I am Smart

Chapter 5




I returned home and placed the dolls on the bed. Staring down at the two dolls filling the bed,

I threw myself onto it.

My face buried in the doll’s chest.

There, I touched the doll’s fluffy arms and stroked its face. Everywhere I touched was soft and plush.

“Phh.”

Turning my head to the side against the doll’s chest, I exhaled the breath I had been holding.

This is an experiment.

An experiment to see what feelings arise when looking at or touching a doll.

I wrapped my legs and arms around the doll and draped its arms around my waist.

I laid there for a while like that. A feeling of something being filled in a place deep inside my heart, a sensation that felt unfamiliar.

Hugging the large doll, I fiddled with the smaller one in my hand.

I spent several hours with the dolls.

“Hello.”

A middle-aged female clerk greeted me with a warm smile.

I sighed in relief that it wasn’t the clerk who messed up my calculation.

I nodded and went inside to find a product.

It was pads in a rectangular plastic package.

While searching through the house, I found all the basic supplies were stocked, but the only thing I was low on was pads. I had just one left.

I couldn’t imagine my body needing such things, but since it’s quite likely that it would, I decided to buy some in advance.

“2,500 won, please.”

“Yes.”

I handed my card to the clerk.

The clerk, who inserted the card into the terminal, showed an awkward expression.

“Um… excuse me, but your balance… Do you have another card?”

“What?”

Upon hearing that, for some reason, hazy memories flooded back to me like a montage.

Right, I should be running low soon.

I trudged into the house, holding a single plastic bag in my hand.

The clerk had picked out my pads along with a few extra ones and had rung them up for me. She said it was fine since I had cash at home, but she shook her head with an indescribable expression.

Holding my hand with her wrinkled one, she shared stories about how she had a similar experience when she was young.

I couldn’t fully empathize due to the gender difference, but I felt her warm heart deeply.

I repeatedly thanked her and returned home.

I had plenty of cash set aside for emergencies and food, so I wouldn’t go hungry.

Of course, if I managed it well, it would last about a month.

I stared blankly at my balance.

It had been quite a bit saved up. However, I had squandered it all in the year after I quit tutoring.

– If you bring it back within a week, I’ll refund you.

I recalled the boy’s words. I looked at the dolls on my bed.

A vivid picture of an empty bed without these dolls floated in my mind.

“…”

I hugged the dolls even tighter than before.

The experiment wasn’t over yet.

Being a woman doesn’t mean I can’t earn money, so let’s make some.

Once I made that decision, the first option that came to mind was tutoring.

It had been a while since I last did it, but I had earned enough for my living expenses and management costs all the way through after graduating middle school.

Tutoring is premium labor, so the pay is good.

After getting into a well-known university, with the advantage of being top of my class, I earned a good reputation among mothers with quite a high salary and additional bonuses.

Just as I was leaning towards tutoring,

My eyes suddenly fell on the books strewn across the table.

Then, I felt a slight dizziness.

“…”

No, I don’t want to tutor.

I could surely do perfectly well, but I just wasn’t in the mood for it right now.

I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try normal part-time work at least once.

The more I experience what I haven’t done, the broader my perspective will become.

I nodded and connected to the internet.

Looking at my physical strength, I thought it would be hard to do any laborious work, so I searched for indoor jobs.

Even limiting the search to a 100m radius and service industries yielded quite a few listings.

Most jobs had similar conditions.

I didn’t really want to work at a cafe or fast-food place; the clerks there mostly had tired expressions.

After filtering out the bad jobs, I found fewer listings than before.

One of them caught my eye.

[Restaurant server needed]

– Distance: 80m

– 2 PM to 8 PM

– Hourly wage: 10,000 won

“Hmm.”

The hourly pay and the distance from home were fine, but what stood out most was the working hours.

They weren’t too early or too late, and the hours seemed reasonable and comfortable.

I decided on this place. I made the call.

A family restaurant that guarantees decent quality and price for the common people.

In the dining area, a middle-aged manager and a young man sat facing each other as business hours came to an end.

The manager critiqued the young man’s application, flipping through the pages.

“Hmm. You’re 22 years old. Okay. Served in the military. Oh, a veteran. Good. You returned early, huh?”

“Yes. I was discharged last month.”

“And you have quite a significant work history in the same field. You’ve been working since you were 17.”

“I even have manager experience.”

“Oh… Nice. Good.”

The manager mumbled, nodding in satisfaction.

‘This is an ace.’

Such a candidate is hard to come by.

The manager checked the time. It was 8:41 PM.

One male and one female had contacted him regarding the job posting. The young man arrived early and started the interview first.

The other woman didn’t arrive even a minute past her scheduled time.

That was quite a significant negative factor.

‘No matter how well someone performs, if they lack sincerity, it’s over.’

