Chapter 54

* * *“Here, have some food!”The manager called Maru over. Maru switched places with the midshift and stepped up to the office. He sat down to eat with the manager, two employees, and the auntie.“You’re made for the market, aren’t you? You have quite the voice,” said one of the employees. The manager smiled brightly in response.“Our revenue did go up, recently.”“Probably just because of the season. I didn’t do much.”“Haha, look at how humble this kid is, big bro. Can’t see kids like these too often nowadays.”Maru smiled embarrassedly in response.“Maru, would you like to try washing buses?”“Washing?”“The guy in charge of it had to resign. Want to do it while we look for someone to take over?”“Sure, the tips would be nice.”The machines usually made quick work of the buses, but a person did have to stay at the end to make sure the machines didn’t miss anything. It was a tiring job, but if done well, Maru would score some tips from the bus drivers occasionally.“You should be able to do well. Oh, and by the way, how long are you here for, by the way?”“Summer break ends on the 24th, so probably before then. I’ll tell you a week prior.”“Wow, look at him. This kid really looks like he’s had a few jobs before.”“Seriously.”Maru took a quick swig of the makgeolli that the employees offered him. The cold drink washed away the heat inside him immediately. After clearing his bowl of rice, he stood up from his spot.“I’ll get back to work, then.”“You should rest.”“I rested plenty. I’d rather not spend my hours getting paid on slacking off.”“Haha, sure. Here, take this, Maru. It’s ice water. You can just go straight to the car wash area.”Maru walked off to where he was pointed with a nod.

* * *5pm. Maru took off his work clothes after the manager told him to come in.‘I actually earned quite a bit.’Maru took out the 5,000 won and 1,0000 won bills from his uniform and stuck it inside his pants. The bus drivers seemed rather happy about a younger kid cleaning their buses so well. If he added the 20,000 won that a truck driver gave him earlier, he’s earned more than 50,000 from tips alone today. Well over his daily wage.“It’s time for you to go home, isn’t it?”“Yes.”“Are you doing anything during dinnertime, Maru?”“Nothing, really.”“You should have dinner here then. We’re going out for oyster barbeque.”“Can I join?”“Of course you can!”Maru decided to stay. He was quite the big fan of oysters. He sat down on the office sofa and tried to take out his phone. Right there, he noticed a bike magazine sitting on the table in front of him. ‘Bicycle life?’If memory serves, this was one of the few Korean biking magazines out right now. He picked up the magazine and started flipping through it. This specific issue seemed to be about mountain biking.“You must like biking a lot, sir.”“Me? With this body? Stop it with the jokes,” said the manager, slapping his belly lightly.“Oh, is this someone else’s?”“No...”The man trailed off a little bit. He smiled a little bitterly before walking over to the sofa. He opened one of the drawers below the table to reveal many more bike magazines. He picked up one of them.This one wasn’t even unwrapped.“My son seems to like them.”“Your son?”“Yes. I know he really likes bikes, but not much more than that. I bought these to study, but I have no idea what any of them are talking about. Before I knew it, they kind of multiplied like this.”Maru picked up the dusty magazine. This one was a foreign one. Filled with english, from top to bottom. It must’ve cost a fair amount for the man to buy this.“Ugh, I don’t even know how it happened.”“Is there a problem?”“...It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t be talking about stuff like this with a kid.”The manager put the magazine back in the drawer. A father who studies to understand his son…“You’re a good father.”The man’s face stiffened slightly. He shook his head lightly.“I’m not a very good father.”“If you’re trying this hard, I’d say you’re pretty good.”“...You talk like you’re my age, you know that? You definitely don’t talk like a teenager.”“I did age quite a bit mentally.”“Hahaha, so you say.”“I don’t know what’s going on, but why don’t you try talking to your son? Any child would be a fan of a father that tries this hard.”“I wish. But it’s been quite a while since I last spoke to my son. I don’t really know what to say to him.”“How long...”“About two years.”“Two years?”“I’m a bad father. I should’ve paid more attention.”The man sat back down on the sofa after standing up to leave. He took off his baseball cap to lightly graze his sweaty hair. “He used to follow me everywhere when he was young. I would play with him a lot, too. But I paid him less attention whenever I got busy. I have an older daughter, too. She’s turning twenty nine this year. My son is about your age. Maru, you said you were a first year in high school, right?”“Yes. Your son was born quite late, wasn’t he?”“He was. He used to follow his big sister so well, but then… Hah, I wonder why I’m even telling you this. So sorry for making you sit through this.”The man stood up, whispering to himself, “to think I’m being consoled by a kid...”“It doesn’t matter who the listener is, if all you need to do is to rant. If you ever feel conflicted, just tell me. I’ll be there to listen. Ah, I’ll be taking pay, though.”“Hah, you have a real way with words. You’ll do well out in society.”Just “well”? I’ve already lived that life for over a decade.Maru smiled lightly and accepted a cup of tea from the manager.“By the way, Maru”.“Yes?”“You look like you’d be good at studying. Why didn’t you just do that? That’d help your life more.”The man stared at him worryingly, which made him scratch his head awkwardly.“I’m not really suited for studying. I studied more than most people, but I just can’t focus afterwards.”“You were really into that book when you were resting the other day, though?”“That’s the weird part. It’s almost like god’s telling me I’m not suited to studying. At this point, I might as well just accept it as a fact.”“Look at you, worrying about life already. Well, it somehow suits you though. Don’t try so hard to make chump change though. I wouldn’t tell other kids this, you know?”“Studying isn’t the only way, just one of them.”“Haha. I know you’re smart, so I’ll believe you for now.”Maru smiled. He was thankful that the manager worried about him enough to tell him this. He was studying more than enough as is. Enough to get third place in class. As long as he studied hard enough, he might even be able to go to a college in Seoul. ‘I have no idea where I want to go, though...’Maru looked around the gas station. It’d be nice to run a place like this, as long as he had the money. He doesn’t have any though, so that’s a pass.“Rest up.”The manager ran outside as soon as he saw a car come in.