Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 9

Episode 9. The Delivery Boy (3)

It took me 30 minutes to clean the hard lump off my arm. I thought I was going to die.

While I was cleaning, customers came by and I had to work with one arm. I couldn’t put things in the bag, so I was struggling, and Yoon-ha helped me. I felt burdened, so I asked her.

“Aren’t you going to get off work?”

“Wipe everything off that arm.”

“You must be sleepy. Just go.”

“Well, it’s okay. If Chan-i hadn’t helped me, I would still be flying around everywhere looking for a workshop.”

As he speaks, he puts the cone ice cream in with the end pointing downwards. If you put it in like that, the bag will burst… .

“I’m helping you out as a reward for not having to work overtime, so don’t say anything.”

So I decided to do that.

“Personally, I would like to give them more compensation for their hard work….”

“You don’t have to give it to me. I already received the money from the store manager.”

I immediately refused. The daily wage that the store manager had already given me was already more than enough for a day of part-time work. I thought that just receiving the daily wage would be enough.

So I didn’t want to receive anything more here. If people make money easily, they will easily be ruined. Sister Yoon-ha said with a hearty laugh.

“Actually, I don’t have any money to give. I’m almost out of money this month.”

“I guess it’s because of the logistics.”

“That’s it, and there are a few more things I’m in charge of. Normally, Hunters get stressed out right before the settlement, so please understand.”

“I understand. Where is the working person who isn’t a beggar right before payday?”

“I guess Chan-i doesn’t have any money right now?”

I was worried about not being able to pay my rent when the store manager put a ringer in my account. People don’t have to starve to death.

“But since the card is still alive, I’ll buy you something to drink. Chan-i, do you like chocolate milk?”

“I like it, but I can’t eat it right now.”

“Hey, don’t give up.”

“It’s not that I’m refusing….”

You really shouldn’t eat it, so you can’t eat it. This is a tip, but if you want to give it a try, never, ever eat dairy products while you’re on a diet.

Because one of the characteristics of working as a stool softener is that you develop lactose intolerance that you didn’t have before, and when you get an upset stomach, there’s only one way to deal with it: lock the door and run to the bathroom.

This is inevitable, but I can’t help but feel very self-conscious. They don’t even send a substitute to go to the bathroom, so in that time, the convenience store is basically closed. That’s why it’s hard to go to the bathroom without permission. And I’m not on guard duty at the outpost either…

Even if you are the type of person who can say things like, “Why are you doing this because of your physiological condition?”, if possible, don’t drink it. If you hold back on the urge to drink milk for a while, your body and mind will feel much better. I don’t have lactose intolerance. Even people who say, “Don’t drink it.” I also gained something I didn’t have.

For similar reasons, don’t eat until you’re full because you’ve accumulated a lot of waste. There’s a reason why those with experience tell you not to do it.

“Then coffee?”

“I’d like an Americano, please. I saw you had a two plus one… .”

I was interrupted midway through the conversation because a guest had arrived.

His face was pale and expressionless, his head was half bald, and his ears were pointed at the sides. In five words, he was a drunken elf. He approached me and asked.

“Boss… where… where’s the soju?”

“It’s at the very bottom of the refrigerator section over there.”

As I explained, he started walking in the direction I pointed, and his unsteady gait was unusual. You could tell just by looking at him that he was going to commit a crime… .

What I brought was a bottle of Chamisul Fresh. It costs 1,800 won.

“It’s 1,800 won.”

“Just sleep… .”

After rattling around in his pocket for a while, he hands me a wad of coins, including 50-won and 100-won coins. I counted them, and they were 100 won short.

“Sir, I’m 100 won short.”

“Huh? That’s right? 1,700 won.”

“Because the price of soju is 1,800 won.”

“This bottle costs 100 won.”

As he spoke, he picked up the bottle and tapped it on the counter.

“Let’s do a shot right now and I’ll give you the bottle. That’ll be perfect. Right?”

Is that right?

No, the calculation is correct. The convenience store also accepts empty bottles, and soju bottles cost 100 won. I don’t care if the customer digs the ground to find the remaining 100 won or works part-time, as long as they fill up the amount. But the problem is this.

“Customer, you cannot drink alcohol in the convenience store.”

“What? Why?”

Why, why? Because it’s illegal.

Convenience stores are classified as snack bars and not general restaurants, so drinking alcohol inside the store is illegal. Additionally, it is also illegal to set up a table outside the convenience store.

Legally, yes, but morally, convenience stores aren’t places where only adults come. How would customers, especially children, feel if they came to buy fruit jelly and smelled alcohol?

“I, I understand. I understand your position, sir!”

After hearing the explanation, he said this. However, after listening to the rest of the story, I couldn’t understand it at all and I doubted whether he had even heard me.

“My house is far. It’s far. So I’ll eat and go in 5 seconds from here, no, in 3 seconds. I can drink well, don’t worry.”

“It doesn’t matter if you can drink well or not, you can’t drink here at all.”

“I told you it won’t take long. I told you I’ll just drink it and leave.”

The conversation is going on at parallel lines. In the meantime, two or three more customers come in and are glancing at the checkout counter while choosing items.

