NOVEL NEXT Chapter 219
“Time is given equally to everyone? Yeah, don’t kid yourself.”
Convenience store part-timer Kim Ji-woo shut the self-help book.
She had seen countless books spewing the same nonsense, “It’s not your fault, it’s society’s fault,” but this one managed to annoy her while she was reading it, which was a first.
At 5 PM, she still had 5 hours to kill before switching with the damn late-night girl who’s always late.
The convenience store located in the university area wasn’t without its struggles.
Already drained from dealing with young know-it-alls, Kim Ji-woo sat in front of the counter, spacing out as she analyzed the pattern of the floor tiles.
That’s when she heard the bell ring.
Trained like Pavlov’s dog, Kim Ji-woo instinctively opened her mouth.
“Welcome! This is CU!”
She had no idea how many times she had repeated those words today. Even the NPCs in virtual reality games had more varied lines than this.
“I’ll ring you up.”
With a deep sense of disillusionment, Kim Ji-woo scanned the “Triangle Gimbap (Small)” handed to her by a customer.
As she reached out for the card, the woman passed her coins with delicate, fair hands.
Coins? In this day and age?
Unconsciously lifting her gaze, Kim Ji-woo felt her heart skip a beat.
There stood a goddess.
In a simple white t-shirt and high-waisted blue jeans.
With long limbs and skin as white and transparent as jade.
Same dark hair, yet her eye color was just so incredibly beautiful that Kim Ji-woo couldn’t tear her gaze away from the doe-like, sparkling eyes.
Instead of a luxury crossbody bag, she carried a beige eco-bag, and instead of a heavy perfume scent, a fresh, soapy aroma wafted from her, emphasizing her simplicity.
“Should I ask for her number? She definitely looks like she has a boyfriend…”
Kim Ji-woo had some confidence in her looks, but she felt embarrassed in the store uniform.
As her hesitation lingered, the woman finally spoke up with a curt tone.
“Are you… not going to ring me up?”
“Oh, sorry! But this is a buy-one-get-one deal, so would you like to grab another one of the same product?”
“Really? Thank goodness.”
Clapping her hands, the woman turned 90 degrees, then 180 degrees, and headed back to the gimbap display.
The moment Kim Ji-woo’s eyes caught the goddess’s side profile and rear, her heart began to race uncontrollably.
Plus, her voice was as innocent and soft as a child’s.
“Some people really have it all. So jealous…”
Unlike herself, trapped in a rectangular building, outside, young people her age were frolicking in the streets, enjoying their youth.
The reflection of Kim Ji-woo in the glass window looked somewhat lonely.
At that moment, the outside became chaotic.
It wouldn’t be accurate to express the usual hustle and bustle in the downtown area; it was more correct to say people were clustering.
“Could she really be a celebrity?”
Her doubts didn’t last long.
She was a woman, but the target was wrong.
Outside, a small child with twin tails was pressing against the convenience store window.
As if sensing Ji-woo’s gaze, the girl glanced inside.
“Wait! That’s NoName, isn’t it?”
The convenience store guy shot up from his seat.
He was one of the rare subscribers to NoName, a channel that had over five months of followers.
This was an impressive achievement, only achievable if you’d subscribed before Na-me reached the League of Legends master rank and gained true popularity.
Kim Ji-woo, deputy manager of NoName Fan Cafe, with the username “Da-yeon’s Ultra High-Performance Cute Girl AI,” kicked the counter and rushed out.
“Uh, it seems like there’s not a single gimbap left…”
“Wait, goddess! I’ll go to the stockroom and get some! Please wait a moment!”
“What?”
Currently, the goddess in the convenience store was not the main concern.
In front of her stood someone grander—the creator herself.
Kim Ji-woo didn’t even realize whom she was telling to wait as she hastily grabbed a marker and dashed out of the convenience store.
The bewildered woman could do nothing but stare at the now-empty counter.
“Excuse me…?”
Grrr…
A growl was heard quietly from the woman’s belly.
*
Mob mentality can be frightening.
I had thought no one would notice me while I walked alone, so I confidently stepped into the bustling downtown area.
Naturally. Unless you’re a somewhat famous celebrity, modern individuals hardly attracted attention.
Besides, I was small in stature, making me less noticeable.
Yet, it seemed more people were glancing at me than before.
Suddenly, one or two individuals came running up to me, asking for photos and signatures, and I obliged willingly.
Whether they recognized it as implicit consent or just flocked to me because someone was pretending to be a fan, I couldn’t tell what was in their hearts.
Of course, among them were genuine fans and viewers.
“Really, you want me to sign here?”
I had signed on paper, notebooks, and even textbooks before, but this was a first—being asked to sign on someone’s white shirt.
I took the marker and hastily wrote “NoName” in cursive on the man’s back.
“Thank you! I’ll treasure it as a family heirloom for life!”
Once I finished signing for Ji-woo, I hurriedly escaped the crowd with Daniel, whom I’d bumped into right outside the convenience store.
We entered a slightly quieter alley bustling with meat and pub joints, and Ni-el spoke first.
“What brings you here, Na-me?”
“Da-yeon called me over. She said she’s treating me to Nakgobsae if I show up before 6, so I dashed over from building 28.”
Today, it seemed an unusually high number of professors participated in the Q&A session. Was it because they were discussing the well-known problem known as Goldbach’s Conjecture?
What I thought would end in an hour dragged on for two and a half.
Da-yeon’s invitation was too hard to refuse, especially since I hadn’t eaten anything since this morning.
