"What the fuck is that?"
Rocky's face had completely lost its color as soon as he parked his car in front of the store. He had just come to work, thinking it was just another normal day. But the moment he glanced at the store's glass walls, he could feel all his energy draining.
There were tall and big men inside the store.
"What the hell?" There were a lot of them. Around 10, by his count. And they were all just lined up close to the entrance as if they were not letting anyone in the store!
"Shit…" he quickly got out of his car when his brain started running through possibilities.
Did the store get taken over?
Did someone break in?
Why are there ten giant men inside the store?!
Rocky quickly walked toward the entrance, his steps getting faster and faster until he was almost running. By the time he reached the door, his heart was already pounding so hard.
Whoosh.
The moment the door opened, the tribal men instantly turned their heads toward him
"Wh—" he was about to confront them, when their voices drowned his.
"WELCOME TO SUNSHINE MARKET!" Then they all shouted together.
"Awoo!"
"Awoooo!"
Rocky completely froze at that. His jaw slowly dropped open, and all the remaining color drained from his face.
"W… what is this…" he whispered breathlessly.
All 10 men were looking at him. He even saw a young boy at the end of the line. Due to unspeakable shock, Rocky's vision started to blur. An employee nearby saw him and immediately rushed over.
"Manager!" the employee shouted urgently while grabbing his arm. He quickly pulled toward him. The employee glanced apologetically at the tribal men and bowed slightly.
"U-uh… please forgive him," the employee said awkwardly.
"He's just surprised. He's our manager…"
The tribesmen nodded respectfully.
"Oh."
"Yes."
"Awoo."
Then they turned back toward the entrance and resumed standing straight. Meanwhile, the employee pulled Rocky to the side. He didn't even resist. His legs just slid while getting pulled as if he were a statue.
Rocky's mind was still trying to process what he had just seen. His soul felt like it had already left his body.
"What… What happened to our store…" he muttered in a voice that almost sounded like a whisper.
'We're doomed.' His lips trembled. 'We're really doomed!'
Rocky slowly turned his head toward the employee beside him. His face was still pale, and his eyes looked like they had just witnessed the end of the world.
"W-what happened?" he asked weakly. "Why are those people here?"
The employee scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"To be honest, we don't really know either, Manager."
"You… don't know?" Rocky blinked slowly.
"Our boss just told us that they're now part of the regular employees. He hired them early in the morning," The employee shook his head. He was also shocked when he arrived in the store and witnessed it.
"O-our boss?" Rocky's eyes widened again.
The employee nodded quickly.
"Yes! He told us earlier this morning." His face suddenly brightened as if remembering something impressive. "And you know what? Our director is really commendable. He even arrived here before everyone else today."
But Rocky wasn't listening to that at all. What was important for him was the first sentence only.
"Our boss?" Rocky grabbed the employee's shoulder. "Are you sure… our director hired those men?"
The employee looked confused by the question. He nodded awkwardly, "Of course, Manager. He personally told us an hour ago. I was there."
Rocky felt his vision spinning again. His brain struggled to picture their calm and composed director making such a decision.
'Our director… hired ten giant tribal men… I thought he would hire professionals…' Before he could even process the thought, the tribesmen's voice rang out again.
"WELCOME TO SUNSHINE MARKET!"
"Awoooo!"
Both Rocky and the employee turned their heads toward the entrance.
Their eyes widened when they saw an unfamiliar girl entering the store. It was a customer!!
Rocky's jaw slowly dropped.
"We got a customer this early?" He stared at the person in shock.
For the past year, customers rarely came this early. Well, they weren't even getting customers, so…
"Manager…" Beside him, the employee's jaw also dropped. "This is a miracle."
Rocky and the employee simply stood there. Neither of them moved, and neither of them could even speak. They just stared toward the entrance like two statues.
The girl who had just entered the store slowed down when she saw the line of huge tribal men standing near the door. It was obvious how she became hesitant.
From where Rocky stood, he could clearly see the uncertainty on her face.
"See?" Rocky whispered defeatedly. "She's going to leave…"
"Yes… I guess it's just a false hope." The employee sighed.
But just as the girl looked like she was about to turn around, the little boy at the end of the line suddenly stepped forward. He walked up to the girl with a bright smile on his face. His chubby cheeks immediately melted the awkwardness away.
From a distance, Rocky and the employee couldn't hear what he was saying. They could only see the boy happily talking and gesturing with his hands.
The girl nodded, then something surprising happened. She suddenly happily laughed.
"What?" Rocky was almost annoyed at himself that they weren't close to them, so they couldn't hear anything.
The girl nodded at the boy as if she understood all the words he said. Then, instead of leaving, she actually took a step forward and pointed at a tribesman.
"She… went inside." Both Rocky and the employee's mouths slowly opened.
They continued watching on the side.
The pointed tribal men quickly stepped forward and grabbed a shopping cart. He politely rolled it toward the girl and smiled at her.
The girl nodded and started walking inside. Then the large tribesman began following behind her while pointing at different aisles, seemingly explaining where things were.
The girl just nodded and continued walking like a completely normal customer.
"W… what is this…" Rocky's brain finally stopped functioning.
His entire understanding of reality was starting to crumble.
For a whole year, their store struggled to get a single customer. And now, for some reason, a girl was calmly shopping while being escorted by a giant tribal man.
"Manager… I think it's working…"The employee beside him whispered in awe.
However, Rocky just shook his head. This couldn't be!
"I need to talk to our director!"