Chapter 6 Preparation (2)

"Huff... Huff... Surely they won't come back again, right?"

Despite the neighborhood uncles and aunts, led by the rice cake shop owner, having left a little while ago, the image of their bloodshot eyes and the sound of their dry coughs still lingered in my mind.

Anxiously, I hurried to log into the convenience store's supplier ordering page.

The convenience store where I work is located in a secluded residential area, slightly away from the Namdong Industrial Complex, and doesn't have a large number of visitors.

Therefore, the consumption of products is not particularly fast.

Moreover, nearby households tend to buy groceries and daily necessities from large supermarkets.

As a result, the store's revenue mainly comes from alcohol, cigarettes, and the occasional snacks bought by young friends.

Naturally, the store manager keeps the orders for running the convenience store to a minimum and doesn't stockpile much inventory in the warehouse.

The most that gets stored in the warehouse are items like soju, beer, and ramen, which the elderly in the neighborhood often buy.

The convenience store usually receives deliveries twice a day, at 9 AM and 9 PM.

Fresh foods, refrigerated items, and short-shelf-life dairy products, which sell quickly, are mainly delivered, and these items need to be ordered daily.

So, the usual orders consist of small quantities of food, alcohol, dairy products, and other items that are consumed daily.

However, the items I need to order now are not the frequently consumed ready-to-eat or refrigerated foods.

'What... what should I order first? Ah! I should order water first.'

On the ordering page, I found 2L packs of 6 bottles of water and 500mL packs of 40 bottles of water and added them to the order list.

'What should I order next?'

Perhaps due to the lingering tension, the survival knowledge I gained from my military and prepper hobbies didn't come to mind clearly.

But as time passed and I calmed down, the necessary items started to come to mind one by one.

It felt like the fruits of my dedicated hobby were paying off.

Calmly browsing the ordering page, items suitable for long-term survival began to catch my eye.

'I need to order beef jerky, nuts, canned drinks, ramen, canned goods, retort meals, snacks, and other items with a long shelf life.'

Click, Click

In the office corner of the convenience store, the sound of the mouse button clicking while selecting items was the only noise in the quiet room.

Before I knew it, I was using the manager's account to enthusiastically shop on the supplier's food section of the ordering website.

'Frozen pizza? Ah... this is really delicious.'

In the frozen food section, there were many delicious snacks tempting me.

While frozen foods can be considered to have an indefinite shelf life if a refrigerator is available, they become trash if the power is limited.

'I guess I have to give up on frozen foods... sigh.'

After adding food items to the order list up to the maximum possible limit, I started searching for daily necessities.

In the daily necessities section, I added butane gas, paper cups, plastic bags, wet wipes, personal hygiene items, and dust masks to the order list.

'Phew... Is this enough?'

- Samdae Water 2L 6-pack: 200ea

- Samdae Water 500mL 40-pack: 200ea

- Quizbu Beef Jerky 70g 40-pack: 40Box

- Mixed Nuts 500g 6-pack: 40Box

- Pal Sung Soda 355ml 24-pack: 50Box

- Kekko Cola 355ml 24-pack: 50Box

- Yutugi Jjim Ramen 5+1-pack 6-pack: 50Box

- Dongshim Shin Ramen 5-pack 6-pack: 50Box

- Pretime 36g 24-pack: 100Box

- Dongwon Training Tuna Can 200g 36-cans: 50Box

- Hotban/Maeil Mixed Grains Rice 210g 24-pack: 100Box

- Supam Classic 200g 8-pack: 100Box

- Dongwon Training Chicken Breast Can 200g 36-cans: 100Box

- Dongwon Training Mussels Can 400g 24-cans: 100Box

- Yutugi 3-Minute Cooking Curry/Black Bean/Meatball...

- Max Butane Gas 220g 28-pack: 100Box

- Large Wet Wipes 100-sheets 40-pack: 50Box

- Eljuk Daily Necessities Gift Set (Shampoo/Toothpaste/Rinse/Soap): 50Box

- 10-Hour Heat Pack 140g 60-pack: 100Box

- KF94 Dust Mask 50-pack: 100Box

- Plastic Bags 30L 300-sheets: 50ea

- Superizer AA Batteries 40-pack: 500Box

- Superizer AAA Batteries 40-pack: 500Box

- LED Flashlight 80W: 50ea

...

This order quantity is almost on the level of opening several new convenience stores, so I'm worried that the supplier might not be able to deliver everything at once.

Even if the delivery is made, I'm not sure if the convenience store's warehouse can accommodate all of it.

Looking at the list of food and daily necessities I've ordered, I start to worry that I might have ordered too much without a plan.

'If my worries turn out to be just a precaution... when will I return the items? Ha... I might have to run away to the end of the world before the manager comes back to the store.'

The manager, having assaulted six people, will likely face imprisonment unless he is found to be mentally incompetent.

I decided to place the order boldly, expecting that the store will either be sold or closed down in the end.

'What else do I need besides what I've ordered?'

