“Hey, you don’t think I’m asking for all this for free, do you? That’s not it at all. I’ll pay for everything.”
“Oh, that’s not what I meant…….”
“Yeah, actually, I was wondering if there’d even be anything I liked in this convenience store, but after getting that delicious lunch box for free, I’m in a really great mood. I never thought I’d get such a tasty meal today. So, I figured I’d boost your sales a bit!”
At this unexpected outcome, Hyejin tilted her head in confusion, and when she turned, her eyes met Eunwoo’s.
As soon as their gazes locked, Eunwoo grinned and gave her a big thumbs-up.
Then, glancing at the customer who seemed intent on filling the basket to the brim while shopping, he quickly beckoned Hyejin over.
Like he was saying, come here.
When Hyejin approached, Eunwoo whispered.
“Manager.”
“Yes.”
“What’s the deal with that customer, anyway?”
“Huh……?”
“I mean, it turned out to be a jackpot customer, but if you just hand out lunch boxes like that, other customers might come and demand them for free later! What are you gonna do then?”
Eunwoo spoke almost like he was scolding her.
Hyejin couldn’t find a suitable response right away and hesitated for a moment.
After thinking briefly, she cautiously said to him.
“It’d be good to let customers taste for themselves how delicious the lunch boxes are. And since prices have skyrocketed after the dungeon outbreaks, if we sell cheap lunch boxes, people might doubt if the ingredients are trustworthy. So, giving one away also shows that we use good ingredients. After all, you have to eat food to really know!”
“That’s true, but I’m a bit worried. Of course, giving away one lunch box for free is within your authority as manager, so I can’t complain.”
“Thanks for worrying.”
When Hyejin let out a small laugh, Eunwoo exclaimed as if it were obvious.
“Of course I’d worry. I’m about to start selling here too.”
It seemed Eunwoo was seriously planning to sell holy water potions at the convenience store.
Come to think of it, he could sell his holy water potions plenty of places besides here.
So why did it have to be the convenience store?
It was a question Hyejin had wondered about several times since hiring him, but she said it anew to Eunwoo.
“But Eunwoo, couldn’t you sell holy water potions lots of other places besides here?”
At Hyejin’s words, Eunwoo waved his index finger as if to say, what are you talking about.
“I did look into other places, but they said working with a chaebol’s second son would be too burdensome. They worry that if something goes wrong in the business, they’d end up taking the fall.”
“Oh, so you checked out other spots too.”
“You’re not upset that I looked elsewhere, right? Eventually, I’ll sell potions on my own, but I want to try it here first. Working alone would be boring, but doing it with you, Manager, and the guys here seems like it’d be more fun.”
“Business isn’t something you do for fun, you know?”
Asha, prowling around Eunwoo’s legs, said in a small voice, and Eunwoo immediately retorted.
“I know how you think of me, but do you have to say it like that? It’s not just for fun, but fun is important too.”
Eunwoo spoke argumentatively, but Asha seemed to look at him fondly.
For the first time in her life, Hyejin saw a cat gazing at a human like a parent would at a child.
“But that customer does have the money to buy all that, right? I’m worried he’ll pick everything and then say he doesn’t have the cash.”
At Eunwoo’s words, Hyejin, who had been looking at Asha with a pleased expression, lifted her head to glance at the customer.
That was truly something she didn’t want to imagine.
Still, to complete the quest, she couldn’t dissatisfy the customer, so if he said he had no money, she’d have to smile and send him off with a “Is that so?”
And right on cue, the customer approached with his basket.
“I’ve picked everything. Please ring me up.”
When the hunter placed the basket on the counter with a thud, Asha, Eunwoo, and Hyejin’s eyes widened.
Perfectly timed, a system window appeared before Hyejin’s eyes.
Quest ‘Show Off the Manager’s Cool Abilities!’ 1/5 achieved!
Special reward for 1/5 achievement to be granted
‘A special reward for 1/5 achievement?’
Since the system window was invisible to Eunwoo and the customer, Hyejin hesitated briefly while waiting for the reward.
At that moment, the customer said to them.
“Aren’t you going to ring it up?”
“Oh, sorry! I’ll do it right now.”
At his words, Hyejin hurriedly began scanning the prices of the items with the barcode scanner.
As the items the hunter bought came out of the shopping basket one by one, the counter space grew cramped, so in the end, she had to bag the purchased items ahead of time.
“The bag fee is 100 gold.”
“Yes. Give me one. Actually, I think I’ll need two.”
“Yes, two bags for you, customer.”
