Chapter 7

7

Gugunho's Job (3)

It was Saturday. Gugunho took his luggage out of the dormitory and loaded it into his car.

"Wow, I didn't realize I had so much stuff. I didn't notice when I was in the room."

He had to make three trips to the parking lot to load all his belongings, which included outdated clothes, a laptop, blankets, books, and more. He had to discard some books and the leftover soju in the fridge, which he found a bit wasteful. As he was panting and moving his luggage, his aunt called.

"Gunho? You haven't been going to church lately, have you? People need faith."

While he was busy moving his stuff, his aunt gave a long sermon about going to church.

"I'm busy moving my stuff right now. Let's talk later."

"Oh, you're moving? Where are you going? It seems like you're going somewhere good. God has a plan for our lives. If you tell me the address, I'll come visit. There's a church nearby, right? God blesses those who believe in Him."

He wanted to end the call quickly, but her chatter was driving him crazy. He just kept saying "Yes, yes" to avoid further trouble.

"Are you listening? You must go to church. Oh, by the way, did you go to the Gangnam Philosophy Hall I told you about? You didn't go?"

"I don't believe in that kind of thing."

It seemed like his aunt talked for about 30 minutes before hanging up.

"I shouldn't have answered her call... But why does my aunt, who is a church deacon, go to fortune tellers?"

Gugunho laughed at his aunt's behavior. After moving into his new room, he lay down, feeling relieved despite the effort. He went out to buy jajangmyeon and came back to lie down again.

"Since it's Sunday tomorrow, should I go to Bucheon to see my friends? No, let me check if the internet works first."

The new place already had internet, which was a plus. These days, a room won't rent well unless it has a refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner, and internet.

"The internet is fast, which is good. Let me think. Should I search for the Gangnam Philosophy Hall my aunt mentioned? She said it was called Jinje Philosophy Hall, right?"

Since philosophy halls also do advertising, a search on the internet brought up the location and phone number of many philosophy halls. There were a lot of them.

"Wow, there are so many philosophy halls in Korea. I wonder how they all make a living."

He found Jinje Philosophy Hall, and the representative phone number was listed.

"I'm bored, let me give them a call."

After a few rings, a gruff old man's voice answered.

"Yes, this is Jinje Philosophy Hall."

"Can I speak to the director?"

"I am the director."

"Oh, really? I was wondering if you're open tomorrow, which is Sunday?"

"We don't do consultations on Sundays. I go to the mountains on Sundays."

"Oh, you go hiking?"

"It's not hiking. I go to pray in the mountains."

"Pray in the mountains? Oh, I see. I'll come another time, then."

Gugunho hung up and chuckled.

"Pray in the mountains? That's funny. Hiking and praying in the mountains. He's really trying to act like a sage. Anyway, let's see if he can help me figure out my messed-up life."

On Monday morning, he went to work. The executive told him to receive work instructions from Kim Bangjang. Kim Bangjang took Gugunho to the plastic drum cleaning area, not the injection molding room. The smell of chemical products was overwhelming.

"Once new employees join our company, they have to work in this area for a certain period."

"Isn't this the cleaning department?"

"We clean and crush the drums. After working in the cleaning and crushing departments, you'll move to the molding machines."

Gugunho was angry. He wanted to yell, "I came here to do injection molding, not to clean drums!" Kim Bangjang had a smile on his face, as if saying, "Do the work if you want to, or leave if you want to." Gugunho was in a dilemma since he had already moved his stuff. He wanted to confront the executive.

"I came here to do injection molding."

"I know. But our factory requires new employees to work in the cleaning and crushing departments for three months. I did the same when I first joined."

"Damn it!"

He held back his anger. The cleaning and crushing departments were smelly, and the crushing department was extremely noisy, leading to a high turnover rate. It was clear that they were using Gugunho as a temporary replacement. However, he thought that cleaning, though tiring, was simple labor. As long as his salary wasn't cut, it seemed doable.

"Alright, I'll do the cleaning."

In the cleaning department, a senior employee in his 50s was already working. The senior gave Gugunho rubber gloves and a sponge. The senior was expressionless and quiet.

"Pour the remaining chemical residue from the drums into this container. If the chemicals touch your skin, you'll get blisters and itches, so wear a mask. Be especially careful not to get the chemicals in your eyes."

"Damn it!"

He cursed and followed the senior's instructions. The senior cleaned the plastic drums with an air blower, sprayed a mixture of strange chemicals, and then cleaned them with steam. The final step, which Gugunho did, was to rinse the drums with water. After cleaning 100 drums, the sky turned yellow, and his back ached so much he felt like he was going to die.

"Can I take a break?"

The senior looked at him with surprise, as if to say, "Take a break for this little task?"

"Take a break if you want. Usually, we straighten our backs after 2 hours, but there's not much time left, so try to finish if you can."

The senior, much older than Gugunho, kept working without a break. He seemed to have a lot of energy, built up from years of labor.

"Doing this all day is making my head spin."

After work, Gugunho collapsed in his room.

"I should have become a 9th-grade civil servant..."

Not becoming a civil servant was a lifelong regret. If he went back to Noryangjin, he would now grit his teeth and study until he passed.

"I... I... I must have deserved this punishment for not studying and just playing around when I was in school."

Gugunho felt sad.

"Doing this is making me sick and giving me depression. Ah! Let me drink some soju."

Gugunho, dressed in a tracksuit, went to a convenience store and bought three bottles of soju.

The next day and the day after, Gugunho only cleaned drums. His arms and neck ached, and his back hurt even more. He even bought and applied pain relief patches.

"I have to change jobs."

Despite this thought, he felt a sense of resignation, thinking that being an engineer would be the same wherever he went.

"The only reason I left the Pochon factory was because the salary was delayed, but the work was really easy..."

At the Pochon factory, he would go to an internet cafe after work and play games sometimes. Since moving to Yangju, he was too tired to play games and just drank soju and slept. He received text messages from some high school classmates, including news about a class reunion and a classmate getting married.

"Maybe I should give up on marriage?"

No matter how he thought about it, Gugunho felt that marriage was impossible for him. He didn't have a girlfriend, and his current lifestyle didn't seem to allow for building a family, and he didn't think it would change in the future.

"Is this going to be my life, just working in a small factory until the end... sigh."

Gugunho drank alone in his room every day. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he felt old and disliked himself. Suddenly, he remembered the Gangnam Philosophy Hall his aunt mentioned.