The customer, grinning from ear to ear, handed over the gold but kept rummaging through his pocket before holding out a small square piece of paper to Hyejin.
“Actually, I.”
What the customer offered was none other than a business card.
“I fix convenience store fridges, of course, and all sorts of other things. After the dungeon gates opened, creator hunters popped up, so guys like me with miscellaneous skills don’t even count as technicians anymore, but anyway, if something breaks, leave it to me. This is thanks for giving me food you’re not even selling yet. Come by anytime, and I’ll do the work for free!”
At his words, Hyejin examined the business card closely.
<Electronics and Home Appliances Repair Kang Dongho 010-2->
Quest 2/5 achievement special reward: Free Electronics Repair Center Usage Ticket
Hyejin, alternating glances between the business card and the system window, replied in a bright voice.
“Thank you, customer!”
Once the second customer, Hunter Kang Dongho, left the convenience store, Hyejin slumped over the counter.
“Ha, that was tough.”
She’d received 100,000 gold as a quest reward from the first customer, and now a free electronics repair center usage ticket as the second reward.
The rewards were solid for the effort, but tough was still tough.
And there were still three customers left.
“Some pretty weird hunters keep coming in today.”
When Eunwoo said that to Hyejin, she replied calmly.
“Days like that happen sometimes. They were picky, but not bad people, so it’s all good. Plus, they helped our convenience store.”
“True enough. First time I’ve seen a hunter spend 100,000 won at a convenience store, though?”
Hyejin nodded as if she understood his sentiment.
Anyway, the quest was progressing without much issue.
As she pondered how to handle the remaining three customers, the convenience store door burst open.
Chime.
“Welcome. This is the 24-hour convenience store inside the dungeon.”
“Ah, yeah.”
He was a middle-aged hunter who looked to be in his fifties.
He entered the convenience store in a very hurried manner, constantly glancing at the watch on his wrist while pacing in front of the shelves.
“First, one canned coffee and one red bean bun, and then this honey bread overflowing with honey? Gotta get one of these too.”
Then he walked straight to the counter.
‘Huh? Not a quest customer?’
The sight was unexpected, making her tilt her head, when the hunter said to Hyejin.
“I’m in a rush, so hurry up and ring me up.”
“Yes, understood.”
Hyejin calmly scanned the items with the barcode scanner, then said to him.
“That’ll be 5,000 gold total.”
“5,000 gold?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Why are the prices so high?”
“Pardon?”
Hyejin shut her mouth like a mute who’d eaten honey.
Of course, it wasn’t her first time seeing this type of customer.
Sometimes—no, often—there were customers who grumbled about why things were so expensive.
She was just flustered because it had been a while.
Hyejin calmly looked over the products on the counter.
Canned coffee, red bean bun, and microwaveable honey bread—5,000 gold total might feel pricey to older folks.
She’d heard bread used to be really cheap back in the day.
Still, unlike other convenience stores, the goods from Induk Trading were on the affordable side, in Hyejin’s opinion.
After all, the buns were only 1,500 gold or 2,000 gold each.
And the quality was way better than what you’d find at a mart.
So Hyejin took pride in selling products that were excellent value for the price, but hearing they were expensive made her mind go blank for a moment.
How should I explain this?
“Um, well.”
“Ah, I’m dying from the rush. Can’t help it even if it’s a waste of money. Just give it to me.”
‘A waste of money…….’
She hesitated briefly, wondering if she should explain more about the bread, when the convenience store door opened again, and a customer with a youthful face entered.
“Dad?”
She seemed to be the daughter of the customer at the counter.
The middle-aged customer replied roughly without even looking at her.
“I told you to wait outside because I’d pick for myself. Every time you go somewhere, it takes forever for you to choose, so I said I’d pick your bun too. You couldn’t even wait that long and followed me in?”
“Who picks my stuff for me? I have to choose what I want to eat. Excuse me, Manager.”
