After a week of struggling to bring food and drinks without blundering, it was pay day.
Usually the payments would be send to a bank account, but since I have none, I get my payment in cash.
It was quite a sum, I had expected a lot less..
This meant I had quite some savings already, if it continued like this I could still manage a present from CeOX for my umma’s birthday!

This weekend there was no work for me to do at the CeOX Restaurant, that’s why I would pick up my old business of hanging on the streets.
I couldn’t possibly beg at the entrance of CeOX now..
What if Mr. Park found me there? I was sure to lose my job then..

So what should I do?
Wait.. I didn’t even have to beg again.. I was making money myself..

I decided I would go to the park, just to walk around..
Maybe I would buy an ice cream, if it wasn’t too expensive.
I was still very reluctant to buy anything if I didn’t need it that badly.

There weren’t that many people in the park, just a few families.
The weather was still nice for September, the sun was shining and it didn’t rain too much.
I plumped down on a bench and looked at the playing families.
Wouldn’t it have been nice if my family was like that?
Once I have a family of my own, I would definitely make it a happier one than my parents did.
I would give my all to keep the family together and loving!

Suddenly I saw the gang leader, walking hand in hand with a girl..
I almost didn’t recognize him, he seemed so different from before.
He seemed.. soft somehow.
It was my first time seeing him actually smiling, but that wasn’t what surprised me most..
The girl was gorgeous, almost like an angel!
There aren’t many girls I think of as beautiful, but she definitely was!
I felt like walking up to them and commenting her about her beauty..
Knowing that I would get in serious trouble with JunSu if I did so.
Of course he wouldn’t do anything as long as the girl was around, but when she wouldn’t be anymore, JunSu would track me down and make me suffer for speaking to his girl.

Up to three years ago, I had been in the street gang, actually..
JunSu wasn’t around at that time, but when he came around, I left the gang.
Before JunSu came, the gang wouldn’t deal in anything, we were just friends, spending our days together, organizing street performances and such to secure our existence.
When JunSu took over, it all changed..
JunSu and some of his friends, who had come along with him, had introduced a few lucrative “games”.
As I didn’t want to be part of it, I quit the gang and broke all contact.

After spending my weekend like I would have spend it, except for the begging-at-CeOX’-entrance-part, it was time for work again..
With my baggy uniform on, I went to the restaurant, ready for a day of food running.
As soon as I walked in I noticed again just how crowded the place actually was.
I quickly went to the kitchen to wash my hands and start running the food.

Somewhere halfway the morning the restaurant became quiet again, but it’s just an hour before the first customers come in for lunch.
In the time there still was I went to the kitchen..
Kitchens always have a calming effect on me, I don’t know why, but I guess I feel at home in a kitchen.

As I passed my colleague food runners, I heard them whispering something..
They all looked at me.
I turned and lifted my brows.
‘What are you talking about?’ I asked.
They all looked at me with pity now, they looked down on me and that just annoyed me.
One of them, probably the bravest, cleared his throat.
‘You’d better dress less like a beggar and more like a gentleman, or the new manager will surely fire you.. Heard CeOX’ new manager’s gonna change the staff..’
All of them were now nodding, clearly they all were unsure of their jobs here..
With me being the least likely one to stay, they had started picking on me to make themselves feel better, but I wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing..

Without bothering to notify where I was going to, I headed to the office of the new manager of CeOX.
If this self righteous bastard dared to judge his personnel by appearance and wealth, then I would let him hear my side of the story at least, before he could fire me!

I found the door to his office..
A paper was taped to the glass window of the door, it said: “Office of manager Shim”.
That should be his office!
Without any second thought, that might have been better in the end, I marched into his office, surprising him completely.
Err.. her?! Was manager Shim a woman? That couldn’t be right..
Still not over thinking my actions, I started to defend my job at the restaurant.
‘I know what you’re planning to do! Rumor has it you want to replace the whole restaurant staff! Maybe I am not much of a business man, but I’m not going to let you fire me without reconsideration! I want you to..’
‘Why are you bothering my secretary?’ a calm but decided voice asked.
I turned around to see the man that I served dinner at the restaurant last week, standing there with two cups of coffee in his hands.
So the female manager Shim, was just the secretary of the actual manager Shim..
I knew something wasn’t right!
Realizing now was the moment to defend my job, I started my monologue again, this time to manager Shim himself.
Unfortunately I didn’t say much more than the first time..
This time manager Shim had me kicked out of his office!

________~END OF CHAPTER 5~________