The convenience store was deathly quiet, yet Suho never once sat down to rest.
On the contrary, he kept finding things to do to the point that Hyejin, the manager, actually felt burdened by his diligence.
He lined up the refrigerated foods perfectly, repositioned products so their names were clearly visible, found a cleaning cloth in the storage room and wiped the glass doors.
He didn’t stop for a single second.
While ringing up the occasional customer, Hyejin hesitated for a long time before cautiously speaking to him.
“Why don’t you take a little break? I’m preparing a proper rest area for the part-timers; I even ordered furniture yesterday. It’ll be delivered this afternoon, so starting tomorrow, Suho-ssi can rest there too.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Yes…”
And with that, the conversation died.
Searching for something else to say, Hyejin pointed at the manual taped to the staff-room wall.
“Suho-ssi, if anything feels uncomfortable while working, please tell me anytime. I put a manual on the wall with a few things I’d like everyone to follow. It would be great if you could read it once.”
When she finished speaking, Suho, who had been memorizing product locations, walked over to the wall.
There were only five rules; nothing difficult to follow.
“I can keep these without issue. I actually tried starting a business once before. By the way, I don’t think you’ve told me your name yet, Manager.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry! I completely forgot. I’m Cha Hyejin.”
“Understood. Opening a convenience store in a place like this… you must be at least S-rank.
I never imagined there’d actually be a convenience store inside a dungeon. Since I don’t recognize you, are you perhaps a non-combat class hunter?”
Hyejin panicked at the sudden question.
Her eyes met Asha’s for a split second, and she hurriedly answered.
“Ah, yes. Something like that. But what good does that do? Unlike you, Suho-ssi, I’m not combat-class, so I don’t even count as a proper hunter. Just think of me as a non-combat hunter.
I was never famous like you either.”
“Understood.”
Hyejin secretly pressed a hand to her chest in relief.
Even though she was the manager, saying “I’m running this store myself to become SS-rank” felt like it would prick her conscience.
If she said that, it would sound like she was hiring part-timers purely for her own rank-up.
No matter how uninterested in money Suho claimed to be, from the perspective of someone whose calling was saving people, he might see her as selfish.
I want to become SS-rank, earn tons of money, flex everything I want to buy, and purchase an apartment with my own money so I can live with my now-lonely dad.
She obviously couldn’t say that out loud.
“Would you like to try handling customers by yourself now? You’ll get the hang of it the more you do it. Stock only comes once a week, so there won’t be that much organizing. The night shift will be tough on stamina, though.”
“Understood. That’s fine.”
Suho gave a crisp reply, walked over beside Hyejin, and scanned the POS terminal with a quick glance.
Since it was something he had never touched before, he stared at it sharply, then looked at Hyejin.
“So I scan the barcode, announce the price, receive payment, and give change if needed?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Hyejin smiled as she answered, and Suho nodded.
That was the end of their conversation.
Silence until a customer came in, ring them up, then silence again.
Hyejin kept a smile on her face, but honestly the awkwardness was suffocating.
Why is this so awkward?
It wasn’t her first time talking one-on-one with a man, yet it felt impossibly stiff.
Every time his expressionless face and those double-eyelid-less eyes turned toward her, Hyejin felt like she was standing naked in front of him.
I’m the manager; I can’t believe I’m this intimidated by my own part-timer…
She knew why she felt so small.
An F-rank hunter couldn’t speak casually to an SS-rank.
SS-ranks were objects of envy and admiration, but also fear.
That’s why casual conversation was impossible.
It was because Suho’s very existence as an SS-rank.
Even without that, just being one of Korea’s top hunters gave him enough presence, and he wasn’t the type who was easy to talk to in the first place.
On top of that, she was worried he might feel bad if he found out the manager was only F-rank, so she ended up being extra careful, even though Suho still didn’t know her real rank.
“Then would you like to try handling customers alone from now on? If there’s anything you don’t know or you need me, just say so anytime.
I’ll be right beside you.”
“Yes.”
Hearing his answer, Hyejin stepped aside so he could stand at the register.
When Suho came closer, his height (easily over 185 cm) made her instinctively take a step back.
With brown eyes the color of tree branches, he practically glowed.
“I’m sorry.”
“Pardon?
“I think I startled you.”
“No, it’s not that…”
Actually, I stepped back because you’re too handsome.
His looks were part of why being near him felt uncomfortable.
And they still weren’t close enough to be casual.
“I just thought you’d work more comfortably if I moved out of the way.”
At that moment, Asha, who had been silently watching them work, slowly padded over.
Then she spoke in a low voice.
