episode_0149

(Be slightly careful with descriptions of self-harm)

Pip long~ Pip long~

The automatic door opens with a trivial sound.

Named [Happy Convenience Store], it is a small store reminiscent of a local supermarket.

I was going to buy something for dinner, but I was feeling a bit upset by a woman named So-ryeong, and with a heavy heart, I was going to go out and have a cigarette.

A convenience store I visited with mixed feelings.

It’s the closest convenience store to my apartment, so I’ve been there a few times before.

I would buy ramen and drinks with the convenience store coupon I received from the blood donation center, and return home smiling with joy at having saved money.

Thinking about it now, it’s so pathetic.

Because I didn’t know what my blood was being used for, and I ate ramen like an idiot.

I also set a foolish goal to get a lot of convenience store coupons and open a blood donation center.

Then, he eventually stopped donating blood and naturally stopped going… This is an unfortunate convenience store filled with the messy memories of an F-class hunter in his later years.

Eunha entered the convenience store dragging a heavy suitcase while receiving a welcome greeting from the automatic door.

“… Who smoked inside a convenience store?”

The smell of burning tobacco leaves passes my nose.

Eunha, who has never smoked anything before, had a keen sense of smell, and she frowned and raised her hand to cover her nose.

Huh…

But at that moment, like a patient suffering from hallucinations,

The terrible smell of cigarettes disappears, and the fragrant smell of air freshener takes its place.

Eunha felt puzzled, but walked into the convenience store.

Pip long~ Pip long~

The automatic door closes with a trivial sound.

The convenience store I visited after a long time since I stopped donating blood was cold.

The air conditioner must have been turned on and the fragrant scent of air freshener flows through the wind.

Fragrant air freshener smell.

I felt my breathing, which had been frustrating until just now, become as light as a feather.

‘okay. what kind of cigarette am i It’s obvious that Baeul will hate it because it smells… but I’m crazy. ‘Let’s buy something to eat.’

Eunha felt a strong repulsion from the smell of cigarettes that she felt for a moment and shook her head.

I got depressed for no reason and had strange thoughts. It is said that smoking makes you feel better, but it may not be effective because of [self-healing], and the strange smell may just make people around you dislike it.

It’s still worth living.

Happy enough.

“Collok.”

Eunha let out a light cough and looked around the convenience store with a relieved heart.

Blades such as kitchen knives placed in a display case. A cutter knife that fits easily in the hand.

There is a thick rope hanging on the left side of the display stand.

Liquids such as pesticides and bleach are placed in the beverage showcase, and beneath them, freshly unboxed briquettes are placed in an orderly manner.

“Collok. Collock… Wow, you came in wrong~.”

After looking around the convenience store, Eunha naturally turned around and headed toward the entrance.

The heavy carrier hinders her walking like shackles.

Shake…!

However, the automatic door, which had been opening successfully until just now, does not budge even though Eunha is right in front of us.

Eunha, who was running away, crashes into a tightly closed automatic door.

Fortunately, thanks to the large cushion attached to the chest, Eunha did not hit her head against the glass window, and after being pushed down, Eunha returned to its original position as if nothing had happened.

The automatic door became neither automatic nor a door.

Bad thoughts lick her soft brain.

“sell.”

Immediately after, a voice was heard from the direction of the checkout counter.

The chill running up my back gives me goosebumps, and I try to turn my head to avoid looking at ‘that’.

Something else came.

It’s not just apartments. Blood donation buses on the roadside, claw machines, restaurants, taxis on rainy days.

And this time, a convenience store near the apartment…

Little by little, like mold spreading,

‘Those things’ are mixed into her daily life.

“Mmmhmmmm~. What did you come to buy?”

Kang Na-ri’s acquaintance got into trouble at the cafe, and as soon as she got home from work, she looked like this.

Eunha made an effort to smile and looked at the items on the shelf, pretending to be an ordinary customer.

I squat down, pretending to check the briquettes on the floor, take out the [Black Book] from my suitcase, and open it.

The fragrant smell of air freshener mixes with the smell of blood flowing from the [Black Book], and a bookmark with a strange picture on it welcomes Eunha.

Eunha, who hid herself behind the display counter, out of sight of the cash register, read the guide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

※Guide to a peaceful life in Euncheon-gu※

– This guide was written with the approval of ■■■ ■■ to encourage your safe Euncheon-gu activities.

– If an item is missing or noticeably strange text is found, we hope that the item will return to normal as soon as possible.

– good luck.

