Chapter 58: Weight Class Difference (2)
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/week, Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Here
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After receiving Jung-gyeom's message, Song Soo-yeon slowly regained her composure.
After all, she just had to get through today.
It's no big deal.
There was no need to make a fuss.
Stepping off the shuttle bus, she began to place her belongings in a locker, as per the establishment's rules.
But, as always, it was just her cell phone and wallet.
Just as she was about to close the locker door, she caught sight of her wish bracelet and fell into thought.
"..."
Should she leave it in the locker or take it with her?
It was the only thing connecting her to Jung-gyeom at that moment, and something that shouldn't get damaged while she was working.
Finally deciding, she carefully removed the bracelet from her wrist.
She placed it preciously between her phone and wallet, making sure it wouldn't disappear, and gently closed the locker door.
---
---
8:00 AM.
Loading and unloading began.
The work was divided into 'loading' and 'unloading' from the transport vehicle, and 'scanning' the barcodes of the items.
Usually, when she worked with Jung-gyeom, Song Soo-yeon would volunteer to be by his side, either loading or unloading...
But now, in his absence, she was assigned to scanning.
As an unwritten rule, women tended to be given simpler tasks.
Song Soo-yeon had no particular reason to complain about this and silently took the small scanner to start her work.
However, scanning didn't mean there was no physical labor involved.
She had to push the scanned items onto a non-powered conveyor belt and also gather small parcels into sacks for delivery.
Of course, these tasks were much simpler than loading and unloading, but they still required physical effort.
In that regard, Song Soo-yeon was not alone.
She was paired with an unfamiliar woman for the job.
-Beep. Beep. Rrrrr...
Shivering slightly in the morning chill, Song Soo-yeon scanned the parcels' barcodes and pushed them aside.
If she didn't push hard enough, the items wouldn't move far on the belt, so she exerted as much force as she could.
Parcel boxes came relentlessly, giving her no time to breathe.
-Beep. Beep. Rrrrr...
Once she started working, she could forget about other thoughts.
Gradually, she fell into a mechanical rhythm.
Fortunately, she was able to suppress her thoughts about Jung-gyeom.
-Beep. Beep. Rrrrr...
About two hours passed.
Curses and irritation erupted here and there.
They came from people directly unloading and loading the transport vehicle.
Song Soo-yeon didn't look in that direction.
But the noise was somewhat annoying.
Her body, initially cold, gradually warmed up.
She felt the fatigue accumulating.
More than anything, the most significant issue was how the time was not passing, especially with the work being both strenuous and repetitive.
Today, it felt even slower.
-Beep. Beep.
Song Soo-yeon glanced at the woman beside her.
"..."
It was something she had to know, being in the same team... but the woman was cutting corners.
She wasn't scanning and pushing the items to the other side.
Nor was she moving the sacks of gathered small parcel boxes.
Effortlessly shifting the hard work onto Song Soo-yeon, the woman pretended as if it was not her responsibility.
"Hey there! Hurry up and send the items!"
Someone from the 'loading' part yelled towards Song Soo-yeon.
It was the result of a petty power struggle.
The woman continued to shirk her duties until the end, and Song Soo-yeon initially pretended not to notice... but she was the first to give in.
She sighed and composed herself.
Arguing would only drain her energy more.
It was better to just act as if that woman didn't exist and take care of everything herself.
Song Soo-yeon continued the work diligently, handling the tasks of two people on her own.
Thinking about it differently made it easier.
She could think she was doing this for Jung-gyeom.
For him, she could endure this much.
Instead of focusing on the woman's behavior, she found it easier to remember the things Jung-gyeom had done for her.
...Jung-gyeom.
Once she thought of him, thoughts about him branched out, filling her mind.
Her efforts to not think about him were now in vain.
She couldn't help but wonder what he was doing.
...Maybe having fun with Min-Bom.
No, he said he wouldn't enjoy it as much, so maybe it's okay.
From the moment she thought of him, time seemed to pass even more slowly.
An eternity seemed to pass, and the clock finally showed noon.
An announcement rang out.
It was lunchtime.
People left the workplace with either curses and irritation or sighs of relief.
Everyone headed to the cafeteria.
The woman working with Song Soo-yeon also left her spot as soon as the announcement played.
