Chapter 5
**CHAPTER TITLE: The Ban on Overconsumption**
The cat mom was the worst of the worst.
She had never once asserted ownership over the cat while feeding it.
No demands for the cat’s medical bills, no claims for mental damages from a car accident death, no obsessive stalking of a stolen cat to demand “protection fees.” Nothing like that.
She skillfully dodged anything that could drag her into civil litigation. She simply fed the cats.
She had apparently been fined for placing the feeding station wherever she wanted, but she kept doing it anyway.
That was why the police had no idea what to do.
Eventually someone who couldn’t stand it smashed the feeding station to pieces.
Right after that, police action followed.
The perpetrator received a fine of about 200,000 won, it seemed.
Because of that, the residents here were stuck in a situation where they couldn’t do this and couldn’t do that.
Moreover, the woman didn’t even live here.
She wasn’t even a resident of the nearby neighborhood.
She apparently lived in a satellite city two hours or more away by foot.
She took a small hatchback all the way here, tossed cheap feed to the stray cats, and went back.
The cheapest of the cheap, even by internet standards—10,000 won for 2,000 won worth.
Feeding that trash while taking care of pitiful kids and claiming some 20,000-won moral superiority.
No laughter came out.
I glared at the cats sprawled on the ground as if I wanted to kill them.
But I couldn’t do anything beyond that and simply walked away powerless.
I walked the darkening night street along the road.
The thick, heavy scent of the night sky filled my nostrils.
Sometimes, it occurred to me that walking in front of my house like this at night wasn’t such a bad idea.
Even though it was supposed to be spring, the nights were still cold.
I remembered that when I had briefly opened the windows during the day, it hadn’t been this cold.
How severe the temperature difference was.
I had regretted it bitterly after only two minutes in a hoodie that was just barely thick enough for the short distance.
I must have dismissed the last winter struggles too lightly.
“…Cold.”
I muttered quietly.
The big mart I usually went to and the convenience store I was heading to now lay in completely opposite directions.
How long had it been since I’d walked this path? Nearly half a year, perhaps.
Because of that, the familiar street that looked exactly the same at first glance had changed quite a bit upon closer inspection.
The newly paved asphalt roads, the trees whose branches had snapped everywhere due to this winter’s unusually heavy snowfall, the distant new buildings, the small café I used to visit often as a child now covered in a closure sticker.
…It had closed.
It had always been a café that few people came to.
That was why I had liked it and visited often.
I had expected this would happen, but when I finally faced it directly, I felt incredibly bitter.
Staring blankly at the building with its lights off for a long time, I felt the cold and hurried away as if running.
Just as I was about to reach the convenience store, I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t put on my hat.
I had been about to open the large glass doors when I noticed my reflection in the glass and realized it.
I was startled.
Countless warning signals flooded my mind all at once.
“…Ah.”
I wasn’t wearing the hat to avoid others’ gazes.
It was to hide the silhouette of a rather beautiful girl whose form floated dimly in the boundary between the convenience store interior and me.
The outline of an extremely beautiful girl was hovering there, but nothing was covering her face.
For a moment, my body froze.
Something inside me seemed to plummet with a thud.
My heart ached.
It felt as if all the air in my lungs had vanished.
My knees trembled a little.
My fingertips twitched.
If it had been something with just faint outlines, I probably would have sat down right there.
I hastily averted my eyes from my reflection in the glass, lowering them like someone avoiding a lion’s gaze and opening the door.
Ding-ding—
“…Welcome.”
A casual tone, as if tossing it out indifferently.
The voice of the part-time worker sitting on the chair, looking at his phone.
I calmed my racing heart and passed the cash register to enter.
As I passed in front of him, a hurried sound came from behind as he hurriedly stood up from his seat.
When I turned at that noisy sound, our eyes met.
Instinctively, that thought came to me.
That was why I tried not to look his way.
A clear gaze felt behind my back.
It felt like I was being choked by the pressure.
