Part 0: Cloud Study

　　He looked at the sky because there was nothing else to do. Or because he didn’t want complicated thoughts crowding his head.

　　He didn’t just tilt his head back aimlessly; usually, he was looking for clouds. Something white and soft. Something drifting slowly along. At dusk they were pink, and sometimes they turned into dark storm clouds.

　　The point was to gather up his thoughts and set them adrift up there. To let them float away. Slow was fine, as long as they drifted away.

　　People told him he was tougher than he looked. It was the best kind of compliment, because whatever he did, physical stamina would always be his greatest asset. On days he received that compliment, he worked harder, smiled, and greeted people with more energy—yet there were times when no words registered and his body threw a fit, begging for rest.

　　That had been the case last week. A bout of body aches that normally would have cleared up after a shot at the clinic and a solid dozen hours of sleep had lingered for over a week. To make matters worse, that happened to be a week packed with large group reservations to celebrate the start of the semester.

　　Though he wasn’t a full-time regular, he wasn’t just a college kid working a seasonal gig either; as the longest-serving part-timer, he got scolded twice as hard whenever he made a mistake. Pushing through while feeling so run-down left him completely drained as soon as the lunch rush ended. Even with mountains of ingredients left to prep and organize before dinner, he had gauged the older kitchen ladies’ mood and slipped out for just an hour of rest, saying he was getting medicine. Of course, his pay would be docked.

　　When the body flagged, the mind started spiraling. Good grief, going nowhere fast, a late start to begin with, this will never end, how many years will it take… Thoughts like those crept in, and dwelling on them only deepened the gloom. It forced him to face the fact that, no matter how much he pretended otherwise, he had always lived with such foolish thoughts.

　　“Haah.”

　　So he looked up at the sky and searched for clouds. A vast, boundless world, a vault hazy one moment and bluish the next, at times gloomy, yet occasionally astonishingly high and crystal-clear. So distant it felt daunting, yet so distant it brought relief.

　　By the time he looked back down, he felt considerably refreshed. There had been nothing to overthink in the first place, and digging deeper would achieve nothing. He just had to keep doing what he had always done.

　　Lee Inwoo stood up. He stretched his arms overhead, twisted his stiff back, and massaged his legs. He smiled to himself in relief.

　　Downing energy drinks and vitamins in a hurry had definitely made him feel a bit better. Tough as nails after all. He just had to hold out until evening. Tomorrow, as luck would have it, was his day off.

　　Today, dark rain clouds had gathered in the sky. Thunder seemed to rumble faintly in the distance. Rainy days meant fewer customers, but business was always booming here anyway, so a mere part-timer had nothing to worry about.