Chapter 98
“This place should be okay, right?”
Operating a pink machine with cute drawings on it in a corner of the park, Mr. Kim, the cotton candy vendor, let out a worried sigh.
It had been three days since he had started his business, learning how to make cotton candy and acquiring a machine after losing his job.
The cotton candy business, which he had thought would be easy, was tougher than he expected. He had thought he could just set up his machine anywhere and start selling, but most places had turf wars with nearby merchants. People who looked like gangsters would come and demand protection money. People in black clothes would come and kick his machine, throw cigarette butts into his sugar container, and cause trouble.
Although they didn’t resort to direct violence, it was enough to instill fear in Mr. Kim, who had lived his life as a diligent and honest office worker. Mr. Kim left the place as if fleeing, not even daring to try to stand his ground or argue.
Immediately after that, he had sought refuge here, a place where he thought there would be absolutely no turf wars or protection money.
Since it was a secluded corner of the park where people rarely passed by, let alone gangsters demanding protection money, no one even bothered to look at Mr. Kim. It might be a safe place, but there was no way he could do business in such a location. Mr. Kim knew that. But just imagining another confrontation made his heart sink. He was too scared to go to a crowded place.
But, if this was the case, was there any point in continuing to sell cotton candy?
“When I was young, I just thought it was romantic and cool…….”
Mr. Kim, who was making a sample cotton candy, mumbled with a gloomy expression.
He had chosen the cotton candy business as a means of livelihood after losing his job because of a childhood memory.
As a child, Mr. Kim loved cotton candy. He especially loved watching it being made, and he would watch for hours without realizing how much time had passed. It was fun and fascinating to watch the cotton candy vendor skillfully twirl a wooden stick, and clouds of cotton would stick to it, growing into a round shape. It was like magic, and the cotton candy vendor looked as cool as a magician. There was a time when he thought he would become a cool cotton candy vendor like that when he grew up.
Mr. Kim, who had been in despair after his sudden unemployment, suddenly recalled that time.
Thinking he could fulfill that dream now, he suddenly felt energized. Thanks to that, he was able to overcome his despair and gather the strength to prepare for his startup.
However, the cotton candy business, once started, was not so cool. It was a miserable job where he had to constantly run away, wary of nearby merchants and gangsters.
Was the cotton candy vendor he saw as a child actually in the same situation as him? No, perhaps he was even someone who was kind to customers but caused trouble for other cotton candy vendors, just as Mr. Kim had experienced.
Thinking that far, it felt as if even his childhood memories were being tainted. He wished he had never started the cotton candy business; then he could have at least kept those memories beautiful. Why did he have to start selling cotton candy, anyway……?
“Oh dear, how silly of me…….”
Tears welled up in his eyes without him realizing it, and Mr. Kim quickly wiped them away. He was embarrassed that he cried more easily as he got older. It was even more so because he was in a period of despair after unemployment, regretting the life he had lived.
“Huh?”
Mr. Kim, who was looking around to shake off the surging emotions, saw people walking in a line, dressed in black clothes. Mr. Kim was startled and froze.
“Guys, over there!”
The next moment, the man in sunglasses, who seemed to be their leader, pointed at him and shouted. At that, they all rushed towards him with excited expressions. It was a fierce momentum. They were undoubtedly gangsters.
“G-gangsters, how did they get all the way here?!”
Mr. Kim gasped, his face turning pale, and his hands trembled. Frustration that they had found him even in such a secluded place, and the fear of being subjected to terrible violence again, washed over him simultaneously. He felt like abandoning his machine and fleeing right then and there. But his legs had already given out, and he couldn’t even muster the courage to run.
While Mr. Kim was gripped by fear, the men quickly ran up to the machine and stopped right in front of it. Mr. Kim’s heart sank as the eyes behind the sunglasses looked at him. Soon, the people in black clothes surrounded the machine. This made Mr. Kim even more terrified. He was truly so scared that even standing was difficult.
Finally, the man in sunglasses opened his mouth and said,
“Mister, cotton candy, please!”
He said it in a cheerful voice.
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