4. Hypocrisy
4. Hypocrisy
Putting the bizarre phenomenon aside, I had to return to reality for now.
It was time to go to my convenience store part-time job.
Let's eat some rice with beef jangjorim and get ready.
Even with the bizarre phenomenon and the acquisition of the Fate Card, nothing much had changed.
I just went to work as usual and worked as usual.
An ordinary quiet office worker, ordinary slightly noisy schoolgirls, an ordinary slightly annoying middle-aged woman.
It was a peaceful day, to the point where the morning's events felt like a lie.
And then, two ordinary male students walked in.
They didn't seem to have much money compared to their hunger.
Two ramens, two rice balls, and one bottle of water—I guess they were going to share the water.
Strangely, I was always hungry back then too.
I want to be a kind person, but I don't want to be a pushover.
No, I probably couldn't even become one.
Those students might just be short on pocket money right now, but they might live affluent lives when they go home.
They probably live more comfortable lives than a convenience store part-timer.
Nevertheless, I suddenly wondered, "Would those students feel happy because of my hypocrisy?"
Without a word, I took out a frozen pizza, paid for it, and went over to the students who were waiting for the water to boil for their ramen.
"You're at an age where you're growing, will you even have any energy after eating that?"
Seeing the students looking at me with puzzled expressions, I set the frozen pizza down on the table.
"Huh? Are we allowed to eat this?"
"I'm buying it because something good happened to me today. Eat up and make sure to clean the table."
"Uh...? Ah, thank you."
Good thing, my ass. It hadn't even been a few hours since I heard the news of my father's death.
Leaving the students' thanks behind, I returned to the counter.
The male students, who had been eating happily, cleaned the table thoroughly and greeted me again as they left.
"Thank you. We'll come again."
As the students walked out smiling, I heard the sound I had been waiting for.
-Emotion acquired.-
Checking that there were no customers, I checked my 'Status'.
[Cards Owned: 1]
[Current Emotion: 58/100]
[Cumulative Emotion: 58]
I gained 15 points. As expected, hypocrisy with a purpose works too.
That's a relief. The things I've done until now weren't wrong.
Even if a person has good intentions, if the recipient dislikes it, it becomes suffering; and no matter how hypocritical the intention, if it results in a benefit, it brings happiness.
I felt this while volunteering at an orphanage.
When politicians only visit during election season and toss gifts and consolation money at us, many people criticize the politicians' hypocrisy, but at the orphanage, those are incredibly grateful gifts.
The orphanage is more grateful for the gifts from politicians with obvious motives than for the countless people who only offer worry and interest with words.
Hypocrisy is fine. The moment I confirmed this, my head started working coldly.
15 points earned for a little over 4,000 won.
I'm not that interested in card rewards since I know that even the highest-tier cards aren't a big deal, but I wanted to be praised for my actions.
I wanted to be praised through visible numbers, like the cumulative score.
Now I know. I am a person starving for praise.
Whether it's showing kindness to someone or doing a good deed, it's painful if there's no reaction.
I am not a good person. I cannot feel joy from the good deed itself.
For a villain to feel joy from a good deed, praise or gratitude was necessary.
In fact, I wasn't financially well-off. I couldn't graduate from college and dropped out in my third year.
A couple was on a date, and the man used violence.
Seeing that, I stopped the man, and when I came to my senses, the man was bleeding with a broken tooth, grabbing my pants and begging for forgiveness, while the woman had fainted with a scream.
And due to reports from people around, I was taken not to the local police box, but to the police station.
For the first time, I received help from Mother.
Mother's acquaintance stepped in to negotiate with the victim, and it seemed they applied some pressure to the police station as well.
However, I had to be responsible for the 40 million won settlement.
The 30 million won I had saved up from constant part-time jobs during middle and high school, without spending money on common things like PC bangs or academies, flew away.
Along with the remaining 10 million won from the money I received from Father, I ended up with absolutely nothing.
More than the money, I was in despair because I had seen my true nature, and I ended up quitting school.
Fortunately, thanks to the fact that the studio apartment was in my name and my tenacity for work, having worked constantly since I was young, I was able to get back on my feet.
