Managing the Korean entertainment industry: I have superpowers, but I won't say.

Chapter 2 The Oden Promise

The next day, Su Yu felt a little lightheaded when she went to work.

It wasn't the ecstatic joy of winning the lottery; it was the reassuring feeling of knowing someone is waiting for you to have dinner after get off work. Even though it was just oden, even though he was the one treating, and even though the other person was a female idol he'd only met once.

But I was in a really good mood.

At three in the afternoon, the shop was deserted, almost empty. The air conditioner was still not working, and although Boss Park kept saying "I'll fix it tomorrow," his body betrayed him by not moving. Su Yu was too lazy to urge him anymore. He grabbed a bottle of ice water, pressed it to his forehead, and lingered next to the freezer, scrolling through his phone.

The door opened.

"Welcome," he shouted reflexively, without even lifting his eyelids.

The footsteps paused in front of the oden pot, the lid was lifted, and steam hissed out. Then, the footsteps moved to the cashier.

Su Yu looked up.

Shirley.

I wasn't wearing a hat today; my hair was loosely tied in a low ponytail. I was wearing a black face mask, a white T-shirt, jeans, and canvas shoes. I was holding a paper cup with two skewers of fish cakes and one skewer of rice cake inside.

"Why aren't you wearing a hat?" Su Yu asked.

"I'm not wearing makeup today." Shirley pulled down her mask, revealing a clean face. "Wearing a hat would make me look like a thief, too conspicuous."

Su Yu glanced at her. She really wasn't wearing makeup. Her eyebrows were light, and her lips were almost bloodless, but her skin was ridiculously good, fair with a pinkish tinge, like a peach just taken out of the refrigerator, and the kind that's ridiculously expensive.

"What are you looking at?" Shirley glared at him.

"See if you haven't washed your hair."

"It's washed!"

"Then why does it look oily?"

Shirley instinctively touched her bangs, then realized she'd been tricked and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Why are you so cheeky?"

"It's congenital, there's no cure." Su Yu scanned the code, "1800."

Shirley pulled out two thousand dollars and slammed it on the table. "Keep the change."

"Two hundred yuan tip?" Su Yu took the money, then took out two hundred-yuan coins from the drawer and pushed them back. "Keep them safe. I don't accept tips; I'm afraid they'll shorten my lifespan."

Shirley stared at him for a second, then grabbed the coin back, picked up her oden, and sat down by the window. Su Yu continued wiping the counter, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that she ate very politely, even handling the bamboo skewers very carefully.

A few minutes later, Shirley finished eating, threw the paper cup and bamboo skewers into the trash can, and walked to the recycling counter.

What time do you get off work?

"Eight o'clock."

"That's five hours left."

"Um."

"Standing for so long every day, don't your legs get tired?"

"Useless."

"Then let's find another job."

Su Yu glanced at her. "You'll introduce us?"

Shirley paused, taken aback. "Where am I supposed to find that for you?"

"That settles it."

Shirley was speechless, and pouted. "You're so hard to talk back to."

"Then don't answer."

Shirley stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly laughed in exasperation. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"What do you mean, intentional?"

"He deliberately killed the conversation so I'd leave quickly."

Su Yu didn't speak, but the corners of his mouth curled up very subtly.

Shirley rolled her eyes, pulled a slip of paper from her pocket, and slapped it on the counter. "This is my phone number. I don't know where you put yesterday's."

"I didn't throw it away."

"Did you save it?"

Su Yu fell silent. He hadn't kept it, but he hadn't thrown it away either; the piece of paper was still lying in the inner pocket of his wallet.

"I knew you hadn't saved it." Shirley pushed the note towards her. "Save it now."

Su Yu picked up her phone and slowly entered the number.

"It's saved."

Send a message.

"what?"

"I've confirmed that the data was saved correctly."

Su Yu typed a line: "Confirm." and sent.

Shirley's phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out, glanced at it, nodded in satisfaction, and pulled her mask up.

"I'm leaving. There's still filming tonight."

"Um."

Shirley walked to the door and glanced back at him. "I won't be coming tonight. Tomorrow."

"OK."

The door closed. Su Yu stood behind the cashier, looking at the newly saved number on her phone—the original contact name was "Shirley," but she changed it to "Tsui the Sharp-Tongued" with her finger hovering in mid-air.

He smirked and put his phone in his pocket.

Yoon Shi-yoon arrived around 4 PM.

He was still wearing that dark blue T-shirt, and the bruises on his face had mostly faded, turning into an ambiguous pale yellow, like a banana peel nearing its expiration date. He took a bottle of sports drink and placed it on the cashier's counter.

"1500." Su Yu scanned the code.

Yin Shiyun handed over two thousand, and Su Yu gave him change.

"No chance again?" Su Yu asked.

"There will be some tonight." Yoon Shi-yoon unscrewed the cap and took a sip. "In between."

"Do you come here every spare moment?"

"It's close by here."

Su Yu didn't ask any more questions. Yin Shiyun walked to the window seat and sat down, the same seat Shirley had just been sitting in. Su Yu noticed that his gaze swept over the oden paper cup marks that hadn't been cleared from the table, but his eyes didn't show any change.

About ten minutes later, Yoon Shi-yoon stood up, threw the empty bottle into the trash can, and walked to the cashier.