"..."
Without finishing what she was doing.
Song Soo-yeon silently tidied up the work the woman had abandoned and then left her spot as well.
On her way to the cafeteria, Song Soo-yeon overheard a rumor.
"Hey, did you hear about that?"
"...What?"
"...Hero Sena, the one with the big chest."
"...What about her?"
"She got a boyfriend. A regular guy."
It was a story that had nothing to do with Song Soo-yeon, but somehow her heart sank.
She tried her best to ignore the conversation.
She didn't want to hear it.
But the rumor stuck deep in her heart and wouldn't leave.
"..."
Unlike the others, Song Soo-yeon didn't head to the cafeteria.
She went to the locker where her belongings were.
She was hungry.
But satisfying her curiosity was more important.
She had been thinking about Jung-gyeom all this time.
She was hungrier for news about him.
Soon, Song Soo-yeon took out her cellphone from the locker.
She brushed the dust off her short hair and dialed Jung-gyeom's number.
-Trrring... Trrring...
Pretending not to expect anything, Song Soo-yeon leaned against the wall and waited for the call to connect.
Maybe he was eating too, considering the time.
She decided she would complain about the annoying woman from today.
-Trrring... Trrring...
"....."
But the call didn't go through.
-The call cannot be connected, beep- after the tone...
"...What's this?"
Song Soo-yeon muttered to herself.
He said he would keep in touch.
He said he would have a boring time.
Shouldn't he be answering his phone, then?
A faint dissatisfaction arose within her.
And then, at that moment, her phone rang.
Contrary to Song Soo-yeon's expectation, it was just a text.
[Watching a movie. Sorry.]
Song Soo-yeon stared at her phone expressionlessly.
It had been four hours since they had spoken.
And this was all he had to say.
She would have to eat and go back to the workplace.
That means she wouldn't be able to contact him until 6 PM.
Was she supposed to be satisfied with just this one message and go back?
No, couldn't he just step out of the cinema and take the call?
It wouldn't be a long call, just a few minutes.
Was he enjoying himself that much?
Didn't he miss her?
Was he having fun with Min-Bom?
[When does it end?]
Song Soo-yeon asked persistently.
Had she known he was watching a movie, she might not have contacted him, but now, she was too anxious.
"..."
But no reply came.
Song Soo-yeon ended up wasting her entire lunch break waiting for his message.
The afternoon work was excruciatingly hard compared to the morning's.
Not only because she had skipped lunch, but more so because of her troubled heart.
Not receiving any contact from Jung-gyeom, anxiety grew at an unbelievable speed.
She kept imagining Jung-gyeom and Min-Bom spending a good time together.
Endless laughter.
She even imagined them holding hands at some point.
Song Soo-yeon shook her head, trying to rid herself of these thoughts.
...But her hands eventually stopped.
In this busy workplace, Song Soo-yeon needed a moment to breathe.
She closed her eyes slowly and sighed.
"...That can't be true."
---
---
3 PM.
Unable to bear it any longer, Song Soo-yeon stepped away from her post.
The work supervisor shouted from a distance.
"Where are you going!"
"...I'll be right back."
The supervisor looked at Song Soo-yeon with a puzzled expression for a moment, then waved her off, probably thinking she was going to the restroom.
But Song Soo-yeon walked straight to the lockers instead.
She unlocked her locker and quickly turned on her phone.
There was a message, but not the kind she was hoping for.
It was a spam message.
Jung-gyeom hadn't sent anything.
...Are you f*cking kidding me?
A curse slipped from Song Soo-yeon's lips.
Her grip on the phone tightened, accidentally pressing the volume button.
It was impossible for him to still be watching a movie.
There was no movie playing that lasted over three hours.
Song Soo-yeon had checked everything herself yesterday.
There were no horror movies, no romance movies either.
She called Jung-gyeom.
Perhaps he hadn't sent anything, thinking she would be at work and unable to answer.
-'The phone is turned off, beep- after the tone...'
But Song Soo-yeon had to bite her lower lip at the sound of the automated message.
...Her emotions began to run wild.
---
---
She wanted to go home.
The problem was she couldn't.
There were no buses running in this area.
There was no transportation to go home.
