Welcome back
This is the ALWAYS convenience store in Cheongpa-dong.

Kim Ho-yeon's novel, "Inconvenient Convenience Store," which has been loved by readers and has maintained its position as a bestseller for over a year since its publication, is back with its second story.
Set in a small convenience store in an alley in Cheongpa-dong, "Inconvenient Convenience Store," which warmly and cheerfully depicts the lives of our neighbors living in difficult times, set a record of selling 700,000 copies and ranking first on the comprehensive bestseller list compiled by Kyobo Bookstore, Youngpoong Bookstore, and Yes24 in the first half of 2022.
The interest and enthusiasm for the novel continues to this day, as it was selected as Yes24's 'Book of the Year' in 2021 and was subsequently selected as the 'Book of the Year' by citizens in 25 local governments across the country in 2022.

The first story, which begins with a homeless person at Seoul Station working as a night shift worker at a convenience store, left a gentle impression with unpredictable laughter and warm feelings.
"Inconvenient Convenience Store 2" continues the wit and profound perspective of its predecessor, drawing readers in with a more heartfelt story.
The novel begins with a sketch of a convenience store on a summer day, a year and a half after the events of the first part.
Meanwhile, the world has changed and the ALWAYS convenience store in Cheongpa-dong has also changed in many ways.
The introduction's description of having to wear a mask even in the suffocating heat suggests that the coronavirus is present in the reality of the novel as well.
Seon-suk, who was frustrated by the conflict with her son, became the store manager, and Min-sik, the troublemaker son of Mrs. Yeom who had been pressuring her to sell the convenience store, became the president.
He's the CEO, but Min-sik has no interest in management and only talks about profits and cuts costs like holiday pay, so it's inevitable that the convenience store will become 'really inconvenient' in many ways...
Then, when Mr. Kwak, who was in charge of the night shift as Dokgo's successor, quits and a new night shift worker is hired, the convenience store faces another change.


The new part-timer is a man in his 40s whose large size and burdensome behavior remind him of someone.
He boasts of his impressive part-time job history as if he were a human Albamon, but his convenience store work is actually quite sloppy.
Moreover, he is a chatterbox and a meddlesome person, so he often nags the store manager, Seon-suk.
Regardless, he wears a name tag with the nickname Sammo Hong instead of Hwang Geun-bae on his chest and leisurely greets customers and guards the convenience store at night.

“I came here because I heard you were looking for a night shift worker.”
At that moment, the corners of my mouth automatically twitched.
It was fortunate that the mask hid much of his expression.
Seon-suk quickly scanned the man.
The large eyes and drooping eyebrows gave him a somewhat herbivore-like appearance, and the mustard-colored or poop-colored stretched-out T-shirt and the messy curly hair gave him an overall unkempt look.
“You came here to apply for a part-time job, so why are you buying toilet paper?”
“That’s because my mother said that if you go to a store that she knows, you have to sell it.
I just happened to run out of toilet paper at home.
Ahahaha.”
What is this excessive politeness? It was a bit burdensome, but seeing her friendly smile put me at ease.
Above all, it was a resource for night work.
Rather than being picky, it was better to just pick it out first and see.

--- pp.36~37

I've never once paid attention to who's at the convenience store counter.
Isn't it an unspoken rule at convenience stores that both employees and customers silently and quickly pay and receive their items? What am I supposed to do if someone suddenly starts talking to me? And it's a dark-skinned man talking about a latte! And tuna on top of that! Sojin felt uncomfortable, as if her favorite drink and snack preferences had been exposed.
Who would enjoy having their tastes discovered by an anonymous person? It's truly a travesty.
It wasn't like this before. Did the owner change? How could they hire such an inconsiderate employee? Or is that person the store manager? Then I thought I knew why this place wasn't doing well.

