Part-Timer Urgently Needed!
Seeking café night shift part-timer.
Hourly wage: 12,900 :₩&/
* Located in a remote area, so it’s very dark.
* Due to the nature of night shifts, there aren’t many customers.
* This is a safe zone, so violent customers absolutely never come.
*** If you’re a human who can see this post, you’re even more welcome!
Oh, this is a sweet gig.
I, Yoon Hansol, who had been lying down fiddling with my phone, suddenly sat up when I saw the most recently posted part-time job listing. University had just ended for the semester, and while I was looking for a suitable part-time job, I found one in a pretty decent location.
It’s right in the back alley behind my house.
When I checked the distance, it was about 5 to 10 minutes from home if I walked quickly.
The timing was perfect too—I could go after my afternoon convenience store shift. Without hesitation, I pressed ‘Apply’ and lay back down on the bed. I blinked slowly and tilted my head. But what are those symbols after the hourly wage? Is it a typo? And why is the scroll bar so long?
Skip.
‘Whatever.’
As long as it’s close and the pay is good. Plus, there are no customers and no violent customers either—what a great part-time job.
Hmm, I read the job posting one more time. No matter how much I look at it, I can’t figure out what those symbols mean. It can’t be that they messed up the dollar sign.
Ding!
010-XXXX-XXXX
Nice to meet you! Can you come for an interview today?
Not only was the response incredibly fast, but a same-day interview too.
But the problem was that there were only a few hours left until today ended.
What time should I come today?
010-XXXX-XXXX
As long as it’s before today ends, come anytime! ^0^
I checked the time on my phone and groggily got up. If I prepare now, I can probably get there within 30 minutes. Having an interview this late at night—are they really desperate for a part-timer? Well, yeah. It does say “urgently needed” in huge letters. Not that it was bad for me.
In this neighborhood, it was extremely difficult to find a part-time job nearby. Even the convenience store required walking more than 30 minutes—there was nothing around.
I hope I get it. Muttering to myself, I grabbed clothes to change into and headed to the bathroom.
***
“Hmm, a university student on semester break?”
Swish, swish.
While looking at the boss’s face, I lowered my gaze to follow what was moving along the floor.
Are my eyes playing tricks on me? The thing that’s moving right now like it’s sweeping with a broom is…
“This is troublesome! We’re looking for a part-timer who can work long-term. But you are human, right?”
Tap tap tap tap! Long nails tapping on the table, slender fingers. And between the finger joints, attached…
“Y-yes… I’m human… right…?”
Webbing…
And a long tail protruding from the rear.
A face similar to a human’s, but with scales naturally positioned on the cheeks.
I had thought it was unsettling the whole way here since I couldn’t find any lights or houses that looked like people lived in them, but when I entered the café and saw writing that said “Mass sale of products popular among humans!”… I wondered what that was about…
Aha. Am I still half asleep?
“Hey, human! Why are you suddenly hurting yourself?!”
Thinking I might still be dreaming, I pinched my cheek hard, and the lizard—no, mermaid? No, that’s not it either. Anyway, the person who appeared to be the boss grabbed my hand tightly.
Splat.
The moment our skin touched, a slippery, slimy texture was vividly transmitted. My body flinched and trembled. Actually, I was so surprised that I missed the timing to react in any way other than trembling slightly.
“So, young human. How long can you work?”
“Um… I plan to continue indefinitely if possible…”
Since I need to keep earning tuition and living expenses…
But isn’t the problem not about that right now? Is it okay that I’m human? Am I allowed to be here?
I rolled my eyes around and smiled awkwardly, and the boss smiled kindly.
…Since the corners of the mouth went up, that’s smiling, right?
“Hmm, more than a year? Is that possible?”
“It’s possible, but… um, Boss? The thing is…”
“Really? Then start working tomorrow! Let’s see. Since you’re human, I should pay you more. How about 22,900 won per hour?”
The, the thing is… there might not be a problem.
Even if there is a problem, there isn’t one. Where else could I find this kind of hourly wage?
Let’s just think that the boss not being human can happen sometimes. It might not just be me. In fact, who knows if meeting non-human beings is something very natural for other people.
That’s right!
Everyone has their secret mysteries, after all.
Or maybe I’m just slow to catch on to trends. Ahaha. I smiled a capitalistic smile and firmly grasped the boss’s hand back.
“Welcome! You can call me Boss Ppik.”
Hmm. This must be what it feels like to shake hands with a fish that has hands or a giant frog.
But Boss Ppik… So it’s not that they’re human, but there’s an unusual surname called ‘Ppik’…!
