Side Story: Tardiness
Side Story: Tardiness
Dallang-dallang.
The sound of a bell, not an electronic chime, echoed through the cafe.
That bell sound was personally one of the reasons I liked this cafe so much.
Nowadays, wherever you went, most places had electronic chime sounds, but this cafe still retained analog touches in many aspects.
And yet, it managed to be clean and emotionally evocative without making customers feel uncomfortable or unpleasant, which was why it was a place extremely popular with men.
And the fragrant scent of the coffee beans.
Franchise cafes also gave off a similar smell, but the depth was different.
Isn't there a saying that even a village school dog can recite poetry after listening for three years?
Anyone could see that applied to me.
It had already been 7 years since I started coming here.
At first I came for the atmosphere, but now the difference in coffee flavor was so pronounced that I came here often.
As a result, I had also gotten very close with the master here.
So when I came alone, I talked with the master about various things, and the conversations we had most often were about parenting and real estate.
"Wow... So you bought this entire building outright?"
"Yes. I was truly lucky. It nearly became a disaster."
The location of this cafe was near our house, and though it was a slightly quiet area of Seoul, the first floor of a building was still a very expensive place.
It must have been a thunderbolt out of the blue for the master, who had been running her business here on a half-jeonse lease, to hear that news.
The owner of this building had gone bankrupt after engaging in gap investments with the jeonse deposits, and the building had been handed over to auction.
On top of that, the building had a mortgage attached, and the owner of this cafe was a tenant without opposing power who had moved in after the mortgage was established.
In cases like this, the person who wins the bid at auction typically has no reason to pay money to the tenants.
If the building owner goes bankrupt and the bank seizes the building to sell it, a tenant must have moved in and established opposing power before the mortgage was attached in order to receive any payment.
"Mr. Seong-hwan, you're still young, but you know real estate in detail."
"That's partly because my wife enjoys real estate as a hobby... and I also learned about real estate through self-reliance center education."
"Aha..."
"So what happened? How did you end up going to the auction?"
"I was looking at the real estate auction site because the building was listed, and then..."
Anyway, the building was about to be sold at auction, but then something happened that I can only describe as the master's heaven-sent luck kicking in.
Even though it was on the outskirts of Seoul, a building of this size had two failed bids.
Usually, an item that gets failed bids means it's a building with defects, making it a property that even auction-goers who love making money are reluctant to touch.
It meant no one was willing to bid on it readily.
So after seeing it continuously fail to sell, she said she purchased it at a price equivalent to 20% of the market value.
She had to use the remaining difference to return the jeonse deposits to the tenants who held opposing power, but still, a gain was a gain.
"Even so, it hasn't been hard because I switched all the jeonse and half-jeonse contracts to monthly rent."
"If you don't mind my asking... the profit...?"
"The monthly rental income is around 40 million won? Haha. And on top of that, I no longer have to pay rent myself."
The building here was larger than I thought.
It went up to the 8th floor, and each floor had three companies or restaurants renting space.
In particular, the first floor had a convenience store, the cafe the master ran, and a mobile phone dealership, making it the optimal building for earning monthly rental income.
It was the kind of place A-ra would covet.
"If you had been just a little later, you might have had the building snatched away by my wife."
"Haha... It's scary how that doesn't sound like a joke."
Because it wasn't a joke, it was real.
Did you think she was called a building collector for nothing?
When I talked with the master, I would lose track of time.
Even though it was almost time for Arini to come home from kindergarten.
"Uh....."
And on that day too, I naturally ended up being late.
By the time I looked at my watch, it was already 4:30.
It had already been 30 minutes since Arini finished........
"M-Master! I'll be going now. Here's the money for the coffee!"
"I'll have your change ready for you the next time you come."
The master, knowing I didn't have the time to even receive change, gently waved her hand and saw me off.
I also bowed my head once in greeting and dashed outside.
*
"Excuse me..."
I walked into the kindergarten with heavy steps and greeted the staff.
I was already late, and... I felt so sorry that I bought a Hanwoo set so that each of the teachers could take home a portion, and I carried it up.
Inside, it was quiet as if no one was there... No, it wasn't.
I could hear the sound of children running around and playing, which meant there were other parents who were late like me.
Perhaps it was because she sensed my presence.
Or maybe it was because she heard the sound of the door opening?
Arini's homeroom teacher, who had been watching the children inside the room, came out.
