The Strongest Convenience Store Clerk (1)
After successfully recruiting Kang A-ram and handling a few miscellaneous tasks, I packed my things with a joyful heart. It was time to head home.
Nice.
Even better, the elevator doors opened the moment I arrived. It must have been my luck turning around, starting with Kang A-ram cheerfully accepting the transfer to the secretary's office. Humming a little tune, I slipped right in. I pressed the button for the first floor, and just as the doors were about to close—
"Hey, you hear that rumor?"
"What rumor? Nebula's got rumors popping up left and right."
"Whenever there's a hot rumor these days, it's always about that guy. And this one's got a solid source too—the new hire in the infirmary saw Secretary Seo with their own eyes."
"What?! That legendary Poké— uh, I mean, spill the details!"
?
Me? I'm just heading home right now... You could see me tomorrow anyway. 'Legendary Pocketmon' is a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?
Listening closely, I realized they were talking about me. I ever so slightly pressed the first-floor button again to cancel it. Luckily, the elevator didn't move to any other floor.
Gotcha.
—Click.
I pressed myself against the closed elevator doors and quietly perked up my ears. Eavesdropping felt a tad guilty, but how could I resist? If I hadn't heard anything, fine, but now that my name was out there, it'd nag at me all night if I didn't listen.
Sorry.Chungcheong cotton candy's got a lot of curiosity, you know.
From the voices, they were female office workers. Their conversation came through the wall crystal clear.
"The infirmary chief called me out of the blue earlier. That workaholic who never leaves his post—when does he ever call HR? I picked up out of curiosity, and holy crap."
"What?"
"Secretary Seo called the infirmary team to the conference room, but they were short-staffed, so they sent the newbie. And get this—both of them took tomorrow off as vacation days."
Eh?
Vacation days? Why that precious commodity? And newbies usually worry about their seniors' glares, right?
No way they're misunderstanding it as my fault...?
Suddenly, the terrifying phrase 'office outcast' echoed in my ears.
Anything but that!!
I couldn't relive my high school nightmares here! Doubts of what the hell did I even do? and a crisis sense of this can't go on surged up together. Still, the woman's words continued.
"He doesn't treat people like people. Sees 'em as walking labor, human resources... stuff like that. The infirmary chief spilled the details when I said I'd have to write a report. Apparently, both newbies complained of intense mental trauma. That's why they're rushing off for counseling."
"Whoa... I thought it was scary just hearing about it, but if even sturdy infirmary newbies get carried out on vibes alone..."
"Chairman Seol Hwi scouted him personally."
......
Where did it all go wrong? This conversation, this whole situation—what the hell? The intense mental trauma was mine. Someone counsel me too, please.
As I froze behind the door, the woman joked,
"No tiger sires a weak cub, right? If the monstrous chairman picked her chief secretary herself, he's gotta be a monster too."
"...Kinda scary."
After that, the office ladies' voices faded until they were gone. I hung my head and pressed the first-floor button.
—Whirrr.
Watching the floor numbers slowly descend, I sank into thought.
This is so unfair.
I'd somehow ended up in a game I hadn't even cleared well, thrashing around to survive in an evil megacorp. Things got all twisted, landing me this burdensome title of chief secretary. I'd finally made a cotton-candy friend to catch my breath, and now...!
These misunderstandings spreading everywhere!
Wahhh. All I did was follow the chairman's orders.
Comfort me, Pororing.
I missed that cute plush that fit perfectly in my arms, wrapping around just right. My mood plummeted. I tried to cheer myself up. At least I'm alive. Grab a drink.
Seol Hwi seemed to like me for some reason, and I'd gotten closer to Team Leader Yu Seo-yeong too.
Gotta buy Yu Team Leader some coffee later.
I owed her big from the manuals and handovers at the start. She'd helped me a ton besides that, and good people deserve good treatment.
Especially Starbucks.
That high-end brand miles above my usual cheap stuff—a single coffee cost as much as a bowl of kkukbap! Bourgeoisie territory. Imagining my wallet slimming down, I steeled my resolve.
—Ding!
The doors opened right on cue, and—
"That's why it pissed me off so much! Why are guys always—"
"Hey hey! You're crazy! Watch where you're—"
"Psh, don't overreact, just get on... Huh...?"
"Good evening. Heading back up during quitting time? Overtime?"
I bumped into a lively group of employees. But the energetic one who met my eyes reacted strangely. Her face paled, and she fidgeted anxiously.
"N-no! No! My mistake! I'll... I'll write a self-criticism report?!"
"......I have no intention of punishing you, though."
And what mistake did you even make? Was Nebula so evil that employees had to watch their step just to clock out?
It is an evil organization.
Nebula terrifies me. She must be suffering through corporate life too. I felt the plight of a fellow comrade deep in my bones. Now I noticed the thick stack of documents in her hands—probably overtime's fruit. With sympathetic eyes, I stepped aside.
"Go on up."
"...Ah."
"What are you doing? Get in."
"S-sorry...," she sniffled.
......
