Rust - Chapter 1



Only Krnovel

Rust [RUST]-1

“Sigh- Should I really apply for a name change?”

It seemed like the dark history would stick to my name and follow me forever.

Honestly, if you just look at the name, it wasn’t a bad name.

Floor.

The name Maru is a good name, but the last name was a problem. Ha.

therefore.

Hamaru.

During the stormy times and stressful times of middle school, when I lived according to my temperament, I had my own local nickname.

‘If you touch the little hippopotamus among the magicians, you will be punished.’

His father is Ha Hyeon-seok, his mother is Oh Mi-ye, and his younger sister’s name is Hanaru. It is said that it is easier to call him Marunaru, but the problem was his mother, Mrs. Oh Mi-ye.

‘These days, as part of gender equality, people write their mother’s last name.’

‘Mom, that’s not it.’

‘No, what is it? Are you ashamed of your mother’s name?’

‘If I write my mother’s last name at the end, my name becomes Haohmaru?’

‘What’s wrong with Haohmaru? It sticks to your mouth. If you don’t like Haohmaru, just write Ossi in front of it.’

‘Then you become Ohamaru.’

Maru shook his head as he thought about the dark history he had accumulated during his childhood when he was young. He had been good at both studying and fighting in middle school, so he had no worries about the future.

Maru’s confidence was also shattered when he entered high school. His father’s business was going downhill, and to make matters worse, his mother became a guarantor for a relative.

Things happened in an instant. The family that had been living well ended up living in a semi-basement. After that, Maru’s high school life was literally a march of hardship.

Maru took a moment to reminisce about the past and turned on the tap to wash the blood off his gloves and sword.

“It would have been nice if you had done it in a classy way.”

Don’t doctors use a knife when they operate? No, I heard that most doctors these days operate with robots. My father’s cancer surgery was also done with a robot.

Is the prescription a program or an AI? He said that it was prescribed by something like that. Maru, who was thinking about this and that, let out a deep sigh and took off his apron.

Maru’s job was a slaughterhouse. He dismembered cows and pigs by body parts. It started out as a part-time job, but after he somehow earned a slaughterhouse license, it became his job.

The job of orthopedic surgeon was not as easy as it seemed. Even if you think about it logically, handling meat is not an easy job.

Seeing blood every day, and although they say they drained the blood, they still tear, cut, and chop up bloody meat. It couldn’t have been easy. It was hard, but for Maru, this job was perhaps the right fit for him.

To cut meat, you have to look at the grain of the meat. The parts that cut well, the parts that don’t. Maru instinctively knew the grain. And that wasn’t all. Maru had only seen people with 5 or 10 years of experience cut meat once, and he was able to imitate it, however clumsily.

Should I say that he has a good eye for detail? People around him said that Maru was great when they saw him cut like someone with 2-3 years of experience, but Maru was indifferent.

‘It reminds me of the old days.’

What started out as a way to make a living has now become a job. Maru swallowed a small, bitter smile and cleaned the kitchen knife.

Now that I think about it, it’s been two years since I started doing this.

It was hard to start, but somehow I thought that if I did well in this industry, I could make a lot of money. Technology is technology, and if I could consistently produce quantity, I would get cash in proportion to the amount of work I did, so it was quite rewarding.

“But it’s better than working irregular jobs after graduating from college or wasting a few years trying to take the 9th-grade civil service exam. Yeah, that’s true.”

Seoul National University. It was half luck that I got into a university in Seoul with a scholarship. My family suddenly went bankrupt, so I couldn’t just study by myself, and I had to take care of my younger sibling.

There was no way I could afford to think about this and that. It was literally a college I got into based on my score that would give me a scholarship, and there was no guarantee that anything would change after I graduated.

So Maru had no regrets.

“What is life? Even if you work like a dog, you should earn enough to spend like a prime minister.”

Now that I have some experience with cutting, I can properly see the meat and learn about the distribution network, so a butcher shop or a restaurant connected to a butcher shop wouldn’t be a bad idea. I could learn cooking professionally and go that way. Or I could continue to pursue this path.

