Chapter 01. Rooftop House

Crackle, bang!

Thunder crackled among the clouds, inviting loud booming sounds above Itaewon district, as if the sky about to fall at any moment. A while later, rains gushed out in torrents off the roofs, creating pools of water on the pavement. People began to take shelter in a rush. Soon, the street was devoid of pedestrian. Amidst the silent street in a corner of Seoul, a construction truck pulled over then a man wearing a white construction worker suit jumped down from the back.

"Hyung-nim,, thanks for the ride. Call me anytime if you have other job.. "

The truck driver, A middle-aged man in a dirty worker suit, grinned while flexing his big fist.

"You brat, dont you dare go back on your words. I like passionate young man like you the most. Hahaha "

After saying this, the middle-aged man kicked the pedal hard, bringing the truck roaring through the rain, inviting severe curses from the nearby people who got splashed. The young man shook his head, wondering if he would be okay driving like that. On a second thought, the old man had been a driver for almost thirty years, or so he said. So, he should be fine, right?

SPLASH!

Another speeding car went by, right through the pool of water in front of him, dragging the young man a way back to reality. With a curse, the young man ran to the nearby building along with the other pedestrians.

...***...

Twenty minutes later, the hard rain finally stopped. People began to resume their activities and so with the young man in white construction worker suit. At first, the young man decided to take a shortcut through the small alley between the two buildings behind, as usual. But then he remembered that he already ate the last egg at home this morning. He walked for another two blocks before stopping in front of a convenience store.

"Welcome,, ah, Ren-Oppa!"

As soon as Ren went in, a girl in part-timer uniform gave him a warm welcome. Her monolid eyes brightened up when she saw him, while a smile pasted on her cherry lips.

"Yo, Cho Ye Na-ssi, why are you still here? Its almost 7 p.m. I thought your shift ended an hour ago."

"Seok-goo Oppa is late because of the rain. But he said hell be here soon. Ah, how many times do I have to tell you,, Oppa should call me Ye Na! Ye Na! "

She was Cho Ye Na, the daughter of the building owner where Ren lived for the last five months. She was a 2nd year student in Hanlim High School, one of prestigious school in Seoul. Eventhough her family could be considered as a well-off one, Ye Na still wanted to earn her own money. She was a hardworking girl indeed. If only she would apply her passion in her study too, Yena could get less scolding from her parents.

"Alright. Alright, im just messing with you. I need to buy some eggs. "

"Eggs again? There are some fresh meats in our hallal corner too. "

"Are you teasing me? You know that Im too poor to buy meat."

She pointed her finger to one end of the shelves. An independent shelf where variety of halal product could be seen. Apparently, the store where she worked at was one of the few stores in Seoul which sold halal-certified product. It was also the main reason Ren met with Ye Na in the first place and was offered the place at her dads building.

"Lets see, a pack of eggs, a bag of rice, oh,, this brand is nice! What? That expensive?. Damn, why cant the government lower the tax for overseas products? . . . "

Ren grumblingly picked his needs. Actually, he didnt buy much. Besides eggs, Ren also bought some noodles, a bag of rice, and new umbrella since the one he had was . . . well, he left it in a sub-way this morning. As usual.

"17.600 won. Oppa, it seems you eat less and less. You have to take care of your health. Here, take this bottle of vitamin. Its on me."

Yena gave a wink and put a big bottle of vitamin in Ren-s bag. He could only smile wryly, as he knew with her personalities, she would not accept a no. Even though Yena was five years younger than him, she was so attentive, kind and caring. It reminded him of his late mother.

"Thanks, Yena. Ill treat you some meat later."

"Pfft. With that pitiful wage of yours? Dream on.. "

Ren scratched the back his head. Actually, he wanted to correct her, as today was his last job with Daeshan Construction. Starting tomorrow, he needed to find another job. Then again, it will only made him looked even more pitiful.

"Alright then, Ill head home first. Bye"

Without waiting for Yena's reply, Ren ran out of the store. The night already fell but he hadn't had his Isya yet. The lucky thing was that it only took him about five minutes running to get to his home. Well, not his real home of course.

Ren soon arrived in front of a four storied-building. It was not that kind of large apartment complex, but your typical old-style one with some stores on the lowest floor and some rooms for rent in the upper floors. As for Ren, well his room was none of the four floors.

After spending some time on the staircase, Ren arrived on the top floor. With a push of his shoulder, he opened the door, and soon greeted by the cold wind of December.

Although the rain had stopped some time ago, but there was still some splashes brought by the wind here and there. He went out the door and headed straight to one corner of the rooftop. There, a small house(?) could be seen. It used to be a shed, but Ren transformed it into its current form.

At the beginning when he moved to this building, he planned to rent a normal room. But when he saw the rooftop, he changed his idea. After bargaining back and forth with Mr. Cho Myu Hyun, Yenas father, Ren got to rent the entire top floor. Although the price was a little bit more expensive than if he rented the normal room, Ren thought it was worth it. He still remember his late mothers dream of having a house.

Although it was just a rooftop, a rented one, with its own sky, it still gave him the illusion of having a real house, instead of living in some closed room in a building. He spent almost two months working on the rooftop, changing the shed, and adding some extension space to make it larger.

His effort finally paid off. He now own(rent)ed a small house, with its own kitchen and bathroom. He also made a small green house to plant some vegetable and flowers, like what his family used to do back in his hometown in a village in Busan. Ever since then, he liked to call the building as greenhouse, as in blue house of the state.

Clack. The door was opened as soon as he pressed the code.

"Mom, Im home. I havent had my Isya yet.. Ill tell you later that today was . . . "

On the rooftop of a four-storied apartment, a small semi-wooden house was stood there.

...***...

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