Summer Job | p.jm

Chapter 12

The day after our swim day was a lot cooler so we decided to try our hand at fishing again.

But when I came out of the shack with all of the gear, I noticed my grandpa weakly leaning against one of the wooden pillars.

I dropped everything and ran to him.

"Grandpa?! Grandpa?!" I exclaimed.

I cupped his face in my hands to make sure he was still conscious.

"Ah, Junghwa. It-it's nothing sweetheart. J-just a small cough," my grandpa said.

But that cough wasn't any ordinary cough. It was those really wheezy and gross kinds.

"Gramps, I'm making an executive order that you aren't fishing today," I said.

He waved me off, "If I don't then Jimin will feel pressure to catch twice as much. He's like that."

"So I'll do it. Somehow. I'll figure it out. You need to rest grandpa," I said.

Ignoring his protests, I brought him inside the house and tucked him into bed.

"You just rest grandpa. Your health is more important. Don't worry, Jimin and I will figure it out," I reassured.

He tenderly held my hand, "I know you will sweetheart. Oh, by the way, today there will be another helper coming. She's a real estate agent's daughter and I thought it'd be good to accept her to get them off of my back, so look out for her."

I nodded, "Sure thing. Now get some sleep."

I headed back outside and picked up all the equipment I had dropped.

"Hey where the old timer?" Jimin asked, helping me with the equipment.

"He wasn't doing too hot so I forced him to rest. I'll try and help you out," I said.

I sat down at the edge of the dock and set up my fishing rod with the bait. At this point, I had gone nose-blind to the smell of fish, so it was easy to set everything up without gagging.

I cast the line out, waiting patiently for a fish to bite.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed that Jimin was moving quickly and catching fish at a rapid rate.

My grip on the rod tightened.

I have to do this right for grandpa.

And so I kept throwing the line out and readjusting the bait and switching areas around the dock to try and catch something, but it wasn't working. It was like the fish hated me.

I even stood up and tried to cast the line further out.

Fishing was a waiting game, but I didn't have time for that. I needed to catch as many fish as my grandpa did. Maybe even more.

While waiting I felt my line get snagged.

I responded hurriedly, spinning the reel firmly. It seemed like a big fish because the grip downward was so firm. But I kept at it, rooting my feet to the ground as I tried to pull the fish up.

Finally, I made progress and reeled the rod as much as possible.

But my smile turned into an immediate frown. Instead of seeing a fish on the hook, I saw an empty hook with no bait and no fish. The stupid fish got the bait off without even coming up to say hello.

Frustration overwhelmed me as I threw the rod down and groaned.

"What the hell?! Why won't this work?! I need to get this right but I can't! Why can't I do it?! Ugh! What the hell!" I exploded.