Mastore 42 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store Worker - Ch. 42 

Monolingual Convenience Store Worker (1)

After that, nothing particularly special happened during the night shift but just one small incident.

"Boss, this. How much is this?"

A middle-aged, bald elf with glasses came over with a flushed face and placed a bottle of makgeolli (rice wine) on the counter, asking for the price. When I answered 1,800 won, the elf rummaged through his pockets for a while, t hen plunked down a 1,000 won bill and four 100 won coins with a clang, and shot back a question.

"Why makgeolli so expensive these days?”

Beats me. I’ve only been working here for a week; how am I supposed to know what makgeolli used to cost in the old days or why the price has gone up?

When I said I didn’t know, the elf searched all over his back pocket, chest pocket, and even inside his wallet, then suddenly slammed his hand on the counter and said…

"Hey, Boss. I!"

"Yes."

"Could I, by any chance, ask for a favor?"

Is he saying he’s short 400 won and wants to work it off by doing dishes or something? I asked him again, and he added in a nasal voice:

"I’m, I'm asking if you could spot me the 400 won—just this once."

"Ah... You're short on cash?"

"It's not that I'm short, I’m! I’m asking for a favor here!"

After thinking about it for a moment, I replied,

"I'm afraid I can’t do you that favor..."

‘What kind of answer is that?’. After saying that, he cursed at me for about three minutes straight before finally storming out. It was an enlightening incident that reconfirmed that there's hardly a decent elf in this neighborhood.

Aside from that, nothing else worth mentioning happened, so I spent most of the time just sitting at the counter, lost in thought. Then morning came and...

"Chan-ah, hi."

"Manager, you’re here."

Manager arrived.

I immediately relayed the handover details. Fortunately, there were no thefts last night, and no office workers had left their wallets behind. The cigarette count was fine too, and next...

"That puppy came by yesterday."

"Puppy? ...Oh, the Pomeranian you mentioned before?"

"Yes."

“How’s he doing? Is he doing well?"

"No, he was practically starving."

"Oh dear."

Manager seemed curious, so I told her everything. How that little guy had been living and how I realized that he might actually be a Mystical Creature. We eventually parted ways, but right after that, I felt like noticed something.

"What did you see?"

"When the puppy came into the store, he had a wound on his ear. But when he left, it was gone.”

"…Oh?"

"No matter how I think about it, I don’t think I was mistaken. Do Mystical Creature have that kind of special power? Like, regeneration?"

When I asked, Manager, crossing her arms, thought for a moment before answering.

“It’s not that there aren’t any. There are Mystical Creature like Phoenix, after all."

"Phoenix? You mean the immortal bird?"

"Yep. There’s actually one in a zoo about ten bus stops from here. It’s pretty popular too. Though it's hard to see often because it's always flying off somewhere..."

“It escapes too??”

I couldn’t understand, so I asked. Manager explained that the phoenix, being a highly intelligent Mystical Creature, is well aware of its position in the world. Apparently, it’s also known for finding hunting to be a hassle.

For that reason, it shows up at the zoo for about 30 minutes a day, eats all the fancy food the zoo give, and then flies off whenever it gets bored. What the heck? I want to be a phoenix too.

"Still, just picking up the feathers it sheds while sitting on its perch is probably enough to cover the zoo’s expenses. In that sense, it’s a pretty good symbiotic relationship."

"What are the feathers used for?"

"Medicinal ingredients. Even a little bit of the feather powder works wonders when making potions. This one here was made with a bit of it too."

Manager said, pulling out the small potion she had given me on my first shift.

"You actually made one."

"I’ll leave this under the dairy display. When the elf officer comes by later this evening, make sure to give it to her."

"Will do. But, if we go by what you’re saying, does that mean the puppy is actually a phoenix?”

“That could be true. But I don’t think so.”

The phoenix's abilities aren’t limited to just regeneration. It can also create wind and fire with a flap of its wings, and its body is strong enough to fly at supersonic speeds without any harm.

So, the puppy’s wound healing instantly might be one of his abilities, but it’s too soon to assume that he’s a phoenix based solely on that, or so Manager thought.

After listening to all that, my impression was that the more I heard, the less I understood. Then what on earth is this little puppy?

"Did you notice anything else?"

“Anything else… Oh, right. He did try to summon a hamburger.”

"Hamburger?"

“Yes. It didn’t work, though. Do Mystical Creatures have powers like that?”

"No, they don’t. That would be creating something out of nothing. Or maybe he could be teleporting a hamburger from somewhere else, but that would be a crime... But why a hamburger?"

When I told Manager the story about the trash bin, her face went pale.

"Ugh… To go that far…."

"Manager, is there any chance you could take him in at your place? You could let him go out and play at night or something?”

“…Sorry. I would if I could, but pets aren’t allowed in my apartment.”

“Well, nothing we can do, then. No need to feel bad about it. Oh, and…”

"Hm?"

I was about to say something that came to mind, but I changed the subject.

"…No, nothing important."

"You can say it if you have something to say."

"It's really nothing. Just me overthinking."

“….”

Manager’s face showed a hint of concern, but she didn’t push any further.

