"Jack…"
Morgan wasn't surprised that the man called him.
As he had said before, Jack had been calling him for the past few days, but Morgan hadn't answered because he was still deeply saddened by Melissa's passing.
He fell silent for a moment, then stuck a straw into his chocolate milk carton and took a small sip.
Morgan picked up his phone and pressed the answer button.
Just as he was about to put it to his ear, Jack's worried and angry voice burst from the phone.
"Morgan! You finally picked up your phone, damn it! Do you know how worried I've been? Why didn't you answer? You bastard! I got scolded by my supervisors because of your absence, you know? You—"
Jack kept hurling harsh words at him.
However, Morgan wasn't offended and didn't respond.
He simply listened calmly, without showing any anger.
He understood Jack's concern. After all, it was Jack who had gotten him into the mine in Sector C so he could survive after his parents died.
It could be said that he is still alive today thanks to Jack's kindness.
After five minutes, Jack finally stopped, and the living room fell silent.
Morgan sipped his chocolate milk again, then said, "I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't tell you because I had a misfortune."
"A misfortune? What happened?" Jack asked in a heavy voice.
"My sister died."
That answer brought silence to the other end of the line. Several minutes passed before a long sigh was heard.
"I'm sorry, kid. I didn't know you were going through something like that. I'm really… sorry."
His tone was filled with guilt.
Morgan smiled slightly and reassured him. "It's okay. It's my fault too, anyway. By the way, what's up? Why did you call me? And… have I been fired?"
He sounded relaxed, as if he didn't really care.
Admittedly, working in the mine was very hard and exhausting, but for someone like him, the job was extremely valuable.
At least the income from one day of work was enough to eat and pay the rent.
If he had to find another job with a similar wage, it would be extremely difficult.
After all, he hadn't finished high school—he was only a primary school graduate.
"Hey…" Jack let out another sigh and explained, "You haven't been fired, kid. It's true that earlier, the supervisors wanted to let you go and find a replacement, but I stopped them and told them you would definitely be coming back. That's why I called you so many times earlier. Luckily, you picked up, so I was able to keep my promise to them."
Hearing this, Morgan was surprised. He sat up straight and asked seriously, "You asked the supervisors to let me keep working there? Why did you do that?"
His expression showed his confusion. He didn't expect Jack to be so kind as to do that for him.
"Yeah, I did tell them," Jack replied casually. "Come on, don't get too emotional. I did it because I wanted to. You don't have to thank me. If you want to repay my kindness, come to the mine tomorrow morning as usual. I'll be waiting for you."
After that, a long beep sounded from the other end of the line.
Jack had disconnected the call.
Morgan put down his phone and let out a deep sigh.
"It turns out there are still good people around me," he muttered softly.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't happy to hear Jack's words. At least he could still work tomorrow and make a living.
Feeling relieved, he finished the carton of milk in his hand, stood up, and threw it into the trash.
Boom!
Thunder boomed loudly, and heavy rain poured down at the same time.
"My laundry!"
He hurried outside and grabbed the clothes on the apartment terrace.
A few minutes later, he returned to the living room with damp clothes, carrying a large pile in his arms and draped over his shoulders.
"That was close. If they'd all gotten wet, tomorrow would've been difficult," he muttered.
He then carefully arranged his laundry. Once he was done, he went to his room to sleep.
***
The next morning…
"Kid, I'm so glad to see you're okay," Jack said with satisfaction.
He looked at Morgan, who was standing in front of him, neat and clean.
Morgan smiled slightly and replied, "Thank you, Jack. Well then, I'm going to start mining."
Jack said nothing and only nodded slightly.
Shortly after, Morgan headed to the mining area, wearing a hard hat and carrying a pickaxe and a bucket.
The atmosphere in the mining area was the same as usual. Many people were working hard, not paying attention to his presence.
"Hey, isn't that Morgan? You're back, buddy. I thought you had left because you were scared."
A burly man with a scary face approached him with a playful expression.
Two other burly men followed and stopped beside him.
They stared at Morgan with mocking eyes.
Morgan remained unfazed. With a straight face, he said, "Get out of my way. I want to work."
The three men were stunned for a moment, then their faces darkened with anger.
"Kid, how dare you defy us?"
One of them raised his muscular right hand as if to strike but was immediately stopped by the others.
"Don't get emotional. The bosses are watching Sector C, and it will last for a whole week. If we're caught being violent toward him, we'll definitely be fired."
Hearing this, the burly man who was about to hit Morgan came to his senses and restrained his anger, though with difficulty.
"Let's go," he said indifferently.
The other two didn't argue and quickly left to continue their work.
Morgan let out a sigh of relief. Actually, working here was quite comfortable, despite being very tiring.
One thing that made him uncomfortable was the presence of those three men. They often bullied him with harsh words or physical abuse, like eight days ago.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Morgan walked to his position and began his work.
***
Seven days passed very quickly. During that time, Morgan began to get used to the loss of his younger sister.
Even so, forgetting her was not easy. Sometimes, he cried alone when memories of her came back.
His work in the mining area was also going well. He managed to earn quite a lot of money because he worked very efficiently.
The three burly men no longer bothered him, and Morgan felt that his future looked bright.
Unfortunately, it was all just a fantasy…
"Phew! I earned five hundred Arcanox in one day. If I exchange it, I can definitely get 50,000 Hexar. That's a lot!" Morgan couldn't hold back his happy smile.
Over the past seven days, he had started saving money.
Admittedly, the amount wasn't much—only 40,000 Hexar. But today, he would earn more and increase his savings to 80,000 Hexar.
Once he calmed down, he turned around and stepped outside.
Suddenly, someone tapped his right shoulder. Morgan was startled and turned around just as a fist flew toward his face.
Pain and dizziness mixed together. His vision went dark, his body fell backward, and he fainted.