Mastore 174 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 174

If You Don't Know, Just Learn It (4)

The words sounded utterly foreign to my ears. What? We get to choose our preferred work hours...?

“Have Chan never thought about it?”

“Yes.”

Perhaps because my body has adapted to working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, I can't imagine myself doing anything other than working and sleeping. What else am I supposed to do besides work and sleep?

These past few days especially, my head has been completely filled with just thinking about how to handle the house problem and this Yuri kid's problem. Now those problems are more or less resolved, but another problem remains instead.

The toy display shelf. This one was the smallest and most fragile of all our store’s display cases. Because the toy quantity was low, it was using a small display case.

It limbs got bent today. I glanced at it feeling uneasy, and Manager followed my gaze and asked.

“Did elementary school kids break that display shelf?”

“I don’t remember, but it seems like it was based on circumstances.”

“Huh? Really?”

"All the kids here are crazy, Manager-nim. They were climbing on the tables with their shoes on."

“Aha....”

Honestly, it's not that I don't remember, I just don't want to remember. That little harpy kid who climbed on the table, what did she say after she got up there? Didn't she say something about doing something with the wing flaps she learned at school?

"...Yuri. You were next to me and heard it. What did that little harpy kid say back then?"

“She said she wanted to be free from the world that shackled her.”

"What the hell, is this her second life?"

“I don’t think so?”

"Then would it be better for one of us two to work between 8-9 a.m.? Chan?"

I agree with that from an experience perspective. It's not like things would change just because I'm working, but it's a bit much to make a kid working for the first time deal with those kinds of kids. Kids who say the world is shackling them...

"Do you have something in mind, Manager-nim?"

"I haven't decided on the preferred time slots yet, but what I have thought about... is this."

As he spoke, she opened up her notebook and showed it to us. The weekday schedule was simple. Three people, each working 8 hours over five days. The problem was the weekend.

Manager must have thought about it quite a bit because weekend-related content was crossed out like doodles or written briefly in corners. Among them, one note stood out. 'Is it better for one person to rest?'

“If we assume both weekend days are rest days, then two people need to work on the weekend. 12-hour shifts, two shifts.”

“Un. But there are a lot of things to consider.”

Let one person take two full weekend days off, this makes it easier to calculate working hours. You just rotate so that one person gets a week off every 3 weeks and that’s it.

However, it complicates salary calculations. Because the number of weeks in a month isn't a multiple of 3. Even if we separate Saturday and Sunday for rest, it's the same. Hmm...

"We can't all rest."

“Right.”

It seems mathematically impossible for all three of us to get weekends off equally. In that case, would it be better to leave the weekdays as is and have Manager and I work the two shifts on the weekend?

It’s just an extension of what we’ve been doing anyway. I subtly floated the idea to Yuri.

"Come to think of it, I haven't heard your opinion yet. How much do you want to work?"

"I... what do you think, Oppa?"

"It depends on whether you'll work just weekdays or all the way through weekends. You'll probably want to play games or hang out outside on the weekends too, right?"

It’s only been four months since she liberated from her school uniform. Working seven days a week might burn him out fast.

That's why I asked, but this kid answered without a moment's hesitation.

“I don’t play games. I don’t go out much either.”

"Then what do you usually do?"

“Stay home.”

I learned another aspect of this kid's disposition. A homebody. This is also similar to me, a shut-in.

"You're okay with working on weekends?"

"Yes. My semester ends next week, anyway."

"It seems she's fine with it, Manager-nim."

After saying this, I held back my words. I thought I was interfering too much with Manager’s authority. But Manager who was looking at us raised the corner of her mouth slightly and asked.

"You two have gotten much closer than last night."

"Huh? No... Yes. I guess it's because we'll be seeing each other every day now."

"So that's why?"

"Not exactly, but let's say that's the case for now."

If this kid can work anytime, the range of choices becomes much wider. Manager tapped her pen against the notebook before concluding while looking up at me.

"Yuri... would have no choice but to do day shift right?"

“I think so too.”

The morning will be chaotic with those kids, as we just experienced, and the evening will likely be chaotic with juvenile delinquent types like the ones we saw yesterday. I’ve never worked a day shift, but...

"Manager-nim, how is the store during the day? Is it very busy?"

“It’s hardship and adversity.”

This is what it seemed like. They caused this much damage to the store just by stopping by on their way to school in the morning, and now these guys come when the limit of ‘getting to school on time’ is lifted?

Then even a graze would deal critical damage. If there's no paradise no matter which of the three time slots you flee to, then you have to consider other factors.

Safety. After 6 p.m., drunk people start wandering around outside, don't they?

I can't have a 20-year-old handle drunk customers. At 20, every drunk person in the world would be older than her. Assuming we arrange for shift changes right at that time...

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.. In this case, no, this won't work. That means telling the next clerk to come in at 2 .a.m.. How can you get to work when the last train has already run?

No matter how I set it up in my head, it seemed awkward. Just as I stopped thinking, Manager clicked the pen once and casually handed it over. It had three lines written like this:

[10 p.m. – 6 a.m. : Chan]

[6 a.m. – 2 p.m. : Yuri]

[2 a.m. – 10 p.m. : Me]

I answered immediately.

“I’m satisfied with this, Manager-nim.”

I've been running night shifts for a full month, and now I've become a body that can't be satisfied unless it's night work. No reason to fight my circadian rhythm either.

