I regret what I said.
Edward cursed under his breath as he recalled his earlier thoughts about this job being easy. It was only his second hour as a cashier, and he had already dealt with dozens of customers.
On top of the pressure of not messing up change and correctly processing payments, he also had to ensure the line didn't get too long. For some reason, this store only had one functioning register. Maybe it was due to the manager cutting costs or understaffing, but whatever the reason, Edward was now the sole vanguard against the growing line of customers.
His schedule stated he had to work from 10 in the morning to 6 in the evening, with four hours as a cashier before moving to retail.
The pressure was building as he tried to manage everything at once: keeping the line short, staying alert to the payment method (whether it was card, cash, or QR-pay), giving receipts when requested, wrapping items in plastic or carrier bags (and remembering to charge for the carrier bags). He had to handle ceramics with extra care, which added even more time to each transaction as he tried to wrap them properly while the line grew.
This is only the first day—no, not even! Is this a minimum wage worker's everyday life? How is this humane?!
He kept thinking about how ridiculous the standards were but tried to reassure himself.
Maybe it's just because it's my first day. I get it! Maybe my seniors just want me to experience the hardest part. That must be it, right?
Wrong. Though he didn't know it yet, this was indeed the average routine of a cashier in this country—underpaid, hard-working, and deserving of far more recognition for their efforts.
After what seemed like forever, his cashier shift finally ended, and his co-worker took over. Now, he had to switch to retail. Edward's break wasn't until 3 p.m., so he still had a few hours to go. His retail job was straightforward: he had to walk around his section of the store and restock the empty shelves from supplies in the storage room. However, he still wasn't allowed to sit down.
John walked up to him.
"Yo. Just so you know, keep this from the boss, but you can bypass that no-sitting nonsense by kneeling when you refill the shelves. It's not exactly slacking off—you're still doing your job. The bosses and HR aren't that petty, so you should be fine."
"Oh-Oh… Thanks, bro."
With this new insight, Edward's spirits lifted. Okay, maybe I can get through this. I hope it's not as hard as being a cashier...
Edward went to the storage area, loaded a trolley with supplies for his section, and checked which shelves needed restocking. Pushing the trolley to the food section wasn't too difficult, and thankfully, food items weren't heavy. He began restocking. There wasn't any specific method to follow, and he took advantage of the lower shelves to rest his legs a bit.
Damn… This sucks. But at least refilling stuff isn't as bad as being a cashier, so far. I don't get why cashiers aren't allowed to sit down. I've heard them explain it before, "Makes you lazy and unfocused", that's kind of silly...
His break time came and he took the chance to eat some buns while scrolling his phone to read the latest Necromancer chapter.
I'm soooo tired. I can't even read my favorite book.
The fatigue from work was more than just physical—it was mentally draining too. He felt as though he had no motivation to do anything. So, Edward did what anyone in his situation would do—he doom-scrolled.
Doom scrolling—the act of mindlessly watching an excessive amount of short-form YouTube videos for no other reason than to have something to do. Edward knew it was detrimental, but he couldn't help himself. He wasn't foolish, but gradually, he stopped caring about his actions. Doom scrolling had been a major issue for his classmates in high school, many of whom failed to study because of it. He had never fallen into the trap himself, but now, as his fatigue piled up, he found himself sinking into it.
Before he knew it, his break was over, and the grind continued until it was time to head home. When his head hit the pillow, he still felt the same. The lack of motivation lingered. Edward wasn't the type to quit early, though, and after an hour, he managed to calm himself.
"SMACK" - Ed slapped his cheeks to snap himself out of it.
Yeah, it's just my first day. I shouldn't be feeling down. Time to do something I like!
And so, Edward survived his first day as a minimum wage worker at Noron's. He still thought that his seniors were merely teasing him by giving him extra work on his first day. He still held out hope that maybe it isn't so bad.
Well, he's about to regret it a second time.