Chapter 25: Moving to Asan, Chungnam (2)

Gun-Ho handed over his job to the next person who would carry out his duties. The new bookkeeper was a woman who was in her 40s. The owner considered working with his wife to save money, however, he eventually decided to hire someone else. He asked Gun-Ho to post the job advertisement on a newspaper classified section.

Once the bookkeeping job opening was posted, eleven people applied for the job. The owner told Gun-Ho to pick someone who was living close to the company, without going through the interview process. The owner’s wife glared at the owner more often and it led to another fight between them.

“Since the boss hired a woman, his wife will be glaring at him more frequently.”

A grin appeared on Gun-Ho’s face.

Two days before he had to leave to Asan, Gun-Ho had already packed all his belongings. All kitchen appliances were not his; they came with the room. Gun-Ho had to pack his blanket, clothes, and books.

“It’s nice that I have already thrown out all the unnecessary stuff when I moved here from Pocheon. This time, the moving will be so much easier and simpler since I have only a few stuff to pack.”

However, Gun-Ho’s Avante trunk and its backseat were fully filled up with his stuff.

Gun-Ho entered the automobile-only road in his Avante from Goeup Town in Yangju; his car was making rattling noise.

“Goodbye, Yangju City.”

Gun-Ho looked at the distant apartment buildings in Yangju; he was choked with emotion. Gun-Ho continued driving for a while until he came to a fork in the road; one of roads was leading to Pocheon.

“Pocheon City, goodbye to you, too.”

Gun-Ho thought about the life he spent in this area. He spent one year in Pocheon as a factory worker, six months at a factory in Yangju, and another 6 months as a bookkeeper. He spent two years of his youth in total in this area; he became filled with emotion.

“If I add my days at Hwaseong working in a factory, I have spent four years of my life as a factory worker. All I have in my hands, as a result, is this old and shabby Avante that makes a loud noise and is not even worth 3,000,000 won. F*ck. What a loser.”

Once Gun-Ho entered Gyeongbu Expressway, he could see a lot of cars there.

“All the cars before me are luxury cars. BMW, Benz, Land Rover, Genesis, Grandeur, K7. Sh*t! But my car makes the loudest noise.”

Gun-Ho didn’t expect to come to this road again. Since the company in Asan took way longer than normal to contact him to let him know that he got the job, Gun-Ho almost gave up on that position. He felt so lucky to the point that it didn’t feel real to get this job.

“Lucky? Well, even so, it is an entry position with probably a 1,800,000 won monthly salary. For the past four years, I have been moving around from Hwaseong to Pocheon and to Yangju without being able to save any money. I am now 32 already, and I am moving to a new city again, Asan. I must be a bohemian.”

Gun-Ho started humming out of boredom; it was Bohemian Rhapsody.

“Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

Caught in a landslide. No escape from reality.”

Tears appeared in Gun-Ho’s eyes. He continued humming.

“Open your eyes. Look up to the skies and see.

I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy.

Because I’m easy come, easy go.

A little high, little low.

Anyway the wind blows, doesn’t really matter to me, to me.”

Gun-Ho finally let out hot tears.

Gun-Ho stopped by Anseong Rest Area and rinsed his eyes with water in the rest room. He then purchased a bottle of water and drank it; he felt much better.

“I will probably not be able to find any available OneRoom in Dunpo Town in Asan right now; let’s try Dujeong Town in Cheonan City.”

Gun-Ho decided to go to Dujeong Town in Cheonan City which wasn’t far from the YS Tech where he would start his new job. The town was well-developed commercially and industrially, with stores and various types of residential buildings, so it was easy to find a OneRoom or OneRoomTel where one can move in right away. Gun-Ho had been in Dujeong Town once when he worked as an injection molding worker in a plastic factory in Hwaseong.

Gun-Ho could easily find a OneRoomTel in Dujeong Town as expected.

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“OneRoomTel and Jjimjilbang (Korean bathhouse) are my hometown forever, where a bohemian can rest and breathe comfortably.”

Gun-Ho knocked on the rental office door of a OneRoomTel while humming.

A bald man opened the door while rubbing his sleepy eyes.

“Do you have a room available for a one month rental?”

“We do, but you have to wait until tomorrow for the internet connection, though.”

“That’s fine. How much is it?”

“260,000 won!”

When Gun-Ho took out his credit card to pay the price, the OneRoomTel owner’s eyes widened, and he said that he needed to be paid in cash.

“If you have to pay in credit card, it will be 280,000 won instead; there is a VAT for it.”

Gun-Ho didn’t have cash on him.

“I will be back then. I will have to withdraw cash from an ATM.”

Gun-Ho found an ATM close to the OneRoomTel and could pay the first month rent. After moving into his new room, he laid down on the bed.

“Wow, this is just like a prison. It’s so small. The bathroom is so tiny that I won’t even be able to turn around. The room in Yangju is a palace compared to this one. Well, let’s just stay here for a month.”

Gun-Ho went to work, the YS Tech carrying a big envelope of the documents that he was told to bring on his first day of work. The company had eighty employees, the largest factory that Gun-Ho had ever worked for.

“Lots of people are here already.”

“Hey! Where are you going?”

A security guard stopped Gun-Ho.

“I am going to the accounting department on the second floor.”

“You should have let me know first. Go to the second floor then.”

Gun-Ho went up to the second floor. On the second floor, there were an accounting team, sales team, logistics team, etc. They called it a team, but there seemed to be only one or two people working in each team; Gun-Ho could see only a few desks in each team.

“Hello. I was told to come to this office.”

“Oh, Mr. Gun-Ho Goo! Please come here and have a seat.”

Gun-Ho sat on the folding chair which the manager indicated and handed the documents he brought to the manager. The manager looked through the papers carefully.

“The president will come to the office soon. We will see him first, and then I will introduce you to the rest of the team.”

Someone entered the office; everyone in the office stood up and bowed to that person. It was probably the president. The manager grabbed the papers from her desk and stood up.

“Come with me.”

Gun-Ho followed the manager to the president’s office. On the way to the president’s office, Gun-Ho noticed that the manager’s belly was bulging; she must be pregnant. The manager entered the president’s office after knocking on the door.

“This is our new employee in the accounting team.”

The manager introduced Gun-Ho to the president. The president looked still handsome. The president was holding an economic newspaper which he put on the desk before saying,

“Oh, really? Please come and have a seat.”

Gun-Ho carefully sat at the end of the table.