BETTER (norenmin)

Chapter 5

Monday Morning
Mid June 2019
Northern Seoul, South Korea
The Huang's New House

Renjun woke up from the sound of his third alarm. He wasn't used to having to wake up against his own will.

As he was reaching to snooze it once again, his mom knocked on his door.

"Renjun sweetie, I'm headed off to work. How are you? Are you excited?" She asked, sitting on the edge of his bed and running her hand through his mess of hair.

"I'm nervous."

It was the first day of his new summer job. He and Chenle haven't really branched out or even left the house yet.

They've been there for two weeks now and Renjun's been searching for a job and even applied to a community college near the house.

He scored a job at a Baskin Robbins that he can walk to.

Not exactly the aesthetically pleasing, quaint and mysterious old book store he secretly dreamed of working in... but hey, discounted ice cream is a pretty good trade.

"I get it. I was nervous for my first day too last week. But I promise, good things are coming. I can feel it."

She kissed the crown of his head and left for her own work day.

I sure hope so.

He was snapped out of his worries by the sound of his alarm ringing, forgetting that he snoozed it once again.

He finally got up and ready for work.

As he stood in front of his full length mirror, tightening his tie. He paused.

This month marks a year since he last got ready for anything.

A year since he was left hanging.

Who knew one year later I'd be in a different country, applying to a new school, starting a new job? Recovering...

This is the fresh start I've been wanting... I guess. Ugh.

On the walk to his new work place, he admired the tall green trees surrounding him. He could see mountains in the distance. The sun was still rising and the morning air was surprisingly cool for June.

The new place they called home was about 30km north of Seoul. It was a more natural and less crowded city, flushed with greenery and big open skies, but it wasn't too country either, it had all you could ever need.

As he neared the ice cream shop, the man who he met a few days ago for his interview was outside sweeping.

"Mr. Huang! Just the man I wanted to see, and right on time too." He excitedly said, shaking the younger boys hand. "You dressed a little fancy, though."

Renjun looked down at his dress shirt and tie.

"Sorry, I didn't know what to wear."

"I like it! You like to make a good impression, that's good. We have our own work uniforms here, though. There's a small sized one in a plastic bag in the employees closet. Go ahead and get changed. We open in 15."
He patted Renjun on the back before continuing to sweep and singing a beautiful tune under his breath.

He's a bright and kind man. Not much older than Renjun himself. His name is Moon Taeil, the brilliant top student at Hanyang University in Seoul, who also worked as a manager at his family's Baskin Robbins shop in this little Northern town during his summers.