Chapter 1. Wang Yibo

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Chapter 1. Wang Yibo

Only a few lights were switched on in the bar. Soft music from some foreign rock star came through the speakers. Most of the tables in the small bar had been empty. Only four regular customers came that evening, but they too stayed just for a beer and then moved on.

Wang Yibo, who had just turned twenty-two, stood behind the bar counter and looked lost in thought at the door. He had been working for the owner of the bar for a year now. In the beginning he only worked on weekends, as he had no time during the week because of his studies. Later, as soon as he finished his studies, the owner hired him.

But this permanent position was now almost over. For three weeks the guests stayed away. Or rather since the whole street became a single construction site. The city administration informed residents and business owners only shortly before the street was closed on both sides and then torn up piece by piece.

For a week, the road builders worked ten hours a day and made the road impassable. But for two weeks now nothing has changed. Phone calls to the city administration had not helped, according to them there is a problem that needs to be solved first.

Secretly, however, the residents and business owners suspect that they want to drive them away. According to an informant they want to buy the land around this street and demolish everything to build a huge shopping center. The building authority and the city administration, as well as a lot of investors are working together and therefore the residents and business owners don't have a chance against them.

Only the evening before, Yibo's boss had told him that he can only keep Yibo until the end of the month. He simply could not afford to keep him there any longer. Due to the absence of the guests, there is no income. And because of the missing income, the owner of the bar can hardly pay the bills. For a permanent employee there was no money available.

For Yibo, who actually studied business administration and simply wanted to wait another year before looking for a job in a company, this was of course a dilemma. He also had to pay bills. The rent for his one-room apartment was not high, but if he had no salary, he would not be able to pay it. And without a family, because he had none left, he could not ask anyone for help.

As a rather unsocial person, Yibo had never had many friends. Or rather, he had only one good friend. The only one who had ever tried to look behind the façade of Yibo was Seungyoun. But he couldn't ask him for help either, because he supplies his parents with his salary.

So Yibo has no choice but to quickly find a new job. And he only had a few days left. The month would end in six days already and then he would get his last salary. And already now he knows that it will not be the full salary. He knew the owner's income well and knew that he had not even earned enough to pay the rent for his bar for another month.

Around midnight the owner of the bar called, asking Yibo how many guests came and how much the income was tonight. Then when Yibo gave him the bad news about the only four guests, he told Yibo to close the bar for the evening and go home.

Yibo left the bar half an hour later. He locked everything and then left through the back door. The light in the backyard was broken and so Yibo groped his way to his bike.

Slowly Yibo walked along the also torn up footpath with his bike and since the street lights were switched off here as well, he only had the small light on his bike that prevented him from stumbling and possibly getting hurt.

The winter was about to begin. It was already three degrees below zero and the air smelled of snow. The small river opposite the road was frozen on both sides, only in the middle there was a narrow strip through which the water flowed. But soon the ice cover would close and the water underneath would continue to flow unseen.

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