Chapter 365 (1/2)

“Does it feel that good?”

“Of course!”

Maru shook his head and sat down at the table. He scooped a spoonful of rice out of the rice bowl that Bada had gotten for him. He never realized that there would come a day where his sister would prepare breakfast for him.

“Don’t forget to message mom when you get there. And don’t forget to message her again once it’s over.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m going to send ten, no, a hundred messages.”

She took out her phone and called someone in front of the door. It was probably a friend of hers. Today was the day of TTO’s concert that she had been looking forward to so much. Maru remembered how she was so excited like a puppy seeing snow for the first time last night.

“I’m off!”

“Watch out on the train. Remember to scream first if someone strange approaches you.”

“I get it already!”

“Don’t inconvenience the elder sister of that friend of yours. You need to be polite the closer you are to your friend.”

“I know that.”

“Don’t jump around too much because you’re excited. I’ve seen on the news that people collapse due to dehydration. Don’t forget to bring water with you and drink regularly.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“And don’t come too la….”

Slam - Bada closed the door and left. Well, she really couldn’t help herself at times like these. Just when he clicked his tongue, his mother came out of the main bedroom with a yawn.

“You should’ve slept some more. It’s only nine right now.”

“It’s too noisy to sleep. What about Bada?”

“She just left.”

“Geez, she’s quite something. The concert starts at six, and she has to leave now.”

“She says she’s going to hang out with her friends.”

His mother suddenly glared at him. Maru slowly turned his gaze to the soup.

“This kimchi-jjigae is good.”

“I get that you want to help your sister, but don’t splurge the money you earn, okay?”

“I said I got them for free.”

“Like hell those were presents. Mom looked into it already. What? A million won?”

“Mrs. Lee, please calm down. It’s a special occasion.”

“So you spent such a large sum of money without consulting me?”

“I’ll have to say this again, but I really got them as a gift. Why would I have so much money? If you can’t believe me, should I call the president right now and hand it over to you?”

“...You just won’t lose out in words, huh.”

“That’s because I take after you. Stop talking about a done matter and you should eat some breakfast. You’re on break today, so you should get some rest when you can.”

“Are things going well these days?”

“What things?”

“You know, you’re going to practice something. Was it action?”

“It’s going well. Whose son do you think I am?”

“What about your body? Are you sure you didn’t get injured?”

“I’m fine. You know me. I have a sturdy body.”

“That you do, to the point that you never got badly ill when you were growing up. But watch out anyway. I heard that some people get crippled because something goes wrong with it.”

“You’re worrying too much. I wonder how you gave birth to a son and a daughter with that worried mind of yours.”

“It’s because I wanted to.”

His mother smiled faintly.

“What about you? How’s work going?”

“I can handle it. Things are complicated with labor unions and whatnot, but it’s not something for us cashiers to think about.”

“If they approach you and want you to join, then join them. Don’t make yourself suffer.”

“Don’t worry about me and worry about yourself. Your mom is capable of handling it.”

“Yes, yes. Who can go against our Mrs. Lee.”

Maru finished his breakfast before standing up.

“You’re going to drink coffee, aren’t you?”

He asked as he poured some water into the kettle.

“Did you drink coffee?”

“Things happened and I started drinking.”

“Don’t drink too much. It’s bad for your body.”

“I’ll stop if you stop drinking as well.”

“Mom’s fine because I’m old.”

“What kind of logic is that?”

Maru went to the living room with a cup of coffee in hand. He turned on the TV and sat on the sofa. The TV was talking about food that was good for the bones. Carrot and Kale. He wondered if he should buy a juicer. Since it was obvious that his mother was going to object, he thought about buying it in secret.

Just as he was about to switch to the news, he heard his phone sound. He put the coffee on the table before going into his room. He picked up his phone which was on his bed.

“Hello?”

-It’s me.

“Ah, yes. President.”

-I need you to come to the company.

“The company? What time do I have to be there?”

-Right now.

“...Okay. I’ll get washed and go immediately.”

After the call, Maru went to the bathroom immediately. He washed his face and hair before coming out.

“Where are you going?”

“Uh, Seoul.”

He dried his hair before changing clothes. He wore a grey t-shirt with the words ‘happy’ sewn onto the left chest, and a pair of jeans. He put a book to read on the bus in his bag and came out of his room, only to see his mother handing him a 10,000 won note.

“I have money too.”

“Take it. You won’t know what will happen.”

He wondered what expression she would make if she found out that there was 300 million won in his account. Maru received the note before leaving his house. When he went to the bus stop, he saw a bus coming just in time. These kinds of trivial events made him happy. After he got on the bus, he thought about some things. Why would Junmin tell him to come to the company all of a sudden?

‘Not that I’m in a position to ask.’

The bottom-of-the-rung had to do what they were told to. It did seem quite urgent seeing how he called early in the morning.

He got off the bus and took the train. When he read the book he brought, time flashed by and he was in Gangnam station. It was 10:23. He got off the train and exited through the 12th exit. Just then, he got a message from Taesik. They got the silver prize in the regionals.

“So we failed huh.”

He wasn’t that worried since their school passed the preliminaries with flying colors, but they didn’t seem to make the regional finals. He didn’t feel like it was a pity though. Honestly, he thought that it was a relief.

He had lost interest in the stage. He only focused on his play with the objective that he wanted to bring Daemyung to the nationals. Moreover, unlike last year, where the acting competition was the only thing he had, he had more important things to do this year. Considering the opportunity costs, it was actually good that he failed here.

He felt sorry for Daemyung and the others who would be disappointed about this news, but in the end, this was just a competition on a high school level.

‘Last year, I even cried in secret because I was too frustrated.’