I felt my human self shrink to a tiny size.
Receiving people’s gazes was unfamiliar.
Even if I thought it was inevitable after becoming this body, I just couldn’t get used to it.
I hid my body among the tall shelves of products lined up, as if running away.
While casually looking around the many items, my feet naturally came to a stop in front of the open refrigerator.
Even at a glance, the convenience-store bentos and triangle kimbap looked delicious.
The hot dogs refused to let me look away.
After a moment of hesitation, I grabbed a cup ramen, two triangle kimbap, and a sandwich stuffed with a bunch of soft-looking eggs.
Umm, I should just buy this much. …Yeah. That was good. It would be too expensive to buy more than this at the convenience store. No waste, it was forbidden.
Thinking that, I turned toward the cash register when a small black chocolate cake slice caught my eye.
At the same time, my foot that had been about to step forward stopped.
My hunger grew even sharper.
Saliva filled my mouth.
I was seized by the desire to taste the sweet chocolate flavor.
Originally, I hated sweets, but the current body had become a sugar addict who craved sweet things.
I had once ordered a Half-Gallon of ice cream, unable to hold back, and emptied it in a day.
I had planned to eat it over a week, but truly, after that, I never bought a large size at once again.
…Uuuuuh. This, for now, I should… look at the price? The size seemed right. Yeah, I wouldn’t buy it just because I looked at the price, though.
…Wait a minute, what? This little bread chunk is 3,900 won? That’s impossible. Where is this overpricing? Is the world really going insane?
I absolutely won’t buy it. This is not it. No matter how much I want sweet things, I can’t pay the amount equivalent to three triangle kimbap for this little bread chunk.
I must act rationally. I will act rationally. I’m a modern intellectual, after all. And if I can restrain myself to this extent, I can call myself a human being.
The person who buys such expensive things is an accomplice, too. Yeah, that’s right. Because they buy it, the habit forms and they keep setting prices like this. I won’t be fooled by your marketing, will I?
Never. Never. Never. Buy.
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Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
“…U-um, one cup ramen and… two triangle kimbap. One… sandwich. And one piece of cake. That’s 8,800 won.”
“…”
She fell silent.
“…W-would you like a bag?”
“…Yes.”
The worker quickly bent his waist awkwardly and took out a plastic bag upon hearing my words.
“The bag is… fifty won…”
Dripping with helpless defeat, I silently handed over my card.
The tall, broad-shouldered man whose height was about one and a half times my head stared at my face intently, taking the card with a very tense face and carefully inserting it into the device.
Soon, the sound of payment completion came.
But the worker didn’t move. He just kept staring at me.
Feeling something was wrong, I finally glanced upward.
Our eyes met immediately.
He didn’t avoid my gaze. He just blankly looked at me, spellbound.
I hurriedly averted my eyes.
It felt like my lungs were shrinking.
Only then did the man realize his mistake, pull out the card, and hand it to me.
I received it awkwardly.
While putting the items into the plastic bag, the male part-time worker kept staring at my face.
I wanted to tell him to stop looking because it was uncomfortable, but I didn’t have the courage.
I just waited for him to put everything in the bag quickly.
The part-time worker handed me the bag with products inside, looking regretful.
I received it carefully.
Right then—
“Um… um…”
I flinched.
“…Y-yes?”
When our eyes met, the part-time worker’s eyes began to tremble violently.
His eyes, which had been full of confidence just moments ago, collapsed like snowballs hit by a flame thrower.
Finally, he spoke awkwardly.
“…Ah, no. U-um, because the road is… dark, be careful and go.”
My mind was briefly dazed before barely coming back to my senses.
“…Ah. Yeah. Thank you.”
I bowed slightly.
I walked quickly toward the glass door, lowering my head so the hazy figure visible beyond the glass wouldn’t catch my eye and opening the door.
Ding-ding—
A clear gaze felt behind my back.
I tried to ignore it.
The night air as I went back was… still very cold.
***