A Madman on a Rainy Day - 1
"!"
It was an unfamiliar ceiling.
Aki blinked herself awake on the bed. The inside of the convenience store break room was utterly still. On the television she had left on, the Saturday dawn news rolled on in hushed tones.
Good morning, viewers. This is the 6 a.m. Saturday news....
Her dulled mind slowly came back to life.
Chirp, chirp.
Some unidentified bird slipped past the window.
The dim sky was brightening in silence.
A jogger came into view along the Han River path.
"...."
I fell asleep hard starting at one after the meeting ended on Friday, right when I went live. ...Come to think of it, once a customer came in, we’d have a bell sound here too. So no one came at all, huh.
Well.
This was how it had always been here.
It had just become comfortable.
Aki stretched.
"Mmm...."
She rubbed her face against the bed. She was bare-faced anyway, so it didn’t sting. Then she threw off the blanket and got up.
"Gotta wash up...."
As she stood, the baseball cap she’d left beside the bed thudded to the floor.
"!"
She hurriedly picked it up and brushed it off. Then she rummaged through her backpack for her toiletries. At the same time, she checked the charge on the electronics she had set on the desk.
The phone’s fully charged, and there’s no message... Everyone’s probably still asleep.
She took out her toiletries.
Then she went into the bathroom at the back of the break room. White tile was laid neatly across the walls and floor. Even the toilet had a bidet installed, which was worlds apart from what had been there before.
...It’s convenient not having to go to the public restroom out front. The old bathroom was so disgusting I didn’t even want to step inside.
She took off her outer layer.
Then she closed the bathroom door.
A little later, Aki emerged looking much neater. With a relieved sigh, she pressed the coffee maker’s button. Fragrant coffee filled her mug.
Rustle—
One sandwich left over for disposal.
A convenience-store part-timer’s excellent breakfast.
"Mmm...."
Aki began her meal in the quiet break room. The tuna salad sandwich went well with the warm coffee.
"...."
It was quiet.
Such a soothing kind of quiet that it felt almost too much.
She felt as if the silence itself was healing her.
I’ve never felt anything like this before, so it’s awkward.
At the orphanage in Japan,
during her short trainee period,
and even at ABCD’s dorm....
Nowhere.
There had never been silence meant for her.
Every place had required her to live with someone else.
...Until the manager prepared this place for her.
Who would have guessed that a convenience store where money had to be made would become a space like this?
She looked around.
It was laid out with everything she needed, almost like a business hotel. The bathroom and sink completed the space. The many conveniences were exactly that: convenient.
The soundproofing is incredible, I can check outside with the CCTV, and the door locks securely too....
Here, Aki felt whole on her own.
She could keep her silence intact in any space.
And she had the manager’s permission, too.
If you ever just want to rest alone, feel free to use the break room as much as you like. I’ll keep it open whenever. You can lock the door and use it comfortably by yourself.
"I really do want to rest here often."
It was a place where she could unwind calmly on her own. Honestly, how much would it cost to rent a place like this elsewhere?
Fifty thousand won a day? One hundred thousand?
Aki was using it while earning money under the pretense of working part-time.
I still don’t have a steady income from ABCD activities, and I don’t want to spend the money Bigman gives me right away....
The more she thought about it,
the more she wanted to stay here on weekends.
"...."
Somewhere in Seoul.
The fact that there was a space allowed to her alone.
She wanted to savor that.
Come to think of it, the manager hasn’t come into this room once since the first day. Whenever he comes back from somewhere, he goes straight up to the rooftop room.
Just as she was thinking that.
A strange sound came from outside the window.
Boing.
Boing.
Boing.
"!"
Aki went to the window.
Then she looked down from the second floor.
Sure enough.
The manager was below.
Seonwoo Taek was riding a sky hopper with great enthusiasm. He stared up at the sky with a blank expression, roaming around in front of the convenience store on that bizarre little ride.
Boing.
Boing.
Boing.
The instant Aki saw him, she burst out laughing.
"Pfft, ahahaha!"
What a strange man.
He did strange things with a serious face. And yet he remained serious and polite. In every breath he took, she could feel how deeply he tried to be considerate of others.
