Space Shopping Mall.
How much money have I spent there, I wonder.
Even if I don’t remember every single item, it’s easy to calculate that it’s in the hundreds of millions.
I poured enough money into that shopping mall to buy all sorts of items, maybe about as much as the deposit for an apartment in the Seoul metropolitan area.
And then, one day, what I received was that golden card.
I am a Space Shopping Mall VIP!
~ Special Gratitude Cell Included ~
At the time, I had no idea what that gratitude cell even meant.
At least, not until this moment today.
“Dear Customer.”I looked up.
I remember putting the cell under my tongue, but after that, things are a bit hazy.
Did I… doze off for a moment?
“Dear Customer.”
Wait a minute. Section Chief. I need to get a grasp of the situation and… Wait.
Dear Customer?
“Section Chief?!”
“No.”
Only then did I properly register the figure in front of me.
A lizard was staring blankly at me.
“Section Chief.”
“No. Dear Customer.”
Twice, I heard clear, firm denial.
I looked closely at the reptile in front of me. The snout covered in scales and the gleaming vertical pupils were the same as before.
But the color was different.
‘G-Grey?’
A grey lizard was now sitting where Lee Jaheon had been just moments ago!
The snacks and coffee I’d hurriedly set out on the table had also disappeared.
I swallowed hard.
“Who are you?”
“I am a shopper dispatched to assist VIPs in their personal shopping, and I act as a sales representative on behalf of the Space Shopping Mall.”
Holy shit.
“Would you like to proceed with shopping?”
I stood up from my seat. Right, I was still sitting at the motel room table.
And Section Chief Lee Jaheon, who had been sitting across from me, had been replaced by some similar-looking alien… Wait a minute.
Space Shopping Mall’s VIP shopping?
Don’t tell me… an employee has come out to do some kind of personal, door-to-door sales for me?
‘…Section Chief!’
Just a moment ago, we were talking about how I was completely contaminated!
Is this some kind of build-up to sell me items that are good for contamination? Well, even if that’s the case, if I can get rid of the contamination, I can’t exactly complain!
Barely calming myself, I quickly sat back down and spoke.
“I’d like to talk to Chief Lizard.”
“Are you referring to the being named Lee Jaheon, who works as a section chief at Daydream Inc.?”
I hesitated.
“Do you require him for psychological stability because he is someone with whom you have built a friendly relationship?”
“What happens if I say yes?”
“I will explain that there is no problem.”
The lizard’s snout opened.
“We know who you are, Mr. Roe Deer, and what we know is exactly the same as what Section Chief Lee Jaheon knows.”
“……!”
“Additionally, we wish to maintain a friendly relationship with you as well, Dear Customer.”
“……”
It was strange.
Come to think of it, Section Chief Lee Jaheon often started sentences or explained things using ‘we’ as the subject.
And the button I used was called… ‘We Can Help’.
We.
“Who exactly is ‘we’?”
“We are the Coalition. Speaking to Lee Jaheon or to the being in front of you now is the same as speaking to the Coalition.”
The conversation was getting more and more metaphysical.
So… a bizarre collective of alien beings sharing a single memory and emotion…
‘I have heard about urban legends like this before.’
It really was like something out of a sci-fi story. I mean, of course it would be, since this was an alien shop at the end of the day.
I held my head in my hands as I replied.
“Just… let me speak to Section Chief Lee Jaheon. I don’t want to shop right now.”
“Mr. Roe Deer.”
“……!”
I looked up.
But the white lizard was a different entity. It’s not Lee Jaheon.
Yet, it spoke in exactly the same manner.
“You are in a situation where you need help. If you can receive the proper treatment in the form of shopping, please accept it.”
“…What kind of treatment are you talking about?”
“I am here to assist you with your shopping. Would you like to start your VIP shopping at the Space Shopping Mall?”
It was an evasive answer.
But catching on to what the lizard meant, I nodded slowly.
So I can only proceed if I shop, huh.
“…Yes.”
“Understood.”
The grey lizard nodded.
The next moment.
The table began to grow enormous.
“…?!”
On the endlessly stretching table to the left, objects appeared, shrouded in mist. And in front of those objects, tentacles… No, wait. Where am I, exactly?
“We accessed you through the cell you ingested. Through your homepage UI complaints, VIPs are now provided with the most familiar and comfortable environment for shopping, as a service…”
“Did I say that out loud?”
“Yes. Please sit back and enjoy your shopping.”
The lizard speaks in an extremely professional manner. No, wait, what does it even mean that I’ve been accessed through a cell…
“In that case, before proceeding with your shopping, we shall conduct identity verification. In your current state, it is difficult to clearly confirm your intent to purchase, so we will distinguish things to help ensure a comfortable transaction.”
“Distinguish?”
“Yes.”
Entities begin to appear along the endlessly extending seats at the table.
“…!”
They’re hard to see, hidden in fog. But the closer they are, the more their features become faintly visible.
A supermarket cashier’s uniform, a stylish broadcaster in a luxurious suit and elegant gloves, a kindergarten teacher holding an handbook, a high school student in a school uniform…
The ghost stories I’ve experienced.
Me, contaminated in those ghost stories.
“……!”
And the two figures sitting closest to me are not shrouded in fog, their forms are clear.
I slowly, stiffly turned my head to check.
Yellow mascot.
Black cat.
I t ’ s O k a y
C a l m D o w n
[This way]
They’re even speaking to me.
Chills ran all the way up my spine.
In front of each at the table, decorations and colors symbolizing their respective ghost stories have been added. I sprang up from the table, trying to run away…
“Dear Customer. You are currently connected to the Space Shopping Mall through the cell. This imagery is merely a projection of your mind. In reality, your personality and self have not been split.”
“……”
“Please do not be overly wary of yourself.”
T/N: When soleum kept calling for chief lizard, i couldn’t help but substitute ‘Section Chief!’ with ‘Daaaad!!!’ in my head, as if he’d been left alone at a supermarket checkout counter lmao
Anyway, i’m really sorry for the lack of a proper update sched these days i’m in my slump era i fear but still, good timing…? i’ve always planned to keep a respectful distance from the raws’ latest chapters, so im glad part 2 has been launched in kkp now too!
All parts/chapters i’ve managed to put out have been scheduled for the next three days, and i’ll try very hard to post more again before they run out~