Hyejin slowly packed the items into the bags while checking the screen and count to make sure nothing was missed, and after both bags were completely full, she said to him.
“Hunter, that’s 100,000 gold.”
It was a whopping 100,000 gold.
In Korean won, 100,000 won.
She could count on one hand the times she’d sold 100,000 won worth of goods at once in a convenience store.
“Here you go.”
As she received the gold he held out, the system window appeared again.
Special reward for 1/5 quest achievement: 100,000 gold
‘Wow, this is ridiculous. It’s basically just giving back the sale price as a special reward. Well, not that I mind!’
Still, excited that she’d safely cleared one hurdle, Hyejin bowed her head to the hunter in greeting.
“Thank you. Please come again, customer.”
Then, he smiled faintly and said to her.
“Sorry for making it tough.”
It’d be a lie to say it wasn’t tough, but she’d gotten through it safely.
Looking back, it seemed pretty smooth overall.
The customer, having brought in 100,000 gold in sales for Hyejin, leisurely exited the convenience store.
As Hyejin smiled and tried to catch her breath, the sound of a second customer entering was heard.
Hyejin instinctively knew.
He was the protagonist of the second part of this quest!
“Welcome, customer.”
After greeting him kindly, Hyejin carefully observed the second customer.
This customer was a young man in his twenties, with a round face and a quite handsome, likable appearance.
Hyejin steadied her mind as much as possible.
No matter what, she had to respond calmly. Without getting flustered by the customer’s behavior.
The hunter gave her an awkward smile.
Then, as if focusing on picking items, he stared intently at the refrigerated section shelves.
“Take your time choosing.”
When Hyejin said that, he nodded slightly as if to say thanks.
After pacing in front of the shelves for a while, he began muttering to himself quietly.
“Oh, what should I do? I want chocolate milk and strawberry milk, but they don’t have drink promotions like other convenience stores. In the end, I’ll have to buy them all with my own money?”
The muttering went on endlessly.
“Why no drink promotions? Is this place a bit different from other convenience stores? Their own event items? None of them seem necessary for me. Oh, should I just buy those cookies instead?”
He suddenly turned his gaze to the promotion shelves, then shook his head right away.
“No, I don’t like them. For now, one strawberry milk and…….”
The hunter looked extremely anxious. But looking closely, he also seemed flustered about something.
He must have assumed that a convenience store inside a dungeon would naturally have 1+1 or 2+1 promotions.
Since regular convenience stores sell a lot of products that way, it wasn’t wrong for the hunter to think so.
“I just can’t decide. I don’t want to spend more than 20,000 gold. Oh, what to do.”
‘Maybe this is the keyword-decision-related customer?’
With her heart growing anxious, Hyejin swallowed hard.
He seemed like a customer with some difficulty.
“Um, customer.”
When Hyejin cautiously spoke to him, he shot back sharply.
“Why? Do I have to pick quickly and leave? No, there aren’t many customers, and it’s just me choosing, you don’t look busy, but are you giving me the eye to hurry up and go?”
‘Huh?’
She’d only said one word, but at the customer’s voice shooting back as if Hyejin were chasing him out, she calmly shook her head.
“That’s not it; I was going to say if you need help, just call me. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
“I don’t need it. I’m not a kid. I’ll choose on my own, so don’t mind me.”
After answering like that, the hunter focused again on picking items.
“Oh, why are there so many items? Should I get kimbap or triangle kimbap to go? Oh, no. It’s hard to heat them all up, and what if someone doesn’t like heated food. Maybe just buy some bread simply?”
“That customer might take a while.”
Eunwoo said while watching the customer.
“Yeah? He seems to have a lot on his mind.”
As Hyejin replied like that, the hunter headed to the cup ramen section.
He’d clearly muttered about eating bread, but…….
“Forget bread, should I just get cup ramen? No, still, rice……. Oh, I can’t decide.”
Watching the customer who was almost starting to whimper, Hyejin let out another sigh.
‘These customers in this quest must all be illusions. What’s with whimpering over having trouble picking items?’
But a quest was a quest. Hyejin, who had been watching the customer with hawk-like eyes, stepped out from the counter and strode toward the bread shelves. Without even glancing at the customer.
Then, she called out loudly.
“Eunwoo!”
“Huh? Oh, yes!”
Eunwoo, who had been pretending to organize items in front of the counter while keeping a close eye on the customer, snapped his head up to look at Hyejin.
Hyejin smiled brightly at him.
Since she couldn’t recommend outright, she’d have to subtly guide him.