"That woman from before, is she here again?"

Su Yu was taken aback. "How did you know?"

"There are water stains on the windowsill. She drank banana milk." Yoon Shi-yoon pointed to the corner of the cashier's counter. "And there's an extra note on your cashier's counter, the kind with a number on it."

Su Yu looked down. The note with the number written by Shirley was still under the cash register mat, with a corner peeking out.

"...You have a really good eye for observation."

"The basic skills of an actor." Yoon Shi-yoon finished speaking, pushed open the door, and left.

Su Yu watched his retreating figure. The light beneath his feet was almost invisible in the bright afternoon sun, like some kind of illusion that could be extinguished at any moment.

Around 5 o'clock, Boss Park came out from the back. He was wearing a plaid short-sleeved shirt today, and his hair looked like it had just been cut, so short it was quite eye-catching.

"Did the boss get a haircut today?"

"Hmm. My daughter said I look old and told me to tidy myself up." Boss Park scratched the back of his head. "The wedding is next month; I can't embarrass her."

"You need to dye it. You have too much gray hair, it looks like it's been hit by frost."

Boss Park glared at him. "How dare you talk to the boss like that?"

Su Yu smiled but didn't reply.

Mr. Park stood by the cashier, looking out at the street. "That guy from earlier, the one who comes here often, what was his name again?"

"Yoon Shi-yoon".

"actor?"

"Yeah. Just an extra."

"There's something about him," Boss Park suddenly said.

Su Yu's heart tightened. "What is it?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it," Boss Park shook his head. "It's just... different from others. He's been here so many times, but I still can't remember what he looks like. But every time he leaves, I can feel that the store is a little less lively."

Su Yu didn't reply. Of course he knew what Yin Shiyun possessed—nothing. No wires, only light.

But he also felt the same way about what Boss Park said about "something being missing." That sense of presence was as thin as water vapor, intangible, but it definitely existed.

Around 7 PM, Kim Min-jun sent me a message: "Choi Eun-jung spoke to me first today!!!"

Su Yu replied, "Oh."

Kim Min-jun: "She asked me if I was free on the weekend."

Su Yu: "What did you say?"

Kim Min-jun: "I said yes!"

Su Yu: "And then?"

Kim Min-jun: "She said we should go see a movie together this weekend."

As Su Yu looked at the message, the yellow thread Kim Min-jun had left in the dorm came to mind. The end of the thread was already a bright orange, like a red-hot iron wire.

Su Yu: "Congratulations."

Kim Min-jun: "It's not done yet!"

Su Yu: "Soon."

Kim Min-jun sent a smiley face. Su Yu put down her phone.

At eight o'clock, Su Yu clocked out of get off work. As she walked out of the convenience store, her phone vibrated.

Cui, known for his sharp tongue, said: "Filming is finished for today. I'm exhausted."

Su Yu: "Then let's go to sleep."

Cui, with her sharp tongue: "Eat your food before you sleep. What about you?"

Su Yu: "Just got off work."

Cui, with his sharp tongue: "Have you eaten?"

Su Yu: Not yet.

Cui, with his sharp tongue, said, "Then you should go eat."

Su Yu: "Too lazy to do it."

Choi, with his sharp tongue: "Don't convenience stores have rice balls?"

Su Yu: "I'm tired of it."

Cui, with his sharp tongue, said, "You're really hard to please."

Su Yu looked at the message and his lips twitched slightly. He walked to the convenience store entrance, grabbed a tuna rice ball, tore open the packaging, and took a big bite.

Then I took a picture and sent it to Shirley.

Cui, with her sharp tongue, retorted: "Didn't you say you were tired of eating it?"

Su Yu: "When you're starving, you'll eat anything, including your nonsense."

Cui, the sharp-tongued one, said: "...You're really something."

Su Yu didn't reply. He stood at the convenience store entrance, finished his rice ball, and lit a cigarette.

My phone vibrated again. Cui, the sarcastic one, sent a moon emoji.

Su Yu glanced at it for a few seconds. He didn't reply.

He finished his cigarette and walked towards the semi-basement.

As he stepped onto the stairs, the motion-sensor light came on. The bright white light was blinding; he squinted, fumbled for his keys, and opened the door to go inside.

Water is still dripping from the ceiling. Drip. Drip.

He lay in bed, looking at the water stains on the ceiling.

Nothing special happened today. Sulli came, we ate oden, exchanged a few words, and then she left. Yoon Shi-yoon came, had a drink, sat for a while, and then left. Kim Min-jun texted to say he got a date with Choi Eun-jung. Boss Park said his daughter is getting married.

But Su Yu felt that something was slowly changing.

He couldn't explain it.

He closed his eyes. In his mind were the black lines on Shirley's body, the light under Yoon Shi-yoon's feet, Boss Park's words "something is missing," and the black lines on the middle-aged man in the suit that twitched.

He didn't know if there was any connection between these things. But he knew he would find out someday.

The phone lit up again. Cui, ever the sarcastic one, said, "I'm coming over for oden tomorrow. Don't give me anything expired."

Su Yu replied, "Okay. Fresh."

She replied instantly: "Goodnight."

Su Yu: "Good night."

He put his phone next to his pillow and turned over.

The summer of 2013 was still fucking long.

But it doesn't seem to be that long anymore.