Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: No Such Thing as a Beastly Girl
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Yoon Yerin.
The young flower shop owner who set up shop near the passenger ship terminal in Sadong. She barely makes ends meet, but she steadily saves a little money and even has some savings accounts going.
Once summer season hits in earnest, tourists flood the streets along with the locals, so she has to tighten her belt and hustle hard around this time. That way, she can break even even when sales tank in winter.
Her grand dream!
To escape this godforsaken Ulleungdo and head to the mainland to proudly open a flower shop under her own name!!
And... just a tiny bit.
Yeah, it's a bit selfish... but going to the mainland alone feels scary and daunting.
She'd been stealthily gauging the timing, wondering when to bring it up, when the girl mentioned her friends were coming today.
She even asked if it was okay to drop by for some part-time work experience.
If it were anyone else, she'd have snapped that she didn't have time to babysit kids when she was already swamped, but this girl was different.
'Today's sales? Sure, that's important... but Yuna's more important!'
Yuna was basically a guarantee of trust, like a blank check.
She was strong, had insane stamina, never showed a hint of fatigue, and worked diligently like nobody's business.
On top of that... on that chilly day when sales plummeted, she had the charm to draw in customers and pry open their wallets!
She was like a golden goose that laid eggs non-stop—a treasure she desperately wanted to keep!
"Hi~ sis!"
"Oh my. Yuna! You're here already? We've still got over 30 minutes before opening."
"Aw~ There's tons to sort and prep before we open! Of course I came early to help!"
See? She's already picking the prettiest words to say.
Before opening the shop door, she fires up the register, sweeps the floor... checks the fresh flowers meticulously for any wilted ones, and finally hauls in the stock that arrived at the warehouse last night.
This was always the toughest part when she did it alone every day... but with just Yuna, it was a breeze! Yep!
"You guys say hi too! This is the sis who said it'd be okay for us to experience what grown-ups do at work!"
"Ah, hello! Wow....... I-I'll learn hard and work hard!"
"...Hello. I'll do whatever you tell me to, diligently."
"......Wow."
Wh-what? Are all kids these days like this?
She was honestly a little shocked by the deep bows from the short-haired girl Yuna brought and the calm-looking boy.
Were they Yuna's friends? They didn't quite feel like regular elementary school kids, somehow.
At their age, she was too busy playing outside with friends to help her grandparents with chores.
"R-really? Well then... come on in. I'll show you everything step by step. Yuna, can you handle moving stuff from the warehouse like last time? Pretty please."
"Sure thing!"
With a bright smile, she ushered the kids inside, waved as Yuna dashed to the warehouse, and asked the two to point out any weak or discolored flowers among the displayed fresh ones.
Since it was just an "experience," after all.
She had no intention of working them like real part-timers, and with Yuna alone, she could afford this much leeway.
......Or so she thought.
"Yuri sis. This the last one?"
"Yep! That's the final one! The stems and petals are a bit more wilted than the others!"
"......?"
It was done in a mere five minutes.
Worried they might be skimping, she watched closely from the side... wow. What the heck. That girl's eyes are sharp as anything.
"Here you go, owner. Then I'll go help Yuna."
"Huh? Should I come too? Jeongu?"
"Nah. They looked heavy earlier... Yuri sis, you should help the owner with cleaning."
What? No! W-wait a sec!!
The warehouse stuff was super heavy—even adults would struggle!
Yuna might be freakishly healthy and fine, but the others needed stopping.
She reached out to hold them back, but right then—
"Huh? Already done? Here. Hup!"
"...Pretty hefty. Take it to that room, right?"
"Yeah! Set it down next to the stack I made."
"Got it."
"??"
What? Is that for real? Do kids these days build muscle in school or something?
Yuna hurling stacks of boxes like nothing, and the boy catching them effortlessly.
Weird. Those had to weigh at least 10kg each.
She blinked her eyes repeatedly.
Watching these kids—who made her childhood self look like a joke—she felt a slight tug on her apron hem. The short-haired girl—definitely Yuri?—was peering up cautiously.
"If you tell me where the broom and dustpan are, I'll clean spotless!"
"Oh. Y-yeah. Here! In this counter drawer!"
'Birds of a feather flock together, or friends start to resemble each other—something like that?'