As if telling her not to worry.
As if telling her to stay here and rest in comfort.
He was saying it with his whole body.
....
Part of what made this place so good
was his attitude.
"...Hehe."
Aki slid the second-floor window open and called out while waving. If she didn’t call him first, he would never look up on his own.
"Manager—!"
"!"
Seonwoo Taek, riding the sky hopper, turned sharply to look. He gave a dry nod.
Aki said to him,
"I’m going to go home for a bit. See you again tonight!"
"...."
It wasn’t the nuance of home and workplace.
Of main job and side job.
Of manager and part-timer.
Not that at all.
She just.
Wanted to see him again.
She wanted to say that.
"...."
Seonwoo Taek answered in his usual flat tone.
"It’s going to rain tonight, so take an umbrella. I left one by the front gate on the first floor."
"Huh? But it’s so clear right now."
"Just.... Take it. You’ll catch a cold."
"...?"
Then he set off on a faraway journey atop the sky hopper. He blended dryly into the crowd of joggers and drifted away.
Boing.
Boing.
Boing.
"?"
Aki tilted her head, watching Seonwoo Taek’s receding back.
But isn’t he supposed to be running the store...? Where on earth is he going?
"...."
Still....
She should at least take the umbrella.
*
When I came back to the convenience store after my faraway journey,
it had already started to rain.
Whoooosh—
The evening glow vanished,
and the dark clouds forced night down without mercy.
"...."
I sat outside in a daze.
I had already set up the parasol over the outdoor table, so I wasn’t getting wet. A sudden downpour was just one of the ordinary parts of my day.
Whoooosh—
The landscape was thick with the scent of grass after rain.
It was the evening of the first Saturday in June.
This day always ended with an unexpected rainstorm. In one loop, I had even ended up acting like an umbrella seller, and there had never been a day with such decent profits.
"...."
Still.
The real problem was whether A-yeong would believe me. Who but a regressor would know that weather bright as this would turn like that in an instant?
Whether she believes the truth or not is up to her.
I could predict the sudden rain,
but not the human heart.
I had to consider the possibility that A-yeong would impulsively leave the umbrella by the roadside. Or maybe she’d be hesitating with a miserable look on her face because she didn’t want to go to work.
...Should I just send her a text telling her to rest since it’s raining?
Maybe.
Maybe it would be better to have her quit part-time work
and focus on her main job....
"...."
I quietly took out my phone.
And just as I was about to send the message,
"Manager!"
"!"
I turned toward the voice.
A-yeong was walking toward me in tiny steps, holding the yellow umbrella I had given her earlier that morning. Even in the darkness, her blond hair shone vividly as it swayed.
As she loosened her backpack, she said,
"It really did rain out of nowhere, huh? How did you know? The forecast said it would be clear all day."
"It just worked out that way. I had a feeling. I came back a little while ago too."
"That’s amazing. So you spent the evening running around on that thing...."
"You brought the umbrella back well."
"Huh? Of course I did. You gave it to me, Manager."
"...."
I answered,
"I see."
"Yes."
A-yeong nodded.
Then she folded the yellow umbrella and went into the building. A little later, she came back out wearing her convenience-store vest.
"...."
At the counter, A-yeong looked down at her vest and tugged it straight. Then she examined it from every angle.
It’s just a part-timer vest, but she’s paying so much attention to it.
Once she had finished inspecting her outfit, she approached me.
"Manager."
"Yes?"
"Aren’t you tired?"
"...?"
"Riding that thing, and then... all day...."
"Ah, I’m fine. I’m experienced."
"There’s experience in riding one of those things?"
"Of course. I learned for a while under a hermit-master."
"A h-hermit?"
"A hermit-master. It means an incredible person who lives hidden away."
"Oh.... Like you, Manager?"
"...."
A hermit-master.
Maybe that wasn’t entirely wrong.
...I’m hidden away under the weight of regression, so I guess I do live in seclusion. And I’m burdened by strange thoughts, so I suppose I’m a strange person too.
A-yeong’s intuition was better than I expected.
"Manager."
"Yes?"
"...."
