I Really Want a Job
The words “Why won’t anyone open a squid game already?” slipped out so naturally that it was clear just how deep South Korea’s recession had become.
It made sense. Once the full-scale AI era kicked in, seventy percent of existing jobs had vanished overnight. Sure, new positions like “AI engineer” and “machine learning developer” had appeared to fill the gap, but for anyone who couldn’t adapt, even getting hired was impossible.
Exactly like me.
“……”
Still, what was I supposed to do? I’d spent four years at a local university studying nothing but English literature. Now, at twenty-seven, they expected me to go back and learn AI? That felt downright inhumane.
‘Meanwhile, the quick-witted ones started studying AI coding in their third year and already landed jobs.’
Even in times like these, those who were going to succeed still succeeded. That bitter truth only made me more depressed. I kept wondering why I couldn’t have been one of them.
“What the hell am I supposed to do to survive?”
There was no hope. That was the biggest problem facing South Korea right now.
“Maybe if I just keep breathing, eating ramen, and holding out, a world where you don’t need to work will arrive? Or maybe one where you can make money inside virtual reality games……”
I wasn’t the only one having these pathetic thoughts. The fact that so many people were thinking the same thing showed just how bad things had gotten.
‘Easy to say. How many people can actually live like that?’
More than anything, the anxiety that came from an uncertain future weighed the heaviest. Humans weren’t built to live comfortably under that kind of pressure. Just look at my current mental state—irritable, restless, anxious……
Sometimes I’d wake up hoping the world had ended. Other times I’d spin ridiculous positive fantasies about somehow time-traveling ten years into the past. Anyone watching would have said I’d lost my mind.
“Aaaargh, this is all because I’ve been cooped up in the house lying down every single day!”
I let out a scream and burst out of the apartment. Spending every day as an unemployed bum, eating nothing but ramen and lying around reading webtoons and web novels, was clearly rotting my brain. If I kept this up, I’d end up as one of those basement-dwelling shut-ins you see on the news. So I decided to at least go for a run.
Misen High School
It was the high school I’d attended and the playground I frequently used for exercise. Even though quite a few people my age showed up in the evenings carrying alcohol, or elderly folks came by…… it was still a good spot because almost no one actually ran there.
‘They used to crack down on people coming in at night.’
But the number of high schoolers had dropped sharply, night self-study had disappeared, and after the population balance flipped toward older people, it felt like society had started showing a bit more consideration for the elderly.
‘Can’t be helped.’
After all, it was the older generation that was currently feeding the young. There were truckloads of people over sixty who hadn’t retired, and while that was making youth unemployment even worse…… this wasn’t the kind of social problem that could be solved with simple words. So many people in our country hadn’t prepared for retirement. And even if they did quit, it didn’t guarantee their children would get jobs. So everyone kept working……
“Haa, haa, damn it! Do I really have to keep thinking about this crap even while running?”
I’d thought running until I was gasping for air would clear my head, but it only made my heart feel heavier. Given the situation, my brain was packed with these thoughts twenty-four seven. When I could barely take care of myself, what was the point of……
“Hey, young man over there!”
Huh? I turned my head at the voice, and there stood a shabby-looking old man smiling at me. In one hand he held a bottle of soju.
“Looks like you’ve run quite a bit. Care to have a drink with this old man?”
“……”
The proposal came from someone who looked like a homeless person at first glance. Normally I would have refused immediately, but maybe because my head had been filled with negative thoughts lately, I accepted with a whatever-happens-happens attitude.
“……You’re buying, right, sir?”
Look at me, scrounging drinks off a homeless guy. Even I felt embarrassed.
“Eh? Kehehe, of course, you rascal. The one who invites always pays. Come on, there’s plenty of soju, so drink up comfortably.”
The old man was right. There was plenty of soju. Just no snacks to go with it.
“Who needs snacks? Kehehe, just chewing over how the world’s going is the best side dish there is. Don’t you think?”
“You’re absolutely right, sir.”
「Clink!」
Without even using paper cups, the old man and I drank straight from the bottle. It was incredibly bitter, yet for some reason the soju went down smoothly. Considering my usual limit was one bottle of soju, it was unbelievable. Clearly my heart had been sick in more ways than one. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to drink like that.
“Aigoo, what could be so hard for a young fellow like you that you keep sighing like that, hm?”
“It is hard! So damn hard! I can’t get a job!”
Apparently the soju had gone down so easily because I was already drunk. I was spilling everything in front of an old man I’d just met today.
“Do you want to work?”
It was such a simple question, but it hit me so hard that tears suddenly streamed down my face before I could stop them.
“Yes, sir…… I really, really want a job……”
At that moment, I felt the old man’s hand gently patting my back. Then my memory cut off completely.
