Eleuthernemis System

Chapter Four

I glanced at Woo rim and he smiled then gave me a thumbs up. That little gesture suddenly lifted my spirits and I followed the manager.

We stopped at a door at the far end of the store completely unnoticeable. He opened the door and we stepped in.

The office was cramped, barely enough room for the desk, two chairs and a filing cabinet.

A security monitor sat at the corner of the desk, cycling through grainy footage of the store,visible to him and I.

“So, you want to apply for a job here?” He said, settling into his chair with a heavy sigh.

“Yes Sir” I said trying to sound confident.

I remained standing until he gestured impatiently towards an empty chair across from him.

“Sit”

I sat.

He pulled out a clipboard with a blank form on it, clicked his pen twice, and finally looked at me properly. Above his head, text materialized.

[NAME: Park Junho]

[AGE: 46]

[RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Divorced]

[OCCUPATION: Convenience Store Manager]

[STRENGTHS: Unavailable]

[WEAKNESSES: Unavailable]

[THREAT LEVEL: Unavailable]

[STRESS LEVEL: Unavailable]

From what I’ve seen, it seems that if I interact with someone in some way, their name, age, relationship status and occupation will be available but it seems as though the rest will only be available when I get closer to them.

“Name?”

“Seo Ireum”.

He wrote it down without looking up. “Age?”

“Twenty”

“Address?”

I hesitated. I couldn't exactly write down ‘currently homeless’ on a job application.

“I'm kind of floating around for now. I can use a friend's address for mail”.

Park Junho’s hand stopped moving. He looked up at me, eyes narrowing. “Floating around”.

“Yes Sir”.

“You mean you're homeless”.

The word hung in the air between us. I could have lied, maybe come up with something but there was no point. I mean it was pretty obvious.

My clothes were wrinkled, the faint smell of a PC bang was probably on me and my face must’ve already revealed that he hit the nail on the head.

“Yes Sir”.

He leaned back in his chair. “Previous job experience?”

“I worked at a restaurant for two years. Washing dishes, prep work, serving customers, some cooking”.

“Why'd you leave?”

“The restaurant closed down two months ago”.

“And you’ve been unemployed since then?”

“Yes Sir.”

“References?”

I shook my head. “No Sir.”

“No references.” He set the pen down and rubbed his temples. “No address, no recent employment. You understand this doesn't look good right?”

“I know.” I leaned forward slightly. “But I'm a hard worker, I learn fast and I need this job.” I paused remembering what the attendant told me.

“Kim Sung min from the PC Bang on Samil ro sent me. He said to mention his name.”

Park Junho's expression shifted. He picked up his pen again. “Sung min sent you?”

“Yes Sir. He said you might be hiring.”

“That kid.” He said, shaking his head. “Always sending me strays.” But there was something almost fond in his tone.

He tapped the pen against the clip board. “Sung min’s a good judge of character. Pain in the ass, but good judge of character.”

I didn't know if that was a good sign or not, so I stayed quiet.

“Look Seo Ireum.” Park Junho set the clip board aside and placed his hands on the desk.

“I’ll be straight with you. This job is shit. The pay is minimum wage. The hours are long. We get shoplifters weekly and we’ve been robbed thrice in the past six months. The police don't care about places like this and corporate sure as hell doesn't either.”

“I understand.”

“I don't think you do.” He said. Something in the text above his head shifted.

[STRESS LEVEL: High]

“Last month, my previous employee quit after the third robbery. The kid was so scared he didn't even come back for his final paycheck. That's why it's just Woo rim and me, and the boy is working himself half to death trying to cover all the shifts.”

I glanced at the security monitor and saw Woo rim restocking the shelves with that same cheerful energy. How does someone stay like that in a place like this? After the robberies? After everything Park Junho just described?

“I'm not easily scared,” I said, meeting Park Junho's eyes.

Park Junho stared at me for a long moment. His fingers drummed against the desk.

“You ever been in a fight?”

The question caught me off guard. “A fight?”

“If someone comes in here with a bat, knife or a gun, what do you do?”

I thought about my answer carefully. “Give them the money. It's not worth dying over cash that isn't mine.”

Something like approval flashed through his face. “Good answer. Too many idiots think they need to play the hero.”

He picked up the pen again. “The job starts from 6AM to 10PM, four days a week. You’ll stock shelves, manage the register, keep the store clean and deal with whatever shot comes through the door. You get a thirty minute break and can eat anything from the store that's about to expire.”

“That works for me.”

“And before you ask, no, you can't sleep here. I’ve had people try, but it didn't turn out well.”

He gave me a pointed look. “Sung min probably mentioned that I'm … flexible about enforcement sometimes. If you happen to lock the store up and sleep in the storage room before I get there I'm not going to notice. Understood?”

I understood. He was offering me a place to sleep without really offering me a place to sleep.

“Yes Sir. I understand, thank you.”

“Don't thank me yet.” Park Junho stood up and I followed suit.

“Your shift starts now. Show up late and you're fired, show up drunk and you're fired. Steal anything and I'll have you arrested. Clear?”

“Crystal clear.”

He extended his hand. I shook it. His grip was firm, hands calloused.

Through the office door, I could hear the store coming to life. The door chime rang every minute or so. I stared at the security monitor.

“Morning’s our busiest time,” Park Junho said following my gaze to the monitor.

On the monitor, I could see Woo rim moving between customers with that inexhaustible cheerfulness, scanning items, occasionally laughing at what someone said.

My eyes landed on a hooded figure that entered, right after an older woman left with her coffee.

Several people were in the store aside from the hooded figure. One that caught my eye was a student that didn't seem more than 12 years old.

They all froze when he pulled out a knife.

“Nobody move! Everyone on the ground.”

The student dropped immediately, hands over his hand. A mother immediately pulled her children into her arms and knelt down hugging her kids.

[WARNING: Threat Detected]

The system window appeared in my field of vision. Not the usual blue hue but a glaring red colour.

“You alright?”

But I wasn't paying attention to him. I looked at the hooded figure approach Woo rim. Gun in hand.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

[QUEST ACTIVATED: Stop the robbery]

[REWARD: …]

[FAILURE: …]

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

My blood went cold.

“Do you have a back exit?”

Park Junho's frown deepened. “What? Why would …”

The sound of shattering glass cut him off.

Then Woo rim's voice, high and terrified.

“Please I'll give you whatever you want, just don't …”

Park Junho's face went pale. He lunged at his office door.

And I had a split second to decide what I was going to do.