Part-time Job 02
After checking the location of the convenience store on my smartphone, I headed to the nearest bus stop.
The weather was still chilly, so it felt a bit too far to walk.
"Hey, look at that guy over there. He's really handsome."
"Really? Where? Wow, he is good-looking."
As I stood at the bus stop, I overheard some high school girls whispering as they passed by.
Handsome? Are they talking about me?
When I glanced over without thinking, the girls squealed and ran away shyly.
Unbelievable!
Good-looking.
I had never heard those words, not even once in my entire life.
But now, they were saying it about me.
In over 40 years of living as Lee Jung-woo, I never heard that, but just 10 minutes after becoming Lee Do-hoon, I did.
It was a moment when I truly felt that I had been reborn.
Thank you, girls. I'm going to heaven. Heaven really does exist.
Encouraged by the positive attention around me, I straightened my shoulders with confidence.
'So this is what it feels like to live with a handsome face.'
Women smiled at me, and men glanced over with envy.
I'd never felt like this before.
The only time I'd ever been the center of attention was when I ranked first in the entire school and stood on the podium. Other than that, I was always treated like I was invisible.
Guys looked down on me because I was short, and girls didn't even consider me as a man.
When I walked with my beautiful wife, I always heard people gossiping behind my back.
—Look at that, that guy must be loaded.
—Maybe he's a doctor or something?
But not anymore.
I'm not the 158cm ugly Lee Jung-woo, but the 185cm handsome Lee Do-hoon.
A strong confidence I'd never felt in my life filled my whole body.
An era where looks overpower intelligence.
A world where physique trumps credentials.
I was experiencing firsthand that being good-looking could be a kind of power.
The bus I'd been waiting for arrived. When I got on, the ceiling felt a bit low. The standing rings I used to struggle to reach in school now seemed unusually low. All I could see were the tops of people's heads. There was no one on the bus taller than me. That, too, gave me a strange sense of superiority.
'Hahaha! Is the air up here always this nice?'
As soon as I got off the bus, I saw the convenience store.
Did I arrive too early? I went in 30 minutes before my shift started.
The clerk at the counter greeted me cheerfully.
"Oh, oppa, you're early!"
She looked about 160cm tall? A petite girl whose round glasses suited her well.
She wasn't very pretty, but she was cute enough to make people smile.
Her name tag read "Jeon Soo-yeon."
"Yeah. I didn't have much to do, so I came early."
"Thank you. Something came up at home all of a sudden."
Soo-yeon looked at me with an apologetic expression.
I didn't know her well, but she seemed like a polite student.
Using my experience as someone in their 40s, I tried to put her at ease.
"Things like that happen. Go ahead and take care of it."
"Oh, it's fine until 4 o'clock. Please put on your uniform. I'll be doing the register."
'Uniform?'
Now that I looked, she was wearing a tacky outfit with the 8twenty logo on it. So I had to wear that while working? I glanced around and went into the storage room she pointed to. In the corner, among the spare goods, was a uniform that seemed to be mine. I took off my jacket and put on the uniform vest. As I was about to step out after changing, suddenly, the watch started talking to me.
[A mission has been activated.]
'Huh?'
[This mission is: "Conquer the girl with glasses."]
'What? A mission, all of a sudden? Just like that?'
[Missions are originally triggered at random. If you succeed in the first mission, you'll receive the "Information Window" skill and 200 points as a reward. Will you accept?]
'What happens if I don't accept?'
[There's no penalty for refusing a mission. However, since missions are triggered randomly, if you refuse this one, you won't know when the next one will appear.]
According to the watch, you can store up to three missions at a time.
In other words, if you have three missions, no new ones will appear until you clear one.
If you get a tough mission and leave it unfinished, you could be in trouble.
'Hmm… Let me think for a second.'
[You have 3:42 left to accept the mission.]
'Why is it so strict?'
[You must decide within 5 minutes of the mission being presented.]
Still, the "Information Window" skill would be really useful for picking up girls in the future. I made my decision right away.