“Yes, customer.”
“What did my dad pick? Is it these?”
With that, the young customer checked each item on the counter.
“Ah, I don’t really like these. What’s honey bread anyway? Stuff like this tastes good at a cafe. Does it make sense to buy this at a convenience store?”
Hyejin tensed slightly at the daughter’s words.
And she thought, Maybe the quest customers don’t come one at a time?
Hyejin decided to stay calm and observe a bit longer.
“I’ve had enough honey bread at Coffee Bean. And why no drink for me?”
“You’ve got water in your bag anyway, so I didn’t buy one!”
“The water in my bag is for emergencies just in case, and I want something cold! I’m thirsty.”
She was a bit rude, but it was the typical way kids grumbled at their parents.
She’d seemed youthful, but apparently still a young teen.
For a teenager, this was probably natural during puberty.
“Then hurry up and pick. You’re too embarrassing to take anywhere. I’m only bringing you because we’re in the same guild. When we eat, you stare at the menu for over 10 minutes—no, over 20 minutes. Who’s that slow? Geez.”
At his words, Hyejin’s suspicion was gradually turning into certainty.
That quest hunters might not come one by one, but simultaneously.
If so, she needed to be on high alert right now.
“Better to take time and not regret eating something bad. Look now. You think I’d eat this honey bread? Dad, you have no idea about my tastes.”
As the father-daughter argument escalated, Hyejin had no idea how to handle the atmosphere.
But she couldn’t just stand by and watch.
After pondering, she cautiously spoke up.
“Um, sorry to interrupt your conversation, but it’s fine to switch to other products, so feel free to choose.”
“No need. We’re in a hurry. Plus, our Hansol takes forever to pick. And then she wants to buy those breads with, what, poca? Idol photo cards? They sell those at convenience stores, so I try not to come in with her if I can help it. Why buy bread with useless photos? If you’re gonna buy, you don’t know what’s inside until you open it anyway, so just grab anything. But no, she stands there forever, taking her sweet time. Manager, does that make sense to you?!”
At the middle-aged customer’s words, the young hunter’s face turned bright red.
Hyejin could only smile awkwardly without replying.
“I can like celebrities. Looking at their photos while studying makes me so happy! And why say that here? It’s embarrassing!”
“I can’t take you anywhere. Huh? If I tell you to study, you just stare at celebrity photos. Since that’s how it is, I’m bringing you to the dungeon to at least gain some experience, and even then, you’re hunting for idol photo cards. Do you know how much time we’re wasting entering the dungeon because of you? I can’t live like this. Can’t deal!”
“Same here! I have hunter friends too, but you insist on coming along.”
“What’s your hunter rank? D-rank, right? What if it was way lower, like F? You couldn’t even enter the dungeon. Know that? At least since Dad’s an A-rank hunter, it’s safe for you—that’s why I bring you along.”
Hyejin flinched at the middle-aged hunter’s words.
[What if it was way lower, like F? You couldn’t even enter the dungeon.]
The middle-aged hunter had no idea. That the manager handling the checkout right in front of him was F-rank.
“My friends are higher rank than me anyway? And before being a hunter, I’m still a minor. Isn’t it natural to want to hang out with friends? You keep nagging, so I ditched my friends and came with you. But why do you keep getting annoyed!”
“Oh, please. Then just talk to Dad instead.”
“Ugh, what would I talk about with you? You don’t even know what’s trending among us these days.”
The middle-aged hunter snorted at his daughter, who was almost whimpering as she yelled, and retorted.
“Trending, my foot. Kids these days have no sense at all. What was it, I saw on TV yesterday—uploading photos of dead monsters to SNS to brag is trending! You like that? Better not follow trends like that! How’s that different from taking pics near a cliff? Geez, no common sense. Tsk.”
“You don’t know anything, Dad.”
“Ah, shut it! Anyway, I brought you because you wanted to come to the dungeon, so try listening to Dad for once.”