< Episode 9 >

 It doesn't matter what day it is today.

The me living in this very moment is not just some section chief with no parents at some company. Just a section chief. Come to think of it, the rank of section chief seems to fit snugly on the tongue, oddly enough.

Then I am a mere assistant manager from today. Not a supervisor, not a section chief, just an assistant manager.

It felt like they were just hired hands, doing the work that the servants of the gods should be doing, so the title 'Agent' seemed more fitting. I couldn't help but snicker at the thought.

Anyway, this place is so far out that there isn't even a subway station or a bus stop, so you have to walk briskly to get back to the city center.

By 2025, the civilization of South Korea is still developing and is a promising prospect for the future. Therefore, even a slight departure from remote areas quickly allows one to enjoy the fruits of civilization.

For example, if you happen to quickly catch a taxi passing by an empty road.

If it had been the United States, China, or Russia, with their vast expanses of land, it would have been unimaginable.

"It doesn't matter where, just drop me off in a suitable busy area. Don't worry about the money, I have it."

Although it was covered in dust, I pulled out a 50,000 won bill from the duffle bag, which was more durable because it was for camping. Only then did the taxi driver, realizing I wasn't a homeless person, look relieved.

In fact, he would have been unsure until he stopped the car. Whether it was really okay to give a ride to the person walking on this desolate road.

The car might smell a bit and be a little dusty...but instead, if you pay the full 50,000 won taxi fare, that should be enough.

It took about 30 minutes to arrive at that desolate place in a taxi on a night I couldn't even remember the exact time of, so I closed my eyes, thinking it would take a similar amount of time this time as well.

Closing my eyes, I see a dark, shadowy scene where it seems like bugs are crawling around. Sometimes those bugs look like meaningless characters, or even like human faces.

The sin I encountered there was heavy and deep, damp and sticky.

The chill and discomfort that had crept into every inch of my body, groping for even the slightest part of me, still lingers in my memory.

 Nevertheless.

I know that without such asceticism, I wouldn't even be able to step onto the starting line of the path I wish to walk.

Wasn't it said that life is 8 parts talent, 1 part luck, and 1 part effort?

Unfortunately, I was neither a chosen religious figure nor a born shaman, and looking back on my life, it doesn't seem particularly lucky either.

To bridge even a little of the gap with those who are not ordinary, one must strive with extraordinary efforts.

Looking at the history of Christianity, although the Lord Jesus' Father did drive Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, He still loved all humanity and thus bestowed upon them the talent, or the 'destiny,' as it is called.

Talent is not merely a matter of ability.

It could be said to be the initial settings that determine that person's life, or it could become a passive or active skill. Sometimes, it can also act as a buff or a debuff.

That is to say, this talent is involved to some extent in the origin of everything that happens in a person's life. And unfortunately, there is a joke that those who do not fully utilize the talent given to them will have it returned to them in full upon death.

Why does it seem like they are teaching young disciples in the church to live a righteous and valuable life according to the words of the Lord Jesus, while giving them Talant gift certificates?

It was because they wanted to teach young believers how to freely dream and carve out their lives according to the will of the gods. Well, there is a contradictory part that advocates freedom while still being according to the will of the gods.

From a young age, I was always curious about what exactly this talent was supposed to do, as I was dragged to church against my will, held tightly by my parents' hands.

It can't even be used as money, and even if you try to use it in the church, the places where it can be used are extremely limited. What kind of law is it that you have to pay 100 talers just to exchange a single cookie?

So Jesus drove out all the unrighteous merchants from Jerusalem, didn't he? Indeed, a person should live frugally enough to exchange ten talents for a single cookie.

Are you listening, Reverend? You used to emphasize every day that the old folks had to donate to get to heaven, didn't you?

"Well, that's not entirely wrong."

The tradition of those who have offering part of what is theirs before the Lord Jesus Father dates back to the time of Cain and Abel.

Offering a portion of what has been harvested, what has been earned, and all that has been made possible by the grace and blessing of the Lord Jesus, Father, and feeling gratitude.

Although it has been replaced by offerings and tithes in modern times, it is essentially the same thing, so it doesn't matter. However, that doesn't mean you'll go to hell for not making offerings.

Then all the poor people would be going to hell.

Uhm... Uhm.... Hmm....

"......"

Was it the lingering echo of the hymn that had been sung with all one's might? Simply closing my eyes and leaning my body against the comfortable seat, I found myself humming the hymn.

