Without any delay, we ran our way toward my house.

Arriving at my house, I quickly went to the living room, expecting someone to be there but unfortunately, there's no one.

How can I expect them to stay back again? They can't take two days off in a row.

"Woah! I'm inside Andy's house!"

Micheal was very excited as it was his first time coming to my house.

The young side of me won't allow Micheal to come to his house because he didn't want Micheal to see the state of his house.

He was embarrassed to let Micheal see how poor he is but I guess now he should realize it by now that Micheal won't judge anything.

He won't mind such small things.

With him adventuring around even though the house is small, I went and poured a glass of water for him and myself.

We decided to study on the sofa, it's much better than sitting on the floor which I usually did.

I started teaching well the basics but since Micheal did actually listen to the teacher's lecture, it made things much easier.

All I need is to re-explain the things that he didn't understand.

After studying for two hours, we rested for a bit while talking about the things that we've done in the past.

I reminded him of the things that he shouldn't do and corrected some that he misunderstood.

At least, I engraved something meaningful in his mind, separating the good and the bad, or else he will just follow everything I did mindlessly.

His mindset is simple, if I do it then he will do it too.

After teaching him 'things'. His mother came and fetch him, without any choice Micheal can only go home with his mother.

Now I'm alone in the house and have nothing to do. This is a great opportunity to find a job. I was supposed to do it yesterday but didn't have the chance to.

Looking at the clock, it's almost 3 P.M. Father will come arrived home at 6 P.M, I still have three hours left.

I ran down the hill without any hesitation.

I know where to search for a part-time job. A job that's suitable for me.

The place I'll be going to was the convenience store.

This is the place where I'm working at previously when I screwed up my life.

Arriving in front of the convenience store, at the cashier counter there's an old man, sleeping while snoring loudly.

This is the reason he wanted someone to work for him, he's too lazy to work by himself.

I tapped on the table lightly, instantly waking up the sleeping old man from his nap.

"Huh?!?"

The old man's half-awake expression was quite amusing as always.

"What? Hmm, you want to buy something?"

"No."

"..."

"Then, why you're here?"

"I'm looking for a job."

"A job? I'm not hiring!"

...

What? He's not hiring?

Did he not thought of hiring? or Is he really not hiring?

"Are you sure?"

Hearing my question again, the old man frowned for a minute.

'Wait... if I hire this kid, there's no need for me to watch the cashier anymore. I can also go and play games at my internet cafe.'

'Right!!! Why didn't I think of it sooner? It's a good idea to hire someone!'

"Hmm, on second thought. I can hire you, but the salary is not high, you sure you want to work for me?"

"Yeah, I don't mind at all."

Money is important but working here is much more important.

Not only will I get good treatment from this old man, but I can use the cashier computer for free!

It's not good enough to play games but they're good enough for me to do something.

I can also optimize the computer with my skill so it can do things the way I wanted it to be.

Of course, I'll only use it for good use and only when I'm not working.

"You're quite tall for a kid aren't you but you still need a stool."

The old man brought me a wooden stool for me to stand. With it, I could properly reach the things at the counter, and talk to the customer, face to face without them looking under the counter.

"I'll teach you how things work first and you can start working without my supervision."

Afterward, he taught me how to scan items and put money on the register.

Though there are a few important things such as what to do if I'm unable to scan the items with the barcode scanner, how to remove the item that I scanned extra and many others mistake that I could've done.

Well, it's fine since I know what to do in those situations but he's as careless as usual, trusting unknown kid without thinking too much.

"You're a quick learner Eh~, You must have play computer before."

"Yeah, I've played one or two before."

"You know Cyber Cafe?"

"Yeah, I used to play there."

"Oh! Good, next time when you play at there search for me, there's no need for you to pay. After all, I'm the owner."

"Really!? Thanks!"

Not that I will go, either but thanks for it Old Man.

"Don't have too much hope, If there's a seat available I'll let you play if there's not you'll have to wait."

"Un."

"You watch the store okay? 6 P.M I'll return to close the shop."

I nodded my head and the old man left with his motorcycle, heading toward his internet cafe.

-----

[Lee's POV]

"Yesterday, you suddenly take a day off and today you look very happy."

"What happened to you these few days?"

Hearing his question I coughed lightly, telling him will be the same as bragging how good my son was but there's nothing wrong being proud of my own son right?

"You know, My son starts to study. He used to play around at the school but now he's diligently studying."

"That's all? I thought you won TOTO or something." (Note: TOTO is a gambling game, where you buy 4-digit number. It's quite famous in SEA.)

What do you mean that's all... he didn't just study on a whim. He's studying for a whole day, that's not a normal kid would do in this era.

