Chapter 2: Observation Target No. 0123
Falling SlowlyAt 10:20 p.m., Tzuyu opened the front door softly. The room was quiet, and his mother had long fallen asleep. He closed the door but didn't turn on the light, only locking the door and fastening the chain Mrs. Chou had removed before she went to bed.
There were several dishes on the square table in the living room. Tzuyu stacked them together and brought it to the kitchen to wash. After cleaning up, he took a new plastic bag to replace the bag in the trash can, to be thrown away tomorrow morning.
But as he bent down to change the plastic, Tzuyu hesitated. There was a letter in the can, torn in half. He was familiar with the color and style of the envelope.
His mouth pursed as he took the envelope out.
And sure enough, it was an envelope from Seoul National University.
The mailing address was uniformly printed, with the words 'Chou Tzuyu' stark and bright.
His lips thinned even more. After standing still for a long while, he switched off the kitchen light and brought the letter pieces back to his room.
Turning a small bedside lamp on, he brought the two pieces of ripped paper back together:
"Tzuyu,
The enrollment for postgraduate students in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is starting soon. There are two places for the flight design major. I don't know if you know any of this, so I printed the enrollment brochure and mailed it to you. I know your difficulties and understand your position, but you're still so young, and you have great talent and enthusiasm that is no less than your father's. I've always believed that you shouldn't have to give up like this.
I attached a letter of recommendation, and hope to see you in the university next year.
Uncle Kwon."
Uncle Kwon's letter was quite short, but Tzuyu read it over and over again. He found the enrollment brochure and looked at the registration period.
October 21 to October 31.
In this silent night, a tiny sparkle lit up Tzuyu's eyes, flickering to life, before quietly, quietly, disappearing in the dark.
He folded the letter closed, opened the drawer, and placed it deep to the bottom.
The next day, Tzuyu woke up early. He had a day shift today, and orders didn't start until 10:00 a.m., so he leisurely prepared breakfast at 8:30 a.m. then knocked on Mrs. Chou's door: "Mom, wake up and eat."
Mrs. Chou didn't answer, but after a while, the door opened. She went to the bathroom to wash up, then sat across from Tzuyu at the table. On it was a plate of freshly fried steamed bread, and a bowl of porridge. Tzuyu didn't forget to remind her to be careful about scalding herself.
Mrs. Chou didn't use a spoon and took the bowl to take small sips. Her eyes drifted to the trash can near the table. Yesterday's garbage had already been cleared up by Tzuyu, and the trash can was now empty. Retracting her gaze. She put down her bowl and picked up her chopsticks to take a piece of fragrant bread.
The table was silent, neither of them speaking, with the only sounds coming from the utensils and their chewing. After the meal, Tzuyu handed Mrs. Chou's medicine, took the dirty dishes to the kitchen to wash, and then left to go to work.
When he arrived at work, Tzuyu punched his card, then went into the locker room to change clothes.
When he entered, he saw two of his colleagues sitting together, chatting. As he walked past, Tzuyu greeted them: "Hello Donghae hyung, Eunhyuk hyung."
"Tzu, you're early." Eunhyuk was a middle-aged man with a slightly large figure. Looking especially blessed today, he looked toward Tzuyu and smiled: "I was just talking about you with Donghae."
Lifting the corner of his mouth, Tzuyu asked as he opened his locker: "What were you saying?"
"The ranking. You deliver the fastest, and your ratings are all positive too. Don't you think Junmyeok's eyes are getting less and less friendly these days?"
Junmyeok had been on top of the rankings before Tzuyu started working.
With a small chuckle, Tzuyu replied: "You're overthinking things. Everyone's working hard, doing their jobs properly."
Eunhyuk replied: "Don't work too hard though, especially during deliveries. Instead of speed, you should pay more attention to keeping safe when you drive around."
"I know. Thank you for reminding me, Eunhyuk hyung."
"But I'm curious, you've only been here for two months, how did you rise to the top so quickly? Other newcomers would take at least a month to remember the terrain and wouldn't be able to deliver a lot of orders. You were the same when you started, the number of deliveries you handled was relatively low."
Donghae, who had been listening couldn't help but exclaim: "How can
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