Steadiness is the most basic requirement anywhere.

‘Besides, it’s rare to find someone with better experience than the guy before.’

While his shop didn’t urgently need an experienced worker, it didn’t mean that having one was unnecessary.

Just as the manager nodded to the young man, a hurried footstep sounded from beyond the door.

And shortly after, the door burst open.

A woman stood there, breathing heavily.

“Ah, I’m sorry for being late.”

She said.

The manager waved his hand dismissively, trying to tell her it was fine to just go back.

It was just a two-minute delay, but a delay is a delay; it was a very weak form of retaliation.

“Just…”

But, the hand that was raised dismissively and the lips trying to form a smile froze the moment she turned her head.

Both the manager and the young man stiffened in unison.

Only her rapid breaths filled the silence as a short moment passed.

The woman looked back and forth between the two, who were staring at her blankly.

“… I’m sorry.”

As if realizing the reason for the silence, she bowed her head and tried to close the entrance.

“No, no! Just come in and sit down.”

The dazed manager shot up and easily ushered her into a chair beside the young man.

He roughly skimmed through the documents the woman was holding and then scrutinized the woman sitting in front of him.

Despite the chair lacking a backrest, she sat up straight with her hands clasped together.

That wasn’t a habit that developed overnight.

“Wow…”

An unconscious admiration slipped from the manager’s lips.

Then he quickly regained his composure and spoke.

“You must have had an unavoidable circumstance that made you late, right? Let’s start the interview with the two of you. First, Si-hyun, why did you apply here?”

“Because I need to pay for my dolls.”

“Pardon?”

“Because I need to pay my rent.”

I returned home, fighting the urge to collapse right away, and after washing, changed into my pajamas.

Then, I leaped onto the bed, no, onto the dolls.

“…”

I turned to the side while hugging the dolls. The room was dark late at night.

I didn’t feel very good about that.

I probably didn’t get the job.

The specs of the man who interviewed alongside me were just too good, while mine felt too pathetic.

In every question, he had led over me. Experience and the confident words that came with it.

My academic background or tutoring experience didn’t hold any weight in serving.

The only thing I had going for me was my house being a bit closer.

I even left a document behind and ended up being late. I had never forgotten an item before.

“Phh.”

I exhaled the deep breath I took. It can’t be helped.

Even if I were the manager, I wouldn’t choose someone who was late while also lacking in experience.

“…”

Feeling a bit down, I rubbed my cheek against the doll’s nose.

Before long, my eyes started to close slowly.

The next day, I completed my morning routine just the same.

I woke up early, stretched, drank some tea, ran back and forth to wash my body.

I dried my wet hair, got dressed, and returned to the bed to roll around with the dolls while I turned on my phone.

There hadn’t been any messages about the interview results yet.

Surely, a notice of rejection without warning would come. I’d have to look for another place today.

But before that, I had something to do.

It was to take care of the two dolls. I wanted to know how people who own dolls manage them.

It would have been best to ask at the doll workshop, but today was Sunday, so it was closed.

Even though I received the boy’s business card, it would be rude to contact a client on a holiday.

I might as well wait until tomorrow when they open again.

But suddenly thinking that, much like sensitive animals or plants, maybe I should do something for them daily, I felt a little anxious.

I searched online and came up with various tips for doll care.

However, the shapes, sizes, and types of fur described varied widely, so I didn’t feel very confident.

Furthermore, each would have different materials they’re made of.

Was there no good place to directly post a photo and ask about it?

Thinking so, I typed “Doll Community” into the search bar and looked it up.

The first thing that appeared was a site with a blue icon.

[Doll Minor Gallery]

A DC that introduced me to the origins of the word donkey.

I knew it was a community site but wasn’t quite sure what kind of place it was.

After skimming it briefly, it looked like each gallery was a separate community.

I immediately hit the write button.

My nickname was set as “InGallery” and as for the password? Just to be safe, I made it something difficult.

I guessed I should take a real photo of the dolls. But inside my room, no photos came out right.

It seemed that the dim lighting was the problem.

After a bit of contemplation, I decided to take them to the bathroom. I turned on the light and made sure the sink was dry, then placed both dolls on it.

The bear doll was fine, but since the Bear Doll was large, I had to hold it and take a photo in front of the mirror.

Is this how you post a photo? Sounds right.

Then I just had to write about it below.

After finishing everything, I clicked the ‘Submit’ button.

―――

Do you know of any doll care methods like this?

(A photo of a woman in a fluffy white shirt and black dolphin pants, holding two dolls tightly on the sink)

I’m not particularly fond of it, but I ended up with dolls, and I want to know how to manage them.

―――

After confirming that my post was successfully published, I returned the dolls to the bed and took a quick drink of water.

When I opened my phone again, I noticed that there were stars next to my post and much more comments than I had expected.


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