Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 54

Episode 54. Pyeondol-i, sometimes Lee Chan (2)

When I received it and read it, it was basically like this. What is my dream, why do I have that dream, and what efforts will I make to achieve it? Why do they give out something like this as kindergarten homework?

I didn’t quite understand it, so I looked through the homework assignment again, and under the title, “What is my dream?”, there was another phrase: “You must do this with your parents!”

I thought this was the original purpose of homework. Homework given to parents, not children. This homework is also an excuse, to spend some time with your child. Baby, what was your dream when you were little? Things like that.

“What I’m talking about here is not the dream you’re having, that’s it. What you want to do.”

“Oh, I see.”

“But kid, I don’t think there’s any point in doing this with me… .”

I don’t know if it was because it was Family Month or something, but it was definitely not a simple homework assignment to fill out. He held up the paper to the little boy and said,

“It’s written here. Make sure to do it with your parents.”

“That’s right.”

“When was this homework given? Do I have to do it quickly?”

“You gave it to me yesterday… and you said it would be due tomorrow.”

Two days is plenty of time.

“But, I can’t do it with Mom.”

“Why? Is Mom busy?”

“Go out and have a good time.”

“When are you coming?”

“He said he’d be here by eleven o’clock tomorrow night… .”

At eleven o’clock, it was time for a good child to go to bed. But judging from the tone of the little boy’s voice, he didn’t seem to believe that he would be home by eleven o’clock. This must have happened often.

In this situation, I felt like I should help them, but if I helped them all, the kindergarten teachers would definitely feel uncomfortable. After thinking for a moment, I picked up a piece of double-sided paper that was piled up in the corner of the counter and put it on top.

“Let’s write it down, kid. What is your dream?”

“hmm….”

The little boy, who was looking at the blank page, suddenly asked me.

“Who is Mr. Ajo?”

“Me? My dream?”

“My. Uncle’s dream.”

“It’s your homework, why are you asking about my dream?”

“I can’t choose…”

Afterwards, when I listened to the stories that he brought up as if he was not confident, the nuance was that he had many ideas but had no idea which ones to choose. Playing the piano is fun, reading storybooks is fun, and playing Jenga at kindergarten is fun.

If you dream of these things, you might become a pianist, a children’s book author, or a Jenga Guinness World Record holder. These are all certainly attractive dreams for a seven-year-old to eliminate by elimination. This made me think a little differently.

“Rather than my dreams… isn’t there something like that? Like something I really want to do but can’t.”

“And you can’t do it even though you’re sad?”

“Oh. They say that kind of thing is usually just a dream.”

Because I was in exactly this situation right now. I haven’t been able to eat well and live well until now, so I want to eat well and live well now. I know it’s too much of a dream for a 29-year-old, unqualified, high school graduate, but everyone says this. Dream big.

“I really want to do it, but I can’t do it….”

The little boy, who had been mumbling as if he was thinking back on what I had said, asked me as if he had no confidence just like before.

“By any chance, is something like this okay?”

“What kind?”

I guess he thought of something. He took out a pen, put it on the back of a piece of paper, and tried to write it down while reciting what he heard.

“I’m… looking to make friends.”

“Yeah. A friend….”

For a moment, I looked at the little boy’s face, wondering if he was being sincere.

The boy hesitated with his mouth tightly shut, but did not avoid eye contact. He asked again.

“You want to make friends?”

“my.”

“Because you’ve never done that before?”

“Should I not give it to you…?”

I don’t think this is a situation where we should be talking about dreams.

“… Well, I guess it’s possible. We’re talking about dreams.”

I wrote it on the back of the paper. Dream. I want to make friends. The reason I have that dream. Because I have never made a friend before. After that, I put down the pen and thought about it for a while.

The store manager said that since this is a pure-blooded dragon, its horns develop from a young age.

With that horn, he can sense magical power, and through the magical power he senses, he can see what other races are thinking. However, since he lacks the ability to judge, he can easily follow an adult he doesn’t know. That’s why he is raised at home so that he can’t get along with adults.

So I just thought he was shy around adults, but I never thought he would never make friends in kindergarten. But why on earth?

Is it because you were originally shy? That’s not true. If you were that kind of person, you wouldn’t be here with me right now.

“Didn’t your mom tell you not to play with other kids?”

“That’s not it… .”

“then.”

The boy answered curtly.

“The kids… don’t really like playing with me.”

“No, why on earth…?”

“I’m also curious… .”

This part seems to require its own interpretation. First of all, this little one is a pure-blooded dragon… .

Rare. In my two weeks on the job, I’ve met kobolds, succubi, werewolves, and even a talking Pomeranian, but I’ve never seen a dragon, especially a pure-blooded one.

If this ratio remains the same in kindergarten, they may think that this little kid is special or different from them. I don’t know why that leads to them not wanting to play with him… .

