Worth

The lingering fatigue slowly ebbed away, and Jin felt himself settle back into the familiar gravity of Earth. A quick glance at his phone revealed the time 1 PM. Only nineteen hours had passed on Earth, while he had endured three grueling days in the other world. The realization brought a mix of relief and quiet gratitude.

At least his mother wouldn't be worried, there were no missed calls or frantic texts. And more importantly, he hadn't missed his shift at work. The dissonance between time in the two worlds was a gift, one he fully appreciated.

Curious, Jin opened his browser and checked the latest posts. As expected, the phenomenon of the other world was still dominating the news. Forums for specific shelters had sprung up. Luo City had its own as well, numerous discussions were already taking place.

He scrolled absentmindedly until one thread caught his eye.

[Looking to Buy Soul Cores – Serious Offers Only]

The post was authored by someone going by the name BoredInMyBentley, and it had sparked a firestorm of debate in the comment section.

[Are you a retard? Who's going to risk their life fighting those things outside the shelter for money?]

[People have already died out there. Are you trying to get more people killed]

[What up with your username poser, are you rich? How much you buying them for? not that I have any]

[Why would you want innocent creatures to be slaughtered? What did they ever do to you, Murderer!] 

Jin leaned back, eyes scanning the screen. No one was selling, and he doubted anyone in his shelter had even hunted a creature yet. That made soul cores rare, and likely valuable. The idea hooked him immediately. He could always use more money. Before someone else jumped in, Jin felt the urge to respond. He wasn't sure how much they were worth, but with more than a few to spare, he knew he could earn a pretty penny

Before he could respond, though, he had to register. He hesitated at the username prompt.

'Should I use my real name?' he considered for a moment. 'No, definitely not'.

He didn't want anyone tracing the transaction back to him. If word got out in his neighborhood that he had anything valuable he could become a target. 

After a short internal debate, he typed in a name that reflected his true motive, Goldfinger. He was after money, plain and simple.

Once registered, he sent a direct message to BoredInMyBentley:

[I have a few soul cores I'm willing to sell.]

Jin didn't expect a fast reply and was about to close the tab when a private message pinged in his inbox.

BoredInMyBentley: [How many can you sell?]

Jin paused. He had 33, but the other party would only be able to absorb ten so he used that number.

Goldfinger: [10]

A moment passed before another message came in, suspicious and sharp.

BoredInMyBentley: [You've got ten soul cores? You messing with me?]

Jin rolled his eyes and replied coolly:

Goldfinger: [If you don't believe me, we can meet in the other world. I'll show you.]

There was a longer delay this time. Jin figured the guy was either considering whether to believe him or not. Eventually, another message arrived.

BoredInMyBentley: [Alright. Tonight, 11 PM. Temple entrance.]

Jin agreed without hesitation.While there was a brief consideration of it being a trap, there were no laws or enforcement in the other world, Jin quickly dismissed the thought.

Even if BoredInMyBentley tried to rob him, he had multiple beast souls, and as far as he could tell, no one else in his shelter had dared step beyond its protective walls.While he could be wrong he doubted anyone could hurt him in his armor. 

Jin was however unsure how much to sell them for, ​​soul cores didn't seem to have any use on Earth. If it actually made you stronger was doubtful, in the cave he had thought so, now, he didn't feel any different. But he had also gambled with his life for them.

Engrossed in thought, he became distracted when his alarm went off. 'I'll think of the price later', for now, it was time to go to work. 

—----

Jin had just clocked in at Budbee's, a fast food restaurant, and he was heading to the kitchen when Angela, the manager, intercepted him.

Angela was in her fifties, and despite what her name suggested, she was no angel. Years of working the same dead end job had worn her down. Divorced, childless, and with little to look forward to, she seemed to resent anyone younger than her who still had a shot at something. She ruled the staff with petty orders and pointless tasks. Naturally, no one liked her.

She stopped Jin with a bark. "That spoiled brat Liz just quit on the spot. You're on drive-thru duty today. Honestly, kids these days have no sense of responsibility."

Liz had only been working at Budbee's for a month. Soft spoken and timid, she'd already been brought to tears by Angela multiple times. Whatever happened today,was probably the last straw. 

While he stood there thinking what Angela could have done, Angela raised her eyebrows, impatiently.

"Well?" she snapped.

"Right, of course," Jin muttered and headed to the drive thru window.

He slipped on the headset and started taking orders.Surprisingly, there were customers, unlike what he expected. 

People enjoyed greasy food and pretended life was normal again, as if the otherworld didn't exist. It amazed him how quickly people could adjust. But it made sense, as long as you stayed inside the shelter, the other world wasn't that dangerous. For some it was even a haven. 

Even though the surge of people surprised him, the work was monotonous. The day went by slowly and soon 7pm rolled around, his shift was almost over, just ten more minutes. 

"Welcome to Budbee's. How can I help you today?" he said into the mic.

"Meal 3 with a large milkshake. And make it quick, I'm in a hurry," came a stuffy voice from the speaker.

Jin rolled his eyes as he punched in the order. A moment later, the customer pulled up to the window, a greasy, fat man in a flashy convertible, wearing oversized sunglasses and an air of unwarranted confidence.

Jin held out the card reader, but the man didn't move. Instead, he waved lazily, signaling Jin to lean out further. 

'Really?'

A part of Jin wanted to say something. Wanted to throw the card reader at the guy and walk away. A day ago he was trapped in a cave, stalked by a predator. And now he was bending over for a guy, who looked like he thought ketchup counted as a vegetable.

As Jin stretched uncomfortably far to accommodate the man, he finally lifted his arm to pay.

'Lazy pig', Jin thought.

The man smirked. "This order better be quick. I've got a party to get to. Can't keep the ladies waiting." He licked his lips at the end.

Jin was getting tired of the customer's attitude, "I'm sure they're counting the minutes," he said, his tone dripping with a little too much sarcasm.

The man's expression darkened. "What did you say? Are you mocking me? Didn't your mother teach you manners, you lowlife? I'm the customer, you need to show me respect!" 

'He even squeals like a pig' Jin thought as he looked at the man with a dead pan face, until he heard some shuffling in the back and he became exasperated,

Angela, conveniently nearby, had caught the tail end of the outburst and strutted over. She glanced at the customer, then turned a sharp look at Jin .

"What seems to be the problem, sir?" she asked sweetly.

"Your personnel need to watch their tone when talking to paying customers."

Angela paused, then turned to Jin ."Your right sir I'll make sure he's reprimanded for this, Jin apologize."

Her voice was sharp, but Jin could see the smug satisfaction in her eyes. She loved her little power trips, made her feel in control.

Jin clenched his fists, weighing the consequences. Angela could easily make his life miserable, assign him to the bathrooms, trash duty or, maybe even fire him outright. And he needed this job. 

'Besides this isn't as bad as the cave'.

Jin exhaled slowly, unclenched his fists, and forced an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll work on my tone."

"Hmpth, Make sure it doesn't happen again." Seemingly satisfied he drove to the next window.

Angela didn't miss a beat. She smirked. "You're on bathroom duty next shift. And don't let me catch you mouthing off again."

With that, she turned and marched off to hassle someone else, as Jin groaned in displeasure. 

He couldn't fight this with Angela, doing so would only worsen the situation, 'At least the day is almost over'. 

A few more customers trickled through, and finally, Jin's shift ended. He clocked out, the headset finally off, now he had to prepare for the meeting with BoredInMyBentley.