Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 171

Episode 171. If you don’t know, just learn (1)

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There is a washbasin inside the counter of this store. It is a special guy who silently kept its place even when the store was destroyed by lightning-shooting squirrels and half-submerged in rainwater.

There is a floor mop sink in the office, but there is no hot water. I let him wash his hands inside the counter, but he didn’t wash his hands as I told him to and just looked around the counter.

“What are you doing?”

“Brother.”

“why.”

“This is my first time coming into that counter.”

He says it’s because it’s new. Rather than because the internal structure of the counter is new, I think he’s acting like this because he doesn’t feel like he’s really here to work.

While washing his hands with soap, he kept looking around, staring intently at the cigarettes on display. Then, his eyes fell on a pack of cigarettes, and he furrowed his eyebrows slightly and asked me.

“But oppa, why are there so many pictures like this on cigarettes?”

“I’m spoiling it by saying that if you smoke, your lungs and throat will be like that.”

“Is it effective?”

“I don’t have any. Hey, you’re going to look around later, so wash your hands first. You might get splashed.”

“yes.”

He stops looking around at my words and starts rinsing the soap off his hands. What should I do with this guy from now on… .

I don’t think I’m the only one who has to worry about this. I called the store manager, and after four rings, he picked up.

[ Oh, jar . ]

“Yes, store manager… Yes?”

[ Just a moment. Gag-a-ggle-ggle… ]

Immediately afterwards, there was a gargling sound. I guess he was brushing his teeth.

[ … Phew. Yeah, Chan-ah. How’s work going now? ]

“It was school time so there were a lot of kids there, but now it’s a bit quieter. And this guy Nayuri is here too.”

[ Huh? You’re here already? ]

“I think I came early because I didn’t want to be late. In my opinion.”

He said as soon as he got here that he wasn’t late, so I guess that’s right. After saying that, I immediately asked the store manager. Can I tell him things in advance while he’s working?

[ Chan-i is trying to educate him? ]

“If you allow me, then. This guy came so early, and I can’t just sit him down.”

[ Well, isn’t it a bit ambiguous? The working hours haven’t even been set yet. ]

Whether it’s night or day, the main job is to receive customers, but there are subtle differences depending on the time zone. Like receiving logistics, issuing receipts around midnight, or separating trash.

Most of these are easy to learn, but the timing was a bit ambiguous. If I just explain it with words without showing it, it would be confusing for the listener. So… .

“Then I’ll just watch over the customers until the store manager arrives.”

[ Yeah. But did you eat Yuri’s rice? What about Chani? ]

“I haven’t eaten yet, and Yuri… did you eat breakfast before coming out?”

“I’m hungry.”

I asked him since he had already washed his hands. As he answered, his stomach started growling, and it was quite loud. It was loud enough to be heard over the phone.

[ … Let’s both eat first. Choose what you want to eat and just give me the receipt. ]

“Then I will do that. See you later, manager.”

[ huh. ]

The call ended like this, and I looked at the glass guy again. The guy who had just made a thunderous noise on his stomach had a calm expression on his face, as if nothing had happened. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it either.

“Yuri, you’re going to work here. For sure.”

“Yes, definitely.”

“Then, while the store manager is here, don’t do anything special and just watch me work. If you have any questions, ask when there are no customers, and…”

“yes.”

“Let’s eat first.”

Compared to when the kids came rushing in earlier, it’s incredibly quiet. If it weren’t for this timing, this guy or I would have had to work hungry.

So we stood side by side in front of the instant food section. I told them to choose what they wanted to eat, but their eyes, which were scanning the display cases, gradually lowered and finally reached the basket at the bottom of the display case.

I’m talking about the basket where expired food is stored. He picks up a lunch box from inside and asks me.

“These are lying on the floor.”

“I’ve collected expired items separately. They’re no longer products, so I can’t sell them for money.”

“Then I want to eat this.”

“No, I said I’d buy you food, so why do you insist on eating this?”

“I haven’t done my work yet.”

The logic was that since he didn’t do the work, he shouldn’t get anything in return. Hmm…

“I cleared the table earlier, didn’t I? Just eat it since it’s compensation for your trouble.”

“I wasn’t trying to eat that.”

“The person who will become your boss tells you to eat, so you don’t eat it, then?”

Although I don’t understand most of this guy’s behavior, I understand this one thing because it’s the same for me. I picked up the lunch box I was holding and put it down, then took out an identical lunch box from the shelf and handed it to him.

Even as I opened the package and heated it up in the microwave, he still looked like he wasn’t convinced, so I took out an orange juice from the dairy section and handed it to him, speaking to him slyly.

“It’s not good to be too picky when you get something from others. You know that, too.”

But since he’s a college student, he should know this much, right? I added this because I thought he was being treated like a child, but he asked me back as if he still didn’t understand English.

“why?”

“Well, the person who buys you food wouldn’t do it for no reason, right? It could be because they want to become close with you, or it could be because they want to repay a debt they owe you.”

“Then for now.”

“In your case, it would be the former, but for me, it’s both.”

“hmm….”

As he listened to me, he seemed curious about something else, and even though the microwave was running, he just stared without moving an inch. I wonder how this kid spent his school life.