If you want to study, which you regretted in one corner, you could have worked hard for a few more years to save up money. So now you had to work hard to earn money.

“You have to be true to reality, to reality.”

For a moment, Maru felt a pang in his stomach as he thought of his mother, Mrs. Oh Mi-ye’s innocence, but he held it in and took out one of the neatly placed knives and began sharpening the blade with practice.

Watching the blade grinding with a cool sound somehow made him feel good. Maru smiled without realizing it and sharpened the knife again and again. Using the knife and sharpening it, he didn’t have any distracting thoughts at that moment. Maru loved that moment so much.

“Hey. Just look at the form. It looks like you’ve been eating rice with a knife for about 10 years.”

The manager, who looked like he could slap a gangster, smiled and said. He was a manager in his mid-thirties who smelled like a retired gangster. At that moment, the words the manager had said at the first dinner passed through my mind.

‘Maruya. Have you ever done kendo?’

‘Huh? Kendo?’

‘Yeah. Kendo.’

‘A little bit when I was young.’

Up until my second year of high school, I was doing well at home and at school. At that time, there was no sport I hadn’t tried, and there was no instrument I hadn’t touched. It was a time when I could do whatever I wanted.

‘Right? You did, right? I told you that the moment you picked up the knife, the blade would come out. You’re really a natural at using a knife. Even your name is like that. Maru–it’s a name that looks like someone who uses a knife in the mountains, right? This is your calling. Your calling. Now- Cheers, for Baekjeong Maru!’

Perhaps because it brought back memories he had forgotten, or perhaps because he didn’t like the expression “Baekjeong Maru,” time passed, but Maru was uncomfortable with the exaggeration.

Even though Maru was sharpening his knife without answering, the manager paid no attention and continued talking with a sly smile.

“You didn’t go home last holiday, and you’re not going home this holiday either?”

“What’s the point of going? It’s better to earn a little more money.”

The manager shook his head at Maru’s witty answer.

“It’s getting stronger. But is it worth it? Do you call your parents sometimes?”

“It’s better to make phone calls as little as possible. That’s the family tradition.”

Yes, if we had kept in contact with each other as much as possible, we wouldn’t have come to this point. After my business failed, my father borrowed money here and there to try to get back on track, but he failed again. My mother, despite having a hard time as a guarantor, tried to help my uncle with his business and got screwed.

It would have been better if we had each lived separately, or at least not contacted each other.

“What the hell? Huh? What kind of family tradition is it to live without contacting each other?”

“……..”

“Anyway, call your parents often. You’ll regret it later.”

“Cash transfer is better than phone call.”

“Hey. Money isn’t everything. Oh, kid, you really- You’re saying cash is the best, really-”

The manager looked at Maru as if he was really an idiot at Maru’s words. Maru was confident.

What good does it do to just call and say hello?

‘Are you not thinking of returning to school?’

‘But this time, Naru is participating in the contest······.’

Anyway, in a corner of the house where there is nothing, 70~80% of the content of the phone calls was related to money. I remembered a conversation with a mother who was worried about her son’s return to school but was actually complaining about not having enough money for her daughter’s contest.

“Yes, I understand.”

Maru thought that sending cash to his bank account would be more meaningful than a phone call asking for help, but he didn’t say anything.

Big. Big.

The manager, who tried to suppress his laughter at Maru’s sagging expression and answer, coughed slightly and spoke in a slightly serious voice.

“Maruya, you. Um. So you said you speak Japanese, right?”

“Japanese? Yes.”

Well, I was able to try out everything I wanted to learn in middle and high school, and that included foreign languages. I could learn English, Japanese, and Chinese just enough to avoid starving because I couldn’t read the menu, and not shitting and peeing on the street because I couldn’t find a bathroom.

If you think about it, it’s all superficial, but I did a little bit anyway. It was enough to watch American dramas or Japanese animations without subtitles.

Half of it is said that you can tell by the mood, but where is that? Hmm. Maru was confident.

