In fact, all of Dollargut's attention lately has been focused on some 'big event' that will be held in the fall.
It was Dollar Good's ambitious plan that even the store's employees were not yet aware of.
Fortunately, positive responses continued to arrive from related companies.
If things continue like this, I will be able to share some exciting news with my employees in a few months.
After reading the last letter from the Bedtown furniture store, he stood up, stretching his aching back.
I couldn't bring myself to organize the letters I had thrown haphazardly on the bed right away.
“When will it become easier to organize….
“I guess I’ll have to do some spring cleaning this weekend.”
He put off cleaning and instead stood in front of a bookshelf that fit snugly against one wall.
I was planning on finding something light to read in bed before going to bed.
Diaries with the years marked on them were placed in order at about the same level as his eye level.
Dollargut pulled out a diary among them that had the year '1999' written on it.
“Okay, before we open the event, it would be a good idea to read the guests’ previous diaries.
“I hope this helps.”
A diary was an old item made by binding papers of slightly different sizes together with a strong string and attaching a cover to the outside.
The rough cover made of thick, rough paper still bore the marks of time.
The words '1999 Dream Diary' written in black ink in the center of the cover were in Dollargut's own handwriting.
He always liked to write or make things with his own hands, both in the past and now.
Conversely, handling the machine was the most difficult task for Dollargut.
It was a fact known to all the department store employees that even relatively simple machines like printers were prone to breaking down.
He held an old diary in one hand and quickly crawled under the covers of the bed closest to the entrance.
The soft feel of the bedding felt like it was hugging every corner of my body.
As soon as I opened my diary and turned a few pages, I started feeling drowsy.
He tried to hold on a little longer, rubbing his eyes with his long fingers, but his condition did not allow it.
It seemed like I had used up all my energy for the day, working at the store and secretly preparing the groundwork for the event on my own.
‘When I was young, all I had left was stamina…’ I sighed deeply, but even that came out as a yawn.
I yawned and even had tears streaming down my face.
For now, getting a good night's sleep and waking up would be a much better option.
Tomorrow was packed with employees' salary negotiation schedules.
I changed my mind and decided to read the diary from time to time later.
--- From the "Prologue"

With the Dream Department Store and numerous shops located in the center, to the south was a large residential area with Penny's house, to the north was the eternal snowy mountain where Nicholas, aka Santa Claus, lived, and to the east was the luxury residential area where celebrities such as Yas Nuz Otra lived and their personal dream factories.
Finally, to the west was the 'Dizziness Downhill', which literally referred to the area around the dizzyingly steep downhill.
After descending the slope and crossing the valley, and then climbing the steep slope to the west, you arrive at a large area where 'dream makers', operating as corporations, are gathered.
People called it 'Company District'.
Because the terrain was so rugged and the area too remote to circumvent by going in a different direction, it was common for workers there to take the commuter train directly to the company district.
The trains carried people dozens of times a day, moving along rails laid up and down hills.
“Penny, mother.
“You guys have never taken a commuter train before, have you?”
When Mogberry asked, Motaeil shook his head.
“I rode it once.
They said they would let outside guests wearing pajamas on board without any special checks, so I tried it out with my neighborhood friends in pajamas.
“It only lasted about 10 seconds because I was quickly caught by the manager and grabbed by the back of the neck.”
The commuter train to the company district was not a public transportation that anyone could ride.
You need to have some form of identification to prove you are a 'dream industry worker', such as a dream maker's license or an employee ID card from a company within the district.
And Dream Department Store employees could only receive their passes after one year of employment to be recognized as Dream Industry workers.
--- 「1.
From "Penny's First Salary Negotiation"

Penny was starting to get a little excited at the thought of catching the train to work soon.
On the other hand, the actual destination, the Civil Affairs Office, was not at all promising.
I was just a little nervous because of the businesslike atmosphere that the name gave off and the rigid image typical of government offices.
Moreover, Mogberry issued a warning, not a warning, to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
'That's a place I'd rather avoid if possible.
What should I say… It’s a place that makes me feel uncomfortable.’ In just a few minutes, the crowd around the bus stop swelled.
Behind Penny, a group of people were chatting over a warm beverage with a strong grainy aroma.
(syncopation)
The train ran diligently along the rails without stopping.
Penny sat pressed against the edge of her seat as Mo Taeil, excited about getting on the train, chattered and moved nonstop.
Penny's shoulders were getting soaked by the raindrops that had formed on the edge of the curtain.
Eventually, when we were far enough away from the city center that no other vehicles were visible except for the morning commuter trains, the rails that had been stretching ahead suddenly disappeared from view.
Finally, we reached that dizzying downhill slope that we had only seen from afar.
The slope was so steep that the downhill slope was not even visible.
As I got closer and closer to the downhill slope, my hands started to sweat.
All of Noctiluca's laundry seemed to be about to spill out, and this old blue dragon train without any handrails or safety bars felt so unreliable.
“Is this… okay?”
Mo Tae-il's anxious voice added to the tension.
Penny watched as the conductor in the front seat took a small bottle from his desk, unscrewed the rusty stopper next to the steering wheel, and poured half of the liquid it contained.
Then the train made a loud clank and suddenly slowed down just before entering the downhill slope.
And then the wheel began to roll down slowly and carefully, as if it was caught by something.
Penny saw that the bottle the conductor had taken out had the word 'rebellion' written on it, and thought that the amount control was excellent.
--- 「2.
From the Civil Affairs Management Office

