Intern Agent Cha Ji-young
Intern Agent Cha Ji-young
That thing held by the hamster doll.
At a glance, it looks like a gun, but it isn't an actual firearm.
'It looks crudely made too. Above all, the tip of the muzzle is orange.'
Since I handled real firearms at my previous job, it was a fact I could be confident in.
Decisively, the green pea currently rolling degururu across the floor.
It must have been fired from that toy gun.
The firecracker sound from earlier was likely a recorded sound effect designed to play whenever the trigger was pulled.
" ...Customer-nim. "
But still.
:: Did you just shoot this, Customer-nim...? ::
Even if it's a fake.
And even if no one was hit.
You shouldn't just go around shooting things like that, should you?
And inside a shop, no less!
"I-I'm sorry!"
The hamster doll customer quickly admitted her fault.
The sight of her repeatedly bowing her plush head was cute yet elicited pity.
As my anger cooled down, a question finally reared its head.
If she was going to admit her mistake so quickly, why do something so baffling in the first place?
"Th-That's because the door won't open...."
"The door?"
Come to think of it, the astronaut customer who visited last time said the same thing.
I felt a strange sense of deja vu.
I should fix it up later.
If a shop's door doesn't open properly, even visiting customers will turn away.
If I handed out a survey, they would probably check 'No' under the intent to revisit.
"I-I'm sorry. I called out to you anxiously, but you couldn't hear me, so without realizing it...!"
Mmm... It's probably because of this classical music filling the shop.
It seemed the hamster customer's voice had been drowned out by it.
Honestly, it bothered me quite a bit too. If not for the rules, I would have turned it off long ago.
Along with a bit of empathy, one question was resolved.
But that, in turn, gave rise to another question.
" Why were you trying to open the door? "
"Ah."
" I haven't even properly treated you yet...! "
"Th-That's—."
###
:: But why are you holding onto the door? ::
:: I haven't even properly treated you yet...! ::
"Ah, a-ah. About that."
Calm down, Cha Jiyoung. Calm down.
Even though I somehow got caught up in a ghost story and ended up packaged and delivered alongside corpses.
Even though bullets blessed by a priest don't work on it at all.
Facing a fluid monster over two meters tall, looking as if black liquid had taken human form,
dripping all over its body!
Even though I'm a complete rookie on her very first field deployment!!
Facing an anomaly all by myself without a single senior agent!!!
I must stay calm!!!!
:: You're shaking. Is it still the aftereffects of being in the freezer warehouse? ::
"Ah, yes. Yes. I think so."
:: Mmm. Would you like to cover yourself with this? ::
Just as I was about to absentmindedly accept it while saying thank you—
I realized that it was the outer skin of the thing the anomaly in front of me called a piñata.
"I-I'm fine! It would be bad to cause any more trouble!"
:: Is that so? ::
Haa. Haa.
I survived, right? I rejected it without thinking, but I survived just now, right?
Seeing that anomaly nod its head, it seems so....
I forced the corners of my mouth upward into a smile.
Just as I thought things were passing smoothly—
:: So, why were you holding onto the door? ::
—Ahhh.
You haven't forgotten yet?!
Just let it slide already!
"Th-That's. Th-That is to say."
:: Yes, yes. ::
"Th-Th... Air! Yes, the air! Because I kept breathing only murky air inside the warehouse! I wanted to get some fresh air!"
:: Aha, I see. ::
Once again, the anomaly nods its head.
...Did I somehow get through to it?
:: What a relief. I almost had to take action. ::
:: According to the shop's rules. ::
:: If I had to take action even against someone who wasn't originally meant to come, someone delivered by mistake... I would have been deeply regretful. ::
Ppokkeum-ppokkeum.
Holes forming as air bubbles popped from the anomaly's near-liquid body.
From those holes, acting in place of a mouth, a muffled sound came out as if submerged in water.
Watching that sight, Cha Jiyoung thought.
I'm glad too. Sincerely.
Thinking she had gotten past one crisis, Cha Jiyoung swept her chest in relief.
She felt sweat trickling down her cheek.
But she didn't dare wipe it away.
'The door is the boundary between reality and anomaly. The line separating anomaly from reality.'
Sometimes it's a rule, and sometimes it's a physical place.
Getting caught up in a ghost story happens because a boundary was breached.
The moment one crosses a set line, they are transported from reality to the world of anomalies.
"Y-Yes, yes. That's right. So could you please open the door?"
And the door is the embodiment of that boundary.
It might be shallow thinking.
But by crossing that boundary again—that is, the door—wouldn't it be possible to return to the real world?
:: Aha, of course. ::
Yes. It worked!
The black anomaly nodded its head.
Cha Jiyoung's expression brightened, but...
:: But I don't know if even I can open this, you know? ::
At the returning answer, she turned pale again.
Are you teasing me?
Just like earlier and right now, are you fucking teasing me?
She wanted to scream her heart out.
If you're going to kill me, don't toy with me and just kill me gently!!
'Euheoheoheong!'
Where on earth did things go so wrong?
Cha Jiyoung desperately swallowed her tears.
### ###
Mmm. This is troubling.
First it was the astronaut customer who came by last time, and now even our plush hamster customer.
The door keeps acting up.
And a broken door doesn't discriminate between people.
Perhaps the reason I opened it without any problems last time was simply because I was lucky.
" But I don't know if even I can open this, you know? "
"...!"
At my answer, the hamster doll covered her mouth.
Why is she doing that? She seems deeply shocked.
:: Maybe she's dizzy because of the candy smell? ::
:: Perfume smells like a stench if it's too strong, after all. It must be something like that. ::
Once again, Tinkerbell explained articulately.
