VVIP Perks and the Food Waste Fiasco
The enhanced sense of smell from becoming a VVIP seemed pretty useful in real situations too. I could distinguish and pick out dozens of different scents now. I should test this properly in a dungeon later, I resolved to myself.
Right at that moment, Levi Nas turned to me with a shocked look on her face.
"King, there are really so many rich people in the world!"
"Why?"
"Levi Nas has never seen this much food thrown away before!"
I'd never seen this much food wasted either. Maybe because this was a department store only the wealthy could afford, people's extravagance was off the charts. Is a department store still too much for us?
I cautiously patted Levi Nas's shoulder.
"Levi Nas, let's go somewhere else now. If we stay here longer, the smell will stick to us."
"Yeah! Let's check out other places!"
The moment I turned to head out with Levi Nas, my eyes met those of a woman staring at us from the entrance. She had a cart with a food waste bin on it—she must be the manager here.
"Kids, you can't play around here. It's a dangerous place."
"S-Sorry..."
An apology slipped out instinctively. I knew how rude it was to barge into someone's workplace.
"A-Am I in trouble? Is Levi Nas in trouble...?"
Levi Nas, standing beside me, glanced nervously at the woman. She seemed to realize we'd been the ones at fault first.
"No, I'm not scolding you... Are you two hungry by any chance?"
"Yes, we were going to buy something to eat at the department store."
I pulled out the six thousand won from my pocket to show her. To prove we were customers here to spend money.
"Hmm... You can't buy much here with that."
"W-Well... Actually, we have two thousand more..."
In response to my words, Levi Nas held out her two thousand won, but the woman just shook her head.
"The cheapest thing at the restaurants here starts at twelve thousand won. It's tough for two people to eat with that."
Was it because it was a high-end department store? Even the cheapest food was well over ten thousand won. It felt like the place was mocking me, saying someone like me could never be a customer here.
"Sorry... We'll just go..."
Please let us leave. I looked up at her pleadingly, but she didn't seem inclined to.
"Hey, sis has a ton of food over there. Want some?"
"Food...?"
"Yeah. I work at a place with a crazy amount of food. You can grab whatever and eat it—no problem."
The girl worked at a food waste dump. The "food" she was talking about was probably discarded scraps. This is bad!
To tell us to just dig through it? Even I, who'd lived a hard life, had only done that a few times—it was horrific. Was she saying this to punish us?
I clasped my hands together toward her in apology.
"We're sorry..."
"...For what?"
"For coming in without permission..."
I poured out my remorse with my whole body, but she just looked unfazed.
"It's not great to come in, but it's not a big deal."
"R-Really...?"
"Yeah. More importantly, don't you want something tasty?"
The girl pressed me again to eat the food waste. The hope that had risen in me scattered like dust in the wind.
Food waste tastes awful. The worst flavor in the world.
I slumped my shoulders and reached for the bin. If I showed her I was earnestly eating and reflecting, maybe she'd forgive the still-young Levi Nas.
"Wait, hold on...!"
Before I could grab the mixed scraps, the girl seized my wrist. My ears and tail bristled straight up at the sudden touch.
Why grab my arm all of a sudden?
I looked up at her with wide eyes, puzzled.
"Why...?"
"You can't touch this. It's dirty."
"But we have to eat it..."
"...What?"
The girl responded three beats late. Her eyes darted side to side—she looked baffled.
"This isn't what you meant for us to eat...?"
"N-No way! Sis meant something way tastier!"
"Huh...?"
It wasn't the food waste? I blinked in confusion.
Levi Nas's stomach let out a loud gurgle beside me.
Min Chaewon brought the kids back to the buffet. She didn't have the authority as a mere part-timer to serve them food herself, but she could buy it for them. It was an expensive buffet, so three days' wages would vanish, but Min Chaewon didn't mind. Just seeing the kids eat their fill would make her happy.
It's unreal.
How had they lived to think casually digging through food waste was normal? Min Chaewon, who'd grown up modestly but ordinarily, couldn't even imagine it.
"Kids, this is where sis works. Eat till your bellies burst, okay?"
"B-But we don't have money..."