It's the time when many students come. I try repeating the earlier action.
I slip food to students as a service or hand a fatigue recovery drink to a tired office worker.
-Emotion acquired.-
I learned a few things from this experiment, which also served to gain points.
The points gained for the same action are different. Each person feels happiness differently.
I couldn't gain any points from a certain office worker who thanked me for the fatigue recovery drink, and a student who received a rice ball showed a higher score than a student who received a much more expensive frozen dumpling.
Perhaps if I were the one receiving such service, I wouldn't have felt happy either.
And as the last customer of this experiment, for which I spent 49,000 won today, left, a sound rang out.
-Emotion acquired.-
-One unit of Emotion acquired; issuing card.-
-Please select one of the 3 cards-
-Unselected cards may reappear at the next acquisition opportunity-
-Think of 'Issue' and 'Select' to begin-
Naturally, I couldn't lose my vision in the convenience store and select a card.
Let's finish work calmly and wait to clock out.
When the owner, who was the next shift worker, arrived at the store, I apologized and explained that I couldn't come to work tomorrow.
I knew that telling him the day before wasn't polite, but when I explained about my father's death, the owner told me to take care of things well.
Actually, this convenience store job wasn't a formal hiring. It was a fill-in before they found someone, a job they suddenly asked me to help with since I had worked there a few years ago.
After getting off work, I took a shower, did the laundry, sat in a chair, and slowly thought of 'Issue'.
In an instant, 3 cards appeared before my eyes.
[No 43. Health - D]
[A healthy body is more precious than any asset.]
[You become immune to all natural diseases, excluding aging or accidents.]
Ehhhhhh?
The moment I saw the description of the first card, my breath caught in my throat.
I checked again to see if this was really D-Rank, and if it was really immunity.
I don't even know the effect of the SSS-Rank Fate card well, so I thought D-Rank would just be for collection, but the first one made me lose my mind.
It's unbelievable that such health, which even the highest powers would kneel and desire, and which no human can escape the temptation of, can be obtained so easily.
Even Gautama Siddhartha, who founded Buddhism, thought that life as a prince was meaningless in the face of birth, aging, sickness, and death, so he left home and founded Buddhism.
Although it is powerless in the face of aging or accidents, isn't it perhaps the greatest blessing a human can enjoy?
And unlike Fate, the actual ability of the card was written on the second line.
I also wondered if Fate might have some tremendous ability hidden in it as well.
Calming my surprised heart, I looked at the second card.
[No 48. Cooking - D]
[Perhaps humans live to eat delicious food. Missing the closest happiness is a foolish act.]
[Acquire top-tier cooking skills.]
It looks much weaker compared to Health, but top-tier cooking skills could be truly tremendous.
If you think about the annual salary or social status of a star chef or a Michelin chef, it's no joke.
To acquire top-tier skills in one field, it takes a lot of time, effort, and talent.
But, can that feat be achieved simply with one card?
Also, the utility of cooking skills for gaining points from others' happiness is infinite.
Because it's basically one of the three basic desires.
[No 36. Eyesight - D]
[See the world with bright eyes.]
[Eyesight is significantly enhanced.]
The last one was a card that didn't pique my interest much, with a description like a glasses advertisement.
If it were for someone who has to live their whole life wearing glasses due to poor eyesight, it would be perfect, but I have never once been dissatisfied with my eyesight.
After a light deliberation between Health and Cooking, I decided to choose Health.
I haven't asked for the cause of my father's death yet, but if it's something like a family history of cerebral hemorrhage or myocardial infarction, that would be troublesome.
As the description says, health is the most basic and important asset.
-Select-
-Card acquired. Think of 'Status' to view the description again-
The Health card in my hand disappears.
And at that moment, unlike the Fate card, I can feel it clearly.
My whole body is overflowing with energy.
My slightly hunched shoulders, caused by bad habits, straighten out, and my skin brightens.
Perhaps skin blemishes are also classified as diseases, because my skin becomes clean in an instant, which leaves me flustered.
I spit out the phlegm that wells up; it's the color of ink, as if I'm spitting out toxins from inside my body.
I can't explain it, but I could feel it for sure. That I am now healthy.