TCBMF 01

Chapter 1

“Assistant Manager Han, is this really this month’s order data? Are you out of your mind?”

Manager Kim’s scream, loud enough to hurt the ears, shook the ceiling of the office.

Here we go again.

She was in her third year on the sales support team at a distribution company.

Every day was the same.

“I’m sorry. They said there was an error on the logistics side, so I’m checking it again.”

At those words, Manager Kim’s face turned bright red, and his voice grew even louder.

“Does saying you’re sorry fix everything? Don’t even think about going home today.”

With that, Manager Kim slammed the door shut and stormed out.

Ah…… seriously.

She was irritated, but the text she had received earlier saying she had won the housing subscription kept coming back to her mind.

I’m quitting soon anyway, so just hang in there a little longer.

After struggling with the work for quite some time, Se-hee finally finished everything and left the office.

“I should buy something to eat.”

As if possessed, Se-hee headed toward a convenience store.

Jingle―

“Welcome!”

A cheerful greeting greeted Se-hee as she entered the convenience store.

Se-hee picked up a pack of Manseong Tangmyeon to satisfy her hunger, then glanced to the side.

Buy one, get one free?

She picked up two banana milks and a chocolate bar and headed to the register.

“Would you like a bag?”

“Yes.”

Se-hee gave a small nod and left the convenience store.

The plastic bag hanging from her wrist dug into her skin, bumping lightly against her thigh with every step.

After walking for a while, she spotted a crosswalk.

Should I just eat the ramen tomorrow?

She was exhausted.

Just then, the crosswalk signal turned green.

Se-hee adjusted her grip on the bag and took a heavy step forward.

The humid air brushed against the tip of her nose, as if it were about to rain.

“Huh……?”

It happened in an instant.

HOOOOONK―!

The moment she turned her head, her vision was filled with blinding white light, and she could not even scream.

The headlights of a massive truck filled her eyes, and her body was thrown into the air.

What is this?

Scenes that felt like a flashback of her entire life flashed before her eyes.

From her childhood to her graduation from college.

And finally, the report she had finished at work.

Then she remembered the auto-save failure icon that had been blinking just before she saved it.

Ah, I must be losing my mind…….

That was her last useless thought before she lost consciousness.

How much time had passed?

She opened her eyes at the damp, sticky sensation against her cheek.

“Ugh…….”

Se-hee tried to sit up, but froze.

The sight before her was not the Seoul she knew.

“What? Where am I?”

The sky was covered in purple mist.

Twisted trees filled the forest.

“Ah…… could this be heaven? I’m pretty sure I got hit by a truck.”

Se-hee looked around.

The foul, fishy smell stinging her nose seemed to prove that this was not a dream.

She carefully pinched her thigh.

“Ouch!”

It hurt terribly.

For heaven, this was way too realistic.

They say even if you get taken by a tiger, you’ll survive as long as you keep your wits about you. Stay calm first.

Then Se-hee noticed her own hand.

She was certain she had been holding something, but it was completely empty.

“……Huh?”

The plastic bag that had been hanging from her wrist was gone.

All the food inside it was gone too.

“Damn it! My food!”

Unable to understand what was happening, Se-hee quickly stood up and looked around.

A little distance away, she spotted a metal object lodged between the twisted trees.

It was a wrecked truck.

“That’s…….”

The body of the truck was crushed, and the driver’s seat was empty.

“Where’s the driver?”

Of course, there was no answer.

She was there, and the truck was there, but everything that should have been between them had disappeared without a trace.

“How does this make any sense?”

Her thoughts raced. Instinctively, Se-hee checked her pockets first.

Her phone and wallet were gone too.

All she had left were the clothes she was wearing and her own body.

Strangely, the first thought that came to her mind was incredibly simple.

My housing subscription! My apartment!

Just then, the center of Se-hee’s vision began to flicker, and a blue holographic window appeared before her.

[Loading……]

[Please wait.]

“……What?”

Se-hee stared at the empty air.

There were clearly letters floating in a space where there was nothing.

She waved her hand through them, but the letters remained.

“What is this?”

Until a moment ago, she had thought the forest was strange. Now she was starting to think her own mind was even stranger.

“Don’t tell me…… is this a game? Reincarnation? No, I’ve never heard of a world like this.”

At that moment, another bright blue window appeared before Se-hee.

[All data synchronization has been completed. Welcome.]

“No, forget the welcome and all that……!”

Se-hee let out a hollow laugh as she read the message and tried to argue with it.

[Shop Owner ‘Han Se-hee’ registration complete.]

