200 – 194. Looking For A Part-Time Job
“Hmm.”
I recently bought a bicycle.
I bought it because it was a hassle to get around school while living in a dormitory, and I wanted to get some exercise.
But I ended up buying something more expensive than I intended.
“I didn’t mean to do this.”
I was satisfied when I looked at the sleek black bicycle, but on the other hand, I felt increasingly anxious.
At first, I thought I would just buy a bicycle that I could ride around on.
After all, it’s just about getting around, right?
But when I thought about it, I still had two and a half years left before I graduated from college.
And during that time, I would probably continue to live in the dormitory unless something major happened.
Wouldn’t it cost more money to repair or buy a new one if it broke down in the meantime?
So I decided to choose something that would last long enough not to break down.
“……”
As I thought about it, the grade and price went up, and before I knew it, I had bought something quite expensive.
I was worried that someone might steal it if I left it in the dormitory bicycle storage.
But I couldn’t keep the bike in my room.
Anyway.
“It’s going well.”
I took it for a test drive around the university and it definitely went fast.
When I actually pedaled it, I thought it was a good buy even though it was expensive.
“But I get really dizzy when I get off the bike.”
When I walked back, I wondered if I should have bought it for that price.
If I’m going to do this, shouldn’t I live on a bicycle for the rest of my life?
“Ah, that’s why the rich are no good.”
I’ll blame it on my family and shake it off. I bought something expensive, but I can just ride it hard enough, right?
“I might as well try a bike trip.”
I was going to go camping during the last vacation, but I couldn’t go because I ran out of money.
This time, I’ll save up money and travel by bike during the summer vacation. It wouldn’t be bad to go camping too.
“Oh, I’m getting excited.”
It was just a random thought, but it seemed like it would be a lot of fun.
Wouldn’t it be a fulfilling vacation to ride a bike around the country, taking in the scenery at my leisure?
“Well, there’s still a lot of time left for that.”
Midterms are over now.
It’s still a long way to summer vacation.
Lately, the university has been bustling with preparations for the sports festival.
In the case of the English department, there was not much interest in the sports festival, so the reactions themselves were lukewarm.
However, the physical education department was preparing with great enthusiasm, as if this was their battlefield.
For some reason, Yu-arin was into basketball and was practicing hard with the women’s basketball club lately.
She said that if there was basketball at the sports festival, she would definitely go out.
Well, anyway.
While everyone was working hard.
I had a problem too.
It was something that had to do with the bike.
“I don’t have any money.”
I still had some living expenses left, but I needed some extra money just in case.
I had spent all my emergency funds when I bought the bike, so now I really needed a part-time job.
The first place I thought of was the cafe where Joo-hee sunbae worked.
To be honest, it would be the easiest place to work if I wanted to take it easy.I was hoping to get a café job, and I thought it would be easier to do the job itself if Minju-heunbae was with me from the start.
‘But that’s a bit of a problem.’
It wasn’t long ago that I was glared at by three people at a drinking party because of Oh Yoon-ji.
So if I stuck with Ju-hee heunbae, who had confessed to me here, it would be really wrong.
“Should I look through a job search site?”
I went back to my room, turned on my laptop, and went to a job search site.
I heard that these days, it’s easy to find a part-time job.
“Oh, there are a lot of part-time jobs.”
I wanted to avoid anything too difficult, and I had to avoid working too long.
I need money, but it’s not urgent.
I wanted to spend time with the kids if possible.
“There are quite a few convenience stores.”
That seemed like a good option. I worked at Gold One, but this is the first time I’ve had a separate part-time job.
Convenience stores seem to have the lowest barrier to entry, and the work doesn’t seem as difficult as other places.
Of course, it’s hard when it’s busy or when there are a lot of people.
But I think that’s the same everywhere.
“A factory? Is there a factory near here? What’s this? They’re offering a lot of money.”
But there were some places that seemed strangely unpleasant or that I shouldn’t contact carelessly.
Woong! Woong! Woong!
The phone rang.
It was Choi Yi-seo.
“Hello.”
– Hello? Woo-jin-ah, what are you doing now?
“Me? I’m looking for a part-time job. I’m almost out of money.”
– ……Did you buy an expensive bike?
“Ahem.”
– Sigh, that’s why I told you not to look at high price ranges.
“But it goes really fast. I think I bought a good one.”
– Of course it goes fast if you bought an expensive one. If it didn’t, why would you buy an expensive one?
Anyway, look at him beating me with logic.
This is domestic violence at this point.
I kept my mouth shut, and Choi Yi-seo didn’t harp on about the bike and told me what he wanted.
– Min-ji and I made some side dishes, should I bring them over?
“Oh, that would be great! I’ll come get them. Why bother coming over? I bought a bike, so I need to get some use out of it.”