Arini's homeroom teacher, who was younger than me yet whose ability to care for children was no ordinary feat...
"Hello, Arini's father."
"Ah... Hello, Teacher. I was a bit... very late..."
"Oh my, everyone among the teachers here knows how busy Arini's father is, so there's no need to feel so sorry."
....I had just been chatting away at the cafe until a moment ago, though.
The one who was busy was my wife, not me...
"Ah... I brought this because I felt sorry. Please divide it amongst yourselves and take it home, teachers."
"Oh my. Is it alright for us to receive something like this?"
"Please, you must take it."
I handed over the heavy paper bag.
The teacher looked at the slightly heavy bag and expressed admiration as she set it aside.
Deureureuk.
When I opened the door decorated with a sun drawing, I saw children playing with toys inside.
But no matter how much I looked around, I couldn't seem to see Arini.
Where had she gone?
"Arini's father, that is the 2nd-year Sun Class."
"Ah, I'm sorry."
Arini, who was five years old, was in the 1st-year Sun Class.
But if that was the case, wouldn't it be more proper to just change the name itself?
"There it is."
Now that I looked, the Sun Class I had just seen was an orange-burning Sun Class, but this time it was a yellow-burning Sun Class.
Did the grade get higher the darker the color was?
If so, that blue-flamed Sun Class must be the 3rd year.
I slid the door open with a deureureuk once more and stepped inside. Arini, who was sitting with her friends drawing in a sketchbook, came into view.
Her Mang-bright eyes looked toward the opened door, and realizing I had come to pick her up, she grinned brightly and ran over to me.
"Dad! Why are you here so late!"
"Sorry, Dad was a little late, wasn't he?"
"No! You were a lot late!"
It had already been 40 minutes since the kindergarten's dismissal had started, so it was true I was a lot late...
I truly had no words for the teachers.
"Well then, if you'll excuse us."
"Goodbye! Teacher!"
I stroked Arini's hair as she said goodbye politely and headed outside.
I felt a bit reluctant to just go straight home, so I pressed the elevator button, thinking I would stop by the mart to buy her some ice cream.
"Dad, why were you late today?"
"That's... Dad was working."
"Working? Well, then you had no choice!"
Arini, who had been pouting, started smiling brightly.
Not only was she understanding when I said Dad was late because of work, but she was even nodding in agreement saying it couldn't be helped.
Ugh...
I had just lied to my daughter for the first time in my life.
***
"Seong-hwan-a, did something happen today?"
As expected, A-ra, who had a wide social network, knew everything already.
I mustn't even entertain the thought of trying to dodge the question with nonsense when she asked me something.
Because I had been thoroughly scolded once before.
"Well.... I couldn't make it in time for Arini's dismissal and was a little late."
"I see. Next time, if you think you'll be late, wouldn't it be a good idea to ask Hojun or Minji?"
"....I'm sorry."
"No, I'm telling you I'm not doing this to scold you! Why would Noona scold you!"
When I looked down dejectedly, A-ra started to panic and get flustered.
Then she hugged me tightly and began stroking my hair very gently.
"Noona is the one who's sorry. Household chores are supposed to be something we all do together, right?"
"...But Noona, you go to work."
"Tsk! Anyone listening would think that you, Seong-hwan-a, don't work."
Well, she had a point. I did manage the fry shop and run the Qtube channel, so I was busy too.
But even so, I was nowhere near as busy as A-ra, who shuttled in and out of broadcasting stations filming programs without a break.
"Alright? Noona already told Minji, so just do it that way, okay?"
"...Alright."
"And there's no need to feel too sorry since Arini enjoys playing with the friends who stay late, too."
I nodded, recalling the image of Arini having fun scribbling in a sketchbook with her friends.
"My husband really worries about everything, doesn't he?"
"I can't help it, since Arini is still young. I'm worried she might have been scared for no reason."
When I was five years old, I had felt terror just from being left all alone.
Whether it was at home, in the bathroom, no matter where it was.
"Hey, you can't just compare a boy and a girl like that! Our Arini is a girl, isn't she?"
"Huh, Noona, you do realize that was a sexist remark, right?"
"It's not discrimination, it's a fact~"
Saying that girls were more dependable and reliable, A-ra stuck her tongue out at me and blew a raspberry before she fled the room.
Seeing her go into the main bedroom, it looked like she planned to take a bath with Arini.
What should I do about that tomboy.
It felt like I was raising two daughters, somehow.