This system is a Galactic Distribution System designed for the distribution of goods throughout the world.

You have been chosen as the only shop owner capable of making this world prosperous.

*Shop Owner Special Benefits Granted……

“Wait, what? Shop owner? What kind of shop owner?”

Even though she knew the window could not answer her, she still asked the empty air.

“Is this a novel?! Am I the main character? Can’t you at least tell me the setting?”

A situation straight out of the novels she had seen countless times on the internet.

Of course, there was no answer.

The only thing floating in the air was the indifferent message saying her shop owner registration was complete.

Se-hee closed her mouth and slowly took a deep breath.

“Don’t tell me.”

[Certain conditions must be fulfilled to return to your original world.]

“……Right. I’m definitely going back.”

A comfortable life was waiting for Se-hee in her original world now that she had won the housing subscription.

There was no way she could give that up.

Se-hee looked at the window floating in the air again.

She could not deny it.

The very fact that a system window was floating in the middle of a forest was already more than enough proof that this was an impossible reality.

“Okay.”

There was no time to panic.

She wanted to find people first, but the system window floating before her took priority.

To survive in this unfamiliar world,

the only thing she could trust right now was this status window.

“By the way, what kind of shop am I supposed to run?”

Se-hee looked around, but there was nothing that could possibly be called a shop.

No, even if there were a shop here, it did not seem like there would be a single customer.

Running a business in a place where no one even seems to pass by?

It was ridiculous.

Se-hee stared blankly at the message for a moment before letting out a hollow laugh.

If no transaction occurs within the designated time, the Shop Owner Protection Function will be permanently disabled.

“In this forest?”

Just then, she heard an unpleasant sound coming from the bushes.

“……What is that? Is someone there?”

Instead of an answer, a pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared.

Grrrrrr―

Wolves as tall as adults were drooling as they bared their sharp teeth.

Ah. I’m really…… done for.

The wolves’ eyes were fixed on the back of Se-hee’s neck.

“Hey, save me! Get rid of those things!”

Se-hee shouted toward the empty air.

[The first potential customer is approaching.]

“Potential customer?! How is that a customer?! They’re wolves! Anyone can see that I’m the food here!”

Se-hee screamed and backed away.

Her heel slipped on the wet soil, and her back slammed against a cold rock.

“Ugh……!”

She felt the pain, but she had no time to worry about it.

One of the wolves in front of her had lowered its head and crouched down.

It was obviously about to pounce.

Is that one the leader?

Among the wolves at the front, one stood out because of its unusually large size.

“Wait, wait!”

Her heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it was beating right beside her ears.

“I don’t have anything in my hands right now.”

The moment she finished muttering, a window appeared.

[The Status Window and Inventory functions can now be used normally.]

“Is this really the time for that?”

Se-hee gritted her teeth and tried to look away.

But as if responding to her muttering, the window smoothly changed.

[Player Information]

Name: Han Se-hee

Occupation: The Other World’s Only Distributor

Cooking Skill: F-

“F-?”

Se-hee frowned.

[The mana system of this world is incompatible with the player’s cooking.]

“…….”

That message had appeared at exactly the moment Se-hee was about to question her cooking skill.

“Hey. You heard what I said just now and answered me, didn’t you?”

There was no answer, but it looked suspiciously like the system was pretending not to know.

“Or is someone watching me?”

She looked around again, but there was nothing except the purple mist.

Meanwhile, the wolf that appeared to be the leader was getting closer and closer.

“Oh, damn…… Inventory!”

It was almost a scream.

But there was nothing inside her inventory.

For a moment, her mind went completely blank.

“There’s nothing?”

It was a betrayal by the inventory she had trusted.

As if deliberately teasing Se-hee, the window appeared again after a brief pause.

[Summoning the missing purchased items from the Inventory.]

“Don’t tell me…….”

As the wolf’s teeth came within inches of her face, Se-hee opened the inventory again.

[Inventory]

Stored Items: Manseong Tangmyeon ×1, Wooden Chopsticks, 500ml Bottled Water

“Finally!”

But then she saw the next system window and fell into despair.

[Sell food to your first customer!]

If you fail to complete your first transaction within 30 minutes,

you will become the evening meal of the hungry wolves.

Objective: Serve a Meal to the Wolves (0/1)

Time Limit: 30 minutes

Success: Basic Settlement Equipment, Old Parasol ×1, Maximum Gold ×3

Failure: Extinction

*Your labor will become the sacred welfare of the other world. (Work songs recommended.)

“Are you kidding me? You seriously want me to sell food to wolves?”