THE NEXT DAY
GROCERY STORE
4:30 PM SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2022
"Jeong... Jeong... oi... Jang Jeong."
BANG
The bald-headed chubby man in a yellow T-shirt yelled at Jeong while hitting the counter. His face was riddled with anger, and his forehead furrowed. The chubby man couldn't believe an employee is ignoring the customers who had been waiting in line for ten minutes while he stared at the ceiling.
"...Huh?"
The noise finally caught Jeong's attention. He looked down, shocked to see the long line of angry-looking customers waiting to pay for their groceries. As he realized the gravity of the situation, a piercing gaze from his side made him turn toward it. It was the bald-headed man, Manager Hyun, who also happened to be the store manager. Jeong could tell from his expression that he was in major trouble.
"Manager Hyun... this is not wh- what it looks like... I-i."
Jeong tried to come up with an excuse to explain the situation, but he could see that Manager Hyun had no intention of listening to what he had to say.
"Hey, if you can't do your work, then just quit."
"Yeah... stop wasting our time. We have things to do."
The customers yelled at Jeong in an angry and disrespectful tone.
"Jang Jeong... come to my office."
Manager Hyun said to Jeong. He glanced around the store and noticed Sung Iseul, a female employee who was placing groceries on the shelves. "Iseul... come here for a second, please."
Sung Iseul's expression became wary when the manager called her by her first name. She didn't like Manager Hyun because of rumors she had heard about him and the uncomfortable way he looked at her. But she had to listen to him because he was the one who paid her salary.
"Ahh..."
She sighed silently, turned, and dropped the groceries she held in the cart beside her. Then she walked towards the manager with a fake smile on her face. After getting close to the counter, she glanced around, realizing what was happening as she had noticed Jeong's absentminded stare at the ceiling. "What can I help you with, manager?" she asked.
"Ha-ha... nothing much, Iseul... just that not everybody is as ready to work and as good at their job as you."
Manager Hyun spoke with an intimate tone, his gaze focused on Iseul's chest. He walked close to Iseul, placing his chubby hands on her shoulder and pointing at the shopping counter with his other hand, trying to appear intimate with her.
"Hehe... as you can see, all our precious customers are delayed because of that idiot Jang Jeong. You know, you are the only person I can trus-"
"..."
Sung Iseul interrupted as she pushed the manager away, a look of disgust on her face. She noticed the manager's hand moving from her shoulder toward her waist, a clear case of sexual harassment. But instead of exposing him, she decided to keep quiet because she knew she had to tolerate such behavior to support her family. However, she wouldn't let herself be disrespected.
"... Iseul, why did you move away from me... is it because I'm giving you extra work... I'm sorry."
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Manager Hyun said with a sad expression, adjusting his glasses with his middle finger.
"Yes, little girl... pushing your manager like that just because he asked you to do extra work. Can't you see he is trying his best too?"
"Hmph... young people these days have poor attitudes toward adults."
"What if he was close to you? It's not like he did anything bad. He was just asking for help."
Influenced by the manager's pitiful act, the customers turned against Iseul, harassing her with words.
"Huh?... B-but."
Sung Iseul was shocked by the customers' reaction. She couldn't believe she was being accused of being disrespectful when she was only trying to protect herself. She thought of explaining, but looking at the customers' faces, she knew they wouldn't believe her no matter what. An explanation was pointless now. She started panicking, desperately looking around for someone who would believe her.
"He-he..."
Manager Hyun chuckled silently, seeing Sung Iseul's desperate expression. Everything was going according to his plan. Ever since he noticed Jeong absentmindedly staring at the ceiling through the security camera in his office, he had planned to break Iseul's self-confidence by making her seem spoiled and rude in front of people. Then, when she was down, he would swoop in and rescue her from the wicked people, making her feel indebted to him. It was a perfect plan.
After he saw Iseul's self-confidence reach its breaking point from the onslaught of insults, he knew it was the right time to swoop in. He walked up to Iseul with a disgusting smirk on his face, licking his lips. As he got closer, he attempted to grab her hand.
poooooft! [fart sound]
A loud farting sound echoed throughout the store, causing silence. The customers turned toward the source of the sound and saw a black-haired boy wearing a blue hoodie with the store's orange apron and blue jeans.
"Oops... I didn't think it would come out that loud," Jeong said with an embarrassed smile on his face.
"Hmpf... what's that smell?... Kimchi."
"Ugh... I can't stand that smell!"
"Who the hell farts like that in the open? Manager Hyun... is this the type of employee you hire? They can just fart everywhere."
"No wonder he's that fat... after inhaling this type of fart every day... Hmph, this will be the last time I buy groceries here."
The customers complained to the manager as they ran out of the store, holding their noses and leaving behind their groceries.
"Huh...? Why are you leaving? You haven't paid for your groceries yet."
Jeong tried to remind the fleeing customers about their unpaid groceries, but they ignored him.
"Pfft..."
Sung Iseul chuckled at Jeong's actions. She couldn't help but find him funny in a weird way. But she was in a much better mood than a minute ago.
Clang!
The doorbell rang as the last customer exited the store.
After hearing the last customer leave, Manager Hyun's face turned red with rage, his brow furrowed, and his fists clenched. He couldn't think of anything to say except one word as he looked at Jeong with a burning gaze. "Fired... fired-fired-fired..." He yelled.
"There's no need for that, Manager Hyun... I quit!"
Jeong had been planning to quit before the manager even thought of firing him. He took off the store's apron, threw it on the ground, and walked towards the exit. When he reached the exit door, he looked back at Sung Iseul. "Are you coming?" he asked.
"...y– yes."
Although she hesitated for a second, she knew that staying in a store run by the perverted manager was not good for her, regardless of the money she was getting paid. She took off her apron too, threw it on the floor, and hurriedly walked toward Jeong with a relieved expression. She turned back, stared at the manager, and raised a middle finger before saying, "I QUIT, PERVERT!"
"Urgh... Sung Iseul, you slut... after I tried to help you. This is how you repay me?"
Manager Hyun yelled angrily as he watched both of them walk out of the store. His blood pressure rose rapidly, and he began gasping for air as his nose started bleeding. He raised his hand to touch the upper part of his mouth and felt something there. Looking at his fingers, he saw blood and collapsed.
Bang!
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OUTSIDE THE GROCERY STORE
"OP-PA... I think Manager Hyun fainted."
Sung Iseul heard a crashing sound coming from inside the store. She was worried that the manager might have collapsed. Seeing that Jeong showed no interest in what she said, she decided to call 112.
"Must be nice being a good person, huh? Helping him after what he did?"
Jeong couldn't understand why Sung Iseul would help the manager after the nasty stunt he pulled on her. But there was no point in thinking about why she did it. She might just be a good person, unlike himself. He couldn't care less if the manager suffocated to death or not.
Sung Iseul stared at Jeong after hearing what he said and smiled. She knew that Jeong did what he did in the store, despite the humiliation, to draw attention away from her. She thought to herself that even though Jeong had a rough and uncaring expression, he was a good person. "I think you're a good person too, oppa," she said, following behind Jeong.
"Hmm... think whatever you like."
Jeong replied in a nonchalant tone.