Besides, since I'm working nights, the night shift allowance comes out as is, and all my regular customers' visiting hours were during night time. Changing shifts would make meeting them harder.

"I personally like this time the best. The canned beer after clocking out at 10 p.m. hits different. Is it okay for Yuri to work in the morning?”

“I like mornings, Unnie.”

Rather than answering that she liked it because she was genuinely okay with it, it felt more like, ‘It seems like they both have their shift set, so I’ll choose the remaining shift.’ If possible, I wanted to tell her to think about it a little more, but...

I kept quiet since no better method came to mind either. After saying this, I looked at the time and it was a little past 10 a.m..

Manager, who was also looking at the time, snapped her notebook shut and said.

"Let’s go with this for now, and we’ll talk about the rest later. Do you two have any questions?"

“Unnie. Then can I come in tomorrow morning?”

"Not right away. You have to learn the work for the next few days."

Convenience stores are surprisingly an industry that places importance on employee training, as they have to look after the store alone.

Because there’s no one else to ask for help, they make sure to explain in detail about potential emergencies or how to handle machines so thoroughly that it’s almost unnecessary. Otherwise, they’ll end up on the phone all day.

"Yuri can come at 6 a.m. to learn, but Yuri can also drop by anytime outside those hours. Even now, if only Yuri is motivated, I'll teach her the work."

“I want to learn.”

"Then let's do that. What about Chan?"

"I'm going to head home. I'm a bit sleepy today."

I’m tired, and I need to check on the transparent cat that’s stuck at home. If that thing took a dump or something, how am I supposed to clean that up? That probably wouldn't be transparent though...

Thinking about it, I changed into my uniform and watched from a distance as Manager and Yuri were talking. There was a piece of paper on the table that I hadn't seen before. It must be the employment contract.

As I watched her nod her head every time to Manager's words, a question occurred to me.

That kid didn't say a single word about my world while learning work today. Why?

I've spent time with her briefly yesterday and today, and I now somewhat know that she's not a bad kid. But separate from that, didn't she believe that asking about the place I used to live wasn't a bad thing?

That kid said it herself. She thought it would be fun, so she asked. At the same time, it’s the same reason I’m working now. I’m doing it because I think it’s interesting.

"Hmm..."

Later when I'm alone with that kid, won't she bring up my world story again? What should I answer then...

As I was thinking and approached them, I could hear the conversation they were having. Manager seemed a bit embarrassed, while Yuri was calm.

"Did I really not mention wages? Ten thousand won?"

"You didn't tell me. But Unnie, are wages important?"

"Un. To most people, it is."

"I don’t care about money. Don’t need it."

"But Yuri, if I don't pay you, I have to pay a fine?"

Then I'll take that wage. I briefly entertained this thought in my head, then gave up since it wouldn't even make for a decent joke. I don't know why she wants to work if she doesn't need money.

"Work hard, Manager-nim. You too, Yuri."

I was about to leave after just saying that, but at my single word, they turned their brown and silver heads in unison and looked at me.

"Chan, take care. You must be sleepy, so be careful going home."

"Watch out for rocks, Oppa."

“...Okay. I’ll be careful on my way, Manager-nim.”

After replying, as soon as I stepped outside, the sunlight stabbed at my eyelids. I walked a little with my eyes half-closed, and waited for the crosswalk signal to appear while thinking.

That kid, Yuri, is not a bad kid. Right now she seems fixated on working, so for the time being, she'll probably only ask me to teach her work rather than stories about my world.

It means the problems are all solved. I finished my thought as I crossed the crosswalk.

No worries for now. Today ends if I just sleep.

* * *

After entering the door lock password and stepping inside, I immediately realized sleep wasn't happening. No, why is feed scattered all over the floor?

Taking off my shoes and going inside to look around the house, I saw that the food bag was torn to shreds and strewn in a corner of the bedroom. Kibbles were floating in the water bowl.

And in the center of the bedroom. The entire bedroom floor was scattered with kibble, but only the exact center was neatly cleaned. It was a small circular space, just enough for one cat to curl up and lie down.

I walked carefully to avoid making noise and approached, and I could hear faint sounds from here.

"Purrr... wheeze, purrr... wheeze."

Now I could guess what had happened.

"This guy ate his food damn well..."

I leave him a mountain of food when I leave for work. But this transparent cat is probably around 3 months old. It’s the age where it can chew and digest steel rebar.

He ate all that heaping bowl and got hungry, but there was nothing to eat in the house. Normally, he might have gone outside to rummage through the trash, but once he had a taste of proper pet food, he couldn't stop.

So, he need to find more kibble. But where is the kibble? It seems like the smell is coming from this bag. But why is the bag zipped? Ugh, this is annoying?

He ripped it apart without hesitation, ate feed to his satisfaction and then fallen asleep. After thinking this far, I fumbled for the sleeping cat and lifted it up.

“Nyang?”

"Should I just..."

...toss him in a pot? With the living room, bathroom, and everywhere being a sea of kibbles right now, I could do it. Using the rage from having to do overtime right after getting off work as seasoning—

"...No. It's my fault for leaving the food out improperly."

“Nyah. Nyang, nyaang."

I can feel faint vibrations in my hand, so this guy seems to be struggling to be put down. I thought for a moment and tried talking to him.

"Hey. I've solved most of my problems, and now I just need to figure out what to do with you."

"Nyang?"

"So, let's try to get along."

It was because I remembered something quite fascinating from modern technology. I clearly remembered something called an automatic feeder or something like that....

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