Time Mansour - Chapter 85
Only Noblemtl
Episode 85: On Laziness
If you are familiar with it, it is a familiar scene.
As I was trying to leave a fast food restaurant.
Glance.
I turned my head without realizing it.
The pure white hair caught my eye by chance.
An elderly man wandering around in front of a kiosk.
I keep hesitating while pressing the screen.
After looking at the old man, I thought about it for a moment.
“Would you like to order?”
I slowly approached the kiosk and asked dryly.
“Student, I’m sorry. I don’t know how to do it.”
As soon as the old man finished speaking, he left my fingerprint on the screen.
After wandering around for a bit, I finished ordering.
Jiiing.
Let the machine spit out a receipt.
“It’s embarrassing.”
The old man smiles awkwardly.
“No, I’m confused too.”
He waved his hand as if it was no big deal.
He bows his head slightly to the old man’s thanks and leaves the store.
like that.
I came out onto the main road and walked towards the cafe.
Suddenly, Manager Chae chuckles.
:”The director’s personality is still the same.”
“What is it?”
“Pretending not to care, but being a bother.”
What else did I say?
It’s not even a remote area.
just.
“Wouldn’t it be similar when I get older?”
It’s something you did for me.
Well, as time goes by, I won’t be any different.
I just touched the screen with that thought in mind.
I was smiling bitterly as I thought about how old I was.
suddenly.
“Are you old now, sir? You’re so old!”
Sohyun is picking a fight.
I think he still has feelings for me because he teased me earlier for being ugly.
I thought I’d forget it quickly because I’m stupid.
It’s taking a long time today.
I thought it was fortunate that Sohyun didn’t seem to be that stupid.
I hesitated for a moment, wondering what to say in response.
“You’re older. If I’m a man, you’re a grandmother.”
After just making crude remarks.
“What! Huh? Ugly old man! Where are you going? Come here!”
I ran away. I kicked the ground and jumped.
Sohyun chases after me, swinging both hands.
Manager Chae and Junwoo followed behind, smiling.
We all ran towards the cafe with light steps.
**
I spit out my regrets into the air.
Gasp. Gasp.
Why did I do that?
Heavy breathing mixes with the café music.
I think I only ran for about 3 minutes.
Before I knew it, the world had turned yellow.
“Look at that, Sister. He’s so old that he can’t even run.”
Sohyun pointing at me.
What’s so good about it that they even applaud it?
You shouldn’t fight a child with your physical strength.
I forgot that fact for a moment.
While I was still not in my right mind.
‘Everyone is fine.’
Junwoo, Sohyun, and even Manager Chae.
No one even pretends to catch their breath.
Clearly, we all ran together and entered the cafe.
I’m the only one who’s having a hard time.
On my behalf, as I lay corpse-like on the chair, Manager Chae ordered and brought drinks.
“I really think Director Jeong needs to exercise.”
He nags while placing the drink on the table.
“That’s right. Besides, he’s unemployed so he’ll just lie around all day.”
Sohyun nods, arms crossed, and claps her hands in agreement.
I was quite used to Manager Chae’s nagging.
Because I’ve been listening to it consistently for several years while working at my previous company.
But Sohyun also nagged at me.
It was a bit difficult to adapt.
“Director, please clean up and exercise a bit.”
“That’s right. That’s right. You’re lazy and dirty, mister.”
“Director Jeong, you’ll be forty in a day or two.”
“That’s right. That’s right. You’re old, sir. You have a lot of wrinkles.”
“Sohyun-ah. Please. Just a little. As my sister said.”
Sohyun, who kept nagging me from the side.
at last.
Manager Chae glares at So-hyeon.
Only then did Sohyun bow her head.
I was so devastated when I saw my older sister, whom I trusted, scolding me.
‘accuse.’
I thought it was cool.
It’s coffee.
After catching my breath, I sip my coffee slowly.
When the rough breathing gradually became stable.
I could hear children talking in front.
“No. It’s mine.”