I didn't need to think about it for long.

With the 500,000 won I received in the morning, it's most reasonable to buy camping equipment and a first-aid kit after work.

Even if the situation I'm worried about doesn't happen, these are things I've always wanted and can use without any burden.

'What? It's already this late?'

Feeling hungry, I looked at my watch and saw it was 7 PM.

I hadn't eaten lunch because of the neighborhood people who came earlier, and I hadn't realized how much time had passed while placing the order.

After doing something, I feel a sense of resignation.

After a moment of thought, I decided to eat the lunch I missed and also chose some frozen foods I usually enjoy, heating them in the microwave.

'They say a well-fed ghost looks good. After a meal, even the Diamond Mountains are beautiful. Eating is the best.'

A large amount of food, enough for 2-3 adults.

It seems to be a mix of the anxiety I felt earlier and the compensation for the missed lunch.

If my worries turn out to be true, these will be foods I won't be able to eat in the future.

After eating so much that my stomach felt full, my already protruding belly became even more prominent.

After eating dinner, I tidied up the store for the shift change and was about to leave when the bell on the store door rang, and Choi Jin entered.

"Hyung Taekyung, I'm here!!"

It was exactly 8 PM. Choi Jin, unusually, arrived right on time for the shift change.

"What's up? Why are you here exactly on time?"

"Well, if someone hears that, they might think I'm always late. By the way, have you heard any news about the manager?"

"Not yet. The rice cake shop owner came by around lunchtime, and I gave him the detective's number. He said he would call and let us know."

"Then, will we get our salaries next month on time?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure, but for now, we'll have to take turns working."

Choi Jin's expression turned sour as the uncertainty about the salary became clear.

"In the worst case, we can report to the labor department to get our salaries, so don't worry too much."

After discussing the work schedule and salary with Choi Jin, we decided to take turns working until the end of the month and wait for the rice cake shop owner's call.

"Good job. I'm off now."

After the shift change with Choi Jin, I headed to a large supermarket I often visit to buy camping equipment and a first-aid kit.

It wasn't spring, when fine dust and pollen are rampant.

However, most people on the street were wearing masks, covering their noses and mouths, with only their eyes visible.

'What's going on? Is it because of a recent respiratory disease? I should have brought a mask too.'

Among the people wearing masks, some had red, bloodshot eyes and were coughing.

Roughly one in 10 to 12 people.

Given the spread rate in just a few days, it seemed to be a very dangerous and precarious situation.

The movements of the people with bloodshot eyes seemed unnatural, but it might just be my imagination.

Feeling uncomfortable being the only one without a mask, I hurried to the large supermarket.

Upon arriving at the camping equipment section, I saw a wide variety of camping gear and supplies, including high-performance rechargeable portable lanterns, tents, folding chairs, portable tables, portable burners, sleeping bags, and gas stoves.

For someone who is both a military and prepper enthusiast, this was like heaven.

While browsing the new and unfamiliar items, I heard a coughing sound nearby.

"Cough, cough."

A man in his 60s, standing about 5 meters away from me.

He was shivering slightly, as if feeling cold, even though it was still hot in August.

However, what was more concerning was his red, bloodshot eyes and repeated coughing.

I stopped browsing and quickly moved away.

All I could think about was buying a rechargeable portable lantern, a four-season sleeping bag, a gas burner, a multitool, and a small tent and leaving the place.

The first-aid kit was in the hygiene section.

After comparing prices and contents, I decided to buy an industrial first-aid kit, which was a bit expensive but contained a lot of items, including bandages, disinfectant, allergy medication, gauze, bandages, cold medicine, and antibiotics.

With the purchase of the industrial first-aid kit, my shopping for survival supplies was complete. A rough estimate showed that I was close to the 500,000 won budget.

I quickly moved to the checkout, paid for the items, and headed home.

* * *

Meanwhile.

At 9 PM, the bell on the convenience store door rang loudly.

Ding, ding.

"Welcome... What's all this?"

The person entering the store was not a customer.

The items Kim Taekyung had ordered earlier were starting to be delivered, with some of the items available in the supplier's warehouse being quickly dispatched.

Choi Jin, who didn't understand what was happening, just stood there dumbfounded.

Three delivery drivers from the supplier arrived, and all three were sweating profusely as they carried the items.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

2L and 500mL packs of water, various canned drink boxes, triangle rice rolls, hamburgers, boxed meals, ramen, canned goods, and many other items were being brought into the store in large quantities.

Unlike usual, the store was quickly filling up with an enormous amount of items.

Choi Jin was in a state of shock.

The delivery driver left the order list and the items at the store entrance and quickly left for the next delivery.

'What is all this? Hyung Taekyung couldn't have ordered this much... Is Hyung Taekyung crazy too?'

The items piled up in the store, filling the warehouse and the store aisles, almost blocking the entrance.

Choi Jin grumbled and cursed as he tried to organize the incoming items.

"Damn, why did he order so much? There's no place to store all this in the store."

The store quickly began to fill up with items.