Even after calling me,
A-yeong lingered beside the outdoor table.
"...."
"...."
Whoooosh—
I could hear the rain.
Drop, drop.
Raindrops fell from beneath the signboard.
For a long while,
we just listened to that sound.
At last, A-yeong opened her mouth.
"Manager, aren’t you going to rest?"
"...?"
Hmm.
It felt like someone asking a standing person why they weren’t getting up. But A-yeong wasn’t the sort to make an odd jab like that, so there had to be something more to it.
"...."
I thought for a moment.
"Ah."
I thought I understood.
Right. If the manager is sitting there blankly beside her, it probably feels like she’s being watched. The Big Plan doesn’t even start until next week, so she probably needs time to recover her energy.
Ah.
I had been inconsiderate.
I slowly stood up from my seat.
"Then I’ll head inside. A-yeong, you can just lock up the convenience store and rest comfortably in the second-floor break room. It doesn’t seem like any customers are coming anyway."
"Huh? Ah, no, that’s...."
"?"
A-yeong looked flustered, as if that wasn’t the answer she had wanted.
"Um, well. I mean...."
"...."
"Don’t you rest in the break room, Manager?"
"...?"
I shook my head.
"I already have a home. The rooftop room."
"Then...."
"?"
"Then why is the second-floor break room...?"
"Because you were here before I became manager. That space is yours, A-yeong."
"...."
A-yeong put her arms behind her back and kicked lightly at the ground with her foot. Tiny droplets splashed from the shallow puddles. Innocent drops of water burst into light far away and vanished.
She said hesitantly,
"Th-thank you."
"Not at all."
I brushed my butt off with my hand. Moisture had already gathered there.
"Then I’ll head up."
"W-wait a moment!"
"?"
"Um."
"...."
"Umm...."
"...."
"Should we... rest together?"
"Huh?"
"Ah, n-no, that’s not what I meant...."
A-yeong fussed with her baseball cap, adjusting it for no real reason. Then she rolled her eyes and said carefully,
"It’s just that... using everything by myself... is nice, but...."
"...."
"I mean, um.... It’d be better if the manager rested with me too."
"...."
Hmm.
"...."
"...."
Whoooosh—
I said,
"Since it’s raining, should we eat some pajeon here?"
"Huh?"
"Let’s rest together and eat."
"!"
A-yeong nodded.
A little later, we sat side by side at the outdoor table.
With the sound of rain as our background music,
we began making a late-night snack.
Sizzle—
On the portable gas burner,
a green, golden pajeon came together.
A-yeong picked up a piece and took a bite, then stared in surprise.
"Wow.... It’s really, really delicious."
"Is it? Well, I did run a restaurant once."
"Really?"
"Yes, over on Jeju Island."
"Waaah. That’s so cool."
"Yes, it was nice. The breeze was cool, too. The people who passed by were surprisingly kind. They’d sit down at a restaurant that wasn’t doing any business and still eat a piece of pajeon before leaving."
"But...."
"?"
"Why did you stop doing it?"
"...."
I quietly flipped the pajeon.
"Because of this and that."
"Ah."
A-yeong quickly lowered her head.
"I’m sorry."
"No. I opened it again soon after."
"Really?"
"Yes. I remembered the location, and I remembered the technique. More than anything, I was confident I’d do much better the next time."
"Hee."
"But...."
"?"
"Once I opened it again, that feeling was gone."
"That feeling?"
The freshness of our first meeting.
The joy brought by an unexpected encounter.
The work of slowly growing accustomed as we matured.
That feeling. It never came back. The same space, the same restaurant, the same people, and yet....
"That feeling. It never came back, no matter what I did. Same space, same restaurant, same people."
"...."
"So I quit."
"I see."
We ate the pajeon.
Since we weren’t drinking,
it vanished quickly.
A-yeong and I sat blankly at the outdoor table.
The rain sounded familiar,
and the pajeon tasted the same as always.
But for some reason,
this scene felt new.
"...."
"...."
Then, all at once, I said,
"Over here."
"Huh?"
"It’d be fun to pitch a tent here."
"...?"
"Should we go camping?"
"Camp...ing...?"