'Thankfully he didn't win TOTO or he'll be sure not to follow me. With this, I still have a chance to convince him to follows me.'

"By the way, have you think about the offer I said?"

Oh, his offer, I almost forgot about it.

I was thinking of Andy the entire time that I forgot about his offer.

Now that he's diligently studying, there's no need for me to try to earn more money right?

Before, I was worried that he'll fail and was forced to stay back one extra year or maybe more.

But since that possibility was gone, the saving in my bank should be used to make them as happy as possible, including Mervin.

He's the most hardworking son. Two times more hardworking than Andy.

I've never got to thank him properly as his father.

With this, I could use the money to put proper food on the table.

Maybe I should buy a computer for them? They could share the computer, though I doubt Mervin will be using it though...

Ah... I was thinking of something else again.

I should just reject him directly.

"I don't think it's a good idea so I'll probably just stay here."

Yeah, this is probably for the best.

'What? Lee is rejecting it? I thought he used to always complain about getting more money. With this opportunity I offered, he shouldn't have rejected it.'

'Did he actually win TOTO and hides it from me?'

"Hey, I don't know what you're thinking but this is a good opportunity to earn big money. We're talking about millions of rupiah in a month!"

"We're borrowing money from someone right? It's not like everything we earned is all ours."

'Since when, Lee was this smart?'

'Shit... I thought he's easy to be fooled, I already told them that I want to loan that money. I can't take that back if I did they'll force me to pay more money.'

'I need to think, how can I pull him in?'

"Hey what about this? You'll take 60% of the earning and I'll take only 40%, not a bad deal right? Since you're a hardworking person, this is a must that I need to give."

I don't know if he realized it, but right now he looks desperate as he tries to convince me.

This makes things more suspicious.

"We should go back to work. I don't want the boss to see us slacking."

I left before he could say anything else, leaving him speechless and despaired.

'I'm doomed.'

Time passed quickly and the workshop finally closed.

I received a bonus of today's hard work from the boss and went home.

While riding my motorcycle, on the road, I suddenly thought of my kids again.

Maybe I should stop at a convenience store and buy something for them.

On the way, I encountered many small convenience stores but all of them closed already.

I was disappointed but coincidentally as I wanted to go up the hill and return empty-handed, there's one that's still open.

I parked my motorcycle outside the store. As I walked in I was greeted by the cashier.

"Welcome!"

I didn't look at the cashier but weird...

Since when there's someone that greets the customer when they walked in?

Weirder is that his voice sounds familiar.

I continue to walk, looking for an item that both of them might like.

Do they prefer snacks? or sweets?

There's so many to choose, I don't know which one should I choose.

Maybe I can ask the cashier, he should know the kids' preferences.

"Um, Do you know what kids like to eat?"

"I'm looking for something for my children."

While talking to the cashier, I wasn't looking at him, I'm looking at the sweets selection near the counter.

"I recommend Beng-Beng, it's popular among the kids, it's a sweet chocolate wafer bar."

"There's also a savory snack called Chuba, it's also popular among kids."

"I see. I see. I'll get both, give me two of them each."

The cashier jumps off from the stool, went to fetch the items and returned to the counter.

Buzz*

Buzz*

The sounds from the barcode scanner were heard yet, I was still thinking whether should I get these weird-looking sweets or not.

Only until the cashier spoke again, I turn and look at him.

"It's 5000 Rupiah."

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Here you... go? Andy?!?"

"Haha, you finally realized it was me."

I was really impressed by how Father managed to not look at the cashier, from the beginning until he pays the item.

It's fine that my father finds out that I'm working here. I can't hide it for too long anyway. He'll discover it sooner or later.

With this, there's no need for me to explain it to him.

"Why are you here?"

"From today onwards after school, I'll be working here."

"I'll be helping out from today."

Lee was speechless, he didn't know what to do.

'Should I scold him for staying late outside or praise him for trying to help the family.'

In the end, he didn't say either of them but instead, he replied,

"Don't work too hard, I'll wait for you at home."

"Un, I'm just waiting for the owner to come and then I'll go back home."

Lee left without saying anything more while holding a bag of snacks he bought.

Shortly after Lee left, the old man finally returned.

"I'm so sorry kid, the game was too intense that I forgot about the time."

"Hmph, here is your pay and this is the compensation for me being late."

The old man handed me a total of 10000 Rupiah.

I received the first money I earned myself in this life.

It wasn't much but I'm proud of it or should I say my young-self was proud of myself.

"If you're free tomorrow, you should come. I'll gladly hire you again."

"I will if I have the time!"

With the money on my hand, I gladly returned home with a proud smile on my face.