Chapter 160 – Episode 160

They say that if 500 billion locusts sweep in, they will make even the United States and China tremble. I understand what that means.

The hot POS machine and barcode scanner. Product shelves were sparsely empty, as if bugs had eaten them. Even though I’ve already changed it three times, the trash can is full and keeps flowing backwards. More than anything, I feel like I’ve lost my soul.

These were all traces swept away by human locusts.

Am I even dreaming right now?

“Gasp, Hyunwoo. “What kind of situation is this?”

The store manager arrived at the convenience store in a hurry after receiving my call, so he was wearing a matching pair of clothes, and even pajamas and pink bunny slippers that I presumed were my daughter’s. Just by looking at that person’s trembling eyes, I could see that this situation did not make sense.

Because I responded too much, I could barely part my lips, which were not even able to separate.

“I don’t know what the situation is either. Without even knowing the English text, I just scanned barcodes all day… I feel like I’m going crazy right now. First, let’s quickly place a new order. If we do this, customers who come later may misunderstand that we are reorganizing the convenience store.”

“Uh, uh, yes!”

「Chop, chop, chop!」

I took off the slippers I was wearing as I watched the store manager dragging the pink bunny slippers that didn’t fit his feet. I usually wear my sneakers.

“Thanks, hey. Wow, what on earth is going on? What on earth is going on?”

“…”

While listening to the voice of the store manager checking sales and the store management system as usual, my eyebrows fluttered without me realizing it. At first, he seemed embarrassed, but soon after seeing the sales, his voice filled with joy.

I had hoped many times that the store manager would do well, but I did not hope that it would go well due to these human locust attacks.

Still, I suppressed these dirty thoughts and opened my mouth.

“Hey, store manager. Congratulations. “I suddenly hit the jackpot.”

No matter the situation, the store manager was a person who deserved this happiness.

Always at convenience stores and at home. He was a person who worked hard but did not receive proper compensation, and was always consoled with four cans of beer. Sometimes you have to smile like that.

When I think like that, I feel a little more at ease. Okay, let’s push those dirty thoughts we had a little while ago to a corner of our minds. It’s not like I’m a character wrecker.

“Oh my. That’s right. Well, it doesn’t have to be like this every day. Today, just looking at the sales numbers posted here makes me feel full. Hyunwoo, you worked hard too. If there is anything you want to take, take it all.”

My eyes were instantly drawn to the cigarette, so I slapped myself in the face and said.

“Working hours aren’t over yet?”

And, exactly three days later.

I ended up putting the cigarette in my mouth again, which I had vowed to quit.

*

I feel like my ears are bleeding.

Even when there is no one around, when I close my eyes, I hear various voices and requests in my head.

Does this include a gift? Do you provide separate spoons? Isn’t this 1+1? I’ll give you one, so can’t you just pay it for half price?

“Is this okay, you bitch!”

[AM 4:36]

I really felt like I was going to kill someone if I kept it like this. It was even more dangerous because my physical abilities had already increased due to the quest.

Because of that, I paid for a pack of cigarettes because I had no choice, and I am already chain-smoking with the third cigarette in my mouth. The moment the cigarette smoke that hasn’t been in for so long scratches my throat, my head spins due to the haziness unique to smoking and the feeling of spinning around in my lungs.

It was still nice to smoke a cigarette after a long time.

“Oh, fuck!”

Even though I’m not in a bad mood, swearing comes out. Maybe I was excited about smoking after a long time, but apart from that, I couldn’t quit without cursing.

「Crack!」

I roughly brushed off the cigarette ash and checked the message in front of me.

[Let’s focus on studying to increase our self-worth. The quest has been completed.]

[As a reward, you will be given 1 million won and a low-level speed reading skill.]

When was the last time I received this quest, and it was only completed today? Now that I have acquired ‘low level speed reading skills’, I am going to use it to read the novel that Song A-young told me to read.

For three days straight, without fail, people flocked in during my working hours. To the point where I wonder if he really has any ill feelings towards me.

At one point, when I was looking at the crowd of people who started flocking in at 12 o’clock at night, I couldn’t even see them as the same person. It seemed like a monster that was tormenting me, so if I had a K-2 in my hand, I might have unconsciously shot it with a barrage of fire, something I have never fired before during my service.

“Whoa…”

I want to sigh and somehow drive away the negative emotions, but it’s easier said than done.

In this case, I was able to 100% empathize with the feelings of my friend who had become corrupted while working as a civil servant. No, 90 percent.

Most of my guests are gentlemanly. It is said that they mainly deal with basic beneficiaries who are seen as ‘devils’ from the friend’s point of view.

[Hyunwoo Kim: What kind of fight are you fighting?]

I impulsively tried to send a useless message and deleted it. I’m afraid that if I send something like this for no reason, it will only make the child feel sad.

“Jeobbuk!”

I shuddered at the sound of footsteps passing next to me. I looked to see if it was a customer, and it turned out to be someone who quietly put earphones in his ears and went to the gym early in the morning.

“Wow, I’m going crazy.”

It’s just the store manager.

When you go to work the next morning after getting off work, you see a huge number of sales recorded on the poster. What store manager wouldn’t be excited?

Even though he looked sorry for me, there was something like joy that he couldn’t hide.

I understand. If you don’t understand that, it’s a big problem. Nevertheless, the dirty thoughts that had been pushed into a corner before continued to rear their heads.

‘Wow, why are so many orders coming in from here these days? ‘It’s almost 5 times the amount from other places.’

When I felt that even the ordering engineer who said that looked strange, I realized that the situation was not unusual.

