Chapter 5 Past & Present Dream

Dream!

This word reminded Albert of his youth.

Of course, you had a dream, and you still do. However, there was a huge difference between his dream now and his dream in the past. During the course of his life, his dream kept changing.

His dream in high school was money. He thought money was the only way to bring hope back to his downcast parents.

His high school dream was revenge, revenge on the giant oil refinery that stole his father's new technology and ruined his company.

But his dream was different now.

Money? Albert made a lot of money at times while doing many different jobs. Once he played and invested in stocks. He made a lot of money and lost it.

On the way he realized that money was not that important. No matter how much money you had, those who were meant to be unhappy were unhappy. As poor as he was, happy were those who should be happy.

You couldn't make money, even if it was your goal. Money just came when you worked hard.

Revenge was a silly dream when I looked back. Ever since he had vengeance as his dream, he lived gritting his teeth. Thoughts as combative as How can I get rid of them? How can i kill it? it filled his mind all the time.

It was natural that he couldn't afford to be happy. Day by day, his resentment and hatred grew more and more.

Suddenly something occurred to me.

Can I feel really happy when I come?

He did not think of the possibility of his revenge. He imagined the president and oil refiner executives kneeling before his eyes pleading after they ruined the company.

It would feel great in an instant, but nothing would be different. He had a feeling that it would feel pretty empty afterward. Once he finished his vengeance, he would be destined to be a useless man who had lost his purpose.

Since it was so vain, he wandered around for a while he toyed with this thought, since then he gradually began to shake off his mania for revenge, of course he did not want to forgive them, but he found another dream for his own good.

And recently he found a new dream.

I'll be the light of the world.

In a way, it was an absurd dream. Obviously, being dreamed of a saint was an ideal dream.

There were more people than expected who also had this dream and some of them tried to make it come true.

Albert actually experienced it several times. It meant sacrificing yourself for someone else's dream and hope. Sometimes he sacrificed money and sometimes he sacrificed time.

The happiness he felt at that moment was really enormous, something that those who didn't experience it would never experience.

Of course, he didn't tell people. Ordinary people had a tendency to think such sacrifices were wrong, and anyway he didn't do it to show off to others.

Then he made another dream to tell others about.

"My dream is to make three real friends that I can spend the rest of my life with."

When Albert answered, the generous interviewer nodded.

"That's a beautiful dream. Thanks for the interview."

Albert and wife Sophia left the interrogation room, the generous interviewer looked at her with a slight smile on his face.

"When I think about it, President Carter is not a man who is frivolous."

If Carter said Albert was a good person, it had to be someone of whom there was no doubt. It could be a young man with a lot more potential than the President saw in the interview. Originally, over time, a good person should show their true potential.

Meanwhile Albert was sad.

"I failed".

It was clear how to go to the interview without knowing what to do. Although she had no special bond with him, she often met him because they were in the same neighborhood, and on those occasions, she did not forget to exchange greetings with William, which brought her closer as relatives.

"Yes sir. Did you have lunch?"

"I did it. You look great in that suit."

"Thank you".

"How did you wear a suit today?" Kim, who lived on the other side of her house, said she helped her once when she was having trouble parking her car. She pretended to be close to him and smiled every time she saw him.

Mr. Park, another old man and the owner of the supermarket, also exchanged greetings with him, as did the students in his neighborhood.

"How are you?"

"No makeup class today?"

"What is that? Can you eat it?"

"Haha..dude"

There was hardly anyone in his neighborhood who did not know him, even if someone did not know him, a simple greeting made him known immediately.

Most of the neighbors try, somewhat embarrassed, to remember his face when Albert greets them.

"Hello, sir"

When I met older people, I said hello.

On the way home, he suddenly saw a high school girl crouching in front of an apartment.

Albert knew her face. Did you say her name was Mia?

She lived in the same house as him, although she was born into a poor family, she grew up a good and happy girl and was highly praised by her neighbors.

Today he looks sad though. Since her eyes are wet it looks like she's been crying.

"Hello, what happened to you?"

When Albert spoke to her, she got up quickly and wiped away her tears.

"Nothing, nothing."

Then he went into his apartment, but not his room. He only moved to avoid her gaze. When he looked at her, she seemed to be crying again.

What the hell is wrong with him?

He didn't dare follow her up the stairs and ask. No matter how close he was to her, he could be mistaken for a sexual stalker if something went wrong.

He went home without thinking, but when he suddenly turned around he saw another girl circling Mia. Although he didn't know her, he could recognize her face thanks to Mia. also, expensive.

Albert motioned for him to come closer. She approached him a little hesitantly.

"You're friends with Mia, aren't you? What happens?

When he asked, she opened her mouth carefully and said, "She could have gone to the tutoring academy from today."

"Tutoring academy?"

Mia's dream was to become a video designer. It wasn't a vague dream. It was his desperate dream. Although she was able to drop out of her studies, she could not give up her dream of becoming a video designer.

So, I would raise money for the private academy by doing part time work whenever I could find time. That was inevitable in the precarious family situation.

But now it was impossible. His father had been betrayed, which made his family's situation even worse. If he didn't contribute the money he had reserved for the private academy, his family had no choice but to be thrown out immediately.

It was really a heartbreaking episode. Since she was a sincere, hardworking, and bright girl, he felt even more sorry for her. He had great potential and would achieve a lot if someone gave him an advantage.

"How much is the tuition for the private academy?"