001 - A Delivery Man Who Can't Bring Happiness

It's summer, and the temperature is 89 degrees (Fahrenheit). A man in a scooter with a banner of pizza is having an errand to deliver an order.

  

When he arrives at the lobby of a pharmaceutical company, the receptionist lady smiles sweetly at him.

  

“You're late again…”

  

The lady halts him and looks at her watch. “Yup, 15 seconds!” The lady continues.

  

“I know I came on time. You deliberately held me back for 15 seconds just now,” replies the delivery man.

  

Suddenly, a man in a neat tuxedo walks by. He immediately takes the pizza box and brings it to a trash can.

  

“Get the hell out of here. We won't pay for it,” says the man, still holding the pizza box above the trash can.

  

The delivery man sighs, and then gets out of the building. He looks so gloomy sitting on his scooter, thinking about the pizza he has to pay.

  

Meanwhile, the guy in the building gives back the pizza to the receptionist. They both burst out laughing.

  

“Tell my dad, I'll go for a while to meet his future daughter-in-law. I won’t be home tonight.”

   

“All right, Mister Lucas!”

  

That man named Lucas also gets out and heads for a car that is already waiting for him, and sees the delivery man is still there with his scouter.

  

“Hey, get out of the way. You're blocking my car,” he says to the delivery man.

  

The delivery man immediately takes his scooter away.

But Lucas immediately kicks his scooter and yells at him for being an eyesore. Only then does he get into his car and leaves.

The delivery man couldn't do anything. Because he is just a nobody.

  

He is Victor William, a 25-year-old man who graduated from Purdue University. Despite his educational background, he has no work experience other than delivering pizza in the last 5 years.

  

When he arrives at his workplace, the boss where he works finds scratches on the scooter that he currently uses.

  

“What the?! Hey, Victor! What have you done?”

  

“Ah! Sorry, Mr. Benigno. The guy who ordered our pizza did it,” explains Victor.

    

“Son of? Don't tell me you were late again?”

    

“I'm really sorry. I will pay for the pizza, and also about the scratch,” replies Victor before walking away and heads to the back of the shop.

  

“Hey, you think it's over?!” Mr. Benigno shouts at him.

  

But Victor just ignores him and keeps walking.

  

He is silent there behind the shop, looking so gloomy thinking about the meager wages that have to be cut again.

After all, today is his wedding anniversary. He has planned to surprise his wife. However, what kind of surprises can he give this time.

  

Until suddenly, his cell phone rings and he immediately answers the call.

  

[Victor, this is Viona. I have a message from your father]

  

The female voice on the phone is so flat. It makes Victor's face turn so dark, thinking about the bad things that might happen to his father.

  

But suddenly, his face changes again, and he immediately runs towards the parking lot.

He sees Mr. Benigno is still there. And so Victor greets him as he passes.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Benigno. I have to go!”

  

“Hey, kid! You can't just leave by saying I have to go! Do you want to be fired?”

  

Victor stops and immediately turns back to that fat man.

  

“Then just accept my resignation. I’ll pay for the pizza and the scratch on the scooter. I'll transfer it later, doubled,” explains Victor half-shouting before running across the street.

  

And there he reaches a cake shop he has been visiting a few times so far. Upon entering, a friendly receptionist greets him.

  

The truth is, Victor has visited this shop looking for a cake for his wedding anniversary. But now, he visits the shop not only to have a look. Instead, he immediately orders the most luxurious one.

  

“Here!” says Victor, handing over his credit card with a slightly shaking hand.

  

He still doesn't know for sure whether his credit card can actually buy the cake or not.

  

“Here you go!” says the receptionist, showing Victor a device for the credit card.

  

Only then does Victor know for sure the current condition of his credit card is actually able to purchase that luxurious cake.  

  

“Please, just deliver the cake later to this address,” says Victor as he writes. 

  

After that, he leaves the shop and runs again in excitement, until he reaches a jewelry store where he has also visited so many times in the past few months.

  

He doesn't plan to stay there for long. Immediately, he asks for the best jewelry for a round price of 1 million dollars. He hands over his credit card and asks the shop owner to take care of everything.  

  

The shop owner looks doubtful about Victor's current appearance who is still wearing his pizza delivery uniform. But then, that shop owner's face changes after he checks Victor's credit card.

  

“But sir! Are you okay carrying this expensive item around the town without a guard?” asks the shop owner in a whisper.  

  

“No one would expect someone like me would carry something like that in my pocket,” whispers Victor childishly.

  

That's when the shop owner thinks that Victor is a rich man who just uses such a filthy uniform for a reason. 

  

Incidentally, there is a couple not too far from him. Both seem to have found the ring they like. But then, both of their faces look so gloomy after they see the price.  

  

“Are you two getting married?” asks Victor.

  

They both just nod slightly. But somehow, they look reluctant to talk with Victor, someone who is wearing a filthy pizza delivery uniform to a jewelry shop. Yet Victor keeps smiling at them, still with his excited face.

  

A few moments later, as soon as Victor receives his order, he leaves and pats the couple on their shoulders.

  

“I hope your marriage goes well.”

  

After Victor gets out of the shop, the shop owner approaches the couple and takes out the one ring they have observed for a while.  

  

“Go ahead. That guy earlier already paid for the ring for you two.”

  

Instead of becoming so happy, that couple look so confused. Especially the man, who is not actually so poor.

Currently, Victor is still busy doing everything to make sure he delivers the best surprise for his wife. Seeing that couple earlier makes him a bit nostalgic, thinking about his hard time with his wife in the past.

  

But now, he looks so spirited. He even goes back home by running due to how happy he is. He goes to shower, changes his clothes, and sets everything on the table.  

  

He prepares the candlelight dinner, accompanied by a vintage Cabernet Sauvignon wine that is worth more than 100 grand. He is lucky to find such wine in a short time. Now he is a bit worried whether he can open the bottle correctly.  

  

“Ah, shit! I should have bought a new suit too,” he mumbles as he pats his head.  

  

But it can't be helped, because soon his wife will come home from work. He thought, maybe it would be more dramatic to keep using his simple suit, and then surprise the wife with a 24-carat gold ring studded with diamonds.  

  

He becomes so impatient, imagining the reaction of his wife when she finds the surprise. But until nightfall, his wife hasn’t come home.  

  

He intends to call, but he immediately cancels the intention. “I have to be patient! There's no point giving a surprise if she knows I've prepared everything for her.”

  

Unfortunately, until midnight, he is still alone there waiting by himself. He is getting worried that something might happen to her. Only then does he try to call.

  

But no one answers the call. Due to his growing worry, he decides to go out to visit the pharmacy shop where his wife works.

  

However, just as he opens the door, he finds his wife coming home with staggering steps.

  

“Emma? Where have you been?” he asks.

  

But his wife suddenly lands on his chest. Victor turns his face away as soon as he realizes the strong smell of alcohol from Emma.

  

“You are drunk?”

  

“Get out of the way, You loser! Don't try to lecture me. I need this, because I have to live with a loser like you!”

  

She pushes Victor away, so that she can enter the house.

  

Victor is silent, feeling so infuriating to be despised. After what he has gone through, he now gets an insult in the face. But he tries to calm himself down, knowing that Emma is just drunk right now.