Chapter 26: Hidden Mission (3)

The second mission was in the refrigerated dairy corner, where strawberry milk was in the spot that should have held yogurt, and yogurt was in the place for fruit drinks.

As if that wasn’t enough, the small box under the dairy products contained hot bars instead of hunter-grade sausages.

14 minutes 30 seconds, 14 minutes 29 seconds…….

Time was still flowing, even at this very moment.

“The second hidden mission was found pretty quickly, at least.”

Asha spoke consolingly to the contemplative Hyejin, but Hyejin wasn’t comforted in the slightest.

Even the organization by expiration date was a complete mess.

Mission or not, she had to organize it quickly anyway.

At that moment, a clever idea popped into Hyejin’s head.

“Asha, should I just use the time machine device instead?”

But as if scolding her for the suggestion, the system blared a siren sound and announced.

You cannot use the time machine device during a mission.

“It says I can’t use it?”

“Ugh, damn system. Fine. Let’s do this!”

Hyejin took a light deep breath and glanced toward the convenience store entrance.

There was no point in delaying any further.

She had to finish the mission quickly before Eunwoo and Suho, and the customers, arrived.

“Alright, let’s do this. Let’s see who wins. This is nothing.”

Hyejin first grabbed an empty plastic box from the staff room.

Then, she made a paper divider in the middle with newspaper and started neatly stacking the strawberry milk and yogurt inside.

After that, she began organizing them in their proper places while checking the expiration dates.

“Even though I don’t look it, I’m really good at lining things up. Not a single inch off. Perfect!”

Hyejin quickly checked the dates on the milk and placed two at a time on the shelf.

The one silver lining was that strawberry milk was a popular item, so there weren’t many left.

Next up was the yogurt.

Hyejin finished organizing it quickly, checking the expiration dates just like with the milk.

“Now all that’s left is the fruit drinks and hot bars……. But that’s weird? Where did the sausages that were originally in the box go?”

As Hyejin organized the fruit drinks and looked around, she saw the sausages lined up neatly in the food corner next to the dairy section.

“Why are these over there now? But it’s kind of amazing, actually.”

“If you have the mental space to call it amazing, then you must still be handling it okay.”

“Asha! I have something to say to you once this mission is over. Just hold on until I finish the mission first!”

11 minutes 47 seconds, 11 minutes 46 seconds…….

“Time is still ticking. I don’t know what you want to say, but focus on the mission.”

“Got it. I’ll talk about it again once the mission is all done.”

Hyejin calmly focused on organizing again.

If there was one thing she’d learned from countless part-time jobs, it was this mind control.

Maintaining composure in any situation.

Dealing with rude customers or insanely busy times without losing her smile.

That was it.

“I’m almost done now. Finished!”

Having organized the sausages and hot bars as well, Hyejin leisurely flashed a V sign with her fingers toward Asha.

“How about that! I did well, right?”

Second hidden mission ‘Organize the jumbled products.’ Achieved!

As soon as the system’s announcement ended, Hyejin started walking toward the exclamation mark at the entrance.

But suddenly, the door opened.

Startled for a moment, Hyejin stepped back a foot, and a hunter customer entered.

The exclamation mark that had been floating above the entrance was now spinning and rotating above his head.

It was following him around like a puppy.

Staring at the exclamation mark, Hyejin murmured softly.

“Is the customer the mission this time? Alright. For now, be as friendly as possible.”

Hyejin kept watching the customer through her glasses, but she couldn’t spot anything unusual.

What on earth is the third mission?

While continuing to observe the customer, Hyejin returned to the counter as if nothing had happened and said nonchalantly.

“Welcome. This is the 24-hour convenience store inside the dungeon.”

There was no response.

The hunter scanned various parts of the convenience store with a cold expression, then took a triangle gimbap from the refrigerated food shelf, picked up a cup ramen from the ramen corner, and approached the counter.

Hyejin held up the barcode scanner and said to the expressionless customer.

“I’ll ring you up.”

“Ah, excuse me.”

Suddenly, Hyejin thought.

Maybe the third mission is evaluating my service?

At a convenience store she’d worked at before, they used to conduct random tests on the part-timers to score the store.

It was done in complete secrecy, so the part-timers had no idea who the service evaluator was.

Only a few days after the test would they find out what score they’d gotten out of 100.