Feeling frustrated, I glanced to the side and saw Yoon-ha, who was watching this scene, looking at me and then slyly pointing at herself. It seemed to mean that she could solve it.

“are you okay.”

I said it was okay. Once they came, it was my job to receive them, whether they were guests or servants. I glared at the elf and said bluntly.

“It’s illegal to drink here, and I don’t want to get in trouble, so promise me you’ll go out and drink. Otherwise, I won’t sell you alcohol.”

“What… What is it, Inma?”

After that, I just ignored him. I spoke to the customer who had just picked out something and was looking embarrassed.

“Yes, sir. Would you like me to pay for it?”

“Ah… ah, yes.”

Whether or not the elf guy was standing there dumbfounded, he would receive the items from behind the stack of lighters in front of the counter, pay for them, send them away, and then receive and send the next customer away. These gentlemen were not human by race, but at least they didn’t use the truth.

As the three guests were being received, the angry elf shouted.

“f*ck, yeah. I won’t eat it because it’s dirty, because it’s dirty!”

“You must not shout inside the store.”

“I’m going, kid! I’m going out to eat, so just hand me a paper cup.”

This kid, this isn’t even a neighborhood cafe, why is he using paper cups… .

No, no. No. If I say that I sell paper cups, they’ll probably sue me again. I want to get rid of them quickly before that happens.

He came out of the counter and took out a cup from the display next to the coffee machine. The elf who received the paper cup opened the bottle on the spot, filled the cup halfway, and muttered.

“f*ck, this f*cking world doesn’t even let me drink.”

And then he left. As a result, a half-empty bottle of soju was left on the counter. The smell of alcohol was wafting out from the mouth of the bottle.

“I’ll throw this away and come back.”

Anyway, if you empty it and close the lid, this will also cost 100 won. Sister Yoon-ha said with a bitter smile.

“Let’s go together. I think I should go home soon.”

We went out together like that. We found a nearby drain, poured the soju into it, and closed the lid. When I looked at Yoon-ha, she had an e-cigarette in her mouth. I thought it was surprising, so I asked her.

“Do you smoke?”

“I smoked it. This is a smoking cessation kit. It’s not a cigarette.”

“Ah. I thought you were a specialist. These days, even smoking cessation specialists are available.”

“The problem is that I can’t quit. Does Chan-i smoke?”

“I used to smoke, but I quit a few years ago.”

“Oh, really?”

I smoked for several years too. I smoked from around the time I enlisted in the military until just before I started working at the company, so it’s been about five years.

“How did you break it?”

“I didn’t quit because I wanted to, I just quit because I didn’t have money to live.”

To be exact, I quit because I felt sorry for myself.

In my first year of working at the company, my salary was so low that I was spending money here and there, and living expenses were tight.

After living like that for two months, it became a daily routine to search every corner of the room, wondering if there was any money lying around. But once I had saved up 4,500 won, I went to the convenience store to buy cigarettes.

Then, when I couldn’t even find 4,500 won, I looked in the mirror in despair and suddenly this thought occurred to me: It’s not me who’s smoking, it’s the cigarette that’s burning me.

Since then, I’ve tried to quit. The method I used was to just chew gum, chew gum, and chew gum again, and endure it. After chewing gum until my gums were worn out, the dizzying withdrawal symptoms disappeared, and the smell of cigarettes became disgusting.

So I ended up quitting. After I told this story, Yoon-ha tilted her head in surprise but expressed her admiration.

“I think Chan-i’s method of success was because he had perseverance…?”

“I didn’t say I would recommend it. I just said that.”

Then there was a brief pause in the conversation, and then my older sister spoke up.

“Mr. Chan, are you going to continue working part-time?”

“I think so. But why?”

“I just saw the truth and it made me feel PTSD. I was just wondering.”

As she spoke, Yun-ha touched the knife on her waist. She had a feeling that if she had received help, something big would have happened.

“I have to keep going. Today’s work is today’s work… I got my daily pay, so it’s a bit much to leave it out.”

“Well, that’s good. What are your working hours?”

“From 10pm to 10am.”

“everyday?”

“yes.”

“Can you hold out?”

“If you can’t do it, then you can’t do it, right?”

“Well… then it will still be there for a few days… ”

Of course it will continue. But I had a feeling that I really wanted someone to talk to me. It was a monologue.

So I was about to ask her, but Yoon-ha just smiled and whistled. Then, a Pegasus flew in from the parking lot of the building on the other side, landed, and snorted. Was this guy a thoroughbred or a Holstein?

He climbs on top of it and speaks while leaning his head against Pegasus’ mane.

“I can’t come for the time being, but I’ll see you again in a few days.”

“You didn’t come here every day?”

“It’s a bit difficult to handle the logistics related to monsters. It takes some time.”

He was very busy. Then he took the reins and said goodbye for the last time.

“I’ll go. Take care, Chani.”

I decided to say hello too.

“Be careful driving at night, Unnie Yoon-ha.”

My older sister looked at me blankly as if she had been hit with a bullet, then burst into laughter and answered.

“Don’t worry. How many years of experience do I have?”

This is how we talked to each other.

* * *

We received dozens more guests over the next few hours, and there were a few truth-telling incidents in between, but we’ll get past that for now.

The morning sun has finally risen. What a strong and good morning!