The puppy had said it himself. If he had a special power, he would use it to help those in need.

I couldn’t answer him back then. Because I felt I couldn’t do the same. I was just curious about what Manager might’ve answered had she been in that situation.

* * *

After finishing my shift, I went to bed. When I woke up in the evening, I saw I had a message. It was from a job recruitment website.

[We’re contacting you from a snack factory in Gangwon Province. Three shifts, 2.5 million won per month, room and board provided, with a company commuter bus. Contact information is attached below….]

I immediately closed the message. How am I, living in Gyeonggi Province, supposed to take a commuter bus run by a factory in Gangwon Province? Are they expecting me to go all the way to the express bus terminal just to catch their bus? (Around 87,6 km. 54 miles)

When I scrolled up to check the most recent message, the last one was from three months ago. It was from one of my old buddies, and the message read:

[Hey, Lee Chan, doing good?]

Replying to a message that’s three months old felt way too late. After some thought, I typed out a short reply.

[I'm doing well]

Sure, working at a place that feels like a daily Halloween festival is a bit of a problem, but at least I’m not starving. So yeah, I guess I’ve been doing good.

Later, around 9:50 PM, I went to work for the shift change. Manager still looked at me with that same worried expression, but either way…

The shift started, and about 10 minutes later, these guys walked in.

Three customers came in, hunching over as they entered. Were these crooks giants or what? (양반/yangban in old Chinese refer to noble classes. It could also mean gentleman or educated person but in modern era, it’s often used as derogatory term, a rude way to call people. The closest I can do is crook or thug. I don’t really know English insult.)

They were ridiculously tall—about 3.5 meters, give or take. All three of them were dressed in oversized T-shirts and shorts, and their limbs—some thick, some thin—stuck out of their clothes, along with their oddly swollen joints.

What made it even weirder was the language they were speaking as they entered the store.

“????????”

“?????? ????????.”

“???? ??????? ?????”

The hell they’re speaking?

It's common for customers to speak languages I can't understand while working at the convenience store, but it's usually not a big problem. At least they don’t use those language when talking to me at the counter. They know they’re foreigners, and that talking to me in their language wouldn’t help.

So they usually communicate with gestures, use broken English, or something similar. If that's what they want from me, I can do that much.

But these giant guys were different. They weren’t even trying at. Each of them grabbed a few bags of nachos, potato chips, and cans of coffee, and then they started talking to me in their language again.

"????? ????"

Maybe it’s because their words sounded so twisted, but I felt like my eardrums were getting twisted too. What the heck are these guys saying…

These giants were so tall that they came in with their bodies half-bent, and even then, the ceiling lights were barely grazing their backs.

I had to crane my neck up just to look at their faces while ringing them up. And looking up at them, they were silhouetted against the ceiling lights, casting shadows on their faces. Long story short, they looked like thugs.

I was intimidated, but I still had a job to do.

"I'm really sorry, but I only speak one language, so I don't understand what you're saying?"

“?????? ??? ?????”

"?????? ???? ???????? ???????? ????????? ?????."

They were saying something that sounded like words, but obviously, I couldn’t understand any of it. I could tell they were getting frustrated that I wasn’t getting it.

“??? ???? ??????? ????? ??????????!”

The crook on the left, who looked like the short temper type, started pointing at a table by the window and shouting. I still couldn’t understand what he was saying, but I could at least figure out what he wanted. They wanted to eat here.

Normally, that wouldn’t be an issue, but with these giants, it was a problem. I mean, if they sat on those chairs, they’d definitely break them.

"For now… okay, I understand."

Manager hadn’t told me to turn away giant customers, so I decided to let them stay. But when I handed them the logbook they needed to fill out while staying in the store, they stared at it intensely and started shouting again.

"???? ??? ?????!"

"??? ??????????????? ??????? ???????????"

"Customers. I understand your situation is difficult, but you have to fill this out..."

"??? ??? ????????? ???????!"

"Ah, seriously, what are you even saying…?"

“??????”

They were pointing and spitting everywhere, clearly furious. I still had no idea what they were saying, but it was obvious they weren’t listening to a word I said.

"...Fine, just go ahead and eat then."

As soon as I put the logbook away, they finally nodded and headed to the table by the window. Two of them perch on the table, and one just plops down on the floor.

Watching this, I immediately called Manager.

[Hey, Chan-ah.]

"Manager, did you get home safely?"

[No, I’m still on the bus. Why?]

"There’s a bit of an issue."

There was a pause, and then Manager responded with a voice that sounded like she was dying inside.

[It's only been 10 minutes since we switched shift...]

"That’s true, but it’s not a big deal. It’s just that a few giant customers came in, and they didn’t fill out the logbook with their contact info, so I was wondering if that's okay."

[My goodness, did you say giant customers?]

She asks back, startled. Are giants not a common sight around here?

"Yes, they’re about 3.5 meters tall."

[Oh, then they're not giants.]

“If they’re not giants, then what are they?"

When I asked, Manager replied innocently.

[Jungin Tribe.]

"And what on earth is that supposed to mean?"