Chapter 104 – Episode 104

Sometimes in life, no… Not even sometimes.

If you work part-time at a convenience store for about a year, you will experience strangely crowded days. Things like a sudden out-of-stock situation or a day when people who want to go to the convenience store especially flock there.

However, even taking all that into account, it is the largest number ever.

“Do you know where the stir-fried udon is?”

“Ah. It’s in the frozen section over here. Just try one more time and if you can’t find it, I’ll find it for you myself.”

“Thank you.”

I’m going crazy.

Customers buying nail clippers, poker cards, and Go-Stop, which are hard to find on a regular basis. A customer buying over-the-counter medicines sold at a convenience store.

Customers fill up their shopping carts with almost all 2+1 products. To a customer using three microwave ovens at the same time. From customers cracking soju at the table outside.

Ouch!

A scream comes out.

‘What is this?’

If the customers came one by one, there would be no problem, but as soon as the manager left, they came all at once as if they had been waiting, so it was a problem.

While working part-time at a convenience store, it was the first time that I got tired of just serving customers, not even the real deal.

“Huh… !”

The strange rush of customers that lasted for nearly two hours finally subsided at 1 a.M. I flopped down on the chair at the counter and took a breath.

“What is it really…”

Perhaps Haneul was also moved by the store manager’s words? So, I sent a customer to the store manager who willingly lent money to a friend he hated even though he knew he would never get it back. But why do I have to spend it during my part-time job?

“After. I put up with it just because of a carton of cigarettes…”

I was about to mutter softly, then grabbed my head and screamed.

Oh, by the way, I quit smoking!

“Off!”

Me and the store manager too. I quit smoking because I was lost in sentimentality… To be exact, I had completely forgotten that I was quitting smoking. What were you aiming for? … Oh, that’s not it.

“So, what on earth did the store manager want to say to me?”

Does this mean we should forgive even the person we hated? Or are you saying that if I were in that situation, I would make the same choice as the store manager?

Well, did you want to say something like that?

“Hmm.”

I thought as I slowly scratched the counter table with my index finger. People of your generation like the store manager didn’t even know that was possible. Should I say that it is so pure… Because I still feel that way often.

“But it doesn’t really work for people these days.”

These are terrifying times.

This is an era where if you live a good life like the store manager, instead of earning 5 million won, you might open your eyes and get your nose cut.

The store manager said they were from the MZ generation, but if they were actually from that generation, what would 5 million won be worth? Wouldn’t they have just reported it to the police and cut off the connection?

“Happiness is not a big deal…”

It shouldn’t be a big deal.

I thought, “Okay,” And turned on the application that I had locked away for a long time.

[Starstargram]

#It’s been a long time since I received a luxury product certification #I finally bought it. My home #It’s night in Korea, it’s morning in New York!

#MONEY FLEX #My Girlfriend Bbangdang #SEX!

I know. The posts posted on social media like this are all for show. In fact, the people who post things like this may be burning deep inside.

Many smart people have said this. SNS is poison in life. In fact, it is said that Korea has been greatly ruined by the comparative culture of SNS.

“What should I do? “Everyone is already addicted.”

Even I, who check it every few months, feel a little envious and sick to my stomach when I see posts like this.

Nice house, nice car.

A happy family and plenty of money.

There is probably no one who doesn’t know that that’s not everything in life. But if you have them, wouldn’t you just be happy for now? It’s better than nothing.

Right now, I earn a month, and unlike when I lived for a month, money starts accumulating in my account, so I naturally have more money.

“Flaw… No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think I would have ever lent it to you if it were me.”

A friend who even brags about himself?

Even if I hung him on his leg and begged for him, he would have refused somehow. Even if I can’t cut it like a knife.

Okay. Fuck.

Borrowing money like that and paying it back later is something that only happens in dramas. In fact, because of those children, my family lived in a jeonse, but the guy who borrowed money from my dad bought an apartment in Seoul.

If a bastard like that is embarrassed, I won’t lie and say that I look good in front of him…

“Ringle!”

As soon as I heard the sound of a guest coming in, I stopped thinking and got up.

“Welcome.”

It seems like today is a day when a lot of customers are coming. There are as many as three parties drinking outside right now.

I’m already dizzy thinking about cleaning it up later.

“Clink!”

“Omg! “I’m sorry.”

“… It’s okay.”

Actually, it’s not okay. I sighed deeply while looking at the two broken soju bottles on the floor.

The customer said he was sorry and paid the bill, but that was it.

Because it doesn’t take away the fact that you have to pick up broken glass on the floor and clean it up.

“Write, hu.”

I bring a broom and a mop to clean. Meanwhile, parties who were drinking outside often came and went to buy snacks or ice cream one by one.

Yes, you can. So please don’t mess up the table. Please!

‘Ah. ‘Something is a bit off about Iljin today.’

I think that since there are so many customers, incidents and accidents can happen… Still, something sends a shiver down my spine.

I hope my intuition is wrong. This intuition was right like a ghost.

[Let’s focus on studying to increase our own value]

[99/100 hours]

The quest is almost over.