A service evaluator had come during Hyejin’s shift, and the score she received was 85.

It wasn’t a low score, but from the owner’s perspective, it wasn’t high either.

Other branch part-timers often got 100, 90, or 95.

It had seemed absurd to score part-timers like that, but it had definitely happened.

Recalling that time, Hyejin thought the current situation felt similar to being tested.

To not miss even the smallest gap, Hyejin spoke slowly to the customer.

“Is there any other product you’re looking for? If there’s something you need, I can find it for you.”

A kind smile and clear pronunciation.

“Ah, yes. I was looking for something else, but um, I think I don’t need to buy it.”

“Then, shall I just ring up these items for you?”

When the customer nodded, Hyejin scanned the barcodes quickly with a calm tone.

“Triangle gimbap 1000 gold, protein bean ramen 1800 gold, total 2800 gold.”

“Um, put them in a bag for me.”

Hyejin instantly recalled a past situation.

The bag fee.

The reason she hadn’t gotten a perfect score in the service evaluation before was precisely because of the bag fee.

The customer, who she hadn’t suspected was an evaluator, had gotten annoyed and demanded the bag for free, so Hyejin had no choice but to give it.

Plus, there were other customers waiting to check out behind him, so she couldn’t argue.

She’d given the bag for free, and that had been a point deduction.

I got deducted points because of the bag back then too. No, who would think a service evaluator would act like a rude customer? The evaluator is being rude, but I still have to collect the bag fee? All over a measly 100 won.

It was a tough situation: respond kindly to the rude customer, but enforce what needs to be enforced by asking for the money.

“Um, Hunter. I’m sorry, but the bag fee is 100 gold.”

“100 gold? Come on, it’s just one bag. Just give it to me. Bags are overflowing anyway, right?”

As expected.

The situation was unfolding similarly to before.

It was something inevitable when working at a convenience store.

She’d thought that after a few years, people would see collecting the bag fee as natural.

“I’m sorry. But at the convenience store, we can’t just give bags away.”

Then the hunter said with a sneer.

“Ah, is it because of the fine? This is inside the dungeon, so no one’s monitoring that stuff anyway, right? You’re bound to make a lot of money working at a convenience store anyway. And the bag fee is pocket change—why bother collecting every single bit? Just give it to me, quick.”

Hyejin’s head spun from the hunter getting worked up over one bag.

If last time it was a customer being rude over coffee, this time it was the bag.

What should she do in this situation?

She couldn’t charge the bag fee to other customers but not this one.

Charging good people but giving it free to rude ones.

No matter how much she hated conflict, from a third-party perspective, that would be unfair behavior.

Hyejin smiled at the customer again and said kindly.

“It’s not because of the fine—the bag fee is something we have to collect to prevent environmental pollution. Of course, I know 100 gold is precious, but I’d appreciate it if you thought of it as donating 100 gold to stop environmental pollution. I believe someone as good as you, Hunter, will understand.”

“No, what kind of donat……! Ahem, ahem. You think I look kind?”

“Of course, Hunter! You seem like someone who’s lived more virtuously than anyone.”

The hunter frowned in irritation but couldn’t get any angrier.

Because Hyejin kept smiling brightly.

Moreover, he didn’t seem keen on yelling more at someone who viewed him positively.

He didn’t look displeased about being seen as kind, either.

Hyejin secretly cheered inside.

She’d thrown it out there just in case, and it actually worked.

“Fine. A donation to prevent environmental pollution. I can spare 100 gold for that. Here, 2900 gold.”

“Thank you, Hunter.”

Hyejin bowed her head in greeting to the hunter.

The checkout was completed without issue.

“Ah, customer!”

She couldn’t lose her kindness until the very end.

Before the customer left, Hyejin spoke again.

“The triangle gimbap can be heated in the microwave, and if you need help preparing the cup ramen or triangle gimbap, I can assist you. And here, I put chopsticks in the bag too.”

“That’s fine. Thanks anyway.”

The customer turned around with a benevolent smile, as if he’d never been annoyed, and left the convenience store.

“Phew.”

“There sure are a lot of weird hunters inside the dungeon.”

“That guy’s still on the milder side. Ugh, I’m tired.”

As soon as Hyejin’s words ended, the system sound rang out as if it had been waiting.

Third hidden mission ‘Defend the bag fee from the customer.’ Achieved!