“Hey, swap with mine.”
“Both of you, stop it. If you want Sohyun, you have to ask Junwoo.”
Junwoo and Da-eun fight over the stickers they received while buying event drinks.
like that.
I saw Manager Chae trying to stop the children.
“You ordered an event drink just to get a sticker?”
I found myself speaking like an old man without realizing it.
“It’s not just a sticker, it’s a Tanipang.”
“What is Tani Pang? Is it a cat? No, it’s also like a dog.”
Since it was my first time seeing this character, I asked without thinking much about it.
Junwoo and Sohyun open their eyes wide and look at me.
“Sir? Don’t you know Tanipang? Really? Don’t joke around.”
“What the heck is that?”
“···Teacher? Have you ever seen Tani Pang···?”
I nodded.
“It’s popular among kids these days.”
Manager Chae provides further explanation on his behalf.
“Then you don’t know what Chakorol is either?”
“Chocolate roll? What is that? Is it bread?”
Sohyun looks at me with a surprised expression at my answer.
At that sight, Manager Chae covers his mouth and laughs.
“It’s a Japanese character. It’s hard for the director to know… It’s because the kids like it.”
I wonder if Sohyun was truly surprised.
He doesn’t even tease me, he just stares blankly.
“···”
What is this reaction?
No. You might not know?
I wonder if this is really that surprising.
If you had just made fun of me for being old, I wouldn’t have thought much of it.
The sight of the children looking flustered made me feel even more strange.
I felt a bit of a generation gap once again.
**
As soon as I got home.
The body lies down, pulled by gravity.
The laws of physics that exist in nature.
Because it is impossible for a weak human being to resist it.
My body is glued to the bed.
Lying there like that, I look up at the world.
I touch the constellations on the ceiling with my eyes.
“··· Gemini has evolved into four twins.”
I think I might form a soccer team soon.
A constellation that becomes more and more splendid.
Something resembling the Milky Way began to appear on the wallpaper.
I kept thinking that I had to clean the mold, and before I knew it, summer was over.
Because of my laziness.
The universe on the ceiling is gradually becoming complete.
Suddenly.
A line from a certain drama came to mind.
‘Yes. Mold is also alive.’
You can’t harm it carelessly.
“··· No, this is a bit off.”
To be honest,
Can I continue living like this? I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.
Every single day was incredibly happy.
It’s so nice that I feel like this is heaven.
But apart from being lazy.
I was a little worried about my health.
‘Director, please clean and exercise a bit.’
What Manager Chae said lingers in my head.
Normally, I would have just thought it was another nagging and let it go.
After performing at the university hospital.
I’m starting to get a little worried about my health.
Children who spend their entire lives in hospital wards.
What will those kids think when they see me?
My body was healthy just because I was lucky.
While thinking that it wouldn’t be strange if it broke at any time.
I can’t seem to overcome the weight of gravity pressing down on my body.
**
There were things in the world that had to be done, even if they were annoying.
Actually, strictly speaking.
‘I’m moving because I think it’ll get more annoying.’
I’ve been receiving frequent calls from this representative lately.
so.
I came up to Seoul for the first time in a long time with the intention of building a short story.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes. How have you been?”
Formal greetings pass across the table.
Representative Lee, who still shows a smile while hiding his true feelings.
‘Honestly, he is not someone I can persuade with words.’
If you try to have a nice conversation and it doesn’t work out, you’ll have to force it.
With such a firm resolve.
“But what brings you here? You must be busy with the national team, and yet you suddenly want to meet me?”
I took a quick swipe at it.
“I wonder if Youngjun’s mind has changed in the meantime.”
“The center director… isn’t a position I can be in to begin with. I’ve never even sat in the team leader position before.”
Even when I worked at a mid-sized company, I was just an engineer.
Even though my position was promoted after I went to a foreign company, I was not promoted to manager.
In my years of experience, there are few engineers who have managed people as poorly as I have.
A person who can fix things on their own if you just tell them to. I was just that kind of employee.
