When she arrived in front of the store, there was... a strange atmosphere.
If the prices were really as low as advertised, people should have been lining up. But the place was eerily quiet.
No—completely deserted might’ve been a more accurate way to put it.
‘...Was it a scam flyer after all?’
Or maybe... it was just too deep in the backstreets for anyone to realistically co. Even to soone like her, with no background in retail, this alley didn’t seem like a place where a store would thrive.
Still, checking it out didn’t cost money, so she figured she might as well go in, even if she was getting scamd.
The first product that caught her eye as she stepped inside...
‘...Peeled raw eggs?’
Inside a transparent plastic container were raw eggs—already peeled.
There was a printed image of a little boy on the packaging. His expression looked joyful, in line with the “Happy!” sticker slapped on his forehead... but sothing about his neck looked so badly edited, it ca off as uncanny.
There was a woman next to him, and she looked fine—except the whole thing made zero sense.
What the hell was the point of pre-peeled raw eggs?
They weren’t even cheap, and it just seed like they created more waste.
She passed the baffling product and moved deeper inside, where the items started to look more normal.
Though, on closer inspection, she spotted things like “peanuts” with 0% peanuts and 100% salt.
...So basically just salt, with a misleading label.
Aside from oddities like that, there were so reasonably priced items scattered throughout.
Just when she thought, Okay, this place is weird, but not totally hopeless—
She spotted a produce display.
‘Co to think of it... it’s been a while since I had any fruit.’
As she wandered over to check the prices, her eyes locked with—
A lemon.
A lemon that was staring back at her.
“...?”
The yellow peel of the lemon slowly parted... and in between the split, what looked like a human eye gazed out.
Every ti the peel opened and closed, the pupil appeared and disappeared—
Just like a person blinking.
[Do the lemons here... co with eyes?]
[Feels like an Evil Eye.]
‘As if that makes any sense.’
...This wasn’t a product quality issue anymore.
At that mont, footsteps echoed through the otherwise silent store.
A woman in a store uniform ca rushing toward her.
Once she reached Ayun, she bowed deeply and said:
“I’m terribly sorry. There’s currently a serious issue with the lemons. They’re all scheduled for imdiate recall. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience.”
With that, she began gently placing the lemons into a sack.
Very carefully. Almost tenderly.
Ayun watched for a mont before asking:
“...What exactly is this place?”
Weird labels and pre-peeled eggs were one thing—but eyeball lemons?
That was too much.
The employee, who had been collecting lemons, turned her head in a stiff, robotic motion before slowly responding.
“Is this your first ti visiting our store?”
“Yes.”
“I see! That explains it!”
The employee bead so widely it was almost unnerving.
“We’ll handle this small issue first and... assist you right away. Please, just a mont. A very short mont.”
She then hurried back to bagging the eyeball lemons.
Ayun had the distinct impression that the lemons were glaring at her as they disappeared into the sack.
Now she was curious.
Hyeyeon would definitely find this fascinating.
Ayun couldn’t help but grin at the thought of stumbling onto perfect new content.
She left the employee behind and began exploring deeper.
She didn’t really feel like buying anything anymore.
When you bite into an apple and don’t know whether it’ll be a worm or sothing else inside... that kind of store doesn’t exactly build consur trust.
‘Still, the prices really are low.’
But seriously—was the food here even safe to eat?
Like that at hanging in the butcher section.
After seeing an eyeball inside a lemon, she wasn’t exactly optimistic about that at being normal.
In front of it sat a neatly grilled sample piece for tasting.
‘...It slls incredible, though.’
She swallowed.
But she forced herself to walk past the sample table.
The sll clung to her nostrils, refusing to let go. It was almost painful to resist.
She briefly wondered if this was so sort of ghost-induced manipulation and focused all her strength into one eye.
Her reflection in the fridge glass glowed faintly erald.
‘...Looks normal enough.’
As she stood there, deep in thought, she sensed the lemon-collector employee approaching again.