– Okay, I got it. We’ll lend you our courage, so just bring a bag.
“Okay.”
Click.
When I hung up the phone, I felt like I could breathe again.
Anyway, Choi Yi-seo definitely has a good sense in this way.
Maybe he anticipated that I would buy an expensive bike, and he made side dishes just in case I was starving.
‘That’s a bit of a stretch.’
Anyway.
Before I left, I looked around the job search site a bit more to make sure I had started something.
I was going to take one last look before going to Choi Yi-seo’s house.
“Hmm?”
There was a familiar store.
I checked my phone and saw that I had the store owner’s number.
“Oh, this is good. It looks fun.”
From Noble mtl dot com
I had found an unexpected connection.
I called right away to schedule an interview.
* * *
“Oh, what’s this? Jangjorim?”
I came to Choi Yi-seo’s studio apartment to get the side dishes.Choi Yiseo, who had already prepared everything, handed me a lunch box with a smile while wearing an apron.
“Well, you’ll only have rice. I made it a little salty so it would go well with rice.”
“Ooooo. Can I hug you just once?”
“Don’t you usually ask if you can eat?”
As I stretched out my arms and was about to rush in, Choi Yiseo pushed my chest with her hand and checked behind her.
She nodded after confirming that her roommate, Minji, was in the bathroom.
Thud!
As I rushed in and hugged her, Choi Yiseo let out a sigh of relief and patted my back.
“Don’t just eat ramen or order takeout. If you really have nothing to eat, come to our house, okay?”
“Mom.”
Choi Yiseo slapped my back hard as I muttered without realizing it.
“Do you want to die?”
“Wh, what’s wrong?”
“Well, not yet.”
Choi Yiseo buried her face in my chest with a sly smile.
“That sounds nice.”
As we were like that, we heard the sound of water going down in the bathroom and quickly separated.
There was no need to show each other something that didn’t need to be seen.
“Did you find a part-time job?”
Choi Yiseo asked as she put the remaining side dishes in my bag.
It felt so natural, as if the hug we had just shared had never happened.
“I’m going to have an interview for now. They told me to come right away, so I’m going to go get your side dishes and go.”
“Aha, where? A cafe? A convenience store? A restaurant? I’ll have to visit you when you get a part-time job.”
“I guess so.”
“……Hmm?”
“What, just come and visit. I have to go now because it’s almost time for my interview.”
“Yeah, fighting.”
Yiseo clenched her fist and cheered me on.
I waved my hand with a smile and got back on my bike, which was parked outside.
The place I arrived at, riding my bike forward, was.
An adult toy store.
A store painted in a pink atmosphere from the outside.
It was a place that couldn’t help but arouse curiosity because the inside couldn’t be seen from the outside.
I went inside without hesitation.
“You’re here.”
A bald old man greeted me with obscene adult toys that made me dizzy just by looking at them.
“Hey, if Woojin works here, I’ll be so happy. I’ve been having a hard time because I don’t have anyone to work during the afternoon shift.”
“Don’t you usually operate at night?”
“That’s not really the case. There are a lot of kids who come to look around because it’s near the university, and there are a lot of regulars.”
“Wow. The inside is much wider than it looks from the outside.”
It would be fun to look around.
“It’s not much different from a convenience store. Just check out the items the customers come and choose and pay for them.”
“I see.”
“Instead, customers often ask for reviews or how to use them, so you have to answer them sincerely.”
What should I do?
I’m already looking forward to what you’re going to ask me.
“What do you usually ask?”
The old man chuckled as I asked with anticipation.
“They ask all sorts of things. Last time, someone asked me how to use a dildo.”
“Holy sh*t!”
To be honest, I’m not really into that. But when I think about how embarrassed they must have been to ask, it’s surprisingly-.
“A man.”
“Ah, f*ck. I’m going to quit.”Suddenly, I feel dirty.
Why is this guy asking me that?
“Oh, but there’s no place that pays as well as here, right? Since you’re a student, I’ll give you more than minimum wage.”
“……Okay. But in return, I need you to make sure of one thing.”
“What?”
“No s*xual harassment in the workplace.”
“…….”
“Answer me.”
“……Of, of course.”
Why are you hesitating?
“f*ck, the moment you do anything weird to me, I’m going to write ‘gay cruising area’ right in front of the store.”
“Just kidding, just kidding. I follow the rules too. You know that.”
Well, that’s true.
If you didn’t follow the rules, our lives would have changed a lot that day we slept together in my room.
It seems like the old man really isn’t interested in me.
Anyway, he’s my boss now.
I’ll give you a good tip, just think of me as your daughter.
“Go to Chanwoo. Chanwoo changes girlfriends often. He might even do a one-night stand with you.”
“……Don’t you think you’re using me too much sometimes?”
I got caught.