008. The Content Is an Outdoor Stream
008. The Content Is an Outdoor Stream
I felt a bit flustered.
Did this mart have an entry restriction or something?
Or did I just look suspicious?
Countless thoughts raced by in an instant.
First things first—I decided to answer.
"I'm here to buy groceries."
"Huh? You're just here for groceries?"
"Isn't that right? At least I didn't come to rob the place."
"Then that camera..."
The employee stared at the selfie stick I was holding.
Could it actually have been because of the camera?
Suddenly, I felt embarrassed.
This was definitely my fault.
The employee's response was perfectly reasonable, too.
I had walked right in and tried to film without getting broadcasting permission from the mart staff, after all.
I steadied my voice and opened with an apology.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm not used to broadcasting yet, so I made a mistake."
"You are actually a streamer, right?"
"Well, technically yes. I only have two viewers, though."
"Huh? Two viewers?"
"Yeah. I only started recently. By the way—is filming prohibited inside the mart?"
"No... Filming itself is allowed, but..."
"It is? Then who do I get permission from? I'm not familiar with this kind of procedure."
"...You don't need to get separate permission, either."
What was this, then?
So why had they stopped me from entering?
When I made a puzzled expression, the employee mirrored it.
An awkward mood hung in the air.
The employee broke the silence first.
"Um... You're not here for that promo shoot at our mart today, right...?"
"Promo? No. I'm just a hobby streamer."
"..."
Apparently there'd been some minor misunderstanding.
From what I could piece together—
Today happened to be the day for some promotional shoot, and my visit to the mart had coincidentally overlapped with it.
The employee seemed to have caught on as well, quickly bowing her head in apology.
"I-I'm sorry! I heard there was a shoot today, so I got confused!"
"It's fine. These things happen."
"I'm really sorry! I heard a really handsome guy was coming, so I just assumed it had to be you..."
Then you should have asked clearly from the start.
Making someone feel wrongly accused like that...
Asking “How did you get here?” like that would have flustered even someone who had come for a promotional stream.
Maybe she's a new hire, but there was something air-headed about her.
"I can go inside now, right?"
"Yes, yes! Please, go right ahead! I'm sorry for holding you up!"
"Sure. Have a good shift."
The little episode ended like that.
I walked into the mart and checked the chat.
【Reformed Guburi】─What! What the hell! Gye Bastard-hun got denied entry? This bastard won't even look at chat!!
【Yoho】─Host, what happened?
"Nothing much. Looks like they just confused me with someone else."
【Yoho】─That's a relief... I was worried something serious had happened. T_T
【Reformed Guburi】─What, how boring. I wanted to see you get denied entry, fuck, gg
【Yoho】─The host isn't the kind of person who'd get denied entry anywhere.
【Reformed Guburi】─True lol at a club you'd probably get a free pass.
【Yoho】─Guys just get a free pass in general. The host is VIP-treatment-level. Well, Reformed, you'd definitely get denied entry though.
【Reformed Guburi】─Shut the fuck up, dumbass. Hey, how many times has our Gye Bastard-hun actually been to a club?
"A club? Never been."
【Reformed Guburi】─For real? Don't pretend to be all innocent. Be honest.
"Why is this bastard so suspicious of everything? I said I haven't. No plans to go, either."
【Yoho】─Good decision. hehe Don't even think about places like clubs!
【Reformed Guburi】─If that's true, I'll put you on my husband candidate list.
"Don't put me on it, you bitch. Take me off right now."
【Reformed Guburi】─T_T
"You two ever been to a club, by the way?"
【Yoho】─Just once. With my family.
【Reformed Guburi】─Nope. I hate clubs.
【Yoho】─Maybe you hate them because you get denied entry?
【Reformed Guburi】─Huh? I've never been denied entry. How could I if I've never been? lol
"Really? Anyway, I have zero interest in clubs, so let's drop this topic... I've got a lot to buy, so let's start by finding that thing first."
【Reformed Guburi】─What thing?
"C'mon, you know."
【Reformed Guburi】─That's why I'm asking what the hell it is, you shithead.
【Yoho】─You're talking about the cart, right? Take a hint.
"Ah. Right, the cart. The name just slipped my mind. Does this place feel bigger than it looked from outside, by the way? Even finding a cart's gonna be an ordeal."
The interior of the mart was beyond anything I'd imagined.
I'd heard it was about three thousand pyeong.
Of course, the overall scale would be similar to other big-box marts. This one's a single-story building, after all.
Anyway, to shop smoothly, I decided to find a cart first.
***
I had successfully landed a job not long ago.
It was with the security team at a place called Nobel Mart.
The salary was a whopping 3.5 million won.
The competition had been fierce, but I'd gotten lucky.
And today was my very first shift.
‘Hoo. I made a mistake on day one...’
I was on duty, nerves stretched tight—
when a man visited the mart.
He stood out vividly even from a distance.
His clothes and shoes were all black.
And that wasn't all. He had proportions that put most models to shame.
It was a look that naturally drew your gaze.
That person must be the streamer here for today's promo shoot—thinking that, I'd hurried over.
But that wasn't it.
I'd mistaken someone else.