“Our center staff say something different. Youngjun’s story is passed around like a legend. He can tune things up in a day, and he can even optimize performance in the blink of an eye, something that other people can’t do.”
Of course.
Since I work in my sister’s room, it’s done in an instant.
I didn’t have the confidence that I could show that level of efficiency while working at the company.
Moreover, the conversation was critically off-topic.
“Yes, I am a good technician, I admit. But I am not a good manager.”
“Our engineers are very strong. If someone who doesn’t know much about practical work comes, they will be more successful.”
The food hasn’t come out yet.
The battle between spears and shields has already begun.
“I am more ignorant than you think. I have never led a project like this before.”
“The board of directors will help with big projects anyway. If Youngjun can come and take the lead···”
Wow. I can’t understand. I thought to myself as I interrupted him mid-sentence.
“I can’t keep my balance. I have a terrible sense of balance.”
I answered with a little joke so as not to offend.
“Our project is the first of its kind in Korea. There are issues with stability, so we would like to have someone with a lot of experience like Youngjun come to help.”
“If a problem arises later, just call me Free. That’ll be fine.”
“That’s because Youngjun only supports remotely…”
Only then did I realize why he had tried to catch me.
This is the first large-scale project in the country.
The CEO himself was anxious, so I think he needed someone like me for insurance.
“Okay. If there’s a problem, Ive will come in and support you directly. Is that okay?”
“Really? Then we would appreciate it, but···”
“Yes. I have a relationship with this director, so I can make time for that.”
“You really shouldn’t say anything else later.”
Then he smiles and picks up his chopsticks.
Still the same smile I saw the first time.
Because there was no change in the representative’s expression.
I’m not sure if I was able to convince him well.
“Me too. Don’t say anything else later.”
I followed suit and picked up my chopsticks.
Anyway, it was a well-ended atmosphere.
Eventually, someone will put a puppet in the center director position.
That doesn’t mean the business will fail. After all, that’s how all Korean companies operate.
We ended the conversation like that and had a light meal while laughing together.
As I was using my chopsticks, time passed by and the sun was slowly setting outside the window.
“I think I should go now.”
I got up first after seeing the sunset.
Representative Lee nods and still smiles.
“Oh, do you have plans later?”
“No, that’s not it. Today is shower day. I’m going to go in and wash up.”
“You have a set day to shower?”
“Yes. I try to do it once a week.”
Let me answer casually.
The representative began to stutter more and more.
“It’s still summer weather now… Do you happen to shower once a week even in the summer?”
“Yes. I don’t really care about the seasons.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
The representative couldn’t close his mouth as he watched me laughing shamelessly.
A shocked expression.
The smile disappeared for the first time.
The representative reveals his true feelings.
“Then… don’t you feel a little uneasy?”
“Not at all. Since people are naturally clean, I don’t think they need to wash often.”
His expression changed from surprise to amazement.
Let me be more honest here.
I feel like I won’t be treated like a human being by this representative.
In a hurry.
“I’m joking. I’m joking. Do you really think I wash once a week?”
I told a white lie.
“Oh my. This is surprising. I thought it was true. Youngjun, you know how to joke around.”
The representative sighs at my words.
In fact, people who know me roughly knew this fact.
but.
Unlike Manager Chae and Director Lee, CEO Lee is someone who doesn’t have much tolerance for me yet, so he seemed a bit surprised.
“Well. Let’s get up now. Now that I think about it, I have to go home and clean up a bit. Oh, right. I have to wash the dishes too. Well. Anyway, let’s meet up sometime next time.”
“Yes? Do you also clean and wash the dishes at home yourself?”
“Of course. If you’re not here, I’ll do it. I can’t just play around like that.”
Representative Lee bursts into laughter.
His words made me feel strange.
Even the world’s largest corporate CEOs clean and wash dishes right at home.
What a great person I was.
Suddenly.
I remembered a pot that had been sitting in water in the sink for over a week.