It bothered me a little that she was giggling kideuk-kideuk even though it wasn't a laughing matter at all.
" Did you secretly steal and eat candy behind my back? "
:: Who knowss~? ::
" I'm going to check after I send Customer-nim off, got it? "
"H-Hiiiek!"
" ? "
For some reason, the hamster was startled.
I didn't know which part of that conversation startled her, but either way, chatting in front of a customer isn't polite.
At any rate, checking whether the door is broken comes first.
When I grabbed the doorknob and pulled—
Dallang-.
It opened without any problems.
Even though I didn't put much force into it.
"A-Ahaha. Yes. I must have been mistaken."
The hamster laughed awkwardly and avoided my gaze.
More specifically, she glanced toward the direction of the door.
It must be embarrassing that the door she struggled with opened so easily.
She was probably pretending to be interested in the door to awkwardly avoid my eyes.
She desperately pretended to care about where the door was broken, but...
The angle of her gaze was subtly tilted, actually pointing beyond it, which supported my guess.
"Actually, while doing something at home, I got dragged— no, ended up visiting here."
" Aha. I see. "
"So would it be alright if I head out first since it's urgent?"
" Oh dear, but the lollipops aren't ready yet. The taffy is delicious too. After I caused so much trouble, I'll be sad if you don't eat some. "
"Pbyak! Th-Then I would love to try it, but...."
...Is she in a big hurry?
" Phew. "
A sigh escaped me involuntarily out of disappointment.
I was confident I could make them really delicious.
Even though I knew it was impolite to keep pressing her, I couldn't help feeling disappointed by the refusal.
It felt like a chirping sound was mixed into the sigh, but surely it was just my imagination.
" Ah! Then how about something like this? "
As I pondered over and over, a brilliant idea occurred to me.
" How about you tell me where your house is, Customer-nim? "
"H-House?"
" Yes. If you give me your home address, I'll send it to you via delivery. "
Wouldn't that work out?
Gulp. The hamster doll swallowed her saliva.
Her large eyes blinked.
Within those big eyes, a trace of hesitation flickered for a moment—
"Ah. Wait, so you don't know my address?"
" Yes, that's right? Since I've never heard it before...? "
Stating the obvious.
She spoke as if it wouldn't be strange even if I already knew it.
"Ah, right. Haha. Since I didn't tell you, there's no way you'd know. I guess I still haven't come to my senses."
Strange. Her complexion clearly returned, but her babbling got even worse.
Well, either way, her mind seems fine.
"I'll write it down for you right now. Could you give me a pen and paper?"
" Yes, here you go. "
When I handed over the note-taking items, the hamster made a quick pbyak sound for a moment.
But that was only for a moment; she was intently writing with her tiny hands.
Wait, huh?
I caught a glimpse of it, and it was a strangely familiar address.
That address—isn't that the place where I used to work a part-time job before?
Come to think of it, the people working there all wore suits too.
But I don't remember anyone with a hamster face like that....
'...Aha.'
I get it.
She's someone who joined after I quit.
Haha. What a coincidence. Should I pretend to know her?
:: Mmm... It's a nice idea, but. ::
:: What if the ridiculous mistakes you made back then get unburied? ::
:: At company dinners, they'd recount the mistakes you made back when you were a greenhorn and bloom with laughter, you know? ::
:: Just like a mom cackling with the neighborhood lady using her kid's embarrassing past as side dishes to her drinks. ::
Ack.. A-Ack!
That wouldn't do.
Just thinking about it makes my face burn with embarrassment. Withdrawing that idea.
"Please fill in your name here as well."
"Ah! Right. To deliver it, I have to write down my name too, yes."
She must have forgotten.
It seemed she really was out of her mind.
I sneaked a peak at the name written next to the address.
[Hamhami]
...What a cute name.
I don't know who named her, but they named her really well.
" Yep, confirmed. I'll send it as a parcel as soon as possible. "
"Thank you! Then I'll be waiting for the delivery!"
" Then please go home safely. "
"Yes, yes."
The plush hamster hurriedly nodded her head.
Oh dear. Running without looking ahead like that would be dangerous.
"Then I'll be taking my—"
" Oho, look at this. How did you know this body was coming and leave the door open? "
See, she ended up crashing into a customer who was just about to enter.
"Kyaaa?!"
" Wh-What! "
Screams from two startled pairs rang out.
" And I told you to go home safely, haha. "
"A-Ah, aaah...."
She collided head-on with our regular customer who was coming in.
Is it because she's a plush doll?
Even though she was the one who collided into him, the one who sent flying was actually the hamster.
At this rate, the atmosphere will get bad.
Surely it will. It wasn't just a shoulder check, she flew in with a full body slam.
And as a clerk, I couldn't just stand by and watch customers pick a fight with each other in a candy store that's supposed to be delightful.
Laughing awkwardly, I stepped in to mediate.
" You're really unlucky, haha. Originally, our shop isn't a place where customers come so often. Out of all times, you arrived right at this moment. "
I threw in a light self-deprecating joke to lighten the atmosphere,
" ...Oh my. "
but I don't know if it had an effect.
" Hey, aren't you watching where you're going? Where are your eyes— What is this... Huh? "
The plush hamster who fell on her butt.
The brat who scowled for a moment before smirking upon seeing the hamster.
" Oops, it feels like it hasn't even been a few days since you came. You came back again so soon? "
" Yes. I just happened to be passing by, fufu. The candy here tastes quite extraordinary, after all. "
And even the middle-aged woman laughing cute-ly at that sight.
" By the way, you are quite a fresh... appetizing-looking person. "
" Hey, can I eat this? "
"A-Ah, aaah...."
The teeny-tiny shop is quite noisy today of all days.