been doing well.

An awkward greeting is exchanged between the two.

Even though I tried to pretend nothing happened, it wasn’t easy.

“How are you doing these days?”

“It’s the same. What about Director Chun?”

“Me too. It’s similar.”

Exactly.

After Director Chun finished speaking, he opened the can. He took a sip of the drink.

“But you were still in Korea. Actually, I thought Director Jeong had left Korea.”

Let’s continue talking again.

“Where am I going? I’ve never even traveled abroad.”

To lighten the mood, I threw in some light conversation.

however.

“You don’t plan on coming back, do you?”

Cheon Sang-moo takes my words too seriously.

“Yes. I don’t plan on going to work for the time being.”

“What about Free? Don’t you even think about Free?”

“Oh, that’s okay. Outsourcing won’t be able to cover the cost of the service. My price tag has gotten so high.”

Exactly. I opened the can and took a sip. I jokingly swallowed the drink.

“If money is the issue, I can try my best to accommodate you. Are you really serious?”

“Hey. I know how hard it is to get paid.”

“Don’t worry about that. Just ask about the license fee.”

Confidence oozes from Director Chun’s voice.

What? Why are you so confident?

Our license fee won’t be that much.

It wasn’t a product that generated sales large enough to bury hundreds of millions, if not thousands.

While I was tilting my head like that.

“If you go into the accounting, we can accommodate you. We can do it.”

Cheon Sang-moo continued speaking.

Accounting account···

A system that manages customer account information and records and processes transaction information at a bank.

To put it simply, it is dangerous and difficult.

The first domestic bank to put its accounting system on the cloud.

‘It’s something I would never have attempted.’

On the other hand, Director Chun is a hard worker, unlike me. He has a clear goal and runs towards that goal with all his might.

That aspect didn’t suit me.

I don’t have any ambitions.

Our personalities were too different for Director Chun and I to work together.

Neither of them were wrong, they were just different.

Looking at Director Chun’s confident expression.

A bitter smile appeared on my lips without me realizing it.