--- pp.51~52

Even when business is bad and the world is in shambles due to COVID-19, this guy just writes 'Sammo Hung' on his name tag and smiles.
It's truly an enviable talent.
In a word, he is mentally blessed.
He's clearly over 40 years old, but he works part-time at a convenience store at night, so why does he look so relaxed?
“Hey, Sammo Hung.
“What is your identity?”
I asked the guy who handed me the card after finishing the calculation.
“Me? I work night shift at a convenience store.”
"No, that's not your original job, is it? What did you do before? What do you do during the day? Where do you live? Why does your name tag say Sammo Hung?"
“Um… I’ve been working part-time since the beginning.
I used to do some hard work too.
I sleep during the day.
If you work at night, you have to sleep for a long time because the quality of sleep during the day is not good.
My house is in Namchang-dong, above Namdaemun Market… … What else did you ask? Oh, Sammo Hung has been my nickname since I was little.
My real name is Geunbae.
Hwang Geun-bae.
Ahahaha.”
--- pp.96~97

"student.
This is a discarded sandwich that was exactly 17 minutes old.
“If it’s okay, would you like to eat?”
An old man wearing a uniform vest that was so tight it looked like the buttons would burst at any moment offered a pork cutlet sandwich to Min-gyu.
At that moment, Min-gyu's face inevitably twitched.
Between the sandwich containing his favorite food, pork cutlet, and his mother's advice not to eat what others give him, Min-gyu had to think quickly.
“This is delicious.
“I really like it too.”
Min-gyu's wariness grew at the old man's words.
“But why are you giving this to me?”
“Well, that’s… because I also have a discarded pork cutlet lunch box that’s been out for 17 minutes.
Ahahaha.”
"ah……."
--- p.133

I came down the hill in Cheongpa-dong and passed a small intersection with an ALWAYS convenience store.
I reached the main road and walked along the back road to Seoul Station.
I followed the shade provided by the ginkgo trees, exhaling through my mask, and walked along Galwol-dong Street, taking the escalator to Seoul Station.
After passing through Seoul Station, Min-gyu cooled off for a moment in the air conditioning and took the escalator down to the underground passage to find Exit 11 of Seoul Station.
It wasn't easy, but I pushed through the crowds and found Exit 11, and found a path leading up to Namsan.
Damn, it's uphill.
Min-gyu climbed the hill like an adventurer advancing toward the wilderness.
Even though it was still morning and the weather was sweltering, I couldn't give up the library, which had lots of books, a store, and air conditioning.

--- p.157

On a summer night when there are no customers, the convenience store is like a refrigerator.
Just like a refrigerator that works tirelessly in the silence of the night, convenience stores also operate without stopping twenty-four hours a day.
Just as a refrigerator has a compressor to create cold air, a convenience store has clerks to create profit.
And just as the compressor makes a whirring, buzzing, whirring sound, the bass also makes sounds from time to time.
Oh, aha, phew.
Even when displaying items, stretching to avoid sleep, or taking the time to read a book, Geunbae made a sound.
Geunbae muttered to himself, as if confirming that he was alive, as if informing that he was trapped in a refrigerator.
Then, as if a customer were to come in and prove the raison d'être of the clerk who was awake at night.

--- p.163

Comparison cancer, worry poison.
That's what my mother always said to Geunbae.
"son.
Comparison is cancer and worry is poison.
“Life is already hard, so just think about yourself now.”
--- p.186

I started working part-time around the time the COVID-19 era began, and I met many different people while working in various jobs.
People felt as if the masks were suffocating them.
Jobs were scarce or insecure, dirty or dangerous.
While wealthy individuals may have been able to focus on their work in their own space and time by wearing masks and practicing social distancing, for urban poor like Geunbae, the COVID-19 era was no different from wartime.
I had to worry about my survival, and once I got infected, I was sent away like a wounded soldier, with no chance of recovery.

--- p.203

Lunchbox with delicacies from the mountains and seas.
Minsik let out a sarcastic laugh.
There was a time when my business was going well, and I ate only the finest delicacies.
I frequented restaurants frequented by political and business figures, sought out seasonal restaurants, and enjoyed formal hotel dinners.
But now, he was given a dishonest feast of delicacies, with the red stuff being side dishes and the white stuff being rice.
Even the name of the lunchbox seemed to be teasing him.

--- p.216

I had countless questions and a voice in my heart to answer them, but I remained silent.
I don't know if it's for my son or for myself.
But it was clear that we were both going through a difficult season.
For a year and a quarter I have been here, becoming more and more alone than alone.
It wasn't just because of the era of non-face-to-face interaction.
These were days that were long needed, but I had to immerse myself in a time that contained some element that was lacking because I had not taken care of it.

--- pp.248~249