People Don't Change Easily (1)

"Let's just go with what we decided."

"Sure. Not like we have any other options, right?"

"Yeah. That's the best we can do."

Sorting out the situation didn't take long. When applications for the Youth Mall opened, everyone would put one in. The food trucks already looked headed for extinction, so there really was no other path.

That didn't mean there was no regret at all.

Still. I did business there for a few months.

It hadn't been a loss—only profit. Claiming I felt nothing about leaving a spot like that would have been a lie. But there was nothing to be done about it.

Whatever. I was planning to expand soon anyway.

I just had to think of it as the right time arriving earlier than expected.

Huu—

One long breath washed the regret clean away. Clinging to this place any longer would only hurt me.

Only one thing still caught at me.

This uneasy feeling in my chest just won't go away.

The dread settled deep in my senses. It simply refused to fade.

Nothing will happen... right?

Nothing? Was I imagining it?

But nothing happened. That was the strange part.

Even in the apocalypse of my past life, gut feelings had mattered. That sense had saved my life more times than I could count. Every time I steered clear of a place that felt off, things turned out well. There had been one time I ignored it.

Nearly crossed over to the other side that day.

After that, I trusted the feeling even more—close to blind faith, if I was honest. This instinct didn't lie.

And yet, looking at things now, nothing of the sort seemed to be happening.

If it's just my imagination, that's a good thing.

Even if it was a false alarm, that wasn't bad. Peace was a few hundred times better than something actually going wrong. Maybe it was better if it was only in my head.

I have plenty to do anyway.

I decided to take it as a positive and pushed the lingering unease in my chest to one side for the time being.

"By the way, why isn't this kid here yet?"

"Hyung-nim!"

"You're late."

Business had been over for a long while. There was work that needed doing in advance today, and the star of the show had shown up later than expected.

"The shop closed ages ago. Why are you only getting here now?"

"He clung harder than I thought he would."

"Clung? To you?"

"Yeah. Kept going on about how if I acted like that, did I really think I could get part-time work anywhere else in this alley. Lectured me for a while."

"I thought he was always complaining about having no customers. He was even dropping hints for you to quit."

"He was. You think I would've left otherwise? I was already doing the job. And it's not like I didn't give him notice."

"That so?"

"Then it's just him taking it out on you."

"Pretty much. Taking it out on me. But I just stood there and listened for a bit. He's got to be stressed too, with business that slow."

"Tsk. I can understand that much, at least."

Today's main character was Jinwoo. He'd been working part-time at the ramen shop owned by Boss Bang, but today was his last day. From the sound of it, Boss Bang had given him an earful about quitting.

What a personality.

Plain and simple venting, nothing more. Even so, Jinwoo's expression didn't look all that bad. He'd probably let it go in one ear and out the other.

Soft-hearted kid.

Good temperament, too.

Though that personality is part of why I wanted to hire him in the first place.

Right. This kid was going to be the first part-timer at my food truck. From now on, he'd come fill the daily shortage of hands.

"So what do I do now?"

"Nothing hard. See the trash piled up over here?"

"Yeah."

"When you get back from cram school, you grab all of that and take it over there to throw out. That's your main job."

"Oh...! Isn't that way too easy?"

"No chance. In the morning you'll need to come early and hand out number tickets too. Help with some basic prep. Probably take an hour or two."

"That much is totally doable!"

"That so?"

"I even get study time secured this way. Honestly better than before!"

"Glad to hear it. I worked the schedule around you having to go to cram school."

"Oooh. Unexpected consideration on top of everything?"

"What, punk? You don't want it?"

"Whoa there. Can't go changing your mind now. Heh heh."

He clearly liked the arrangement. I had no intention of leaving it at words alone.

"You little— All right, I'll show you how to sort the trash."

"I already know that much."

"I'm teaching you because it's your first day, punk."

"Oooh... Thorough, even!"

"Focus, you."

"Yes, sir!"

He'd helped with the number tickets a few times before, but the rest he'd only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠watched, so I walked him through it carefully.

Training staff properly matters too.

As long as I was teaching him, I had to do it right. Even a part-time job wasn't something to half-ass. So I explained for a good while, showing him what I'd already sorted. Basic separation he already understood, but every district had a few differences, so I went over the details.

"This is easy."

"Right?"

Thankfully, Jinwoo had a good head for work. He caught on fast.

"But if the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠prep you mentioned is usually like this, couldn't we set a few things up in advance?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Working the ramen shop, I picked up a few things."

So they had their own know-how over there too. Fair enough—I could cook food that tasted good, but when it came to running a business I was still a beginner. In my past life I hadn't had many chances to cook in volume like this.

