The Jelly Alien Will Save You!
Chapter : 9
W-What is this?
I swallowed hard and whispered to Cha Hae-eon.
“Cha Hae-eon, what is ■■■?”
There was noise over the item, so I couldn’t hear it clearly. Are they trying to sell something weird?
“It hasn’t been decided yet. They set the price at 99%, so they’ll probably try to sell you whatever you want.”
“I get to choose? Then what happens if I say I won’t buy it?”
Cha Hae-eon muttered with an annoyed expression.
“You get consumed by this place. Your face will be hollowed out, and you’ll become one of the staff here.”
Holy shit! My face must have turned completely into white jelly just now.
“Then to get out of here, we have to buy that? For sure? Do they always force sales like this?”
“They don’t usually act like this…”
“Could it be because of purification?”
They need to fill the contamination level, but since I kept making the price 0%, did they step in directly?
If that’s the case, wouldn’t using purification recklessly be a bad idea? Even if I purify and reduce the price to 0%, they’ll just try to force a sale again.
Cha Hae-eon let out a deep sigh as if he had no choice.
“I’ll buy it.”
“What?”
I barely suppressed my rising voice and grabbed him.
“What’s your contamination level right now? If you buy that, won’t it be dangerous? I could just buy it and purify it really, really fast—”
Though honestly, I wasn’t sure how many more times I could use purification…
Cha Hae-eon spoke as if he already knew everything.
“Forget it. Don’t step in.”
The expression disappeared from his face. He flicked my forehead lightly with his thumb and middle finger.
Ow!
While I rubbed my forehead, Cha Hae-eon turned toward the staff.
“I’ll—”
“I’ll buy it!”
Before he could act, I raised my voice loudly.
This started because of me. I couldn’t just leave it alone.
“Thank you, customer.”
“You…!”
Just as Cha Hae-eon was about to snap—
“Oh, but you know…”
I crossed my arms and shifted my weight, looking the staff up and down as obnoxiously as possible.
“Where’s the product? You’re selling something without showing it? I should see with my own eyes whether it’s in good condition or jumping around, right?”
“My apologies. I will guide you to the display.”
“Good. I’ll decide after I see it.”
I gestured to Cha Hae-eon to push the cart.
“What are you doing right now? Do you want to get completely contaminated?”
He asked in a hushed voice. I answered, almost absorbed in the moment.
“I’ve always wanted to try this.”
“What?”
“Being a difficult customer.”
I winked as if to tell him not to worry.
“Customer?”
When we didn’t follow, the staff turned around.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, nothing like that. We’re coming now. I’ll be checking very thoroughly, so you’d better not recommend just anything. Show me something worthy of the price. Got it?”
“Y-Yes! Understood.”
At my aggressive tone, she bowed repeatedly and started walking again.
I tapped the cart handle.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“……”
After a brief moment of thought, Cha Hae-eon silently pushed the cart.
As we crossed the mart following the staff, I used purification with everything I had.
‘Contamination level is now 0%.’
If I squeezed out the last of my strength, I could probably use it two more times.
That would lower it from 99% to about 79%—still over 70%.
And what if purification didn’t work as planned?
It could even reach 100%.
‘Then I’d turn into a monster immediately…’
…That’s not going to happen.
I clenched my fist, reaffirming my resolve.
Cha Hae-eon probably thought I was acting recklessly, but I had a plan.
I exhaled a shaky breath.
Cha Hae-eon looked at me sharply.
I grinned, baring my teeth.
He turned his head away.
I sat at the edge of the cart, crossing my legs, and let out a deep sigh.
“Are you kidding me right now? You expect me to buy this?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“My house doesn’t even have electricity—why are you recommending a microwave? Are you making fun of me? Is this how you promote products?”
“No, absolutely not. I sincerely apologize, customer.”
“Bring me something worth buying! Something actually worth it!”
“Yes, I’m truly sorry. I’ll introduce another product. If you could just tell me what you’re looking for—”
“I already did. Something avant-garde, fresh enough to be jumping around, analog, and modern.”
“Avant-garde… fresh enough to be jumping… analog… and modern…”
The staff’s voice trembled.
Cha Hae-eon stared blankly at the alien making a scene with a bizarre entity.
What, what is it.
“If you don’t show me something satisfactory, that’s a problem for me too. I can’t just buy anything, right?”
The staff fell silent for a moment.
“Then, customer, would you follow me this way?”
There was something meaningful in her tone.
I nodded confidently.
“Alright. Lead the way.”
Soon, she guided us to a door labeled “Staff Only.”
Inside seemed to be a storage area.
There were shelves filled with all sorts of items—not just combat rations, but old radios and even weapons, displayed haphazardly.
“What is this? None of these look fresh. They look old. Are these used?”
“Yes, that’s correct. These are all specialty items discovered around Yongsan Station.”
She spoke with pride, as if these used goods were something incredible.
Since when are used items a specialty…?
I was about to grumble, but then I realized the hidden meaning.
“Wait… does that mean these were left behind by people who came to Yongsan Station?”
“That’s correct, customer!”
I see.
That’s why there are radios and weapons.
Could anyone who entered the contaminated Yongsan Station have made it out safely?
In the end, these were all belongings left behind by those who came to purify Yongsan.
I bit my lip, when something familiar caught my eye.
A dagger with a penguin keyring.
‘Bora unni…’
It belonged to Kwon Bora from the Quasar guild.
I fiddled with the dagger, steadying my trembling breath.
I had to make sure no tears fell. The staff and Cha Hae-eon would find it strange.
“Do you like this dagger?”
The staff asked gently.
I bit my lower lip.
I wanted to nod right away and buy it—even if it meant reaching 99% contamination.
But then—
Something extremely familiar caught my eye.
Seeing my gaze shift, the staff spoke.
“Ah, the product you’re looking at is a mobile phone found at Yongsan Station.”
A purple phone with a case decorated with cute characters.
My breath caught.
Memories came flooding in all at once.
I had to buy this. No matter what.
Suppressing the surge of confusion and sorrow, I forced my voice louder.
“You expect me to buy these dirty things? They’re not avant-garde at all!”
My voice felt like it might shake at any moment.
Because this phone was…
Mine.
“I’m sorry. If it doesn’t suit your taste, I can show you something else—”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
“Pardon? Then…”
The reason I had been acting like such a difficult customer—
was this.
“I’ll buy it. I’ll buy it, so adjust the price.”
It was all a setup to lower the price.