'Alright. Whatever. Let's do it. Nothing to lose.'
[Mission accepted. The time remaining until mission success will be displayed on the screen.]
When I looked at the watch, the following explanation appeared.
—Conquer the girl with glasses!—
*This is a mission to win over a part-time student working at the same store.
*If you succeed, you'll receive the "Information Window" skill and 200 points.
*If you exceed the given time, the mission will be automatically deleted.
*Time remaining: 7 days
"What? A week?"
I blurted out without realizing.
[The time limit for this mission is one week.]
'How am I supposed to seduce someone I just met in a week?'
[You may have just met her, but Lee Do-hoon has known her for over two weeks.]
'Well, I wasn't the part-timer… Wait, I am the part-timer now.'
[The countdown starts now. You can check the remaining time on the display at any time.]
Geez!
If nothing else, the time is way too tight. All I know about her is her name. The biggest problem is that our work shifts don't usually overlap.
From what I gathered from talking to the boss, she works from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and I take the shift after that. The only time we see each other is the 10 minutes or so we spend together during the register handover. Under those conditions, I have to win her over in a week.
'Maybe she likes me?'
[I can't tell. I can only gauge relationships based on Lee Do-hoon's memories. There's no information on that.]
'Damn, why is the first mission like this?'
I left the storage room with a face full of complaints.
Soo-yeon was tidying up the items on the shelves.
"Oh, oppa, you're out? The register's all set. Please check the cash."
"Okay, got it."
I checked the cash and the POS monitor as she instructed. It was my first time working at a convenience store, but I had to act natural so I wouldn't look awkward. I glanced at the clock; it was just past 3:30.
Now I had only about 30 minutes to gather information about her.
Not much time.
"By the way, is everything okay at home?"
"Oh, it's nothing serious. My oldest sister is getting married next month, and today's the day we're meeting her fiancé's family. I got the date mixed up and told the boss the wrong day off."
"I see."
At least I learned something about her family.
If it's her older sister getting married, there must be a bit of an age gap. I should probe a bit.
"Just one older sister?"
"No, I have a second sister too. Sigh, but I think I'll feel a bit lonely after my oldest sister gets married. She took care of me a lot."
"Is there a big age gap between you and your oldest sister?"
"Yes, we're eight years apart."
The youngest daughter in a family of three girls. She must have grown up getting lots of love.
Alright, that's enough background. Now to find out if she has a boyfriend.
"Seeing your sister get married, don't you want to get married too? I heard girls feel that way sometimes…"
"Oppa! That's too much."
"Huh?"
"Shouldn't you ask if I have a boyfriend first?"
Soo-yeon said, pouting a little.
Okay. She definitely doesn't have a boyfriend.
Time to make a move.
"I just assumed you had a boyfriend because you're so cute."
"Oh, come on~ I'm not…"
Even as she said that, a smile bloomed on her face.
As expected, girls love being told they're pretty.
And as the youngest in a family of daughters, she's probably used to receiving affection and naturally accepts others' kindness.
"I thought you were cute from the first time I saw you. Aren't you popular at school?"
"Why do you keep making me blush? Besides, there aren't many guys in my department since it's in the humanities."
"Aha! That's the problem. If there were more guys, they wouldn't leave you alone…"
"Oh, oppa…"
With my repeated compliments, her favorability seemed to rise a bit.
She started to get curious about me.
"Oppa, aren't you popular too?"
"Me?"
"You're handsome, and you have a nice body…"
'Oh?'
I felt like I'd found a hint in her words.
People's interests and preferences often show in what they say.
Maybe she's more attracted to bodies than faces.
Time to go for a direct approach.
"Soo-yeon, do you like guys with good bodies?"
She looked a bit flustered, but her expression gave her away.
"Well… it's not that I like them, but it's better than a guy with a belly, right? Guys with bellies seem like old men."
"That's true. I even have a six-pack."
I saw her gaze drop slightly.
It's certain.
Soo-yeon is attracted to guys with good bodies.
In that case, I'll win the first mission with my physique.