“We’re exporting to Japan this time. In the past, we would just send it as a living thing and they would handle it, but I got a call asking me to send in personnel to handle it. What do you think?”

Is this a chance? He must have been in the military. There were no obstacles to leaving the country.

“How long?”

“What? Do you think they’ll use Koreans for a long time? They’ll use them for a short period of time.”

“Short term? Then, about 3~4 months?”

“That’s right. It’ll probably be six months at most, or a year at most. They’ll take care of things like the work visa and accommodation. If you say it’s okay, I’ll connect you.”

Even though it was short-term, it was good.

“I’m fine.”

“Really? Then I’ll let you know.”

I mentioned while drinking that I was quite good at foreign languages, and you remembered that. If it weren’t for that damn Baekjeong Maru joke, he seemed like a nice guy.

You don’t have to look like a retired gangster. Is it true that you can’t tell a person’s zodiac sign or rank just by looking at them? Maru greeted them with a folder.

“thank you.”

“What. If this is an opportunity, then grab it.”

“yes.”

That’s how Maru’s trip to Japan was decided.

=====

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The next day, the manager tapped Maru on the shoulder as he was about to start preparing for work and said,

“Hey, my schedule is set. I can go tomorrow.”

“Yes? Tomorrow?”

Since you said you were going to contact the Japanese company, I thought you would have at least two weeks to a week to spare. You made a fuss yesterday and now you’re telling me to leave tomorrow. Isn’t that too urgent?

“Why are you so dead? You said you were happy to go to Japan, but why? When I think about it, it’s not true.”

“No. That’s not it. Is it okay to go like this so suddenly?”

“What’s so sudden? They said they’re busy, so we need to move quickly. Don’t worry, I’ll issue you a one-year work visa.”

“Huh? You said you contacted me the day before yesterday, and now you say your work visa has already been issued?”

“Oh, no. That’s not it. Just go there as a tourist. They’ll give you a work visa there, so don’t worry.”

“Is that okay?”

“What’s wrong with that? They’ve been using people like that up until now. They’ve mostly used Southeast Asians like Vietnam and Indonesia. Would it be any different if they were Koreans?”

Something felt a bit off.

“Southeast Asia? That’s not it. They do give you a one-year job offer, but you’re saying it’s shorter than that?”

“That’s right. If you get a work visa, most of them only issue you a one-year visa. If you can’t renew your contract, you just have to leave.”

Maru heard the manager’s answer and spoke again as if he didn’t mean it that way.

“Ah- Then I’m going to go for a short term anyway, so I was wondering what to do about the studio apartment. I can’t just vacate the room tomorrow, and I’m not sure about the period either.”

The manager answered with a smirk.

“Ah. Kid. It didn’t look like that, but what’s with all the new stuff? For now, the company will take care of your studio apartment, so just go and do it. All you have to do there is show off your knife skills.”

“yep!”

Knock knock- The manager showed his teeth and laughed, tapping Maru on the shoulder.

I was thinking about having a drink with people today since I’m going to Japan tomorrow, but it was hard to even see the employees’ faces. Once the departure date was set, I was going to make a splash at the drinking party that I was going to Japan, but I couldn’t do that.

The manager chuckled and told me to call him when I got to Japan.

‘Even though it’s a short trip, is it okay if I go without having a farewell party or something?’

Some people are recognized for their skills and sent to Japan by their company, but those who go to Japan are young and don’t open their mouths, and when they come back they are tired.

The manager, seeing Maru’s expression, giggled and said, “Oh, really. That brat. He doesn’t live up to his name and is a brat.” and pushed Maru’s back.

“Go in early today and pack your bags. Be at Incheon Airport by 6am tomorrow. Here.”

The manager handed me an envelope containing a plane ticket, a business card, and some yen that he had been holding in his hand. The manager, who had accepted it absentmindedly, shooed Maru out as if he was chasing him away, and made a phone shape with his hand and groaned.

‘When you arrive in Japan, call me.’

Leaving the smiling manager behind, Maru headed to the one-room apartment.

It’s a matter of the account.