***
First day of part-time work.
Originally it would be from 10 PM to 6 AM, but during the one-week learning period, I decided to work only from 11 PM to 4 AM.
Since I had a lot of café experience, rather than time to get used to the work, it seemed more like time for a human part-timer to mentally prepare themselves for encountering non-human beings.
Menu and service were important, but there were other precautions that absolutely had to be followed.
First. Don’t even think about taking pictures of customers with a camera. They said it wouldn’t be captured on camera anyway.
Second. The closer they look to human form, the higher-ranking VIP they are, so provide the best service.
Third. This café is only visible to humans with spiritual abilities and pure souls, so don’t go around carelessly telling other humans about this place.
That’s why the post the boss uploaded could only be seen by a very small number of humans. And I happened to be one of them. They even wrote about it below… This is where I found the reason for such a long scroll bar.
‘Spiritual abilities, me… Ah. I think I did sometimes see ghosts.’
Actually, I didn’t just see ghosts…
Ding-a-ling—
“Welcome…”
I greeted them with a smile, then looked at the wooden door opening wide. Then I casually turned my gaze elsewhere. From toes to neck, they were definitely no different from a human, but the head… the head was a fish. And a fish wearing a blue-glowing fishbowl on their face…
I didn’t know what type of fish it was so I couldn’t call them anything specific, but anyway, it was a fish head.
Uh… how does that person drink beverages? Do they pour it into the fishbowl?
My mind was confused, but I couldn’t just freeze up because of the boss’s enthusiastic gaze. I went to the counter, equipped my service smile, and prepared to take orders. The first customer I welcomed came close and looked at the menu for quite a while.
Fortunately, compared to other cafés, there were only a few menu items, so I memorized them quickly.
“Iced Americano with three extra shots! By the way, Boss Ppik. How did you get a human part-timer?”
Boss Ppik…
So there really is a surname called Ppik. I actually thought it might be a nickname.
“Very lucky! I really like the gentle energy. Look at that smile. How soft it is.”
Looking at the boss smiling proudly, I also laughed awkwardly, ahaha.
They say praise makes part-timers dance, but since these weren’t human faces, it was quite scary.
“Yeah, I can tell just by looking!”
Whether a regular customer or not, the fish, who was laughing hoho and staring intently at my face, spoke to the boss who was cheering me on from behind in a cheeky voice.
The face was a fish, but since the body was human, they’re a high… ranking being, right…? Right, Boss…?
They handed over a peculiarly shaped card, so I bowed my head and held out my palm. At a glance, this fish also had human hands, but like the boss, there was webbing between each joint.
Our hands brushed very briefly, but a slippery sensation like touching fish scales remained.
I was surprised but didn’t show it and gripped the card. I glanced at them sideways, processed the payment, returned the card, and immediately turned around. Three shots, three shots…
With trembling hands, I extracted shots from the machine and made an iced Americano. They smiled widely and took the cup.
…So fish can smile too.
Soon, the fish pulled out an incredibly long straw from their pocket, brought it to their mouth, waved their hand, and found a suitable seat to sit down. So straws like that do exist.
This isn’t the human world, so it could… be like that, yeah. I gave up on thinking and just smiled an enlightened smile, deciding to just get used to it.
According to the boss, this café is located at the boundary between the human world and another world. So very occasionally, the store is visible to unusual humans like me. Though it’s never happened before.
The first impression that came to mind when hearing this story was… it was surprising that another world actually exists. I’d only seen it occasionally in comics; I didn’t know it really existed.
“For your first time, you’re doing well without trembling! See, I have an eye for these things.”
“Of course, Boss. Who picked this part-timer?”
Splat.
The boss put their arm around my shoulders. I was laughing hahaha while one of my hands was trembling, when once again there was a ding-a-ling sound and the door opened.
I had repeatedly heard that there were no customers during night shifts, but perhaps because word spread that a human part-timer had arrived, more customers were coming than expected. At least the fish’s appearance was close to human; the beings that came after that couldn’t even be called human in appearance, so every time I saw them, I thought it was a dream and pinched my cheeks.
Second day of part-time work.
I was quickly becoming proficient at café work, but I still found it difficult to get used to the customers, so my hands trembled briefly every time I heard the door opening sound. Let’s not judge by appearance alone. Never discriminate. I might look stranger to them.
With that thought, even though I tried to serve them, I couldn’t help but stare intently at the mole on the face of the mantis-faced customer in front of me while forcing a service smile.