"It's fine. Don't worry about the money..."
Eat your fill. Before Min Chaewon could finish, Choi Kyung-seok, the section chief of the Chinese cuisine area, approached her. She'd taken too long dumping the waste, and he was here to chew her out.
"Min Chaewon."
"Yes?!"
"What have you been—"
Choi Kyung-seok trailed off as he looked down. Two grubby kids were gazing up at him.
"Sorry, they looked so hungry I was going to buy them something."
"Buy them something...?"
Who was buying what for whom? These kids might look poor, but they were the department store's VVIP member's guests?
Choi Kyung-seok, who had some standing in the department store, knew. Lately, whenever Yeomyeong Guild members shopped here, they accumulated mileage under "a certain child's" name. And that mileage alone was worth tens of millions. The kid in front of him was more than just a VVIP member—he was VIP royalty.
I need to treat them with utmost respect.
Choi Kyung-seok quickly straightened his clothes and stood before the kids. It was the most deferential posture he could manage.
"You must be the department store's VVIP member. I'm Choi Kyung-seok, the buffet manager."
"V-VIP? King, what's VVIP?"
"It's super amazing, but I'm not a VVIP..."
Han Gyeowol tilted her head in confusion. The capable Choi Kyung-seok realized she knew nothing about it.
The guild hasn't told her?
She was under Yeomyeong Guild's protection yet strangely poor. There must be a reason for it. Choi Kyung-seok decided to keep quiet about the guild buying things in her name.
"Didn't you use our department store recently?"
"Yes, that's true, but..."
That wasn't bought with my money. Han Gyeowol trailed off awkwardly.
"That day, Han Gyeowol-nim became our department store's VVIP member."
"Ah..."
It was with Han Yeoreum, after all. Maybe they'd counted her as part of the group. Han Gyeowol nodded, somehow accepting it.
"Our VVIP members can use this buffet for free once a month."
"R-Really? Does it work for Levi Nas too...?"
"Yes. Of course."
Han Gyeowol's tail swished happily at the news of free buffet access. Levi Nas grabbed her tail and bounced in her seat.
"Amazing! The food place really has tons of food!"
"F-Food?"
"Yeah! So much food, it's the food place!"
Choi Kyung-seok silently listened to Levi Nas and Min Chaewon's exchange. He didn't get it, but it seemed Min Chaewon had handled things well. He knew she wanted to become a full-time employee. Writing a recommendation letter seemed like a good idea—she knew how to please the department store's VVIP guests.
We ate our fill at the buffet and, under Choi Kyung-seok's guidance, moved to a lounge. Maybe because of Levi Nas, the staff brought over lots of stuffed animals. I didn't know why they insisted on putting one in my arms too, but I figured it was VVIP treatment and just held it.
Amazing.
VVIP indeed—they treated us like nobility, enough to make my eyes go wide. It was all thanks to Han Yeoreum, no doubt. I should be even nicer to her when I got home.
"King, can't we just live here?!"
"No, this isn't treatment we earned ourselves."
It was VVIP perks thanks to Han Yeoreum. Best to end it after this once. Levi Nas seemed to understand, not throwing a tantrum.
"Yeah! Actually, Levi Nas likes being home with everyone more!"
"Really?"
"Yeah! And the dolls at home are better!"
Hearing Levi Nas say that made me happy. As I smiled at her with my eyes, the lounge door opened, revealing a familiar woman.
"Gyeowol?"
"Ah."
It was Han Yeoreum. My tail swished at the sight of her.
"Whoa, you and Levi Nas were hanging out in a place like this?"
"Yes. They said we became VVIPs from buying a lot last time. The department store's been super nice."
"Really?"
"Yeah, they gave us snacks and played dolls with us."
The women in suits had played dolls with Levi Nas. They even blushed, so it didn't seem forced.
"The department store treated you really well, huh?"
"Yes. At first I thought we had to eat food waste, but it was just my mistake."
"F-Food waste?"
"Yeah. It tastes really bad."
Ugh. Just thinking about it was horrifying. My ears and tail drooped. Han Yeoreum's face paled too, probably recalling the taste. Food waste truly was the worst.