[Webnovel translation] I started working the night shift at a convenience store: (Chapter 1 pt3)

   Horror webnovel: I started working the night shift at a convenience store (Ch.1 pt3)

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Chapter 1: The automatic door (pt.3)

He was still here moments ago, just before I went to take out the trash. 

Where'd he go? To the bathroom maybe?

Even so, it's a bit reckless to leave the store empty, no matter how late at night or how few customers may come in.

What if a client showed up out of nowhere? You'd have to be certain that no client would come during that time.

I was standing there, all alone in the store. Nothing but me and the flow of time. The clock's hands had already ran passed 2:30 AM, and I had learned how to handle various chores while doing my work.

Is that all? Do I just wait for morning to come? I wonder how many clients we'll have by then...

If we keep having so few clients, I'll surely end up being able to remember which client bought what.

...

Is Aoyama ever coming back?

Out of the blue, I felt a gaze weighing on me, it seemed to be coming from behind the glass near the magazine aisle.

"Aoyama? Is that you?"

I thought, but there was no sign of him. Behind the glass was nothing but a the pitch black veil of the night. Did I just imagine it?

That wouldn't be the first time. I brushed it off turned my gaze inside the store once more.

Then...

The all too common melody played as the automatic doors opened.

Finally!

"Welcome!"

The words had left my mouth before I even had time to think, and I instinctively turned to face the doors. It was our first customer in hours.

I wanted to put on my best smile to greet whoever had just entered the store, but I quickly realized there was no need for it.

Huh? What?

They weren't there.

You know, the client I expected to be there.

The one who I thought had just entered the store through these doors. No one. 

And just like that the doors closed, and the chime stopped ringing.

That was weird. Just as I tilted my head in perplexion, it happened again. The doors opened on their own.

"..."

'Wow, that's creepy.'

Isn't what I thought, by then I still only considered this to be a bit weird.

I stood there for a bit, waiting to make sure the doors would eventually close again, and once they did I came out from behind the counter only to stand in front of them.

Of course me standing in front of the doors triggered the sensors, and so they opened again.

I passed my head through the doors, and looked all around. Of course there wasn't anyone or anything there, so I could rule out the idea of someone pulling a prank on me.

"Is it giving up the ghost or something?"

Surely the sensors were just acting up.

What the manager and Aoyama had told me about started clawing its way from the back of my mind. 

However, considering this to be a ghost's doing, one that I can't even see had me feel a bit sick about myself.

Were I to ever see woman with no feet levitate her way into the store, then yeah, I think I'd start believing in ghosts. 

But if it's nothing more than doors opening on their own, no matter how I think about it, I can't see any other explanation than the door being broken.

What's going on?

I went outside for a bit to refresh my mind.

Did the people who had been hired before me consider this door's weird behavior to be the work of ghosts rather than a simple malfunction?

Did that scare them off? Is this why they resigned?

God that's lame, that's all I could think of it. There's nothing scary about this.

This store is in a fairly secluded area, with people being few and far between, surrounded by a dense, dark forest known for being a suicide hotspot.

It is bound to exacerbate feelings of anxiety and turn people into bundles of nerves, having them see things that aren't there.

I'm not a devoted believer. I abhor stories that I can't either check for myself and those that can't be backed up. 

Like... there's always someone pulling the strings and have a grand old time behind stories like that.

Of course, with that state of mind seeing a lot of people lose their cool and panic because of stories like that would have you see them as nothing but idiots.

If that's the worse it gets, then working here a week will be child's play.

I started heading back to the counter, when the doors that had closed again opened anew. This time they remained wide open long after the chime had stopped ringing.

"..."

I watched this scene unroll in front of me, a weird look on my face.

Nothing like this had happened when Aoyama was sill here.

Hot air kept constantly pouring in from outside as the doors remained open, like someone was staying in front of it this whole time.

That can't be right.

There's no way, that can't be.

I went back to the counter, keeping my eyes glued to the doors for a few minutes.

Eventually, I got tired of waiting and walked up there to look into it myself.

The doors staying open like this would just cause swarms of insect to enter the store. I couldn't just stand there and let it happen, maybe some trash had gotten stuck in the rails or something.

But... when I crouched to take a closer look at the rails, there was no sign of any trash or anything in there.

Had they really just stopped working? But... if they won't close, what am I supposed to do?

I'll just wait for Aoyama to come back and tell him all about it, I thought, scrapping the nape of my neck.

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Hi everyone!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter too, or rather part of this chapter. We're nearing the 4th part of this automatic doors chapter which happens to be the last. And then we'll get to learn more about the other employees through a couple of chapters, hope you'll enjoy this as well.

See you next time!

Source: https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054880681711

Original author: 天野　アタル  (Ataru Amano)