Chapter 128
*
Though unintended, when Hyeon-woo found a ground floor rental house that fit his circumstances and allowed for immediate move-in, it turned out to be less than a 5-minute walk from Mrs. Kyung-ae’s house.
It was a small, old single-story detached house built with red bricks. Through the gaps in the sparse gate slats, a small yard could be seen. Although it was a gloomy cement floor rather than a lush green lawn, it was better than nothing.
The interior wasn’t bad for a property found in a hurry. While not as spacious as the living room in his imagination, it seemed sufficient for the time being for Jerome, who was still small, to run around in. There were even two rooms, and Hyeon-woo furnished the south-facing room with the best sunlight as Jerome’s space.
Jerome, having his own room for the first time, was excited and jumped up and down on the bed happily, but when night came, he would appear deflated, clutching a storybook in one hand and a pillow in the other, seeking out Hyeon-woo’s bedroom.
“Dad, please read me a book.”
“I read you one before bed earlier, didn’t I?”
“…This is a different book.”
Once again, Hyeon-woo couldn’t refuse Jerome, who stood at the doorway wiggling his toes as he waited for an answer. As Hyeon-woo lifted one side of the blanket, Jerome scurried over like a chick and burrowed into Hyeon-woo’s embrace. When he turned on the desk lamp on the nightstand, the room was bathed in a yellow glow.
“Let’s see what book you wanted Dad to read that made you come here.”
Hyeon-woo, who had made an arm pillow for Jerome, lifted the book. Despite reading only two pages, he heard soft breathing from beside him. Looking down, he saw Jerome sound asleep with his mouth wide open.
Hyeon-woo carefully reached out to turn off the lamp, taking care not to wake Jerome.
*
Early in the morning, after leaving Jerome with Mrs. Kyung-ae, Hyeon-woo boarded a bus heading straight to the logistics center. His job was to stand in front of the conveyor belt, sorting ordered items by product and helping with shipments.
After work, from the evening, he scrubbed grills caked with oil and meat residue at a meat restaurant near the station. Crouching down and constantly scrubbing the grills made him sweat profusely, and his back ached as if it would break.
There weren’t many easier jobs available, but they all paid poorly. He had heard that delivery jobs were good, but that wasn’t an option for Hyeon-woo who didn’t have a license. Perhaps due to the trauma of losing his parents in a traffic accident, he simply couldn’t bring himself to hold the steering wheel and repeatedly failed the practical test despite passing the written exam.
Since Jerome started attending daycare, Hyeon-woo had been suffering from an inexplicable sense of urgency. Only after stepping into the harsh labor market did Hyeon-woo acutely realize the value of the educational opportunities he had given up in society.
He wanted to give Jerome even half of the educational environment his parents had provided for him. His ambition grew day by day, and as he pushed himself like this, Hyeon-woo eventually fell ill with severe body aches.
It became difficult to ignore Mrs. Kyung-ae, who tearfully complained that all this effort was pointless if he fell ill, and Jerome, who burst into tears seeing his sick dad.
As Hyeon-woo, who had decided to quit the logistics center where he had worked for two years, was leaving the building after completing the resignation procedures, several workers followed him out. One of them was holding a small cream cake with a candle on it.
“Hyeon-woo, I heard it’s your birthday today. The boss even gave us the company card to buy a cake earlier. He’s never done that before. He must have really liked you.”
“It was really nice working with you, a diligent young man who never slacked off or was late even once.”
“…Thank you.”
He was flustered by this unexpected event.
“Wherever you go, we’ll always support you.”
“Happy 27th birthday, Hyeon-woo.”
“The candle wax is dripping, hurry and blow it out!”
Hyeon-woo hastily blew out the candle on the cake they held out to him.
Twenty-seven years old.
He had been living so busily that he had forgotten his birthday and age, but he had already turned twenty-seven. As he felt somewhat melancholic at this realization, he heard a short honk. Turning around, he saw an older woman leaning out of an open driver’s side window.
“Hyeon-woo, if you’re done with the birthday celebration, get in. I’ll give you a ride to the bus stop.”
“No, it’s alright.”
“Don’t say that, just get in. I’m going that way anyway.”
“Yes, Hyeon-woo. Take the boss’s car. You were sick too, weren’t you?”
Feeling it would be impolite to keep refusing a superior’s offer in front of the employees, Hyeon-woo reluctantly got into the passenger seat.
“Thank you for working so hard all this time, Hyeon-woo.”
The boss’s words made him feel oddly embarrassed. Was this something to be praised for? It’s not like he had worked for free.
“I was just doing my job.”
“Maybe it’s because I’ve seen so many people who can’t even do that properly. I find you really admirable and I’m grateful, Hyeon-woo.”
“Thank you for thinking highly of me.”
The car stopped at a red light. The boss took this opportunity to carefully ask Hyeon-woo.
“Hyeon-woo, have you found your next job?”
“No, I need to start looking now.”
“There’s a place where I’d like to write you a recommendation. The pay would probably be twice what you get here.”
Hyeon-woo’s eyes, which had briefly lit up at the mention of double pay, quickly changed to a suspicious look. The boss laughed heartily at this.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s not anything suspicious. It’s completely legal, but they only hire through referrals and the work is quite demanding, so the pay is high.”
At these words, Hyeon-woo’s sharp gaze softened again, but he still looked doubtful.
“Why don’t you give it a try? They’re desperate to find someone, and you’re discreet and have a steadfast side to you, so if you do well, you might even be able to negotiate your desired pay later. I guarantee the work intensity will be much better than here too.”
“…What kind of job is it?”
Sensing Hyeon-woo’s intention to at least hear about it, the boss smiled slightly.
“Have you heard about the mansion on Neungra Mountain?”
“The ghost mansion? The one that’s said to appear only on full moon nights…?”
While working on logistics in front of the conveyor belt, he would often unintentionally overhear the chatter of nearby workers, and the story of the Neungra Mountain ghost mansion was one of them.
It was certain that it was somewhere on the slopes of Neungra Mountain, but while rumors abounded, no one had actually been there or seen it, so it was called the ghost mansion. The story had particularly stuck in his memory because the rental house where he lived with Jerome was not far from the entrance to Neungra Mountain.
“It’s not a ghost mansion, it’s a mansion where people live. They’re looking for someone to work there. Would you like to try it?”
“……”
“I saw on your resume before that you have experience running an accommodation business, the work will probably be similar. I heard it’s about managing the interior of the mansion.”
If it was similar to running a motel, there wouldn’t be much difficulty in learning the job, and if the work intensity and pay were good, it did seem like a job he wouldn’t want to miss.
“I’ll give it a try.”
Satisfied with Hyeon-woo’s answer, the boss smiled warmly and slowly pulled the car over to the shoulder. A bus stop could be seen nearby.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
