Rust - Chapter 3



Only Krnovel

Rust [RUST]-3

When did it start? Hyunseok started to feel suffocated by his wife’s voice.

Even if my wife had stood as my sister-in-law’s guarantor, it wouldn’t have been a big deal to stand as a guarantor for a mere tens of billions of won. It wasn’t something that could just be given and received later. If it weren’t for the subprime mortgage crisis, it wouldn’t have been a business that would have collapsed all of a sudden.

It was the same when I started my business again. How much did my brother-in-law ask for help? However, when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, the business with Japan went wrong, and cash suddenly dried up. Then, my Japanese business partner went bankrupt, and my business, which was barely recovering, suddenly went bankrupt.

Two years later, Hyun-seok himself was diagnosed with cancer, and he ate away the remaining assets like dried persimmons. He moved from the detached house in Hannam-dong to an apartment in Gangnam, and then sold the apartment in Gangnam and moved into a jeonse (long-term lease) apartment.

The lands in the provinces were also reduced one by one. If you guarded them for 10 years, they would definitely make money, but they were slowly being torn down. They went from paying a deposit to monthly rent. That’s how they went from above ground to semi-basement.

When Maru, the eldest son, said that he would give up his studies and earn money because his family was ruined, Hyunseok felt his heart pounding. How much money could he make that way? However, it would not have been easy to maintain a living without the money earned by his children.

At least until my daughter, who was a senior in high school, graduated. The very thought of it was miserable.

Ppoduk-

I saw a woman next to me playing a violin with a cracked side. This person was not like this. Until a few years ago, they had been a happy family. How did it become like this? Things that were taken for granted when they had money were no longer taken for granted.

“You shouldn’t call Maru for a while either. He needs to know how precious family is.”

“Ha-ah- yeah.”

“Don’t just say that.”

“okay.”

A woman who was blowing her nose was texting her daughter. The ringing sound of the ringing.

I had to get back up. No matter what.

=====

=====

[The phone is turned off···.]

“Ha- oh- really.”

Maru sighed. He clearly sent a text message and a KakaoTalk message to his mother, Mrs. Oh Mi-ye, saying that he would be leaving at dawn, but there was no response. It seemed like she had been avoiding his calls since yesterday.

‘It’s time for Naru to sleep too.’

Maru thought that he would call again after arriving in Japan and keep texting his younger brother to ask him to calm his mother down.

The early morning news was in full swing on the TV in the airport limousine.

[It is said that the number of drug addiction cases is rapidly increasing.]

[···Korea had been a drug-free country for a long time, but recently it has become a middle point for drug distribution···.]

[It is spreading widely, from housewives to office workers and students···.]

‘Tsk, you need money to buy medicine. Starve yourself and you’ll feel weak.’

It took a good two hours to get to the airport. Maru took off the earphones he had in his ears and closed his eyes.

He entered college and took a semester off. He enlisted in the military right away, and after being discharged in the winter of 22, Maru looked for a job that would pay him money. A job that would pay more than the minimum wage. At the time, the most important thing to Maru was money.

The place I found out about that was World Livestock.

The reviews I heard from people around me were a bit ambiguous. They said they paid properly, but it seemed to be connected to gangsters, and the staff changed frequently, and things like that.

So what? Maru didn’t care about the reputation as long as he got a high salary.

At first, it was just odd jobs like carrying meat and cleaning, but I learned how to use a knife over my shoulder, and when I was busy, I helped out a little bit with the knife and received a little more daily wage. As a result, I ended up getting a license as a stenographer.

After slaughtering cows, I was sent to Japan to work.

Before the family went bankrupt, Marune’s family traveled abroad every year until middle and high school. They often went to Japan for hot springs. When I think about that time and myself now working as a World Livestock dispatch worker, I can’t help but feel a bitter taste in my mouth.

It had been almost a month since he had been able to talk to his mother, Mrs. Oh Mi-ye. Maru smiled bitterly at the phrase, “almost a month.”

[So, work in Japan isn’t difficult?]

“yes.”

[They say that when you go on a business trip, they take care of various things for you. Is that the case there too?]

also.

Maru felt the bitterness growing a little stronger. The bitterness gradually spreading from the tip of his tongue to his entire mouth, the taste he felt when he put money in his mouth.

ha-

Well, that would be true. Right now, you’re the only one earning money at home.

“yes.”

[Okay. Then should I send you some side dishes?]

“No, it’s okay.”

Even if it is a side dish, it will not be the taste of Mrs. Oh Mi-ye’s cooking. What kind of side dish would a mother who worked as a housekeeper make? She will buy it at a nearby side dish store or order it online.

Daily wages in Japan were more than I expected. Roughly speaking, the monthly wages of those who work in distribution and sales are around 400,000 yen, and those who work in shaping are 15,000 to 20,000 yen per day. Of course, those who are skilled earn more, but those with little experience earn around 20,000 yen.

If you look at it that way, doing it in Korea or in Japan was similar if you just followed the basics. If you look at it purely for money, the Korean business that would print out the quantity you needed was better for Maru, but if you consider the merit of not having to see his mother, Mrs. Oh Mi-ye, suddenly appearing, going to Japan wasn’t so bad.

In addition, it was good that they paid for living expenses. The accommodation, which was ambiguous as to whether it was a motel or a hotel, was better than expected.

[···If you need anything, please contact me.]

“Yes. Don’t worry. I’ll call you if anything happens.”

ddu-

after-

Maru exhaled from his lungs as the phone hung up. What was the exchange rate for yen? Should I exchange it and send it in won?

I worked nights and weekends and was able to save up quite a bit of money.

‘Thinking about Naru’s lesson fee.’