“Work, just work. Stop treating each other like strangers. How long are you going to keep calling each other ‘Suho-ssi’ and ‘Manager’?”
“Suho may be older, but he’s still an employee, and Hyejin, you’re the manager, so relax. You talk back to me just fine even though I’ve lived over five hundred years and am way older.”
“Shh! Asha, quiet!”
When Hyejin hushed her, Asha replied with a completely serious face.
“No matter how first meetings go, if you’re this uncomfortable you’ll never work well together.
You’re going to be together for a long time.”
“Well… you’re right.”
“You can speak informally to me anytime.”
“That might take a little more time, Suho-ssi.”
“Do it whenever you feel comfortable. Then I’ll study the register a bit.”
Suho stood in front of the POS and picked up the barcode scanner, just as a commotion started outside the entrance.
Hyejin tilted her head toward the noise.
After midnight, hunters rarely entered the dungeon, so this area was usually quiet.
Not many people wanted to wander a dark, dangerous dungeon in the early morning.
But the noise coming from outside was unusually loud, and there was a metallic dragging sound on the ground.
Hyejin’s eyes widened.
Even though accidents happened often inside the dungeon, this wasn’t the sound of a monster moving.
Then…
Hyejin cautiously approached the glass door and looked outside.
She immediately covered her mouth with both hands.
“Oh no! A hunter is trying to attack another hunter!”
“Sorry? What did you just say?”
“Suho-ssi, this is bad! Outside, one hunter is about to shoot another with a bow! I think they’re the customers who were here earlier!”
Hyejin recognized their faces.
One of the three men who had been talking about the death in the dungeon was now threatening another.
Soon an urgent voice came from outside.
“Hey, hey! Why, why are you doing this to me?!”
“NO.”
“Dude, he’s completely out of it! He’s really going to shoot! Help me!”
Help how?! You want me to attack him?!
He already seemed weird when he left the store…!
“10000.”
The threatening hunter let out an animal-like howl.
The moment he raised his bow toward the hunter crawling backward on the ground, the convenience-store door burst open.
Hyejin, who had been leaning against it, stumbled forward a few steps before catching her balance.
When she looked up again, Suho was already sprinting toward them.
He shouted something, and a jet-black wooden sword, the kind only seen in kendo, materialized in front of him.
“No, Suho-ssi! That person is still human! If you attack he’ll get hurt!”
Hyejin screamed, but Suho didn’t seem to hear.
He charged straight at the hunter who was moving grotesquely, as if he had become a monster.
The half-crazed hunter turned toward Suho.
Black misty smoke was rising from his body.
Suho faced him, wooden sword pointed directly at the man, and shouted loudly to Hyejin, Asha, and the hunter’s terrified friends without taking his eyes off the threat.
“He’s been poisoned! He hasn’t fully turned into a monster!”
“Now that I think about it, he was eating something by himself earlier! He bought that protein bar because he said he was dieting, so I thought it was diet pills…”
“You two, when he loses consciousness take him to a hunter hospital. I’ll help.”
The instant he finished speaking, Suho began striking the hunter with the wooden sword: head, shoulders, arms, knees in rapid succession.
Light flashed from the hunter’s body, and soon the black energy started pouring out.
A moment later, the bow clattered to the ground, and the hunter collapsed unconscious.
Hyejin’s heart pounded wildly from the sudden incident.
It was only natural; she had never seen anyone attack or die inside the dungeon before.
Of course she had never witnessed one hunter trying to kill another right in front of her eyes.
“It’s safe now.”
Suho approached the fallen hunter, checked his condition, and lightly patted his back after confirming he was completely out.
The hunter soon regained consciousness.
“Cough, cough!”
“Dude, are you okay now?”
“What the… what happened?”
“You attacked me! If it wasn’t for that man we’d be dead!”
At his friend’s words, the formerly possessed hunter cautiously spoke to Suho.
“I… I don’t really know what happened, but thank you for saving me.”
“Go to the hospital immediately. If you stay like this you could get poisoned again. You need to get the toxin completely removed.”
“Again?! Y-Yes, thank you so much. Hey, let’s go. Help me carry him.”
The three quickly disappeared into the distance.
Hyejin watched Suho and the hunters from the doorway, then greeted Suho as he slowly walked back.
“I thought your class was Sword Master… Did you have other skills unrelated to your class?”
Suho stood up, brushed off his clothes and hands, walked slowly toward Hyejin, and said,
“If the chance comes, I’ll explain then.”
It was a polite but firm refusal for now.
Hyejin looked at him and unconsciously nodded.
Under the convenience-store lights that shone in the dark street, he was glowing brighter than anyone else, so she couldn’t bring herself to ask any further.