​

​

1. Safe blood donation…

~~ Omitted ~~

​

​

4. Do not look up at the sky at night.

– Do not look up at the sky in places without a roof.

– Do not make eye contact with the person looking down at you.

​

​

5. On a rainy day, pass by the first taxi.

~~ Omitted ~~

​

6. Buy and sell happiness at the convenience store.

– Happiness is a relative concept.

– Nevertheless, somewhere in this world, there will be a treasure that everyone can feel happy about.

# When entering a convenience store and the entrance is closed.

– No need to panic. Pick the item you like best and bring it to the clerk.

– Purchased items must be used.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

​

“This guide also has more content. I moved on to the next page… Collock.”

Why do I always check the guide only after something happens? It’s just difficult because you never know when and where a monster will pop out.

Eunha, who put the [Black Book] into her carrier, slightly stood up.

That’s the summary of the rules in the guide.

When you come into this [Happy Convenience Store], you must buy at least one item.

Like the [Blood Donation Bus], the only way to deal with it would be to pass by and pretend not to see it from the beginning.

‘Well… it’s okay. Rather good. ‘How lonely I must have been until I came here.’

Eunha thought positively.

Wherever you go, you are not alone.

The only consolation is that there is no need to die alone even when you grow old.

“Collok. Phew…yeah. It seemed like a new friend would soon appear. It’s hard to remember now.”

Eunha took a deep breath.

She tapped her trembling legs and headed to the counter.

“sell.”

She was a sultry woman.

A woman wearing a blue robe that looked like something out of a fantasy, sitting uncomfortably on a gothic chair that was completely out of place in a convenience store.

‘That’ was resting its chin on the counter and looking at the galaxy.

Long black hair covers ‘that’ left eye.

『I sell happiness.』

The sight of a woman resting her chin on one hand and smoking a long pipe with the other hand,

Because it was so intense that I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

Eunha looked down nervously at Goi, who seemed to have no intention of doing business at all.

A fragrant smell like air freshener comes from the woman’s cigarette smoke.

‘… … ‘It’s a monster, right?’

Compared to the bloody [Red Woman] or the [Bug Princess] who clenches her teeth and doesn’t show her eyes or the inside of her skirt, she is a surprisingly humane monster.

Eunha inadvertently glanced at the large chest of ‘that’ pushing up the robe.

A blue robe embroidered with constellations I had never seen before.

He appears to be wearing nothing except that robe, and a deep valley is visible through the disheveled front of the robe.

‘Wow, you’re so vulgar. If you do well, it will be bigger than your head.’

“don’t worry. Smaller than the lady.』

A woman resting her chin lazily spoke while smoking a pipe.

Eunha, startled by the sudden answer, takes a step back and picks up the titanium bat.

Then, remembering that attacking is useless, he puts down his weapon with a laugh.

“Choke!… Do you know how to read people’s thoughts?”

『It’s written on the face.』

“This is something I hear often. You live in an apartment, right? Is your part-time job okay?”

『There are no customers.』

“You speak of luck. A part-time job is good if there are no customers.”

『It’s my store.』

“Oops.”

It’s a monster that communicates better than you might think.

Like the elderly security guard guarding the apartment.

Eunha blows away the fragrant cigarette smoke with her hand and bends down to make eye contact with ‘that’.

We can chat later when we get to know each other, but now we have to quickly fulfill the ‘rules’ and return home before the sun sets.

Her legs shake as if they will collapse as she imagines the pain to come.

“… … So, what should I do? You’re not going to crumple my body in a display case, are you?”

『Sell happiness.』

‘That’ with a pipe in its mouth repeats the same words as if it were annoying.

Selling happiness… I have no idea what that means.

Contrary to the saying that it sells happiness, ‘that’ with its big breasts on the counter is just smoking a pipe with a bored face.

People who sell happiness are not happy.

It was a strange and quite twisted convenience store.

“What happiness are you selling?”

『Happiness of a young lady.』

“… … What is the price?”

『Someone’s happiness.』

I don’t know.

How about singing [Red Woman] instead?

When she enters the convenience store, the tightly closed automatic door will open, so she sneaks out.

If it’s going to hurt anyway, familiar pain is better.

As I smelled the fragrant cigarette, I thought about it in a happier mood than usual.

“Red~ Red… Collock! Cough!!”

Eunha sings a familiar children’s song when she remembers it.

But soon, the happy smell of cigarettes enters your lungs and causes you to cough.

“Kehehe!!”

Patter.

Pieces of dissolved lung, along with blood mixed with oxygen and diluted, stick out of the mouth.

