Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

On her way home, Habin recalled what had happened at Solaris.

Lee Junhwi, who had overturned the desk like flipping a dining table as soon as he heard Chae Jiseok’s words.

Amidst the overturned desk, spilled pens, and papers fluttering about, he no longer wore his subtle smile.

Instead, he shouted with a manic intensity:

‘You’re saying you’re going to Kill Screen when the Guild Master is already gone?! That means I have to take responsibility for Solaris all by myself!’

‘Still…… we’ve finished all our pending work, so I’ll try to wrap up everything else in the next two days before I go.’

‘But that still means I’m the only one left to act as the representative! Argh! I’ll have to take responsibility for all the approvals as the representative while you two are gone? Hahaha!’

Lee Junhwi, who suddenly started shouting and then laughed maniacally again.

Unable to contain himself any longer, he yanked off the slipper with ‘DOBBY IS FREE’ written on it and gripped it in his hand.

The slipper dangling from his hand.

Aiming the slipper as if ready to throw it at any moment, Lee Junhwi spoke in an agitated voice:

‘You two! Listen to me carefully from now on.’

‘……’

‘You must return alive. Both the Guild Master and the Vice Guild Master. If you both leave me behind and die-!’

I’ll chase you down to hell and drag you back.

Lee Junhwi muttered in a voice tinged with killing intent as he glared at the documents.

‘Haha, you think you can leave all this work and die, leaving just me behind? That’s not happening.’

‘……’

‘Sigh, since you’re going anyway, make sure to bring the Guild Master back alive. We need the manpower.’

‘But Secretary-nim, we didn’t say we were going to the 50th floor. We’re just going to look around Kill Screen.’

‘Ah, is that so?’

Lee Junhwi, who seemed to have calmed down, put on his subtle smile again.

‘……Then let’s just say that was my delusion and wishful thinking.’

Once again gripping the documents with a rustle, he bowed his head politely towards Habin.

‘Well then, Hyun Habin-nim, have a safe journey home. I’ll have all the Kill Screen visit documents prepared for you and the Vice Guild Master by the day after tomorrow. See you next time.’

With a gesture from him, the refrigerator beyond the bookshelf opened. Lee Junhwi took out an orange juice and handed it to Habin.

And with his other hand, he passed a large stack of documents to Chae Jiseok.

Thud.

‘Since you said you’re leaving in two days, Vice Guild Master-nim, you need to approve all of these right now. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to make it in time even then.’

‘……’

Oh dear.

Seeing Chae Jiseok’s face darken as he looked at the documents, Habin put on a sympathetic expression.

‘See that, Kim Jaljal? That’s why being a Vice Guild Master is such a dangerous job.’

Well then, Chae-ssi, fighting.

After quietly adding her encouragement, Habin safely returned home in the vehicle provided by Solaris, guided by Secretary Lee Junhwi.

Chae Jiseok had offered to order the trendy black pepper chicken, but since he looked like he wouldn’t have time to eat anyway, Habin made a warmly considerate decision to just go home and eat alone rather than rubbing salt in the wound by eating in front of him.

The truly comfortable and smooth ride, plus the fact that she was returning home while the sun was still up.

In many ways, it was the best homecoming.

◆◇◆◇◆

“So with two days left, charging my power bank, buying a mini beam projector, and getting takeout from nearby restaurants should be enough, right? In the remaining time, I’ll watch some YouTube, play a few games…….”

Having arrived home, Habin stretched, savoring the scent of freedom after a long time.

Two days of golden free time before going to Kill Screen!

Just as Habin was cheerfully wiggling her sock-clad feet after making a solid plan (of course, only for playing),

Ring ring-

Her previously silent phone rang.

‘I shouldn’t have any calls coming in…… Who could it be?’

Maybe Chae-ssi forgot to tell her something.

Habin leaned over to check her phone, which she had tossed onto the edge of the bed.

The caller was Park Wondu.

‘Park Wondu……?’

A former part-time colleague from her porter days who had quit after getting a job at Starlinus Cafe.

The friend who had given her important life advice, saying,

‘I was foolish. The very act of getting a job at a cafe because I liked Starlinus coffee.’

‘Hmm, what could Park Wondu be calling about?’

Even after pondering, she couldn’t think of a good reason.

Habin answered the phone anyway.

“Hello?”

-Hyun Habin! It’s been a while.

“Yeah. What’s the occasion?”

-Do I need a reason to call?

“Hmm. I think that’s how it’s been?”

-……

As if she had hit the nail on the head, a brief silence fell on the other end of the line.