This was driving me insane. With a hollow heart, I flipped my psycho mask back on.
"Have the self-criticism on my desk by noon tomorrow. Use inverted pyramid structure and the five Ws and H format. May I expect diligent execution from you?"
"Th-thank you!!!!"
Since when did "write a self-criticism" get a "thank you" response? The world moved so fast. I'd become an out-of-touch old fogey behind the trends.
"What are you all doing?! Hurry up and get in!!"
Whoosh.
The employees, frozen like ice statues, swarmed into the elevator the second I stepped out.
—The doors are closing.
I'm exhausted.
The heavy metallic sound and ascending elevator. I trailed its path with weary eyes. Meanwhile, other employees in the first-floor lobby watched and murmured,
"......That was Secretary Seo, right? Just like the rumors."
"Tch, can't even sense a trace of mana residue. Word is, even Team Leader Yu Seo-yeong from the Superhuman Strike Force can't detect it."
"Wonder what he did before."
"......"
They'd interpreted it all wrong.
Ah.
I was genuinely tired now. On a day like this, I needed booze. Grab some beer and spicy-sweet chicken from the convenience store. With quick steps, I hurried out of Nebula's first-floor lobby.
* * *
Hunter. Superhumans born after the gates opened. Individuals who could cleave mountains single-handedly and paint the skies with flames. In modern Korea, they were humanity's vanguard, traversing gates and reality to mine precious resources.
After the initial chaos, society classified them into nine ranks, from 0 general civilians to the rest. 9~7 formed the backbone of the superhuman industry; 6~4 transcended human limits into true superhumans; 3~2 were national assets under strict management; and 1 were strategic deterrents in their own right—Korea had only three, including Seol Hwi.
High-rank hunters often drew celebrity-level attention. As they awakened and honed their mana, their bodies optimized, sometimes gaining striking features. Hunters boasting both power and beauty became idols easily enough.
Yet some hid from the public eye. Take Seong Ha-yun of Atlas, the [Ice Wall]. Atlas rivaled Nebula as a megacorp. Her position as team leader in their Strategic Business Division, plus her ability's side effects—blue-tinted hair and sapphire eyes—should've drawn stares, but she concealed them per her own wishes.
"Yawwwn...."
The woman yawning lazily across the convenience store counter was Seong Ha-yun. One word to describe her: mischievous weirdo.
La la~ La la la la~
Dear DS Convenience Store family, it's now shelf reorganization time. Please bring forward the older products and restock~.
"Yawwwn."
Seong Ha-yun grumbled but got up and diligently sorted the shelves. Considering her monthly earnings as a 3 hunter, the point was she genuinely enjoyed clerking.
The reason was bizarre. As 3 hunter Seong Ha-yun, she got top-tier treatment as an overwhelming powerhouse. But after a day or two, the consistent reactions bored her stiff. That's why.
She took the convenience store gig to escape her dull routine(?) and savor raw reactions from all sorts of people. Sometimes a customer bought her coffee, tastier than Atlas's 3-million-won dining; jerks got her awkward bows. Inside, she'd think:
'Name?'
'Seong Ha-yun.'
'Side gig?'
'Convenience store clerk.'
'Puhaha. So main job?'
'3 hunter, Atlas Strategic Business Division team leader, treated as a captain during national emergencies.'
'Wh-what!?'
'Split you in half and done.'
"Grrraaah!"
She'd indulge in elementary-school fantasies for laughs. Luckily, post-gate Korea had shed many appearance biases. With hunters awakening gender-swap abilities, who cared about hair or eye color? Koreans adapted with Olympic double-gold flexibility like Evgenia Kanaeva, minds soft as mochi.
Horns on your head? Happens. No more hats, huh. Fox ears? Which ear for headphones? They were tempered for otherworldly banter. And fast too—Koreans mastered turning the living into the dead via internet voodoo pre-gates, cyber-gladiators wielding black humor and pad-lips like sword and shield in pankration comedy.
Seong Ha-yun, with her glowing blue long hair and sapphire eyes, could pass as a clerk with enough shamelessness.
Lately, her interest fixed on a frequent male customer.
"Welcome~."
He's here again today.
She set down the castella she'd been hastily sorting and returned to the counter. Then she eyed the entering man—Seo Han-gyeol—closely.
"Hmm. Spicy-Sweet Chicken is 40% off... But checking the production date, the frying's probably all soggy by now. Garlic-Garlic Chicken costs 500 won more but looks fresher. Ah, tough choice...."
Seo Han-gyeol agonized in the fresh display, holding instant chicken packs in both hands. Thick curiosity gleamed in Seong Ha-yun's eyes as she watched.
Took a few days, but I get it now.
Surface level: ordinary. Neat suit, tie, briefcase. But as a 3 hunter, she'd pinpointed the incongruity.
At first, I pegged him as a decent-looking stiff. What a guy.
He'd fooled even her, Atlas Strategic Business Division team leader. Most hunters would mistake him for a civilian.
But I found it.
Smiling, she recalled his anomaly.