Chapter 40: Waiting for Tomorrow
Ha Giyeon stared at the floor, trying to calm the queasiness in his stomach.
There was no strength in his legs. He couldn’t breathe properly. The trembling wouldn’t stop. The world felt like it was spinning.
From the moment Ha Dohoon had grabbed his throat, his mind had half-shut down. Memories that had been buried deep—memories of trauma—began playing in his head like short, silent films.
A few years after he’d run away from home, he’d gotten a job at a factory introduced to him by a man from a construction site.
It was the kind of place where you moved like a machine, without pause. Lunchtime existed in name only. Even when he managed to eat, it was so rushed it left him nauseated, or barely felt like eating at all. He lost weight rapidly, but even while working himself to the bone, Ha Giyeon endured. Because that factory provided room and board.
The room was barely big enough to lie down in, but at least it didn’t have someone pounding on the door screaming to let them in, or rough panting from the next room over. He got beaten often for being too slow, but still, it was better than the goshiwon.
He clung to survival and kept working.
He was the only young worker there. All the others who started on the first day had quit by evening. The only one who stayed and worked like a madman was Giyeon.
At first, the team leader cussed him out and hit him. But over time, he stopped raising a hand. Sometimes, he even told others to watch and learn from him.
When Giyeon finally began adjusting to the job, an opportunity came.
"You work hard and do well—that's why I'm recommending you."
"Thank you...!"