Eunha, who had lost a large amount of blood in an instant, hit her butt with strong dizziness.

He hits his head on the display stand, causing several neatly placed cutter knives to fall to the floor.

Eunha quickly stood up, tapping her dizzy head.

“Choke… Oh, secondhand smoke. Look if I smoke.”

『Breathing and living. It’s happiness for some people.』

“It means there is a time limit.”

At some point, Eunha, who had been pressured, stopped breathing.

[Self-recovery] works hard to repair the melted lungs, while also gradually recovering the cells of the entire body that are screaming due to lack of oxygen.

The pain of her lungs melting mixed with an inexplicable happiness squeezed her internal organs.

Eunha shook her head while feeling happy in the thick cigarette smoke in the convenience store.

I get it roughly. If you don’t want to end up in pain because your lungs are melting, you need to buy something quickly and get out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6. Buy and sell happiness at the convenience store.

– Happiness is a relative concept.

– Nevertheless, somewhere in this world, there will be a treasure that everyone can feel happy about.

# When entering a convenience store and the entrance is closed.

– No need to panic. Pick the item you like best and bring it to the clerk.

– Purchased items must be used.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What you see on convenience store shelves.

Rope, blades, briquettes, bleach, pesticides…

Objects with different uses.

Buy one of them and definitely use it.

‘I’m going to die anyway, so let’s get this over with quickly. You were already depressed.’

buy happiness

The thought was short.

Eunha picked up the cutter knife that had fallen on the floor and approached the woman.

“I’ll buy this.”

『… … .』

A cutter knife was placed on the checkout counter.

The woman puts down her pipe and straightens her upper body.

The fragrant smell of cigarettes suddenly disappears, and the subtle happiness disperses along with the smoke.

『… … Lady, what is your goal in life?』

And the woman, who had carefully examined the cutter knife that Eunha had brought, said as she adjusted her disheveled robe.

I looked up at her as she pursed her lips in response to a random question.

With a face full of boredom, he puts a pipe to his mouth.

『If there is no goal, people will not change.』

“… … .”

『It might be better to leave to find happiness.』

Ok…

A woman with a pipe in her mouth places a box cutter in Eunha’s hand.

A sultry woman.

A blue robe with a constellation engraved on it for the first time.

‘That’ that speaks of happiness with a face full of boredom,

A little ‘happiness’ is placed in Eunha’s hands.

Peep-peep-pip-rong~.

Then the tightly closed doorway opens wide with a trivial sound.

The hot July air caresses my cheek and wakes Eunha up.

『Goodbye, lady.』

“… … What is the calculation?”

There is no answer back.

Only quiet laughter disappears in the cigarette smoke.

The wide open automatic door beckons Eunha.

“… If I’m bored because there are no customers, can I borrow a game console later? I’m happy enough just playing games with my friends.”

『I’m jealous.』

Just like that, Eunha shook off the fragrant smell from her clothes,

I left the [Happy Convenience Store] with a somewhat dazed expression.

Except for the fact that my lungs melted and regenerated, I got through safely.

maybe.

… … .

… … .

Grumble.

That evening.

Eunha sat on the living room sofa and quietly played with the cutter knife she purchased at [Happy Convenience Store].

It was late at night, but I didn’t even eat dinner.

Without paying attention to the growling sound, I quietly manipulate the cutter knife.

Drurrr of the thin blade came out and retracted repeatedly with her hand gestures.

‘What is the goal of life? Why did I suddenly ask that question?’

I feel like I’m dreaming.

Eunha looked up at the ceiling with an unhappy face.

There is a goal.

many.

becoming a hunter,

Surviving the monsters of [The Black Book],

Looking under the skirt of [Bug Princess],

Living without pain.

(You… are always the same.)

and……

“… … … Nothing changes.”

Grumble.

I fixed the cutter knife.

A thin blade slides out, aiming for her wrist.

‘It’s happiness…’

Cutter knife purchased at [Happy Convenience Store].

Will I be happy if I use this?

Eunha held the cutter knife to her wrist.

Because it remains unchanged.

This is because at the cafe, a woman named So-ryeong really broke other people’s hearts.

“… … .”

So, Eunha used ‘body strengthening’ to strengthen the hand holding the cutter knife…

… … .

… Mulberry bread~ Mulberry bread~.

Immediately after, a call came on her cell phone.

Pongppang~ Pongppang baaang~~.

“… … .”

Eunha relaxed her hand holding the cutter knife.

She picked up her cell phone on the table.

