Danggeun and Donation (2)
Danggeun and Donation (2)
Less than an hour after A-ra made a call with the Director,
an image was uploaded to my SNS.
The image content was too long to describe in detail,
but in short, it was a notice recruiting volunteers to purchase goods to be delivered to vulnerable groups like orphans, the elderly, and the disabled who were struggling because of the increasingly cold weather.
"But aren't you recruiting way too many volunteers?"
"Nah, I decided to do this together with Noona and the Director unnie this time."
"Aha...how many marts are you planning to wipe out..."
I was overwhelmed by the post saying they were recruiting as many as 300 volunteers.
But, thinking about it now, how much would they have to buy to run up... 50 million won at a mart?
It had already been three years since I became independent, but I thought carefully about what was most lacking at the orphanage back in those days.
In the winter, the old washing machine would freeze and burst, so we did the laundry by hand, and when we hung the laundry outside to dry, it would freeze solid.
The microwave would stop mid-cycle, so we ate frozen food cold...
"We'll need to buy various electronics too. Like a microwave, or a washing machine, or a dryer..."
"We should buy a few refrigerators too."
"While we're at it, a kimchi refrigerator too..."
I began to write down, in order, the items necessary for a person to live like a human being.
First of all, since the basic daily necessities needed at an orphanage or a nursing home were similar,
the list of goods wouldn't be much different either.
The items that differed were things like diapers and sanitary pads.
From what I remembered, the teachers at the orphanage were always saying diapers were in short supply,
and it seemed I'd often heard that sanitary pads were short for the girls, too.
"And....also...."
"What about things like underwear?"
"Ah, right."
Now that I thought about it, I'd left out the most important thing.
Memories of wearing underwear until the elastic waistband stretched out, and patching socks even after they got holes,
came vividly to mind.
Come to think of it, I had to buy black stockings too.
I hadn't known before, but apparently, wearing stockings is often part of the school dress code.
I had no idea why, though.
"I think that's about everything on the list, right?"
I handed the list over, and A-ra scrolled down through it and nodded.
Since A-ra, a senior in donation experience, nodded her head, it must be fine.
"There are things like diapers and sanitary pads... this much is perfect."
"Would there be anything else needed?"
"What about long-lasting frozen foods for the rest?"
"Then ramen or canned goods would be good too."
Since marrying A-ra, I naturally stopped eating them,
but ramen and canned goods were supreme food items.
If you added frozen foods on top of that...
"By the way, have you decided where to donate?"
"Of course."
"Ah... of course, you would..."
I stroked A-ra's head as she gave a bitter smile, saying she'd just stated the obvious.
She accepted my touch like a gentle puppy, then, as if some switch had been flipped,
she pounced on me onto the bed.
***
The next day, at school, I approached two people who were slumped over and started a conversation.
The professor of the elective they were both taking apparently assigned a tremendous amount of homework every class
and threatened a zero for the assignment score if they didn't do it.
So, they seemed to be working on an amount of homework every week
that even their major courses wouldn't assign.
For reference, in my case, I had successfully escaped via course add/drop.
I had browsed the 'Everytime' app late into the night, found an elective with little homework and good grades, and swapped it in.
"So, who told you guys to drink late and miss your timing?"
"Say that to the seniors..."
"As if we knew it would go that late."
Lee Min-ho was originally like that, but I hadn't expected Jeong Hwan-yi to join in and drink until late.
Honestly, guys have no fear.
"Anyway, I decided to do a donation like that, you know?"
"How much?"
"The money I'm spending is about 50 million, but I don't know how much A-ra Noona and the Director are spending each."
"Last year, A-ra-nim gave 350 million each to the Severe Trauma Center and the Emergency Center, totaling 700 million won, and 300 million each in goods... so the scale is going to be huge again this time. She's already recruiting volunteers on SNS."
Lee Min-ho seemed well-versed even in A-ra's donations.
"That, we can go too, right?"
"Lee Min-ho, you obviously have to come, and Jeong Hwan-yi, I was planning to drag you along even if you didn't want to. Our new writer-nim?"
"D-don't call me that..."
"You have to make a good impression early on."
"That's true."
Lee Min-ho and I nodded at the same time.
Jeong Hwan-yi had joined our agency as a writer for the MCN program.
It wasn't like a parachute appointment or anything; he got in openly through public recruitment, so he could stand tall and be proud, though.
He was still only twenty years old, but his program planning skills were quite outstanding,
so his evaluation within the company seemed good.