Maybe because they were Yuna's friends, but they seemed a hundred, a thousand times more reliable and endearing than those frustrating part-timer stories on the internet.
She was half-joking tempted to ask if they'd consider a summer gig once they hit the age limit.
"Haa, whew......"
7:30 PM.
She usually closed at 7, but today's crowd dragged on unexpectedly. The second she put up the "Closed" sign, she collapsed onto the counter stool.
C-can this be real?
This morning, with customer numbers like any other day, she'd thought about sending the kids home early. Then lunchtime hit... and suddenly a horde poured in.
The girl named Yuri teamed up with Yuna, targeting mainland tourists and pushing sales aggressively.
- Huh? Here on vacation? How about a soap flower then? Wouldn't it look amazing floating flower petals in your hotel tub?!
- Totally! I saw it earlier... the scent's incredible too!
Anyone would think they were hard-selling... well. Kinda were, huh?
But cute kids bouncing around excitedly, beaming and suggesting buys—who's gonna ignore that?
And hilariously, bystanders overhearing would get hooked and join the line.
So many that a queue formed right out the door.
The long line sparked curiosity in passersby, who joined in... and the day was chaos.
Midway, when she thought, 'Break time? I'm dying here......', the quiet boy would time it perfectly, bringing cool coffee and asking to handle the register.
Worried a kid might mess up calculations, she hovered anxiously instead of resting. But nope—he did mental math, no calculator, just like her.
- ...15,000 won, received 20,000. Here's 5,000 back. Thank you.
- Ah, want two more? Bring 'em up, I'll ring them through.
- Here's 3,000 change.
Once he got the hang of the register... he might even outpace her at checking out customers.
"Hngh! Th-that was tough......"
"Really? Felt fine to me. Been ages since I ran around outside—feels great!"
"...Thought I'd die following Yuna around."
Unlike her and Yuri stretching wearily, Yuna grinned refreshingly, full of energy.
The kid really was a powerhouse.
Those short legs darting everywhere all day.
After lunch, she didn't rest—instead dragged in more customers to "work off the meal."
"You two did great. Drink this. Got it from the supermarket across. Owner, yours too."
'Wow. What a kid. So thoughtful.'
When the girls were out snagging customers, this calm, quiet one... always quietly backing them up.
He'd help when she looked beat, memorized stock locations to assist customers without being asked, even fetched coffee and drinks.
Honestly, without Jeongu today, she might've crashed and closed early.
"Alright! So how was everyone's first day on the job? Way different from school lessons or field trips, right?"
"Yeah! Felt how hard Dad works for money. Even one day tires you out—thinking about him doing it daily... gotta be nicer to him."
"Definitely different from what I imagined. Hands-on taught me a ton. Can't hurt to learn, y'know."
Oh, right. They weren't actual part-timers—it was just a "part-time experience," huh?
'......Experience?'
At some point, she'd treated them like real hires.
Shouldn't "experience" mean like, "Here's what we do—watch and try a bit~" just a taste?
From lunch on, she barely taught them anything—handed off all duties to the three while scrambling with her own work.
Sending them off like this might prick her conscience a bit.
Quietly, she opened the register and pulled out fifteen 10,000-won bills.
150,000 won total.
Even construction sites don't pay over 50k for a day, so it was big money... but considering their work, they deserved it.
"Here, kids. Hard work pay for today!"
"Huh? R-really? ...Kyaa?!"
"You're actually giving it to us? We didn't come for money... guh!"
Yuri panicked as she handed it over; Jeongu hesitated, unsure if to accept.
Yuna smacked their backs, flashed a grin, and declared loudly.
"Hey! When the owner gives it, you say 'Thank you~' and take it—that's manners! Gotta accept pay for the full part-time experience! Hehe. Thanks~ sis!"
"Y-yeah, exactly~ All three of you, thank you. Come back anytime this summer if you wanna work more! And... Yuna, can I talk to you alone for a sec?"
"Huh? Me? Suddenly?"
"Yeah. Sis has something... important to discuss with you."
Who knew when she'd see Yuna again.
Last year was just that one time—no contact since.
Better give her a heads-up while the chance was here.
Sure, maybe forcing a choice on a kid made her a bad adult... but it could be a great opportunity for Yuna too.