It’s Banharin’s call.

Pick up the phone.

“… … Hello.”

ㅡ Eunha. Do you mind for a moment?

A somewhat urgent voice came from the other end of the phone.

What did you call me for?

Eunha put down the cutter knife, fixed her cell phone, and turned her head.

There is thick darkness outside the veranda.

The light from the street lamp tears the shadows stuck to the ground and throws them into the corner, and cars and taxis smelling of alcohol rush through the intersection after working overtime.

And in the distance… you can see a residential area with studio apartments.

A distance so far that it is difficult to see with the naked eye.

Sometimes, I would have the eerie delusion that someone was watching me over there.

Eunha, who was watching the scenery outside the window, quietly opened her mouth.

“I’m fine. What did you call me about?”

ㅡ … … Dear Eunha, I wanted to express my gratitude.

“Thank you? At this time?”

ㅡIs time important?

Ban Harin chooses each word carefully.

ㅡ Thanks to the ‘potion’ given by Eunha, the injury sustained at [Cheorwon Rift Ground] has completely healed. ‘Mouse’, who was lying in a hospital bed due to excessive mana use, was also discharged this afternoon.

“Thank goodness.”

ㅡ Thanks to Eunha. The ‘mouse’ is also crying and saying thank you.

“You didn’t make it cry because you hit it, right?”

Those words filled with sincerity grab Eunha’s wrist.

ㅡ … I heard a story from Nari Kang. I heard that while I was away at the cafe, some crazy woman harassed Eunha.

“The choice of words is great.”

ㅡ No matter what she said… Eunha is a person who is more precious to me than anyone else and for which I am grateful.

Why, what is Ban Harin trying to say at this time?

I don’t know the exact reason, but… Eunha felt warm happiness from Ban Harin’s words.

Happiness conveyed by others is similar to gently tickling a person’s heart with a feather.

A shy and warm feeling raises the corners of my mouth.

“… … Thanks for telling me. Thanks to you, I feel stronger.”

– I’ll tell you anytime if you need me… So, please accept my bullshit tomorrow as well.

“Seeing you at that time.”

happy.

Eunha burst out laughing at Ban Harin’s warm phone call.

… … .

… … .

… … .

“Ha… is this what selling happiness means? Is it like a talisman that makes you happy if you have it?”

About 10 minutes later.

After finishing the phone call with Ban Harin, Eunha smiled languidly.

My heart felt warm after purchasing items at [Happy Convenience Store].

“Well, sometimes there have to be beneficial rules. I will have to go visit often from now on.”

He recovers his heart from being scratched by Soahyeong and exhales with a relieved face.

I thought of all the ‘stuff’ on display at convenience stores.

Rope, pesticides, detergent, briquettes… things with different uses.

However, if you use it well, you will be able to meet the [Black Person] when necessary without being torn apart by monsters.

It all depends on the writing.

Eunha happily picked up the cutter knife on the table.

Even though she didn’t change anything,

There are people who express their gratitude to her.

So it’s okay.

Happy enough.

Eunha was happy.

“Okay. When I go to work at the cafe tomorrow, Mr. Ban Harin will give me Dunga Dunga.”

Grumbling…

A happy Eunha fixed the cutter knife.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

# When entering a convenience store and the entrance is closed.

– No need to panic. Pick the item you like best and bring it to the clerk.

– Purchased items must be used.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Because you have to use what you buy.

It is a natural ‘rule’.

Happy is happy,

This is this.

Nope!

I moved my hand.

… … .

(What happiness are you selling?)

(『Happiness of a young lady.』)

The color of happiness is red.

It flows like tears.

(……price is? )

(『Someone’s Happiness.』)

Mulberry bread~ Mulberry bread~ Mulberry bread~

Another call came from Ban Harin,

Ring an urgent bell.

Unheard of by a happy galaxy.

Mulberry bread~ Mulberry bread~ Mulberry bread~

‘Okay, let’s think about it as a juvenile or something. It’s like a guild invitation or something, but if you reject it outright, you won’t be able to say anything.’

Because my mind is at ease, the worries that have been bothering me all day come to a conclusion in an instant.

Eunha moved the cutter knife with a happy heart.

Mulberry bread~ Mulberry bread~ Mulberry bread~

The ringtone never stops,

It’s a happy evening.

‘Even if you threaten me to join a guild… there are many ways. No problem.’

I have a goal.

Kang Nari seems to be having a hard time too.

I have to end things with So-ryeong soon.

Mulberry bread~ Mulberry bread~

The night was deep.