Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 42 Monolingual Convenience Store Worker (1)
Editor: Hoamzz
After that, nothing particularly special happened during the night shift, but there was a small incident.
"Boss, this. How much is this?"
A middle-aged, balding elf with glasses came over with a flushed face and placed a bottle of makgeolli (rice wine) on the counter, asking for the price. I told him it was 1,800 won. After rummaging through his pockets for a while, the elf finally put down a 1,000 won bill and four 100 won coins with a clink, then asked me in return,
"Why has the price of makgeolli gone up so much?"
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 his wallet, then suddenly slammed his hand on the counter and said…
"Excuse me, boss. I!"
"Yes."
"Can 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 asking if you could spot me the 400 won—just this once."
"Oh... because you don’t have enough money?"
"It’s not that I’m short! 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..."
At that, he cursed at me for about three minutes straight, saying things like, "What kind of answer is that?" and "You’ve got no manners," before finally storming out. It was another enlightening incident that reaffirmed how few decent elves live 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. Eventually, morning arrived…
"Chan, hey."
"Manager, you’re here."
The manager arrived.
I immediately gave him a report on the handover details. Fortunately, there were no thefts last night, and no office workers had left their wallets behind. The cigarette count was fine, and next up…
"Oh, by the way, that puppy stopped by yesterday."
"Puppy? ...Oh, you mean the Pomeranian we talked about?"
"Yes."
"So, how’s he doing? Is he doing well?"
"No, he was practically starving to death."
"Oh dear."
The manager seemed curious, so I told him 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 I’d noticed something.
"What did you see?"
"When the puppy came into the convenience 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 creatures have that kind of ability? Like, rapid healing?"
When I asked, the manager, folding her arms, thought for a moment before answering.
“It’s not that there aren’t any. There are mystical creatures like Phoenix, after all."
"Phoenix? You mean the firebird?"
"Yeah. There’s actually one in a zoo about ten bus stops from here. It’s pretty popular too. But it’s hard to spot because it keeps flying away somewhere…."
"It even escapes??"
Confused, I asked, and the manager explained that phoenixes are especially intelligent among mystical creatures, so they’re fully aware of their status. 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 they give it, and then flies off whenever it gets bored. What the heck is that? 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 do they use the feathers for?"
"Medicinal ingredients. Even just a small fragment added to a potion greatly enhances its effects. This one here was made with a bit of it too."
As he spoke, the manager pulled out the small potion she’d given me on my first day of work.
"You actually made one."
"I’ll leave this under the dairy display. When that elf officer comes by later this evening, make sure to give it to her."
"Will do. But if what you’re saying is true, doesn’t that mean that puppy’s true form is actually a Phoenix?"
“That could be true. But that’s not what I think."
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 so tough it can fly at supersonic speeds without issue.
So, the manager's point was that the puppy’s wound healing instantly might be one of its abilities, but that alone isn’t enough to jump to conclusions about what kind of mystical creature it truly was.
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. He did try to summon a hamburger."
"Hamburger?"
"Yeah, but it didn’t work. Do mystical creatures have powers like that?"
"No, they don’t. That would be creating something out of nothing. Or maybe it could be teleporting a hamburger from somewhere else, but that would be a crime... But why a hamburger?"
When I told him about the puppy rummaging through the trash can, the manager's face turned half-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."
"…Sorry. I’d love to if I could, but pets aren’t allowed in my apartment…"
"Well, it can’t be helped then. No need to apologize. Oh, and…"
"Hmm?"
I was about to bring up something that came to mind, but I changed my mind and changed the subject.
"…No, nothing important."
"If there’s something you want to say, go ahead."
"It's really nothing. Just me overthinking."
“….”
The manager looked at me with a hint of concern but didn’t press any further.
The puppy had said it himself. If he had a special power, he’d 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 the manager might’ve answered if she’d been in that situation.
* * *
After finishing work, I went to bed. When I woke up in the evening, I saw I had a message. It was from a job search website.
[We’re contacting you from a snack factory in Gangwon Province. Three shifts, 2.5 million won per month, room and board provided, and our own commuter bus in operation. 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?
I scrolled up and checked my most recent messages, and the last one I received was three months ago. It was from an old friend, and it said:
[Hey, Lee Chan, how’ve you been?]
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]
Though working at a place that feels like it's constantly celebrating Halloween is a bit of a problem, at least I wasn’t in danger of starving. So yeah, I guess I’ve been doing alright.
Around 9:50, I went to work and switched shifts. The manager still looked at me with that same worried expression, but either way…
My shift began, and about 10 minutes later, these guys walked in.
Three customers came in hunched over, and wow. 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 these big guys were wearing T-shirts and shorts, and their limbs, exposed outside their clothes, were either thick or thin with strangely swollen joints...
But what was even more bizarre was the language they were speaking as they entered the store.
“????????”
“?????? ????????.”
“???? ??????? ?????”
The hell does that mean?
It’s not uncommon for customers to speak languages I don't understand while working at the convenience store, but usually, it’s not a big deal. At least they don’t use that 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’re expecting from me, I can manage.
But these giant guys were different. They didn’t even attempt that. 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…?
Since they were so tall, they had to bend their bodies halfway just to get inside, and even then, the ceiling lights barely missed touching their backs.
Even I, who had to ring them up by looking at their faces, had my head craned up, and when I do, these giants had their backs to the light, so their faces were in shadow. Simply put, they looked like a gangster.
I was intimidated, but I still had a job to do.
"I’m really sorry, but I’m monolingual, so I have no idea what you’re saying."
“?????? ??? ?????”
"?????? ???? ???????? ???????? ????????? ?????."
They kept trying to say something, but of course, I couldn’t understand a word. They seemed frustrated that I couldn’t understand them either.
“??? ???? ??????? ????? ??????????!”
The yangban on the left, who seemed like he had a short temper, 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. He wanted to eat here.
Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem, but with these giants, it was. I felt like they’d break the chairs if they tried sitting on them...
"For now… okay, I understand."
The 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 then started yelling again.
"???? ??? ?????!"
"??? ??????????????? ??????? ???????????"
"Sir, I understand your situation, but I can’t let you stay unless you fill this out…."
"??? ??? ????????? ???????!"
"Ah, what on earth are they saying…?"
“??????”
They were pointing and spitting everywhere, clearly agitated. 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 perched on the table, while the other one just sat down right on the floor.
Watching this, I immediately called the manager.
[Hey, Chan.]
"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 the manager responded with a voice that sounded like he was dying inside.
[It’s only been 10 minutes since we switched shifts…]
"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, and I wasn’t sure if that’s okay."
[Wait, did you say giant customers?]
She sounded completely startled. Are giants not a common species or something?
"Yes, they’re about 3.5 meters tall."
[Oh, then they’re not giants.]
“If they’re not giants, then what are they?"
I asked, and the manager responded in an innocent tone.
[Jungin Tribe.]
"And what on earth is that supposed to mean?"
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