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Chapter 1
“Assistant Manager Han, is this really this month’s order data? Have you lost your mind?”
Manager Kim’s scream, loud enough to make her ears ring, shook the office ceiling.
‘Here we go again.’
It was her third year working in the sales support team at a distribution company.
Every day was exactly the same.
“I’m sorry. They said there was an error on the logistics side, so I’m checking it again.”
At those words, Manager Kim’s face turned bright red, and his voice grew even louder.
“Is saying sorry all you can do? Don’t even think about going home today.”
With that, Manager Kim slammed the door shut and left.
‘Ah… seriously.’
She was annoyed, but the text message she had received earlier saying that she had won the housing subscription lottery kept coming back to her mind.
‘I’m going to quit soon, so just hang in there a little longer.’
After struggling with the work for quite some time, Se-hee finally finished everything and left the office.
“Let’s buy something before going home.”
As if in a daze, Se-hee headed toward a convenience store.
Ding-a-ling―
“Welcome!”
As soon as she entered the convenience store, a cheerful greeting welcomed her.
Se-hee picked up a pack of Mansung Tangmyeon to satisfy her hunger, then noticed something beside it.
‘Buy one, get one?’
She picked up two banana milks and a chocolate bar and headed to the register.
“Would you like a bag?”
“Yes.”
Se-hee gave a small nod and left the convenience store.
The plastic bag hanging from her wrist dug into her skin and bumped lightly against her thigh with every step.
After walking for a while, she saw a crosswalk.
‘Should I just eat the ramen tomorrow?’
She was too tired.
Just then, the crosswalk signal turned green.
Se-hee adjusted her grip on the bag and took a heavy step forward.
The humid air brushed against the tip of her nose, as if it were about to rain.
“Huh……?”
It happened at that moment.
HOOOOONK―!
The moment she turned her head, her vision filled with white light, and she could not even scream.
The headlights of a huge truck filled her eyes, and her body was thrown into the air.
‘What is this?’
Scenes flashed before Se-hee’s eyes, almost like a final review of her life.
Her childhood, her graduation from university.
And finally, the report she had been finishing at work.
The last thing she remembered was the autosave failure icon blinking just before she saved the file.
‘Ah, I must be going crazy……’
That pointless thought was the last thing she had before she lost consciousness.
***
How much time had passed?
She opened her eyes when she felt something damp and sticky against her cheek.
“Ugh……”
She tried to sit up but suddenly froze.
The sight before her was not Seoul as she knew it.
“What? Where am I?”
The sky was covered in a purple mist.
Twisted trees filled the forest.
“Ah… could this be heaven? I’m pretty sure I got hit by a truck.”
Se-hee looked around.
The sharp, fishy smell stinging her nose made her realize this was not a dream.
She cautiously pinched her thigh.
“Ouch!”
It hurt terribly.
If this was heaven, it was far too realistic.
‘They say that even if a tiger catches you, you can survive as long as you keep your head. First, I need to stay calm.’
Then Se-hee noticed her own hand.
She was sure she had been holding something, but her hand was empty.
“……Huh?”
The plastic bag that had been hanging from her wrist was gone.
So was all the food inside it.
“Damn it! My food!”
Unable to understand what was happening, Se-hee quickly got up and looked around.
A short distance away, she spotted a metal object wedged between the twisted trees.
It was a wrecked truck.
“That…….”
The truck’s body was crushed, and the driver’s seat was empty.
“Where’s the driver?”
Of course, there was no answer.
She was there, and the truck was there too.
But everything that should have been between them had disappeared.
“How does this make any sense?”
Her mind began racing. Instinctively, Se-hee checked her pockets first.
Her phone was gone.
So was her wallet.
All she had left was the clothes she was wearing and herself.
Surprisingly, the first thought that came to her mind was simple.
‘My housing subscription! My apartment!’
Just then, the center of Se-hee’s vision began to flicker, and a blue holographic window appeared in front of her.
[Loading…]
[Please wait.]
“……What?”
Se-hee stared at the air.
Words were clearly floating in empty space.
She waved her hand through them, but the words remained.
“What is this?”
Until a moment ago, she had thought the forest was strange.
Now, she was starting to think her own head was even stranger.
“Could this be… a game? Reincarnation? No, I’ve never heard of a world like this.”
At that moment, another bright blue window appeared clearly in front of Se-hee.
[All data synchronization has been completed. Welcome.]
“No, forget the welcome and all that……!”
Seeing the message, Se-hee let out a hollow laugh and was about to complain.
[Store Owner ‘Han Se-hee’ registration complete.]