“Excuse me, wake up right now. What do you think you’re doing here? Huh? Get up before I call the police!”
“Huk!”
At the word “police,” my eyes flew open and I bolted upright. When I looked around, a security guard in uniform was tapping a collapsible baton against his waist, staring at me with clear disdain.
“Tsk tsk…… Drinking on school grounds and then passing out. Young people these days don’t work, they just……”
It took less than five seconds to figure out the situation. The playground of Misen High School where I’d been running yesterday, and the empty soju bottle rolling beside me……
‘Oh shit. I drank with that old man last night and passed out right here?’
My face burned with embarrassment.
“I-I’m sorry! I’ll clean up and leave immediately!”
“Of course you will! Pick up every last bit and get out!”
“Yes, understood. I’m truly sorry.”
Swallowing my churning stomach, I kept bowing repeatedly as I gathered the empty bottles and left Misen High School behind.
“What’s with that guy?”
“Who knows. Some drunk?”
“We can’t turn into adults like that.”
“Agreed.”
On my way out, I passed some Misen High School students in uniform. My face grew even hotter.
‘Damn it, what kind of disgrace is this?’
I’d always thought I’d never make a mistake like this in my life. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that the first time I ever blacked out from drinking would happen on the playground of my old high school.
“Ugh, this is so embarrassing……”
The empty soju bottle clinking in my hand made it even worse. My back was soaked with morning dew, my tracksuit was covered in dirt, and I was too ashamed to even carry the bottle into a convenience store. In the end, I had no choice but to take the empty bottle all the way home.
“Mom, oppa’s back.”
The moment I stepped inside, my younger sister, who was eating breakfast, spotted me.
“Whoa, Kim Hyun-woo, you really drank outside last night? Look at that empty soju bottle in your hand…… mmph!”
“Shut it, Kim Hyun-ah.”
Confirming that Mom wasn’t in the kitchen, I quickly clamped my hand over Kim Hyun-ah’s mouth. Without hesitation, she pinched the back of my hand with all her strength. The sharp pain forced me to let go.
“Hmm. If you don’t want me to snitch to Mom, that’ll be ten thousand won.”
“I don’t have it. Not a single won.”
“How did a broke guy like you buy a ring?”
“What ring?”
Her sarcastic remark left me even more confused. Gold rings, gold necklaces…… those were things my sister, who had started working at a poultry factory at twenty, owned plenty of. I didn’t have any.
“Wow, acting all innocent. Isn’t that a ring on your finger right now?”
“What are you talking about, there’s no ring on my—— huh?”
Only after Kim Hyun-ah pointed it out did I finally notice. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There really was a ring I’d never seen before on my right ring finger. It was a simple silver band.
“Hmm, but since it’s not gold, it’s obviously some cheap fake. Tsk tsk. You need to get a job like me so you can go drinking with friends and stuff. When are you planning to work?”
“I’m trying, you brat.”
“How many resumes did you send out?”
“One hundred and twenty-seven.”
“And how many interview offers?”
“……None.”
“Legendary.”
This time even Kim Hyun-ah looked a little sorry.
“Well, um…… I heard the job market’s pretty tough these days. Uh, yeah…… I’ll send thirty thousand won to your account later. Use it to buy some chicken. Preferably from our company.”
“Thanks.”
It was mortifying to take money from my own little sister, but I wasn’t in any position to refuse. I was completely broke. It wasn’t for nothing that I hadn’t seen my friends even once since university graduation. It wasn’t for nothing that I stayed shut inside, playing games, writing resumes, and reading webtoons and web novels all day. I had no money, so the only time I could go out was to run.
“Thanks? Tsk…… I’m not really in a position to lecture anyone either. They say the factory’s going crazy with all the AI robots coming in lately. Office jobs have already been replaced, and even simple repetitive labor will probably be taken over by robots before long, right?”
“Sigh. Still, there must be some work for people somewhere.”
“Yeah. Hang in there, oppa.”
“You too. Fighting today.”
“Yep.”
A little later, after Kim Hyun-ah left for work, leaving our still-sleeping parents behind, I boiled some ramen in the kitchen by myself like always.
“Whew. That really hit the spot for a hangover cure.”
After neatly washing the empty pot, I went into my room. That’s when a notification arrived.
[Kim Hyun-woo: Thanks a ton.]
[Kim Hyun-ah: ㅇㅇ]
We bickered sometimes, but compared to other families, I got along pretty well with my sister.
“Anyway, what the hell is this ring?”
Lying on my bed, I stared at the ring on my right hand. The only thing I could think of was that the old man I’d met yesterday must have slipped it onto my drunken finger…… but why? And more importantly, who even was that old man?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, a voice I had never heard before spoke directly into my ear.
Greetings, Master.
I am the Money Ring. Please call me Ring for short.
Was this the latest AI technology too?