I'm Fine | Beyond The Scene™

PART 3

Part 3:
Stigma

Kim Tae Hyung

"Taehyung, take this bowl of ramen... Here is your salary for the week. Your duty here in the store is done for the day." mister Lee said as he handed me an envelope and a tray with a bowl of steaming ramen, he is the owner of the convenience store where I was working as a cashier.

"Thank you very much mister Lee, this is too much you should have not even bothered preparing me a bowl of ramen... Can I sit there in the corner as I eat this bowl of ramen while it's still hot?" I asked with my usual boxy smile as he nodded his head.

"You can, you know that me and my wife had always treat you as a son. How about your work as a photographer? I hope it's not getting in the way with your shift here in the store..." he asked as he joined me on the way to the corner with tables as the one who will relieve me went to his position in the cashier.

"You know that the studio are the ones who calls me when they need me mister Lee, I need a part time job because I feel so bored at my apartment waiting for their calls which only happens three to four times a week for two to four hours only in a day. The rest is my free time." I said partly complaining about my job that made him chuckle.

I am a photographer at a private studio, but they only needs me ten to sixteen hours only in one week, aside for some private photo shoots and outdoor shoots and I don't want to stay in my apartment doing nothing so I applied as a cashier at a nearby store.

That's where I was acquainted with mister Lee and his wife which had treat me as their son for the past year. But I don't live with them, they just provide me with some stuffs that I didn't even ask for.

Actually, I had a different job when I first move in this neighborhood. But I quit my job after three years of work in there and became a photographer since photography is my hobby. And I have been enjoying that kind of life from then.

After two months of being a photographer, I applied as a cashier in this store since I got easily bored at home doing nothing. Good thing the owner accepted me and gave me a shift that is comfortable with my other work.

"Eat well kid, you should be healthy as a bull. I need to get going because my wife is already waiting for me at home. See you around!" mister Lee said as we came across an empty table with a chair in the side of the store still located still at the inside.

We parted ways as he went outside of the store while I stayed at the side to eat the ramen that mister Lee had prepared for me. He always do that when he knows that I am about to get off of work after my shift.

I feel indebted to him and his wife because they were taking care of me ever since I moved to the neighborhood as I reminded them so much of their son who died four years ago. Plus they are extra nice to me, and I've already seen them as somehow my parents.

"Wah, they really make a simple ramen into a mouth watering one... Smells delicious!" I said as I inhaled the scent of the ramen coming from the bowl. The elder couple do really cook well and I am one of those few people who receives delicious lunch boxes from them.

I immediately grab the chopsticks after placing the envelope in my pocket which contains my salary that if I know is more than enough than my usual wage. I had always told them to give me just the right amount or lower, I am not that short really.

I started digging into the food while looking at the small mirror on top of me. It was placed in the corner so that you could have a view of the whole store. Being alone made me miss my friends.

We had had separated ways when one of us went overseas to study, I have never contacted them since then. I mean maybe they change their digits or something. They decided to move away from each other and I have no fights against it, it was their decision.