I’d never thought bugs were scary before, but when they grew as big as a person, it was a bit…
Third day of part-time work.
The fish customer came again. I felt internally pleased and smiled brightly in welcome, and they laughed hohoho and bought me a drink too.
What I realized while serving various non-human beings was that most of them were definitely different from humans—more relaxed and kind, and even with one word, they used pretty words and beautiful expressions that made my heart tickle to hear.
The boss said, “Unless they’re really high-ranking folks, their intelligence might be a bit lower than humans, so you should be understanding,” but… rather, it felt strange because it was like dealing with pure and innocent children.
And on the seventh day of part-time work.
The boss seemed to judge that I was adapting faster than expected and there were no problems, so they left for the first time, saying they’d go check on some coffee beans. Although it had been a week since I started the part-time job, there were still quite a few customers coming, perhaps because many were curious about the human part-timer.
Ding-a-ling—
“Welco…”
I was organizing the display shelf stacked with jellies and chocolates that were trending lately, which the boss had stocked saying they were hot products among humans. I reflexively stood up and greeted them brightly at the sound of the door opening.
“…me?”
A human? Could it be a case like mine?
Seeing a man who looked perfectly human enter, my brain stopped working for a moment. Then I looked at the brilliant golden hair and eye color similar to it, and the beautiful appearance that didn’t seem human, and rapidly calmed down, stroking my chest.
Phew, not human.
But it seems that when non-human beings take forms close to humans, they’re incredibly handsome.
Even to my eyes, which remained indifferent even when seeing celebrities, the man looked so handsome that I had the illusion of light pouring from around him.
A very tall height that seemed close to 190cm, and a suit wrapping a solid body.
Golden hair neatly swept to the side, mixed with black here and there. Sharply torn eye shape with gold, black, and green strangely mixed eye color. Pupils vertically slit like a snake’s.
His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were expressionless—perhaps that’s why he felt incredibly scary to approach, with a cold atmosphere and style. That imposing impression made my head naturally bow. But… I need to work.
‘Oh, come to think of it, this person is the VIP the boss emphasized so much!’
…But Boss? You didn’t tell me how to serve VIPs.
My brain malfunctioned for a very brief moment, but I headed to the counter anyway. A rather nice fragrance reached the tip of my nose.
A sweetly refreshing scent like a mountain forest at night subtly wafted. Is perfume trendy even among non-humans? Nice scent.
“Hmm? Isn’t this a human? Where’s the boss?”
This…?
“They went to check on coffee beans. Should I contact them?”
Even at the incredible word “this,” I exercised my service spirit and smiled while tilting my head.
“No. I’m just going to buy coffee and leave anyway.”
The eyes looking at me while smiling with the eyes were really something…
‘S-scary…’
Does this person dislike me? Cold sweat was dripping, but I smiled brightly, trying not to show it.
“Yes. Um, then what drink would you like?”
The mouth was curving into a smile, but the eyes were quite cold.
They just looked at my face without answering, so I looked around nervously and laughed awkwardly, haha. That awkward silence was brief.
Ding-a-ling—
Perhaps having quickly checked on the beans and returned, the boss opened the door and entered, then let out a loud scream that could blow the roof off the café and quickly approached the man. The boss’s eyes had grown so wide they looked like they’d pop out.
“…Huk! Bihyeon-nim, I thought you were coming tomorrow…! Oh my! Welcome!”
Hmm. So they really are a high-ranking person. I didn’t make any mistakes, did I? Ah, should I have bowed at a 100-degree angle?
In dramas, when high-ranking people come to department stores or hotels, they do that.
How did I greet them again? Maybe because I was overwhelmed by the man’s aura, my memory of how I greeted him was hazy.
Should I greet them again now? I wondered while reading the room.
“Boss Ppik. The particular reason for hiring a human?”
The man was asking while laughing haha, but the atmosphere was still cold. Was it because his eyes weren’t smiling at all?
Wow… why is this so scary?
“Hahaha, a child with warm energy, you see? I… hired them for various reasons. Our world has also become quite favorable toward humans these days. And also…!”
“From what I remember…”
The man shifted his eyes from the boss and looked at me.
“Very few.”
Um… this atmosphere is definitely that, right? Am I getting fired after just one week?
Looking at the boss’s reaction, this man seems to be in a high enough position to fire me.
If it’s their policy for high-ranking people to suddenly come and throw their weight around like this, well, there’s nothing I can do, and to quit… but the hourly wage is too good. After watching the boss looking troubled, I reached out and pointed to the menu. Then I spoke loudly and smiled brightly.