I can understand up to this point. I can understand it, but I just can’t accept it. No, what’s wrong with white and horned things? Aren’t kobolds, goblins, and orcs all the same?

In my eyes, they’re all just the same cosplay experts. Is there such a thing as a difference in perspective on dragons in this world? Is it because I didn’t know about it until now? Because I’m a foreigner?

Even if you give me a hundred concessions and assume that what I understand is correct, kindergarten kids are 7 years old. I don’t think mere little kids would be able to specifically say, “You don’t really want to play with us because you look different.”

After thinking about this, something came to mind.

“Did you see? Their hearts?”

“…my.”

This little boy can tell what other kids are thinking without having to ask or hear anything. He can see it.

“Have you talked about this with your mom?”

This is an issue that requires a serious discussion with your parents. Before the mother-son relationship, as a senior in Yongsaeng, they will give you better advice than an outsider like me…

“my.”

“Whatever your mother says when she hears your story.”

“Aren’t you thinking of going to a different kindergarten?”

He hummed and added with a look of ignorance on his face.

“If I follow your example, will I be able to make friends?”

Honestly, I don’t think that’s possible.

This guy isn’t acting like this because he’s having a falling out with a certain kid at kindergarten. He’s just adding the label of a transfer student to the pureblood dragon race.

I don’t know what her mother was thinking when she brought up this issue, but since the topic was brought up, we had to hear the person involved’s thoughts as well.

“What did you say, little one?”

“I… said that I would be okay.”

“It’s not really okay, is it?”

“Then let’s do that… .”

The kid seemed quite confident about this part.

“Just in case, if you go far away… you won’t be able to see me.”

“… … .”

“That’s right, I said it was okay.”

…so I said it was okay… .

I had a lot to say in rebuttal, but I swallowed them all and wrote down the answer the little girl gave on the back of the paper. I don’t want to transfer to another kindergarten. I’m afraid that she won’t be able to see me.

“Then you’ve never had that happen? Have you ever talked to kids?”

“I was going to say that too… .”

The boy answered in a subdued voice.

“Did you do it?”

“If I go closer to them to talk… their hearts get even more hurt.”

I tried to imagine what the situation would be like from this guy’s perspective.

The little boy approaches the children. Their eyes meet. The little boy raises his voice to his Adam’s apple. He wants to play with them.

The kid who doesn’t want to play together is trying to say something. The kids think, “We’re already playing together, so why is he trying to get in?” The closer the kid gets, the stronger his feelings become. What if he asks to play together? I don’t want to.

The pitch-black heart grows bigger and bigger. The little boy who feels uncomfortable steps back. Only then does the pitch-black heart brighten up again. The children feel relieved with their expressions and hearts, and they start playing again with their hands that had stopped.

I watch the scene from a distance. The children are playing happily, but they can’t do that when I approach them. So I can’t approach them. I watch them and think vaguely.

“Yeah, I think you’re doing something wrong… .”

“You did nothing wrong, kid.”

I said it bluntly. How can I do anything wrong when you push me away before we can even hang out together?

If you push away a child without even saying a word to them and without knowing what kind of child they are, then there must be an external factor. I don’t know if that factor is because the parents didn’t raise their children well, or if there is a difference in their views on dragons…

Either way, I think it’ll only hurt him if I tell him. It won’t make any difference even if I know. I wrote it on the back of the paper, and continued writing at the end, saying whatever came to mind.

“Still, I think… you’ll have to tell the kids yourself.”

You could ask the kindergarten teachers for help, but that probably won’t mean much. Asking them to play with you won’t do anything more than force them to play with you, or play with you because they don’t want to get in trouble with the teacher. It’ll become a business relationship, right?

There’s no way a relationship like that will go well. You have to figure it out on your own. I don’t know what you think of me, but I’m no different from you. I’m not a bad person. I just want to hang out with you.

“I need to tell you that you’re misunderstanding something. I just want to be friends.”

As I spoke, my eyes met with the child’s, but the child immediately lowered his head. The voice that spoke was almost like a sob.

“Me too… I feel sad…”

“that….”

“And it’s so sad… It’s so new… It’s scary.”

I don’t know how much of this ‘black’ is, because I don’t have horns like this kid. Is it like a black paint job, or a deep hole like a black hole?

But one thing was certain: as long as he could see that, this little boy would never approach his peers. In this situation, it would be empty talk to say that he had to be brave and shameless. If he could, he would have done so long ago.

I wrote it on the back of the paper. I’m scared of the kids’ dark hearts. That’s why I can’t talk to them.

After glancing at the watermelon jelly under the counter, he continued writing and asked.

“Hey kid.”

“my.”

“If I make the kids invisible, will you be able to talk to them then?”

The little boy looked like he didn’t understand for a moment.

“Can’t you see it?”

“Uh. I can’t see it.”

“How is it…?”

“I have… a talent.”