The store manager carefully asked my opinion on whether to hire another nighttime worker.

I said it was okay.

I don’t know how long this situation will last, but if I hire one more person for no reason, the smile on the store manager’s face might be ruined.

It would be better for me to be a little more broken.

‘Physically I was fine to begin with.’

To be honest, if it were anyone else, I think they would have already fallen or run away. It was a cold-hearted evaluation, in no way overestimating me.

The only stamina gained through the quest was +9.

You can feel the difference with just +1, but a number like this is huge.

‘I felt it keenly even when I went to the Hanban Group’s mansion before.’

The problem was mental.

Another problem is that many people come.

The real problem is that 1 in 10 people are crazy people who think they are normal and make strange demands.

I asked him why he made me swipe my Pepay card, and when I told him that drinking was prohibited in convenience stores, he suddenly said that this was also food, so why not? The confident attitude of speaking as if one’s own standards were the correct answer made people crazier.

“Ah, back alley. Fuck.”

I couldn’t help but put another cigarette in my mouth, remembering the kid who carelessly threw away trash inside the convenience store.

“Ringle!”

I checked my phone while standing at the counter, listening to the now annoying sound of the bell.

“There really is something to this.”

It doesn’t make sense without something. This couldn’t have happened unless humans had been brainwashed as a group and gone crazy.

[Focus page]

While watching Hanae Bom, I felt like I was receiving mirror therapy, and I thought that doing something like a community would be harmful, so I didn’t bother watching it.

It’s been a long time since I went in.

[Search keyword settings: Convenience store Donjju, Sindong Station No. 1 convenience store, Nobel 24]

[Search.]

Articles containing roughly similar words, including provocative advertisements, appear in abundance.

It is said that 1,170 posts related to the keyword just searched were updated today. I’m not going to say anything to Han Ae-bom, but there are just a lot of people who do this.

As I scroll down with my index finger, I see various articles.

[The bastard working the night shift at Nobel 24 in Sindong Station sucks]

What is this again?

I wondered if it was my story, so I went into it, and there was no doubt that it was my story.

-I experienced something really ridiculous today. Everyone, be careful. The guy named Kim Hyun-woo who works the night shift there is a really unfriendly and fucking bastard.

As I quickly looked through it, a question mark appeared above my head.

What is this?

-I don’t eat much food, and I like liquids. I just bought a lot of drinks. It’s a bit annoying to take out recycling trash. I was going to drink it all on the spot and leave. That kid says you can’t drink indoors?

This bastard, really?

-That’s why I said that I eat it without any problem in other places. He says that’s the situation there, and it’s different here. Don’t drink in here. He was clueless. Everyone had better be careful. Looking at the way he talks, he’s just a psychopath. I really feel sorry for the store manager. Looking at that part-time job, I could understand why sales weren’t coming in as usual.

I was sure.

This is the guy who tried to drink inside a convenience store and lost his temper when I told him no. Even so, I took a sip from the convenience store door with only my face exposed…

“Wow, this is absurd.”

Even the guidance was quite friendly. Although he couldn’t smile, I’m sure he didn’t frown.
But, do you write like this?

After looking at the comments, this place is even more shocking.

-Wow, I really feel sorry for the store manager.

〉There was a reason why sales weren’t coming out as usual. I guess it’s all because of that part-time job?

〉 I also felt it was a bit unfriendly. When I went there in the morning, the store manager was very friendly.

〉 In the first place, he was that young and was working part-time at a convenience store at that time, so he already came up with an estimate. Let’s report it.

Is this what you call politics?

Once again, I understand why lawmakers are fighting with fire extinguishers in the National Assembly. Just looking at this article makes me feel upset, but how could I bear it if something like this happened right in front of my eyes?

No, there must have been quite a few people who saw that I didn’t do that. Surprisingly, I don’t see any such opinions.

-But why is that convenience store suddenly so anxious to increase sales?

〉 Come see this, I’ll take a link.

〉Thank you.

〉 Wow, the store manager was a pitiful person. Well, I will also participate in raising money. And Kim Hyun-woo’s nighttime job is trash, right?

〉Correct. I can’t help but curse when I see this little guy working. I feel sorry for the store manager.

〉We give back the same. Let that part-time job take care of itself. What if the store manager gets fired for no reason and gets unemployment benefits?

With a sigh, I clicked on the link and entered, and there was a video being shared there.

Looking at the explanation below. There is an added phrase that I discovered by chance: He is still the cool and proud head of our country.

[Author: Event Fairy]

[Reliability: 100%]

[Regardless of weekdays and weekends. This is the owner of Nobel 24, the first branch in Shindong Station, who comes to work in the morning, takes a short break for lunch, and then works until late at night. During the week, the only thing I can console myself with is the four cans of unsold beer. It’s been a while since I saw this, and I was moved.]

[I would like to hold a small event. We will provide support to the extent we can afford, so everyone please buy items here. If you show the receipt to me personally, I will refund 30% of the purchase amount.]

The documentary video produced with such ridiculous quality that you can believe it was edited by a producer at a broadcasting station brings tears to my eyes for no reason.

That’s fine up to that point.

The problem is that the main character of this video is the manager of the convenience store where I work.

“No, some crazy bastard with nothing to do would do such a good yet crazy thing…”

I mutter like that.

A nightmarish voice is heard from the entrance of the convenience store.

“Hyeonwoo, can you pick out a lunch box for me today as well? “I really liked the one you chose before.”

The moment I faced the face of the voice’s owner, Oh Hanam, I tried to curl up the corner of his mouth as if nothing had happened.
Damn it, it’s late.