“Thank you for waiting.”
“Oh, sure.”
She bowed once more, then extended her hand, offering a small piece of candy.
It looked completely normal from any angle.
“This is an ordinary piece of candy.”
“...Why are you giving this?”
“A gift for being our store’s very first custor.”
...Truly the most humble of welco gifts.
Ayun stared blankly at her, and the employee chuckled awkwardly.
“Well, you are our first custor, after all.”
“...Your location isn’t great, that’s for sure.”
“Exactly! What a discerning eye—just what I’d expect from a first custor!”
Why had she even asked if it was her first ti?
She was the only custor.
Still, the employee looked genuinely excited—like she’d just achieved a lifelong dream.
To the point where Ayun worried that she’d get trapped in the store while the employee escaped outside.
“Okay, enough of that... What exactly is this place? Why do your lemons have eyes? And why am I the only one here?”
The employee’s expression turned somber.
She said she didn’t know. She just opened her eyes one day and was here—and couldn’t leave.
All she knew was that she had a purpose: to serve custors.
So she managed the store, but no custors ever ca. Not even when she handed out flyers.
She had no idea where the products ca from.
Most of them had so kind of defect, but if you looked carefully, you could find cheap and decent stuff too.
Aside from “minor” issues like lemons with eyes, it was a normal store.
Or so she claid.
She seed to believe she was human.
...But to Ayun, whatever this girl was—she didn’t look human.
She couldn’t clearly see the being’s true form, but... it definitely wasn’t human.
She made a ntal note to leave before the girl suddenly said, “Now you live here in my place!”
When she said she was going to leave, the employee looked devastated.
“...Maybe I’ll stop by again soti.”
“Really?”
Looking at that pitiful face, she doubted things would unfold according to her own script.
You couldn’t trust appearances. That much was certain.
Still... sothing about leaving her here tugged uncomfortably at the back of Ayun’s mind.
Not a ghost. Not human.
What was she?
What was this place?
She couldn’t say.
She approached the exit.
Now that she looked again, the entrance seed to shimr slightly.
The employee spoke in a mournful voice.
“You’re leaving already?”
“I just ca to look around.”
“I see...”
She sounded so disappointed it was almost desperate.
“I sincerely hope you’ll co again. I promise the items may look weird, but they’re completely safe for human consumption!”
“...Ah. Sure.”
Couldn’t have sounded more trustworthy if she tried.
‘...Still, it is cheap.’
Assuming it doesn’t kill you, of course.
Once she exited the store and turned around—
The sign read:
– υEpsilonυ Mart –
A flashy, gleaming sign. And yet not a single custor.
It didn’t add up.
She left the blinding lights behind and headed ho.
The sun was already beginning to set.
‘...Maybe I should check on my livestock.’
She turned toward the park as streetlights flickered on.
She didn’t have any food to offer them, but she still believed they’d greet her warmly.
Sure enough, as she entered the dim park, she saw them—cooing and clustered together.
They looked up at her as soon as they sensed her presence.
Then began circling her, cooing louder.
‘...Wait. Are they asking for food?’
It was touching that they rembered her.
Unfortunately, she had nothing for them today.
After peering at her empty hands for a while, the birds lost interest and scattered to peck at the ground again.
...So to them, she was nothing more, nothing less than a bread-crumb dispenser.
‘...I wonder what pigeon at tastes like.’
She didn’t ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) have any real emotional attachnt, but she still felt kind of hurt.
Still, they were all plump and healthy—that was good enough.
Just as she turned to head ho—
“Child... It’s dangerous to be out so late at night...”
It was that voice again. The sa one from before.
She ignored it like last ti and kept walking.
By the ti the park was far behind her—
A strange feeling crept in.
‘Why does weird stuff keep happening around ?’
With that lingering question—
She took another step forward.
And just barely made it ho when a ssage from Hyeyeon ca in.
Reviews
All reviews (0)