But hymns don't feed or put you to sleep, so singing them as a hobby rarely yielded any benefits.

Feeding and putting to bed has been the currency that has run through human society from distant past to modern times.

 "...We have arrived, sir."

Here, take the money. I don't need the change.

Handing over the 50,000 won I had prepared in advance, I returned to the bustling heart of Seoul, where people and energy swirled around.

I thought I dressed quite neatly, but when I looked at myself in the middle of the street, it just wasn't right.

There were mysterious black stains here and there, and it was as if dust had been flying around as if it had been rolling around in the desert for a long time.

First, I entered a nearby motel and requested accommodation from the motel owner who was watching a daytime rerun drama. Perhaps because it was a weekday, the accommodation fee was relatively inexpensive.

Or maybe they were just giving a discount because there were too many flies in the motel.

I took the key to room 404 and headed to the fourth floor in the elevator. The best thing about the motel was that you could enjoy ultimate freedom when using it during off-peak hours.

I would roll around on the bed, intoxicated by the strange sense of pleasure as if I were the master of this enormous building, or watch adult broadcasts on the motel's dedicated TV.

We call that getting on.

It's an extremely understated way of saying that one has naturally joined the situation, atmosphere, or flow.

Interestingly, the word "탔다" (tada) is also used in another sense besides expressing physically or mentally getting on something.

Some say that when a spiritually sensitive person, or a shaman, approaches a specific area with a story or where spirits are believed to exist, they experience possession, emotional sharing, or being entranced.

Yeah, I guess I've caught that wave too.

I stood blankly in the fourth-floor corridor, holding a key labeled "404," but the room I was looking for, 404, was nowhere to be seen. The secret space that should have been between rooms 403 and 405 had not appeared.

"I heard that hotels and hospitals don't even make keys for room 404 in the first place."

I wonder if that motel owner, who seemed to have nothing to do, accidentally made the key and handed it over to me.

The moment I turned back to the elevator to go get a new key, the door to room 404 appeared before me as if by magic.

 Beep. Click.

As I held the neat key for room 404 against the lock pad, I heard the sound of the lock releasing from inside the door.

As I lightly pushed the door, it creaked open with a faint, lifeless sound. Inside was surprisingly neat.

There is no dust, no stain, no strange smell, and no trace of anyone having used it before me.

It was just the perfect scenery for spending today quietly.

 "Let's wash up first."

I brought some extra clothes and toiletries in my duffel bag, so I can change after washing up. The dirty clothes... I can just go to a coin laundry to wash them.

As he stepped into the bathroom, just a bit too spacious for one and slightly cramped for two, a shabby single man in his late twenties revealed himself in front of the mirror.

Compared to the time I looked in the mirror at home, I didn't particularly look haggard or anything. It seemed like I hadn't eaten anything for quite a long time, but my body wasn't emaciated; my physique remained the same.

Have I become a being that even defies the law of energy conservation?

"It's not like not eating for a few days dramatically changes a person."

Anyway, later when we go out and ruin the rice cake soup, or order delivery food, it'll be as if nothing ever happened, with oil oozing out of our skin.

Although the dark circle had deepened further, it was fortunate that the once hazy, fog-covered eyes had become as clear as spring water.

In people's first impressions, the eyes play a crucial role, but with such dull eyes, my first impression will always be my last, won't it?

Walking under the large showerhead where water began to flow, I washed away the dirt that had accumulated over the past days.

Since I couldn't become a bald patient in the future, I gently massaged my scalp while washing my hair, and along the lines of my not-so-toned body, I created foam with body wash.

Standing naked before the massive metal, enjoying the full-body foam and shaking my body, I felt a bit ashamed, as if I had become a third-rate stripper.

But the strippers have no reason to be ashamed. They should be proud instead. They are a hundred times better than men who have no jobs and yet call themselves a "big shot."

After finishing my bath and returning to the office as a fresh assistant manager, I hastily put on some spare clothes.

I put the dirty clothes in a tightly tied plastic bag that I had used to buy things at Daiso.

 "Sleepy. Bored. And I'm hungry too."

It is only when people have leisure that they tend to entertain other thoughts.

And when there is leisure, the primal desires usually overpower the cold reason.

For instance, rather than trudging out into the chilly outdoors to buy and eat a steaming bowl of rice soup, it feels more appealing to comfortably order instant noodles in a motel.

 Ding-dong!

 Delivery for Room 404!