This system is a Galactic Distribution System designed to manage the distribution of goods throughout the world.
You have been chosen as the one and only store owner capable of making this other world prosperous.
*Store Owner Benefits Granted……
“Wait, what? Store owner? What kind of store owner?”
Even though she knew the window could not answer, she still spoke to the empty air.
“Is this a novel?! Am I the main character? Can’t you at least tell me the setting?”
She had somehow ended up in a situation straight out of the novels she had seen countless times online.
Of course, there was no answer.
The only thing floating in the air was the emotionless message saying that her store owner registration was complete.
Se-hee closed her mouth and slowly took a deep breath.
“Could it be……”
[To return to your original world, you must fulfill certain conditions.]
“…Okay. I’m definitely going back.”
A comfortable life was waiting for Se-hee after winning the housing subscription lottery.
She could not give that up.
Se-hee looked at the window floating in the air again.
There was no way to deny it.
The fact that a system window had appeared in the middle of a forest was already more than enough proof that this situation was completely unreal.
“Okay.”
There was no time to panic.
She wanted to find people first, but the system window in front of her came first.
If she wanted to survive in this unfamiliar world,
The only thing she could trust right now was this status window.
“But what kind of store am I supposed to be the owner of?”
Se-hee looked around, but there was absolutely nothing that could be called a store.
Even if there were a store somewhere around here, it did not seem like there would be a single customer.
‘Running a business in a place where no one even seems to pass by?’
It made absolutely no sense.
Se-hee stared blankly at the message for a moment before letting out a hollow laugh.
- If no transaction occurs within the designated time, the Store Owner Protection Function will be permanently deactivated.
“In this forest?”
At that moment, she heard an unpleasant sound coming from the bushes.
“……What? Is someone there?”
Instead of an answer, a pair of fiercely glowing yellow eyes appeared.
Grrrrr―
Wolves as tall as adults bared their sharp teeth, drool dripping from their mouths.
‘Ah. I’m really… screwed.’
The wolves’ eyes were fixed on Se-hee’s neck.
“Hey, save me! Get rid of these things!”
Se-hee shouted at the air.
[The first potential customer is approaching.]
“Potential customer?! How are those things, customers?! They’re wolves! Anyone can see that I’m the food here!”
Se-hee screamed as she slowly backed away.
Her heel slipped on the wet soil, and her back slammed against a cold rock.
“Ugh……!”
She felt the pain, but she had no time to worry about it.
Because one of the wolves in front lowered its head and crouched down.
It was obviously getting ready to pounce.
‘Is that one the leader?’
Among the wolves at the front, one particularly large wolf caught her attention.
“Wait, wait!”
Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was right beside her ears.
“I don’t have anything on me right now.”
As soon as she finished muttering, a window appeared.
[You can now use the Status Window and Inventory functions normally.]
“Is this really the time for that?”
Se-hee gritted her teeth and tried to look away.
But as if responding to her mutter, the window smoothly changed.
[Player Information]
Name: Han Se-hee
Occupation: The Other World’s Only Distributor
Cooking Skill: F-
“F-?”
Se-hee frowned.
[The mana system of this world is incompatible with the player’s cooking.]
“…….”
The message appeared at exactly the moment Se-hee was about to question it.
“Hey. You just heard what I said and answered me, didn’t you?”
There was no answer, but the silence made it seem like the system was deliberately pretending not to know.
“Or is someone watching me?”
She looked around one more time, but there was nothing except the purple mist.
Meanwhile, the wolf that appeared to be the leader was getting closer and closer.
“Ah, damn it… Inventory!”
It came out almost as a scream.
But there was nothing inside her inventory.
For a moment, her mind went completely blank.
“Nothing?”
It was a betrayal by the very inventory she had trusted.
As if mocking Se-hee, the window appeared again after a brief pause.
[Summoning the missing purchased items from the Inventory.]
“No way……”
Just as the wolf’s teeth came within inches of her, Se-hee opened the inventory again.
[Inventory]
Stored Items: 1 pack of Mansung Tangmyeon, wooden chopsticks, 500 ml bottled water
“Finally!”
But when she saw the next system window, she fell into despair.
[Sell food to your first customer!]
If you fail to complete your first transaction within 30 minutes,
You will become dinner for the hungry wolves.
Objective: Serve a meal to the wolves (0/1)
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Success: Basic equipment for settling down, 1 old parasol, x3 Maximum Gold
Failure: Annihilation
- Your labor will soon become the sacred welfare of another world. (Work songs recommended)
“You’ve got to be kidding me. I really have to sell food to wolves?”