She had no choice but to work until it was time and then take the shuttle bus back.
The fact that she couldn't do anything about it was more irritating than anything else.
Her head was filled with thoughts of Jung-gyeom and Min-Bom.
Naturally, her work pace also slowed down.
But it wasn't just her who was slowing down.
As people got tired, various problems erupted.
Parcels fell to the ground from the conveyor belt.
Each time, there were outbursts of frustration and loud voices from all around.
Song Soo-yeon had been ignoring those voices, but now, with her patience running thin, her annoyance grew.
Song Soo-yeon checked the time.
It was 5 PM.
She suppressed her feelings, thinking to just endure for one more hour.
In an hour, work would end, and the shuttle bus would arrive.
She could go to the unresponsive Jung-gyeom.
She just waited for the hour to pass quickly.
However, the atmosphere at the workplace became increasingly tense.
Two men in the 'unloading' part started arguing.
Even the supervisor, who ran to break it up, got caught in the middle and began exchanging insults.
That negative energy was contagious.
They were adding drops of irritation to Song Soo-yeon's already full cup of anger.
Then someone called her.
"Excuse me."
Turning around, it was the woman from Song Soo-yeon's team.
Song Soo-yeon looked at her with eyes full of hostility.
She had been burdened with too much work because of her.
She no longer had the patience to respond gently.
She didn't like her from the start.
"...What?"
"The sack is stuck."
It was a blatant way of telling Song Soo-yeon to move the sack.
Nobody would respond warmly to such a demand.
"So what?"
Song Soo-yeon responded as if cursing.
"What?"
"So what?"
The woman hesitated for a moment, then brazenly replied.
"Move it."
"You move it, f*ck. I've been moving them all day. How can you be so shameless?"
The woman let out a hollow laugh.
Having some pride, she confronted Song Soo-yeon.
"Why are you swearing and making a fuss?"
At that moment, the frustration in the 'loading' part also exploded.
"Hey! You two in scanning! Move the items!"
The woman in front of Song Soo-yeon turned her head and yelled towards the 'loading' area.
"This b*tch refuses to move them!"
"........Ah."
Song Soo-yeon felt completely drained.
Her irritation had reached its limit.
Jung-gyeom was one issue, but why were people behaving so terribly today of all days?
Aimless curses, sighs, and irritation filled the space.
"Ah... damn."
"What now, again."
So tiring, really.
And Song Soo-yeon felt a sense of familiarity.
This place was like a classroom from her school days.
There was not a single positive emotion to be found, exactly like back then.
A wave of nausea hit her.
"...."
Combined with the lack of contact from Jung-gyeom and the exhausting work and people's swearing, her head started to ache.
Sarcastic laughter kept bursting out.
You laughing? Are you ignoring me now?
The woman in front of her started to confront Song Soo-yeon, pointing a finger at her.
As she silently watched her, someone whispered.
'Are you going to endure again? Like in your school days?'
It was a voice echoing from deep within her heart.
Song Soo-yeon had power.
A power that was hers alone, her own privilege.
Other ability users at school always bragged about and used their powers.
There was no need for Song Soo-yeon to hold back.
There was no guilt in using her ability, no side effects.
Really, she found no reason to endure.
In fact, it was more remarkable that she was holding back despite having such destructive power.
The woman in front continued to yell.
"Are you ignoring me, you bi-"
"Ah... shut up."
Song Soo-yeon said listlessly.
Her eyes briefly flickered a violet color.
The woman froze in a daze.
Seeing her foolish appearance brought an unexplainable sense of relief.
She felt like she could breathe again.
She let out a long sigh.
As the woman quieted down, the noise from everywhere else became audible.
She didn't want to bear that annoying noise anymore.
"Everybody, just shut up."
Song Soo-yeon commanded lightly.
And in an instant, the workplace fell into silence.
At least a hundred workers suddenly obeyed Song Soo-yeon's command.
She wanted to turn this space into chaos.
She had the power to do so.
That was what her emotions were telling her.
But Song Soo-yeon ultimately commanded.
"...Just get back to work."
Her entire focus was now on Jung-gyeom.
She still hoped that time would pass quickly.
She just hoped nothing happened between Jung-gyeom and Solace.
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