"But why are we all walking completely different paths from our major?"
"I wonder... I even question if Seong-hwan really needs to attend university in the first place."
"Doesn't the same go for you two?"
We were enrolled in the Department of Social Welfare, but we were walking completely different paths.
No, wasn't Jeong Hwan-yi actually somewhat related?
Social workers have to write things like proposals (project plans)
and plan programs, so I thought working as a writer at an agency would be a plus.
"Anyway, dress warmly when you come out that day."
"It's still hot as hell, what do you mean warmly."
"You're saying this weather is hot as hell?"
The AC was already off, and it was fall; other male seniors were starting to wear coats, but
Lee Min-ho, wearing short sleeves and shorts and saying it was hot, was beyond imagination.
"Even I wear short sleeves and shorts at home, but I can't dress like that outside because it's cold."
"Well, you caught a cold anyway, I don't catch them."
"Tch... is this the difference in base physical specs?"
Comparing Lee Min-ho, who had muscle and was a former track athlete, with me, who could be considered sickly, was perhaps a bit unfair.
Looking at Lee Min-ho, overflowing with confidence that he never caught a cold,
I let out a sigh filled with a vague envy.
***
And then, the day of the donation volunteer work.
The meeting place was a warehouse-style mart, the largest of its kind in the Republic of Korea.
It was a membership-based mart like famous foreign marts,
but it seemed the company had reached an agreement to allow non-members entry
specifically for purchasing donation goods this time.
The news unexpectedly spread by word of mouth,
and various internet news outlets and terrestrial broadcasters started covering it,
and before I knew it, the matter was getting bigger and bigger.
And that day, when I arrived in front of the mart,
a few reporters were waiting alongside the volunteers, holding small cameras.
They were all women, dressed in clothes easy to move in, and even wearing gloves.
"These people are volunteers too."
"The reporters are?"
"Yeah. Just taking pictures isn't allowed, but the Director gave permission only for those who volunteer."
"Aha..."
So that's why they came thoroughly prepared.
If they were helping diligently, what couldn't I do for them?
Moreover, they hadn't brought cameras from broadcasting stations,
but something reasonably sized and easy to carry around, which I liked.
"Reporters, I'll be in your care today."
"Seong-hwan-ssi, just leave it to us!"
"We may not look it, but we were on the investigative journalism team."
"If you just give us permission to film, we'll even do hard labor."
They all seemed to have easygoing personalities, and they'd already gotten friendly with the other volunteers.
I'd welcome reporters like this any time.
"All volunteers! Please check your names off on the list!"
Suddenly, a loud voice was heard from the side, and when I turned to look,
wasn't it Jeong Hwan-yi shouting at the top of his lungs, his face bright red?
Our writers were really too much.
How could they make a new employee do such a burdensome task?
It was very hard to hold back laughter.
"Seong-hwan-a, you write your name down too."
"I got it. But where's Lee Min-ho?"
"He's over theeeere."
Lee Min-ho was a participant, not an organizer, so he was chatting with the volunteers.
Perhaps because he had a girlfriend, he was surrounded by men, not women.
They must be fans, I guessed.
"You didn't forget to bring anything again, did you?"
"A-ra Noona packed it for me, just in case."
"Well, since you do have a slightly scatterbrained side."
There were many times when Jeong Hwan-yi paid for me instead, since my wallet was always missing when I needed it.
Of course, I had paid him back all the money,
but I couldn't exactly borrow amounts in the tens of millions of won from Jeong Hwan-yi like today.
"How many people have arrived?"
"Two people contacted us earlier saying something came up and they can't come... and the Director isn't here yet."
"Me?"
Speak of the devil,
the person who popped out suddenly from behind was the Director.
Usually, she styled herself with a suit, glasses, and hair tied in a ponytail,
presenting a strong image of a businesswoman,
but today, she was dressed shabbily and wearing cotton work gloves,
giving her the look of an industrial worker.
"Director, you're going to do it too?"
"Of course. A-ra also came prepared to do it, you know?"
"Well, that's..."
"Seong-hwan-ssi, you're going to help too, right? Looking at your outfit, it seems you came prepared."
Just as she said, I had also come out wearing shabby clothes.
And I was also wearing cotton work gloves.
"Jeong Hwan-ssi, how many people have gathered?"
"Everyone has arrived except the two who contacted us."
"Then shall we slowly get moving."
The Director gave a big stretch and then advanced toward where the volunteers were chatting.