Maru is also human. When he thinks about his younger brother’s lessons, he gets upset. His brother quit school and works, so he has to give lessons. His younger brother lived like a princess, but did Maru live like a beggar?

Since they were a wealthy family, if they hadn’t been hit with a double critical, they could have just used the remaining money to slowly manage their cash flow, bought a small building, and received rent to live a healthy, stable life with their family.

My father, who started a company saying he would start a business again, but ended up getting cancer after eating noodles, my mother, who couldn’t forget the good times and became a guarantor, and couldn’t cut down on spending money to save face, my younger brother, who looked like he would die if he couldn’t do music, which he did without knowing anything about the world.

When I think of the families who can’t escape Seocho, Gangnam, and Songpa even though they live in a semi-basement,

“Fuck···”

Do you think I would want to catch meat while watching blood?

Maru pressed the transfer button floating on the phone screen.

Tiring-

My bank account balance was emptied with a slight sound.

At first, because I was the eldest son,

Because I wanted to create a happy family again.

Because I was young, I thought I could do it if I tried.

But it’s already been two years. Maru, who was discharged at 22, is now 24. He’ll soon be 25. His balance is 310,000 or something.

Can I get out?

A father with cancer, an innocent mother, and a pure younger sister.

ah–

“I want to escape.”

I want to run away like crazy. I want to run like crazy. I want to run.

Maru sharpened his knife, swallowing the anger bursting inside him.

Swish- sack-

Sigh- Sak-

It’s splitting well. Shit.

Damn whetstone. Korean companies don’t know what they’re doing. They make good whetstones domestically. Damn.

=====

=====

[Hey bro. Have you met any hot Japanese AV goddesses?]

“You fucking want to get cursed at? Yeah, you do.”

Maru snickered at Ki-soon’s words as he continued to snicker.

Did you want to eat it that much? Swear at me? I’ll feed it to you.

[No, that’s not it. I guess it’s because of that, so I looked into it···]

“What is it? What did you find out?”

Ki-sun’s voice lowered.

[I was drinking with a professor I know and some friends, and the topic of Japanese radiation came up.]

“Oh really- why are you acting so unlucky?”

Maru was really annoyed. He was already in a bad mood, and now he’s calling me to complain about radiation. Please think about the feelings of people working in Japan.

[It’s said that the heads of Tokyo Electric Power Company and several professors from the University of Tokyo, and their families, had already fled abroad.]

“Isn’t that what you said?”

[What is this? If you look for articles, they all come up, but it seems that the sudden drop in the world university rankings of the University of Tokyo after 2012 was due to professors running. Did the article about the Tokyo Electric Power Company executives and their families running have been taken down?]

“Fuck- so what? If it weren’t for that damn money and the company’s circumstances, I wouldn’t have come here. I’m also living the life of an outsider here.”

A hot Japanese girlfriend? That’s a fantasy creature. I work in Tokyo, so the hourly wage is high, but I have to have time to go out.

Even though the Tokyo Olympics were a failure and the media continued to campaign against Korea, there were still so many Japanese and foreigners flocking to Koreatown that I had to work overtime, extra work, and even on weekends to keep up with the demand.

In addition, the people I worked with were three Vietnamese, two Indonesian, and three Japanese men with colorful tattoos.

At first, I thought, is this real? I’m the only technician? Even Japanese men come in at night to work late at night and wrestle with ribs, wondering what they do during the day. In reality, Maru was the only one who could do the job properly.

[···Hasn’t it been a month now? I understand that you’re doing this because of the circumstances, but if you work like that without resting, you’ll really collapse. If you work alone in a foreign country and get sick, you’ll be in big trouble. Even if you’re given work from above, you should do it moderately and then get out.]

But you don’t know that?

“Yeah. I was planning on taking a break this week anyway.”

[Good- I’m going out and walking around a bit. I really feel like going to Japan, but since I’m already there, I should go back and look around. But how long has it been since the Olympics ended in Japan, and they still haven’t gotten the vaccine?]

“Do I know? I can barely make a living right now.”

[The joke is… How much money do you get for working overtime and on weekends?]

“Not really. I didn’t know I would be treated so mercilessly. It’s good that the allowance is lowered, but this is not it. There are a lot of people, but there are no co-workers. I can’t just leave these really rookie Vietnamese kids messing around with stuff, and I’m busy with my own work, so I can’t stop them and teach them. What the hell. If not Japanese, then at least English should be communicated with them…”

Maru finally let out his pent-up frustration. Even though his family was ruined, the only friend he had was Ki-soon. Of course, his younger sister had a 1% stake in it.

“Ha-Sang, the stuff is being pushed back.”

“Ah. Yes – I’ll be there soon.”

[Wow, is this real? You’re squeezing right now? Isn’t it lunch and break time? If we say break is one hour, there should be 10 minutes left.]

“It seems like this is one of those famous black companies or something. They’re really giving me the heads up. Really. Let’s talk tonight. I’ll leave work on time today. I kept telling them to shut up and they thought it was obvious.”

[If the favor continues, I’ll know you’re a favor. Well, I’ll talk to you later. Good luck.]

“Yeah-”

As Maru turned off his phone and went into the studio, a Vietnamese man was rubbing his face where his shoulder blades met.

“Huh- I’m really going crazy. What are you doing?”

A Vietnamese man, whether it was Cha Ng or Ng Sien, was writhing on top of the beef as if he was going to die. But when I looked to the side, something seemed odd. Two other Vietnamese men were backing away from Ng with pale faces.

Maru had a strong feeling. First, he picked up the intercom.

ddu-

“Mr. Yamatsuki. The Vietnamese staff is in a strange state. The response is strange. 119 ambulance…”

Before Maru could pick up the intercom and continue speaking,

Iron-pudeok-

I heard a chunk of meat hit the floor.

It’s a matter of the account.