[AM 3:14]

“Hey, dude! Don’t study while working part-time! “You young laborer!”

“… Let me calculate it. Two bottles of soju…”

“You bastard. “When an adult speaks, you shouldn’t listen!”

“…”

“What do you think someone like you, who works part-time at a convenience store, can achieve in the future by studying here like this? No. You bastard. “A bastard like you will eventually come back here?”

The moment I saw the person yelling and hiccuping with a pointer, I almost punched him.

I think I would have tolerated it in the past. In fact, it was even more difficult to bear such words now. Is it because he thinks he is trying hard? Or is it because I am afraid that those words will come true? Maybe both.

“Fuck.”

In the end, I couldn’t hold back and started swearing. Today’s suffering did not end just because it was 4 a.M.

“This and this. Please exchange it.”

“Yes?”

A grandfather who presents two bottles of soju and a fairly luxurious photo album… No, I couldn’t help but be taken aback when I looked at the man who was not long before becoming a grandfather.

Wait for a sec. Is this really barter? I’ve heard that people like this sometimes come to me when I work part-time at a convenience store, but this is the first time in a year…

“I’m sorry. “You can’t barter at convenience stores.”

“Madam! Even if you leave it at a pawn shop, it will be worth the price of two bottles of soju! Just ask for it!”

For a moment, I was so bothered and annoyed that I thought about giving him two bottles of soju, but I shook my head. If you look down on them like that, people like this will come again.

Fuck! Because there were kids like this, I had no choice but to be cruel to people.

It’s an age where you have to live selfishly to be happy!

“Stop it! If you keep doing this, I will call the police. Just press the button here and the police will come right away.”

“You bastard! This is really expensive! 2 bottles of soju! If that doesn’t work, just one bottle is fine.”

“Mister! You can’t do this!”

… After saying that, I ended up paying for a bottle of soju and a pack of ramens with my own money and sending the person away. Shit. Damn it!

“Next time I’m really going to call the police! You bastard!”

It’s so pathetic that I curse after already trudging so far away with soju in my hand.

“Fuck.”

How can these bastards always be the same?

Why do you cause harm to others when you have ruined yourself? Do you really want to drink soju after selling a photo of your family?

If the table outside was dirty, I tried to clear my mind by cleaning it. On days like today, the parties that used to eat outside were all cleaned up.

Oh my, I even wiped it with a wet tissue.

“What the… Be like this always. Please.”

Probably because the party of young people who were particularly polite in paying bills left after cleaning up. It seemed like the other parties who saw it nearby also quietly cleaned up.

“Ha.”

I don’t know how many times I’ve said that damn please today. Today, it’s really not easy.

Thinking that this must really be the end, I folded up the table and entered the convenience store, wondering what this was. A crazy person is sleeping in a corner of a convenience store.

“Hey, sir!”

Cold sweat, cold sweat, just sweat! Even though I begged for almost 10 minutes to let everything go, he didn’t show any signs of leaving, so I ended up calling the police.

Ah-oh! Today really… !

[AM 4:53]

As the time comes when people become particularly sentimental, the truths we encountered today continue to linger in our heads. Starting with the bastard who insulted me, the bartering villain… Etc.

Should I just have called the police? Or would it have been cooler if I had just punched him in the damn face? Honestly, I don’t know.

Even when those children weren’t around, I was convinced that was the right answer. In fact, everyone said that was the correct answer.

Implementation of justice. Cider.

Everyone says that. But when I actually faced it in person, I ended up trying to endure it somehow or resolve it with words.

“Looking at it like this. He’s just like his dad. It’s the same… Fuck.”

My dad said he was in trouble several times and that we couldn’t afford it either. I tried to reject my friends with harsh words.

Even if he eventually said no, he would quietly place the money in his friend’s arms the next morning. Meanwhile, he sat alone in the alley behind the church he often went to and wiped away his tears. A person who doesn’t even go to church.

“Ah-oh. Fuck!”

I felt angry for some reason. That’s what my dad, who lived like that, said every time he saw me.

The only thing he can boast about is that he has lived a good life so that he can at least be confident in front of me and Hyuna. If that’s your only boast, isn’t there a problem?

[Do you want to make a remittance reservation?]

[Recipient: Dad]

[Reservation date 2025/05/08] [Amount: KRW 150,000]

[Do you want to make a remittance reservation?]

[Recipient: Mom]

[Reservation date 2025/05/08] [Amount: KRW 150,000]

[Remittance reservation has been completed. The amount you set will be automatically deducted from your account on the reserved date.]

It’s the first Family Month or my parents’ birthday.

I understood what my friend was saying when he said that congratulatory and condolence expenses account for the largest portion of his expenses.

If you try to take care of this, it ends up costing more than you think.

I sighed softly and put my phone in my pocket, but another customer came from 5 am.

“Well, please listen to my story.”

He even kept repeating the story he said while being very drunk and crying.

Shit. This is where I want to cry! This way!

[AM 7:45]

The store manager who came to work was surprised when he saw my face.

“… What happened? “My face, which was plump before I left work, has now become half as plump.”

What happened? There was. A lot of that too.