A huge cave entrance gaped open next to the rail they had come down from.
The Noctilucas, carrying their laundry, got off the train and started walking towards the cave.
A wooden sign with the crooked words 'Noctiluca Laundry' hung precariously on the rock.
“Mo Tae-il, do you think laundry would dry well in a place like that?”
“You don’t necessarily have to dry it in the sun.
“There must be a good dryer.”
Mo Tae-il answered nonchalantly.
Mo Tae-il wasn't interested in the laundry, and was staring at a hole the size of a window in the rock wall ahead.
He squinted his eyes to get a closer look.
“I think there’s someone in that hole.”
After all the Noctilucas had disembarked and the conductor had advanced the train about 30 meters, the true nature of the hole became clearly revealed.
It was a small shop made by drilling a hole in the rock.
It was impossible to tell whether the building materials were placed in a space that was originally sunken, or whether a hole was deliberately drilled into the rock face.
The menu boards hung on either side of the hole where the kiosk was, and they were wooden boards of a similar material to the signs of laundromats.
The manager waited for the customers to browse the store's merchandise while avoiding any distractions.
“There are boiled eggs, newspapers, and simple snacks.”
As the owner of the store, who was sitting inside, shouted to the passengers on the train, the passengers, one after another, began to order.
“Please give me two eggs and a newspaper.”
The shopkeeper hung a basket of eggs and newspapers on the end of a long stick and held it out in front of the passenger who had ordered exactly what he wanted.
The transaction was completed quickly, with the passenger putting money in the basket and the owner retrieving the stick.
“Look at that, there’s something called ‘Monday Blues Cure.’
“I think it’s a new tonic.”
When Mo Tae-il looked at the menu at the convenience store and showed interest in a drink in a brown bottle, Dollargut readily took out his wallet.
“Would you like to try one?”
“Is that okay?”
"of course.
“Here, two bottles of ‘Monday Blues Cure’ and a copy of the newspaper, please.”
The bottle cap read, "Drink this while imagining that the manager isn't coming to work today."
According to the ingredient list attached to the side of the bottle, it only contained a small amount of emotions such as '0.01% sense of liberation' and '0.005% sense of relief', so I guessed that the ingredients were all the same, with only the message on the cap being different.
--- 「2.
From the Civil Affairs Management Office

"hello.
Guest number 792.
I am Wawa Sleepland.
“I am a creator who creates dreams with beautiful scenery.”
“I am a kick slumber.
I'm creating a dream of becoming an animal.
In the dreams I create, I can become a killer whale or an eagle.
"You were surprised when a stranger suddenly asked to meet up, right? It was rude."
"hello.
My name is Park Tae-kyung.
Creating dreams… You are doing amazing things.
"But what brings you here? How do you know me?"
“I saw the dream diary you sent me.
So I know about you.
I created the dream you had called 'Living Rainforest'.
Do you remember? It was a dream where I watched the rainforest landscape change with the passage of time and light.”
Perhaps it was the scent of leaves that Penny had left behind that brought back a quick image of the forest.
“Ah… I remembered! It’s a dream I really like.
that's right.
After I had that dream, I wrote a dream diary.
Did you read that too? No, how could this be… .
“This is surprising and a little embarrassing.”
“It’s embarrassing.
If you write a diary after having a dream, the contents will be sent to the department store.
Mr. Penny showed me the dream journal you wrote.
“I was so happy, as if I had received a precious fan letter.”
Wow, said Sleepland.
“I heard you can’t see.
“Since when? Have you adjusted?”
A man who introduced himself as Kick Slumber asked bluntly.
“I’ve adapted quite well.
“It’s been six years.”
“Six years is still a short time to fully adapt.
I was born without the lower part of my right knee.
Thanks to that, I had a very long time to adapt.
“I guess I was lucky.”
Kick Slumber spoke frankly about himself.
He had a knack for making potentially uncomfortable things sound like nothing.
“You speak so freely to me, even though we’re meeting for the first time.
To be honest, I find this situation a little awkward.”
The man spoke honestly.
“Because, there’s a good chance you’ll forget about our meeting when you wake up.
So, we can talk openly.
It's embarrassing, but we've become so famous here that there aren't many people we can confide in.
It may sound selfish, but both I and Wawa Sleepland need a friend like you, so we came to you out of the blue.
“How about you use us to your heart’s content, just as we use you to help us?”
Kick Slumber sat up straight as he spoke.
A creaking sound came from the chair he was sitting in.
--- 「3.
From "Wow, Sleepland and the Man Who Writes a Dream Diary"

“Penny, I’ll show you something amazing.”
Assam picked up the dripping bathrobe he'd just taken out of the washing machine and hung it on the clothesline closest to the cave wall where the memory crystals were embedded.
Then, the light emitted by the memories seeped into the laundry as if it were being sucked into it, and as if by magic, the laundry dried softly in an instant.
Penny watched the magical scene, lost in her thoughts.
“If you dry it in your memories, you can dry it as if it had never been wet before.
The descendants of the second disciple have known since ancient times that wet laundry dries very softly in this light of memory.
So I suggested to the Noctilucas that we work together.
The Noctilucas had no reason to refuse! Washing and drying hundreds of gowns a day was a real struggle.
“Since then, this laundry has become a very precious workplace for us.”
Assam explained to Penny with a proud face.
"I see.
Now I'm starting to understand a little bit.
But Mr. Dollargut, haven't you forgotten that we need to find guests to invite?
“Are the guests really here?”
Penny asked Dollargut, still remembering his original purpose.

--- 「8.
From "Noctiluca Laundry"