Nakgobsae—a dish I had never tasted in this life or any past life.
So, the place I managed to escape to was right in front of the Nakgobsae restaurant where Da-yeon’s liberal arts class members were gathered.
“Come to think of it, you’re also in the same group as Da-yeon, right? But where are the other group members? Why were you alone in the convenience store earlier?”
If Ni-el’s words were true, then the class—which I read as “Human Relationship Psychology”—was about having fun with group members.
Did the study group break up?
“Well, it’s…”
Daniel had been holding a gimbap that he hadn’t eaten since earlier.
Before her dry, cracked pink lips could finish moving, Da-yeon unexpectedly opened the door inside the restaurant.
“Na-me, why are you late! We’ve been waiting forever! And this is… Daniel?”
“Sorry, I’ve got to go.”
“Wait, Ni-el!”
Da-yeon swiftly grabbed Ni-el’s wrist as she tried to turn and leave.
The gimbap Daniel was holding slipped from Da-yeon’s grasp and hit the stone floor, squishing it entirely.
Not wanting to seem intentional, Da-yeon hurriedly picked it up and shook off the dust.
No matter how she turned it, it was far from edible.
“Ah! I’m so sorry, I’ll buy you a new one!”
“Just give it back.”
“No, I meant to buy it right in front of you.”
“Just give it back, please!”
Ni-el, initially speaking softly, suddenly raised her voice.
“Uh… okay…”
The ruined dinner quickly returned to Ni-el’s hands.
Realizing how absurd it was, Da-yeon stepped into Ni-el’s way as she attempted to leave.
“Look, I know there’s tension between Hicks Studio and the members of Bark. But Ni-el, you’re not even an official PD there; you joined just two months ago as if it’s some club. So why are you so immersed in this?”
“…”
“What reasons could you have to personally dislike me? Sure, I get it. But you have to participate in the study group. If you don’t want to have dinner, is it really that hard to just show up for the photo we need to submit for the report? Just put on a show?”
Da-yeon insisted, huffing as she demanded an explanation.
A guy, likely part of the group, watched the two women arguing from the entrance.
“Da-yeon, why aren’t you coming in? Oh, Ni-el! Why are you only showing up now?”
To avoid them feeling awkward, he pretended not to know what had just happened.
“Let’s talk it out. If you didn’t like the group project, you could’ve dropped it, but are you aware that your selfish actions are hurting others? Why should we have to deal with this good class while stressing over you?”
“Group leader, just stay in there. I’ll have a word with Ni-el.”
Fearing it might escalate into an emotional fight, the guy hurried to separate the two women with a smile.
Daniel, who had been silent all along, chimed in.
“Why does no one care about my situation? Why must I always adjust…?”
Tears began to gather in Ni-el’s doe-like eyes, dropping down one by one.
Da-yeon’s irritation spiked, and it looked like she was about to call Ni-el a “fox lady” but stopped short, her mouth visibly forming the words.
Meanwhile, the guy who tried to intervene with Da-yeon was quite effective.
He was grabbing Da-yeon, preventing her from reaching Ni-el.
“So what’s your situation? What do we need to know to adjust to you?”
“…”
“Ugh, so frustrating! If you don’t know, just figure it out… I don’t want to be the group leader anymore.”
After pounding her chest, Da-yeon was the first to throw in the towel.
The two separated on either side.
As I was caught in a dilemma over who to follow, Daniel provided the answer.
“Don’t follow me.”
I felt like eating Nakgobsae right now would give me heartburn.
*
“Wow, you’re eating well, Na-me! It would’ve been a disaster if I hadn’t ordered an extra serving!”
“Whoa, how can someone look so cute while eating…? An absolute angel!”
“But seriously, Ni-el, are you really not going to join us?”
I ate it all without feeling sick at all.
“Don’t you dare.”
Da-yeon wiped the red Nakgobsae sauce from the corner of my mouth with a napkin and asked.
“Didn’t she tell you not to follow? Plus, I’m starving since I’ve been hungry all day.”
“Alright, alright! Eat up!”
It seemed Da-yeon was trying to redeem herself by being generous.
The table still had uncollected glasses, and the alcohol wafting from them made me consider tasting it.
Why is there no country that allows children to drink?
“Were you busy today? Can they really keep you, such a young person, for that long?”
“Seriously. Maybe I should just ditch it all and head straight to Switzerland.”
“Switzerland? What do you mean by that, Na-me?”
“The other day, I thought it was a voice phishing call, but the Swiss Embassy contacted me.”
It just so happened that related stories were spilling across the news.
[As the brain drain toward Switzerland accelerates globally, the recent leak of the secret Swiss government document “The Great Generation List” has sparked some controversy. The background for young talents abandoning their nationalities to immigrate ties back to Switzerland’s major plan to recruit 100 key talents from abroad.]
Right, they had mentioned “The Great Generation” during the phone call.
[The budget reportedly ranges from 500 million to 10 billion won per individual, intended for significant wealth. No exception has been made for the Republic of Korea, and the Korean Foreign Ministry promptly expressed its objections, stating it is an act that breaks trust with key partner countries, and even the United States White House… ]
“The news seems slightly off.”
“Huh?”
“They offered me not 10 billion but 100 billion.”
The reporter must have tripped over a stone and missed a zero or something.
With red sauce swirling about, I popped the last piece of shrimp into my mouth.
I wonder if they serve Nakgobsae in Switzerland?