Habin’s observation wasn’t wrong. They were close, but they usually contacted each other via KakaoTalk.

Phone calls were rare. Even then, it was mostly a few urgent calls related to work during their part-time days.

“……Did something happen?”

-Well, uh, you see…….

“It’s okay, tell me. What is it?”

Encouraged by Habin, Park Wondu hesitated before speaking.

-Do you happen to have time tomorrow?

Habin looked down at her schedule.

“Tomorrow? I’m busy, but……. I need to watch dramas at home and play games.”

Her preciously crafted schedule. Hearing this, Park Wondu asked:

-Th-then…… I’m really, really sorry, but could you possibly cover my part-time shift tomorrow……?

“Cover?”

At her query, Park Wondu poured out words as if making excuses.

-It’s a convenience store job, so there’s nothing hard to do! I have a school exam tomorrow but I forgot to find someone to cover for me, so it’s really urgent! I’ll give you the full hourly wage and buy you a meal too!

“Hmm…….”

-Please, please just do it once, think of it as saving a life! If I get an F this time, I’ll lose my scholarship……. All those grades I’ve worked so hard for…….

A tearful voice mixed in from the other end of the line. Habin let out a deep sigh.

‘What’s with him. Making me feel all sorry for him.’

There are occasionally people like that.

People who work so hard at everything that it makes others watching them feel sorry for them. Park Wondu was exactly that type of guy.

They had even worked together as porters. Porter work involves handling dirty monster carcasses and can even be life-threatening if one’s not careful.

Whether for their dreams, livelihood, or other purposes. It’s a job that requires both guts and tenacity.

Park Wondu was one of those who dove in for his dreams.

‘I’m definitely going to save up money and go to school with my own money. Pay tuition with my own money, rent a room too.’

Cafes, convenience stores, PC rooms, restaurants, construction sites. For Park Wondu, who had mastered every part-time job there was, even porter work was just a means to achieve his dream.

They were around the same age, and both had experience working multiple part-time jobs like Habin, so they had become quite close.

‘You’re working to find your brother, right? I hope you find him. If I hear any news around me, I’ll definitely let you know. I’ll go to school, and you find your brother!’

Park Wondu, who was intensely juggling studies and part-time jobs despite his poor circumstances.

Fortunately, it seems he’s now become a proper university student worrying about exams and scholarships.

“Congratulations on getting into university. ……And you know what? I found my brother too.”

At Habin’s casually thrown words, Park Wondu asked in surprise:

-What? Really?

“It’s really unbelievable. He was alive and well. I don’t know why he didn’t contact me.”

-Hey, that’s still really great! It’s even better that he’s healthy. We’ve achieved all the goals we set back then!

His voice brightened on the other end of the line.

Hearing his voice rejoicing as if it were his own good fortune, Habin wedged the phone between her shoulder and ear.

“…….”

It was a rare sweet vacation. It’s a shame, but…….

As she quietly crumpled her schedule and tossed it into the trash can, she asked:

“So where’s this convenience store? What time is the shift?”

◆◇◆◇◆

“Hey, thanks so much. You’re a lifesaver.”

True to his coffee enthusiast nature, Park Wondu showed off his hair dyed a rich coffee color as soon as they met.

‘He might have forgotten Starlinus, but he couldn’t forget coffee, I see.’

He was a true coffee enthusiast.

“I’ve already organized everything except the Starlinus coffee, and I’ve done all the cleaning. You just need to handle the cash register!”

Habin glanced at the refrigerator. All the other coffees were neatly arranged, but the Starlinus coffee was left untouched…….

‘This guy, I didn’t think he was like that, but he’s surprisingly petty.’

It seems he still hasn’t overcome his Starlinus trauma. Habin offered a small moment of silence in her heart for the pitiful guy.

Park Wondu continued his explanation. He pointed to one side of the convenience store counter.

“Those potions over there are newly started items, but they can only be sold to people with hunter licenses. They’re so expensive that there are often crimes where people steal just those…… It probably won’t happen, but if there’s an emergency situation, press this bell and…….”

After a long explanation and handing over to Habin, he expressed his gratitude again.

“Really, thank you so much. I’m in a hurry now so I have to go, but I’ll definitely treat you to a meal next time!”

“Forget it, just do well on your exam. I’ll check if your scholarship excuse was real or not.”

“I’ll come back as the top of the class!”

Park Wondu, who was solemnly packing his writing materials, added as if he had just remembered:

“Ah, right. This is the last pro tip, but if something goes wrong, never blame yourself.”

“Don’t blame myself?”

“Well, for example…… when you make a mistake in calculation. Instead of saying ‘Oh, I made a mistake in the calculation, let me do it again,’…….”

