Mari was already running late for her night shift. She needed to borrow books from the library beforehand, causing her to arrive late. She made a dash for her uniform and wore them quickly. “Where’s the manager?” she asked, worried to be caught again.

“He’s talking to a rich old man, seems like someone from the company,” her co-worker assured her, handing her a tray and pushing her to the dining area. Mari regained composure and served the food for the customers. She did her job decently; she didn’t want to lose it.

She landed on this well-paying job two months ago, right after she was fired from her previous one. In order to fund her needs and her university, she needed to work for the money. But still, it wasn’t enough.

“Please enjoy your meal, Sir, Madam,” she greeted, putting down a high-class dinner for the couple. When she looked at the customer, it was an old man, a man that appeared on television commercials about politics. A politician. The old man was accompanied by a beautiful woman in her twenties. Sugar daddies and sugar babies are really popular.

Right after she went back to the kitchen, one of her co-workers called her, “Manager Byun wants to see you, Mari.” And chills of losing a well-paying job ran down her spine.

“I hate the manager.  Won’t he be more considerate? I ran late because I was running errands for my studies, for Pete’s sake,” she continued ranting her hate towards her strict manager. Apparently, one more time she comes late, she’ll be fired for sure.

Upon entering her cold apartment, she opened the lights and didn’t even bother to change. It was 10 in the evening and the restaurant had just closed, but she still has to finish her report due tomorrow. “I guess I’m pulling an all-nighter tonight.” She sighed deeply right after grabbing herself a glass of coffee and pulling her laptop on bed.

It was already midnight and she was in the middle of proofreading when knocks was heard. And then again, and again. On this ungodly hour, what door-to-door seller would come? She decided to ignore the knocks and pretend she’s asleep or whatever when the knocks became louder and more persistent.

Opening the door a little, she saw it was not a door-to-door seller but rather someone she knew. “Manager-nim?!” she greeted in shock, wide-eyed. This was the first time her manager came to visit her at home, and her guts told her this was not good.

“Let me in, Mari,” he asked, a visible puff of air came from his mouth. Mari opened the door for her manager, and she had no idea why. She welcomed him, gave him coffee and sat down in the table with him.

A few moments of silence ensued before she talked, “Manager Byun, do you need something?” She hoped for an answer but all she got was the manager asking for beer. “I’m sorry, Sir. But I don’t have beer.”

“Mari…”

“Y-yes?”

“Your mom is divorced, and sick. You’re working at the restaurant to pay for her hospital bills, no?” he asked with a straight expression, almost appearing heartless. To Mari, her mom was a sensitive subject to be topic for talks and for a mere stranger to speak like this was simply unacceptable.

ran dry before she managed to answer, “Sir, that is none of your busi