“Senior! I’ll go throw out the trash and come back!”
It was late at night. After all the business had ended, it was time to tidy up. A junior disappeared somewhere, holding a large garbage bag.
“Ugh….”
“Crunch crunch.”
During that time, Choi Soo-eun was focused on cleaning the kitchen. Even though they had only been in business for one day, there seemed to be so much to clean. Honestly, it was much easier when she was cooking the food.
“Huff….”
The thought of repeating this work all week was daunting. Running a business was by no means an easy task. She started to feel admiration for all the self-employed individuals across the country.
“I’m done here.”
At that moment, Shin Yoon-seong walked into the truck kitchen. He had just finished tidying up the tables in front of the store and was returning.
“Is there anything else I can help with?”
“I’m good. I’ll be done soon. What about Arna?”
Choi Soo-eun looked around. Arna wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
Where could she have gone?
“She said she has plans tomorrow, so she went home earlier.”
“Oh? We haven’t even paid her yet….”
By chance, Arna had handled the counter duties for the day. She was only supposed to help out briefly with promotions, but she ended up staying to help the store until the end.
Thanks to that, they managed to attract many customers and use up all the prepared ingredients.
No matter what, since Arna had achieved these results, it was only fair to give her a proper payment for her efforts.
“About the part-time pay? I’ll make sure to pass it on for you.”
“Will you?”
Perhaps it would be better. She still felt awkward around Arna and wanted to avoid meeting her if possible.
Let’s leave this matter to Shin Yoon-seong.
“Is there anything else besides that?”
“Yeah. If I move this, I’ll be done… Urgh…!”
As Choi Soo-eun was moving the supply container, she winced. Suddenly, her right wrist felt tingling.
“What’s wrong? Did you get hurt?”
“Ugh… Maybe I overexerted myself today….”
It was understandable. She had been wielding the wok all day. It was only natural for her wrist to ache.
“Let me take a look.”
Shin Yoon-seong suddenly grabbed Choi Soo-eun’s wrist. He was going to check the condition.
“There doesn’t seem to be any swelling. Can you move it?”
“Uhn, yeah….”
Choi Soo-eun slowly rotated her wrist. There was a slight discomfort, but it wasn’t too bothersome.
It seemed to be a simple case of muscle strain.
“Thankfully, it doesn’t seem serious.”
“…”
Choi Soo-eun thought to herself, wondering why Shin Yoon-seong was checking her wrist when he had no medical knowledge.
Still, it felt nice. Shin Yoon-seong’s hands were much larger than she expected. They were also very warm.
How wonderful it would be if this moment could last forever.
“Ah…”
But it didn’t last long. His hands soon let go.
Choi Soo-eun, feeling a sense of loss, tried to grab for his hand again, but it was already far away.
To grasp his hand, she would have to step forward.
“I know I should not do such things. I understand that I don’t have the right.”
But still.
If she didn’t make a move, Choi Soo-eun would remain in this place forever. She would always stay here, unable to shorten the distance between them, merely chasing him with her eyes.
Worse still, if things continued like this, she might drift further away from Shin Yoon-seong, eventually reaching a place where she could never touch him.
For example.
A place where Arna was.
“I don’t want that….”
It wasn’t limited to Arna. It applied to anyone. Just imagining Shin Yoon-seong being with someone else made her feel uneasy and sorrowful.
This was jealousy. One of the feelings she had come to understand recently. She decided to stop trying to deny it.
Clunk.
Her impatience, driven by jealousy, soon turned into action. Choi Soo-eun took a step forward.
Just staying here won’t bring Shin Yoon-seong back. She had no other choice but to take the initiative and approach him.
Swoosh—
Choi Soo-eun hugged Shin Yoon-seong tightly around the waist with both arms, pressing her body firmly against him.
And she buried her face into his chest.
“Hmm?”
Even to Choi Soo-eun’s sudden embrace, Shin Yoon-seong didn’t flinch at all. With his usual voice, he simply asked in curiosity.
From this, she realized something—he had no special interest in Choi Soo-eun.
“Listen.”
But it didn’t matter to Choi Soo-eun. She decided not to give up. It was her turn now to knock on his heart.
She decided to discard her unnecessary self-respect.
“Haven’t we done this before?”
It was at the beginning of the semester. When Shin Yoon-seong had briefly been hospitalized. At that time, Choi Soo-eun had hugged Shin Yoon-seong just like now.
“Do you still remember what I said then?”
“Hmm? Not really. What did you say?”
“I said it didn’t make my heart race… even a bit.”
At that time, she didn’t have any particular feelings toward Shin Yoon-seong. As a result, even while hugging him firmly, she didn’t feel much of anything.
“But not anymore.”
That Choi Soo-eun was gone now. Things were different now. Choi Soo-eun decided to be honest.
About this changed heart.
“Now… it’s… racing… a lot.”
Even by just hugging him, Choi Soo-eun’s heart was pounding as if it would burst at any moment. It was loud enough that he could probably hear her heartbeat.
She had never felt so hot all over in her entire life.
“Uh… I…”
“Wait.”
Swoosh—
Just before her final confession, Shin Yoon-seong took a step back. Their distance was growing naturally.
“Let’s continue this conversation later, okay?”
“Eh?”
“I have somewhere urgent to go.”
What could it be?
Out of nowhere, Shin Yoon-seong’s eyes started to twinkle. His lips occasionally twitched, and his face looked like that of a hero about to set out on an adventure.
His mind was clearly elsewhere.
“I’ll head out first. I’ll take care of this trash.”
With the garbage bag in hand, Shin Yoon-seong dashed off somewhere with light steps. He was even humming a little tune.