Maybe that was why. What Jinwoo said next was pretty useful.

"These bowls—our cups, I mean—if we stage them here ahead of time and tweak the traffic flow a bit... And the ingredients you handle yourself, we could put them... yeah, right here."

After looking around a few times, Jinwoo even came up with ideas.

This kid's a talent I didn't see coming.

It felt like an unexpected windfall had just walked in. He cleaned while offering ideas for a better layout. When we tried applying them, they actually worked pretty well.

"Oh, this is convenient once you try it. Solid idea."

"Oho. Unexpected praise on top of everything?"

"You little— Where are you even picking up these lines. Anyway, if you're coming early starting tomorrow... Hm?"

"What is it?"

"Hang on a second."

I'd been about to step out in a good mood. But then—

-Hey, hey! Looks like someone's still there?

-Damn it. Why are they still here?

Unexpected voices drifted over.

There shouldn't be people on the street at this hour.

Business hours had been over for a long time. Even in a food alley, this late you only got the occasional drunk. That was why I'd felt free to train Jinwoo out here. And now these voices—plus the unmistakable atmosphere riding under them.

I can practically see the punk energy on them.

Punk energy. Another word for small-time thugs, maybe. People who carried themselves lightly always had a certain tone to their voices. That flippant edge grated for some reason.

"Hyung-nim. Sounds like some kids over there."

"Yeah. Seems that way."

"Think they're looking for trouble."

Jinwoo had sensed something the same as I had. That made it hard to just let it slide. The problem was the kid standing right in front of me.

Should I get Jinwoo out of here first?

I could handle myself, but if Jinwoo got mixed up in something like this it would be a headache. Better to pull him out before he stubbornly insisted on helping.

"Hard to say. Atmosphere's already broken anyway—want to just take the trash out and head home for today?"

"What? What about you, hyung-nim?"

"I'll go check what the fuss is about and then close up. It's around my shop, after all."

"You going to be okay alone?"

"Come on. What could go wrong. Don't worry about it."

"All right then. See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah."

I sent Jinwoo off quickly.

They're watching him leave, all right.

Eyes tracking Jinwoo as he walked away, slow and careful. They looked like they wanted me gone too. No reason to give them what they wanted.

I already know these bastards are about to start something.

I stepped down from the food truck.

-Hey, hey. What's this? He's coming this way.

-What are you talking about? Huh? Wait, he really is?

I closed the distance toward the voices. Faces that looked barely of age, still babyish under the punk attitude. I walked straight toward them, nice and slow, making sure they saw me.

-Hey, should we bolt?

-Bolt from what? That'd look even weirder! And what are we supposed to do if he comes over?

-We've got the numbers on— hiiik...!

I let a sliver of presence leak out. Presence tempered by the apocalypse.

-Hey, why all of a sudden— hiiik!

-You too— hahk...!

Cowards under the surface. How were they supposed to stand up to that? Without even realizing it, they started edging backward.

-Hey, hey. Let's go back. T-today's not the day!

-Y-yeah!

One of them handed the others an excuse, and that was the signal. They started running for real.

-Hiiiiiiik!

-He's cooooming!

At first it was a hurried shuffle, then a full-on scramble.

Kids. I'm just looking at them and they're overdoing it.

I snorted a laugh. Big frames, and not a scrap of the weight those frames should have carried. The whole display was ridiculous.

Of course, I had no intention of just watching.

I slipped after them in silence.

A bunch of cowards.

They say even dogs bark more when they're scared. These kids who'd been swaggering around earlier were no different. Faces frozen stiff, they ran a long way.

-Hahh... hahh...

-Is he gone?

-We're not that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠far from the truck yet. Keep running.

Moving, looking back, the whole routine—like they were filming a chase scene.

You little bastards. You better not be anything special.

Without Stealth, they might actually have spotted me. In any case, even after they slowed down they walked for quite a while.

They wandered all over, and now they're heading back toward the food alley?

After all that circling, they aimed for the food alley right next to the Food Truck Zone. The unease I'd worked so hard to forget flared up again. They already had a destination. Without so much as a glance aside, they made a straight line for one place.

-Ah, we're here.

-What do we say once we're inside?

-Just say today wasn't the day. That they were still there the whole time.

-Will he buy that?

-What, you think he won't?

In front of what looked like their destination, they bickered for a while.

-Ah, screw it. Let's just go in.

-Yeah. What's he gonna do about it.

Worn out themselves, they stepped inside.

Not a shop name I was seeing for the first time. Boss Bang's place. Voices drifted out from inside, sparse and uneven.

Huh...? So this was it?

And with that, I finally understood what the dread had been pointing at.