Park Wondu pointed at the POS machine on the counter.

“Say something like ‘Oh, the POS machine seems to be malfunctioning,’ or ‘It’s doing this again.’ Basically, blame everything on the machine.”

“Oh, that’s a good tip?”

“Haha, I learned it from a sunbae I know.”

When you make a mistake, blame it on the machine or the items.

After passing on this final tip, Park Wondu finally left the convenience store to take his exam.

[Is this a general store?]

It was Ahezar. He seemed to be brimming with curiosity, trembling slightly.

“Well, something like that. More precisely, it’s called a convenience store, and it has everything except what it doesn’t have.”

[Everything except what it doesn’t have?!]

“They stock everything from over-the-counter medicines to chargers and stationery. Of course, the best part is that they have the most food items!”

After all, the lifeblood of a convenience store is cup noodles, late-night snacks, and munchies!

[Hooh……. What an intriguing place. And even the clothes the clerk must wear are predetermined!]

He was so interested that he didn’t even look at his favorite web novels, instead appreciating the scene of the convenience store.

[But, do we just stay here? No customer solicitation?]

“You just need to ring up customers when they come. That’s it. Wondu already did all the cleaning before he left. And since I’m just covering for a short while, nothing much should happen.”

Habin sat down on the chair with a bored expression. She just needed to cover while Park Wondu took one exam, then she could go back home.

They had covered for each other’s shifts before, and since they knew each other’s circumstances, a favor like this was nothing.

‘Besides, you can even watch dramas here when there are no customers!’

Habin tapped her phone screen with a cheerful motion. A popular American drama was playing on the screen.

“Hehe. Sweet.”

As she was watching the drama with a satisfied expression,

Ding-a-ling-

Just then, a group of customers entered the convenience store.

Customers wearing hats and masks. They looked suspicious no matter how you looked at them, but Hyun Habin was already deeply engrossed in her drama.

One of them quickly scanned the store and nodded to his companions.

‘Hey, you checked, right?’

‘Yes. There’s only one girl.’

‘Looks like we don’t need to worry, seeing how she’s absorbed in her drama?’

‘……This is going to be easy.’

Without a moment’s hesitation, they headed towards the section where the hunter-exclusive potions were displayed.

Then they started stuffing expensive recovery potions, poison potions, status effect potions, and more into their clothes.

‘That part-timer over there is still just looking at her phone.’

‘We won’t get caught, right?’

‘I can’t believe it’s this easy.’

They exchanged glances and smiled at each other.

That’s right.

They hadn’t come as customers in the first place.

Knowing that convenience stores had recently started selling potions, a new type of thief targeting only convenience store potions had emerged.

Official potion vendors were often guarded by hunters, making theft difficult, but convenience stores were manned by ordinary part-timers, making them relatively easy targets.

So, a recently emerging type of criminal, the so-called ‘convenience store potion thief’.

They were named for targeting only convenience store potions.

‘We’ll just walk out of the convenience store like this.’

Just as they were about to head towards the entrance with satisfied smiles,

[You thieves! How dare you commit theft right in front of me, thinking it’s safe!]

A booming voice resounded behind their heads.

“W-what? Where’s that voice coming from?”

“Boss! I…… I can’t move my body.”

“……!”

The lead thief tried to turn his head in surprise. But he couldn’t even twitch a finger.

It felt like a massive iron weight was pressing down on his entire body. He barely managed to roll his eyes towards the counter. He was sure the voice had come from there…….

Just then, the part-timer who had been consistently looking at her phone with a bored expression slightly raised her head. A girl with an expression of utter disinterest.

“Customers, what are you doing over there?”

Habin rose with a nonchalant movement.

‘D-did we get caught?’

The trio of thieves, still unable to move an inch, were dripping with cold sweat.

Habin muttered quietly so they couldn’t hear:

“Kim Jaljal……. You did well, but did you have to reveal your presence like that? Sigh, since it’s come to this, let’s use that pro tip.”

Her voice was full of sighs. It was a quiet whisper inaudible to the thieves.

‘What is she muttering about?’

Gulp.

As the thieves stood there tensely, unable to hear her words, Habin approached them with determined steps. Then she smiled brightly.

“W-what are you doing?”

In response to the startled thief’s reaction, Habin brushed her long straight hair behind her ear and spoke in a calm voice:

“Ah, customer. You were surprised, right? It’s nothing much……. My sword seems to be malfunctioning. It’s doing this again.”

“……Your sword is malfunctioning?”

“Can’t be helped. Could you show me your pockets for a moment?”