What could have made him so thrilled?
Could some good news have come?
Enough to interrupt our conversation?
So suddenly?
“Still…”
Choi Soo-eun, left alone, stood there with a stunned expression as she dumbly watched Shin Yoon-seong’s retreating back.
“Did I… just get rejected?”
─── Quest ───
: Tomorrow’s Sales King
: Sell <Shin Yoon-seong’s Student ID> 1,000 copies. (0/1000)
Completion Rewards <SP Point 1>, <Arna’s Overall Stats Increase by 3>
───
How long has it been since I’ve last seen a quest? I’m so moved I almost cried.
Moreover, the rewards are no joke. The usual stingy +1 is nowhere to be found; this time, there’s a whopping three times that amount on the table.
Of course, all of it goes straight into Arna’s pocket, but what can you do? Arna is the protagonist of this game. For the sake of this world—and for my own—there’s a need to support Arna.
───
Sell <Shin Yoon-seong’s Student ID> 1,000 copies. (0/1000)
───
This quest doesn’t seem that difficult. It’s just about selling student IDs. No need to strain your body unnecessarily for this one.
“Welcome!”
I came to the shop to finish this quest as soon as possible. It seemed the closing hour was approaching, and there were no customers in sight.
Perfect timing.
“Is there something you’re looking for?”
“….”
Before placing the order, I carefully inspected the entire store one last time. This was because I was about to purchase a student ID under my own name.
Buying a student ID by Shin Yoon-seong with my own money. It’s got to be one of the most embarrassing things to do. I could never do this in front of others.
I whispered as quietly as possible to the employee.
“One Shin Yoon-seong Student ID, please.”
“Here you go.”
Before purchasing 1,000 copies at once, I decided to buy one as a test. The quest might turn out to be another nonsensical task later on.
chime—
───
Notes*
– Student IDs purchased by yourself do not count!
– Asking someone else to buy them doesn’t count either! Indirect sales are prohibited!
– Each person’s purchase only counts once!
– Sell the student IDs to 1,000 different people!
───
I knew it would turn out like this. This quest seemed doable at first, but there was no way it would be that simple.
“Ugh….”
Now it makes sense why the rewards were increased. Selling my student IDs to 1,000 people? That sounded absurd.
Who in their right mind would spend money to buy my student ID? So far, the only person who’d bought it was Ryu Jeong-min, the guild master of Yeonwol.
And come to think of it, Ryu Jeong-min’s purchase was effectively bought using my own money, so it didn’t count either.
Let’s just call this a doomed situation.
“Welcome!”
At that moment, one female student entered the shop. It was Kim Han-bit from the Signals Corps.
Upon seeing me standing at the counter, Kim Han-bit widened her eyes in surprise.
“Hey, Shin Yoon-seong.”
“….”
“Are you okay? You don’t look too good.”
No matter how Kim Han-bit asked, I couldn’t truthfully tell her why. How could I openly admit that I had just spent my own money to buy a student ID with my name on it because of a quest?
For now, the best option was keeping quiet.
“Whatever it is… hang in there.”
Seeming uninterested in probing further, Kim Han-bit finished her greeting and approached the counter.
“Do you have any cooling plasters? I’d like to buy two packs.”
“Plasters? Just a moment, please.”
As the employee looked for the items, Kim Han-bit rotated her shoulder, which seemed uncomfortable.
“Ouch… my shoulder…”
“Did you perform some kind of work?”
“Not exactly, I was stuck in the control room all day staring at monitors… My neck and shoulders are so stiff…”
It looked like Kim Han-bit had been performing monitoring duties during the event. Since it was a crowded period, the risk of incidents also increased, so this was to prevent them.
“But seriously, do these student IDs ever sell? There are so many of them here…”
Kim Han-bit was truly impressed by the many student IDs displayed in the showcase. The one that caught her eye the most was definitely Arna’s.
It was the best-selling item.
“Eek, why are they so expensive? They’re just student IDs!”
Hmm.
Since I’ve met someone I know, I might as well try to ask them to buy a student ID.
Of course, I couldn’t directly ask them to buy mine; that would be against the rules.
So some subtle guidance would be necessary.
“Why don’t you get one while you’re here?”
“Me? Buy a student ID? Hmm….”
Of course, the reaction was skeptical. It made sense; a student at this school wouldn’t necessarily need someone else’s student ID.
However, I decided to push further without giving up.
“It is part of an event after all. Getting one as a souvenir wouldn’t be bad, right?”
“Yeah, but there’s really no one who’d want one, you know….”
“Is that so?”
Even if she were to buy one, Kim Han-bit wouldn’t know who to choose from, given her answer. To provide the solution to this problem, I leaned my face closer to Kim Han-bit.
Startled, she let out a shriek.
“What the heck! Why are you leaning in so close?! You’re scaring me!”
“Still, wouldn’t it be possible to buy one?”
“What are you even implying?! Are you asking me to buy yours??”
I didn’t respond. I just continued staring at Kim Han-bit with a serious expression.
Even without me explicitly saying anything, the situation should make her understand it’s my student ID she’s being asked to buy.
“Okay, back off already! Your poker face is freaking me out!”
“….”
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?! There has to be a reason, right?!”
“….”
“Are you really asking me to buy your student ID?! Come on, are you seriously this ridiculous?!”
“….”
“Don’t come any closer! Stop it! I can feel your breath!”
“Alright! Alright! I’ll buy it! Just one, okay?”
───
Sell <Shin Yoon-seong’s Student ID> 1,000 copies. (1/1000) – New!
───
Finally sold one.
Now, there are only 999 left.
Not at all doable.