Since he didn’t seem to be moving, I took out the lunch box for him myself, and his eyes followed the lunch box. He stared blankly at the chopsticks and then suddenly opened his mouth.

“How did you know that, oppa?”

“What is it? It’s not good to refuse too much when you get a meal?”

“yes.”

“I learned it after working hard and occasionally getting a meal. Didn’t you know?”

“Not at all.”

The doubts that had been floating around until just before became clear after hearing this. This guy is not someone who has had few conversations, but someone who has lived without having any conversations at all.

Instead, another question came to mind: It’s not that this guy doesn’t like talking to other people. He’s still having a good conversation with me, even though the topic is a bit strange.

Even now, this guy is the one who speaks first. He keeps picking up and putting down the lunchbox lid with his fingers, perhaps because it’s hot, and then asks another question.

“As I work, will I learn about such things like you, oppa?”

“No matter what the occasion, as you get along with people, sooner or later you will realize it. If you don’t know, you will lose out.”

“Are you at a loss?”

“Hey. Let’s say, Yuri, you didn’t get your lunch box and kept holding out.”

I would keep saying the same thing. Just eat it since you won’t get anything back later. This guy refuses two or three times. He won’t eat it since I didn’t help him in return for anything.

If this keeps happening, it won’t be a matter of buying him food or not. He’ll start to think that he’s a guy who can’t communicate. He won’t bring up the same topic again.

Even if you do a simple calculation, it means that one topic of conversation and one thing to get along with has disappeared. By the time I got to this point, the chopsticks this guy was holding had snapped. They fell cleanly.

“I think I understand now that you say it. Simple calculation.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“Then, when someone offers to buy you something, do you accept it right away?”

“It’s a bit weird to just accept it. It makes me look materialistic.”

“I don’t know anymore.”

I didn’t think I would understand it right away. Like everything in the world, human relationships require repetition and mastery.

There were probably no guests yet. I left him to think about it, but this guy brought his lunch box, placed it on the table, and brought out something on his chopsticks. Meatballs.

He brought the hand holding the chopsticks close to mine and spoke in a flat tone.

“I’m giving it to you because you told me what I was curious about.”

“no….”

“It’s okay if you decline once.”

I haven’t even started teaching him yet, but he seems to be getting tired already. When I handed him the chopsticks without hesitation, he put them directly in his mouth and muttered while looking at the chopsticks.

“snob.”

“Hey. There’s one thing that’s important when building relationships. Things never work out the way you want them to.”

“I think so.”

“I have to answer the phone now, so if a guest comes while you’re eating your lunch box, look my way.”

I thought I had been hearing a faint sound for a while, and when I listened closely, I realized it was the sound of a phone ringing. He nodded again at my words and walked over to the table and sat down.

I went straight to the counter to check the caller. It was my sister. When I picked up the phone, I could hear the sound of the wind and my sister’s voice mixed together.

[ Hey… Hey! Are there a lot of people outside the store?! ]

“Uh… quite a lot.”

[ Damn, I guess I’ll have to walk a bit today. Let me hang up for a moment. ]

“Yes.”

The store manager said that the logistics would come in the morning. However, the street in front of here is two-lane, unlike the intersection where we used to do business. There is no shoulder.

I was watching to see where they were putting the containers, and after waiting for about 3 minutes, I saw my older sister walking leisurely from the left side of the store.

She was dragging a bundle the size of an SUV. When she got to the front gate, she knocked loudly on the closed door, so I unlocked it. After coming in, she put down her luggage and shouted brightly.

“I’m done for today, sis! Oh my gosh, it always comes this way.”

I tried pushing the bundle with my hand, but the bundle, which was four times the size of my body, was pushed back and forth as soon as I touched it. I guess my older sister made it light.

“Sister, going to work… Oh, that’s right, Sister, you were on vacation until today.”

“Okay. Now I’ll go to the office and tease those guys who are just rolling around, and then I’ll go home and watch some TV—”

After that, he stretched his shoulders because they were sore, took out his wallet, and asked me.

“I’m going to eat some ramen before I go. Can I eat the new ramen that came out this time?”

“What? Did you get new ramen too?”

“My sister put in a lot of flavors that kids like. There are some that I really like.”

“Just wait, I’ll just take stock.”

This is not completely uncommon, although the circumstances are a bit different. In cases where you choose what to buy from the logistics stacked in the store rather than from the display case.

In this case, there is no problem in calculating and handing it over right away. This is because the product registration has been completed in advance. As long as you check whether the logistics have arrived properly.

As I was unwrapping the tightly wrapped bundles and opening them one by one, I felt a presence behind me and turned around for a moment. Yuri, who had been eating her lunchbox, was now standing behind me.

“Are you selling all of this?”

“Then I brought it in because I was selling it. Why else would I have to do it? You never know when you might have something to do, so take a look at what I’m doing.”

“Yes, brother.”

“Brother?”

My older sister tilted her head, looking back and forth between me and Yuri, wondering if it was strange to see someone she was seeing for the first time and talking so calmly. It seemed like the store manager hadn’t told her about this yet.

“Lee Chan, who is this kid?”

“Hey, I’m the new part-timer here. My name is Nayuri.”

“hello.”

My older sister, who was looking at this guy who was bowing his head deeply in greeting, showed the same reaction as when she met me on my first day at work.

“oh?”