A streamer, yes, but he'd simply come to buy groceries.
‘...Up close, he was so unbelievably handsome that I babbled nonsense.’
I'd even asked that weird question: "How did you get here?"
I was still dying of embarrassment.
‘This was all because of my senior...’
My senior was mostly to blame for this mess.
Only a week ahead of me in seniority, that bitch.
Anyway, my senior had stepped away for a bit.
She'd said she was going for a smoke.
‘How could you just leave a new hire alone like this? She only mentioned a streamer was coming, right before she went off to smoke... Did she not think?’
My senior had said this:
If a handsome person carrying a camera shows up, escort them to the VIP room.
Treat them with the utmost courtesy since they're a famous streamer.
That was it.
Shouldn't she at least have told me the streamer's features or name? How was I supposed to know with just "handsome"?
So this mistake wasn't solely my fault.
My senior clearly shared responsibility, too.
I was thinking that when—
I spotted a big, burly guy approaching the entrance.
He was carrying a camera in his hand.
‘...’
Was that person a streamer too?
Hm... He seemed like a decent-looking guy, but...
Handsome? I wasn't so sure.
On any other day, I might've thought so.
But the face of that transcendentally gorgeous man was still imprinted on my mind, so he stirred nothing. Compared to the beautiful man who'd walked in moments ago, his looks fell far short.
‘Couldn't be him.’
So I just greeted him and let him through.
***
【Reformed Guburi】─Cart's over there on the right!
I spotted the cart faster than expected.
Walking in a little from the entrance, it was right there.
【Yoho】─Did you bring a coin? You'll need one to use the cart.
【Reformed Guburi】─Coin, fuck, lol lol lol. You been living in the Stone Age? These days you can use carts without coins, lol.
【Yoho】─It's different at every mart, you know? -_-
【Reformed Guburi】─Yeah~ shut your trap~
Guburi's claim turned out to be true.
The cart had no coin slot.
The mart I usually went to did have them, though.
And the cart itself looked a bit odd.
"What's this? Why does the cart look like this?"
【Reformed Guburi】─Oh. That's probably a smart cart? First time seeing one in person myself.
【Yoho】─Reformed. The screen isn't real life. Please learn to distinguish from reality. T_T
【Reformed Guburi】─Why do you keep picking a fight, you fucking bitch!
【Yoho】─^^
Smart cart?
Technology's been advancing fast—they really do come up with everything.
"How do you use this cart? Guess you don't need coins... And what's with the monitor attached here?"
"Is this your first time using a smart cart?"
"Fuck! You scared me!"
While I was fiddling with the cart, a nearby female staff member quickly approached.
What the fuck.
Was she on standby or something?
I'd been so startled that a curse burst out.
I apologized immediately.
"Ah. Sorry. You startled me..."
"It's quite all right, sir. Anyway, it looks like this is your first time using a smart cart—would you mind if I showed you how it works?"
The employee asked in a friendly tone.
She didn't seem bothered by my swearing.
【Reformed Guburi】─Watch out for that employee. She's been creeping closer for a bit now, lol. I saw everything~ Don't hit on him, you bitch~
【Yoho】─Could she be a stalker? Report her right now.
I ignored the chat for the moment.
A stalker, my ass.
She was clearly wearing the staff uniform.
I couldn't just brush off someone being helpful, so I nodded and answered.
"Ah, yes. I'd appreciate that."
"I'll explain it for you, then!"
The employee launched into her explanation with a beaming smile.
She was extremely zealous about it.
As expected of a big-box mart—their employee training must be solid.
Their service mentality was something else.
The explanation of the smart cart went on for five minutes.
From what I gathered, it wasn't anything special.
Just a state-of-the-art cart with a payment function built in.
Meaning it had a scanner attached.
"There are other types of smart carts, too. Some have cameras, scales, and various sensors that identify products as you put them in, and when you pass through the unmanned checkout, payment's automatic. There are even smart carts with autonomous driving that follow customers around."
This mart had invested a ton.
I chose to use the cart with the scanner.
The other carts were in different sections, they'd said.
"And to use the smart cart, you'll need to download the app separately."
"...That's kind of a hassle."
"If the smart cart is inconvenient, I can guide you to where the regular carts are."
"No. I'll just download the app and use it."
Only after downloading the app was I finally able to use the cart.
As an aside, all the carts except the ones over here were supposedly the kind with coin slots. After the employee mentioned that, Guburi's chats didn't appear for a while.
"I hope you have a pleasant and comfortable shopping trip!"
"Sure. Thank you."
After exchanging greetings with the employee, I immediately headed for the shelves.
Right then, a new viewer came in.
『'Hottie Licker' has entered.』
"Oh. Been a while since we got a new face. Welcome."
【Hottie Licker】─hi hi. It's a guy. Can you show your face?
"Face? Hold on."
It wasn't a difficult request, so I immediately switched the camera angle.
Chat messages came rolling back in.
【Hottie Licker】─Chu-lick!
【Hottie Licker】─Sluuurp!
【Hottie Licker】─Chu-lick!
【Hottie Licker】─Chu-rrrrrrp!!!
...What the hell was this one?
It seemed like another lunatic on Guburi’s level had joined us.