The morning started normal enough. Well, as normal as running a convenience store inside a dungeon could be.
Which is to say, I was halfway through unclogging the ramen boiler because Spicy had decided it was the perfect place to "make bath time" when the bell over the door jingled.
Mail delivery.
Now, usually dungeon mail is boring, supply slips, dungeon tax forms, the occasional mysterious coupon that somehow multiplies like rabbits in the Goblin Coupon Gang's locker.
But today was different.
Today, the envelope was black. Heavy. Stamped with a sigil that made my stomach do a triple flip.
"Uh-oh" I muttered, holding it like it might explode.
Mirae looked up from the restaurant counter, her apron dusted with flour.
"What's that?"
"I don't know" I admitted. "But it looks expensive and expensive usually means bad."
I broke the seal. Inside was thick parchment written in looping, overly dramatic handwriting:
"To Storekeeper Hanseok,
You are hereby invited to attend the Annual Dungeon Shop Meet, to be held at a neutral dungeon nexus.
Attendance is mandatory. Failure to appear will result in… consequences.
Dress appropriately.
Signed,
The Council of Dungeons."
My eye twitched.
Mandatory.
Consequences.
Dress appropriately.
"Oh no" I whispered. "This is it. This is how I die. Not from monsters, not from adventurers, not even from food poisoning, paperwork is going to kill me."
As if summoned by my misery, the air rippled. Shadows pooled on the tiles and then like some smug hologram straight out of a villain convention, the Dungeon manifested behind me.
"Ah, good, you got the invitation."
I froze.
"...You knew about this?"
The Dungeon tilted its head. "Of course I did. I may have... forgotten to mention it."
"Forgotten" I repeated flatly.
"It slipped my mind."
"Slipped?! This is a life-changing, mandatory, consequence-heavy, dress-appropriately level event, and you just..." I waved the letter in his face. "Forgot?"
The Dungeon smirked, all shadowy arrogance.
"You'll be fine. You're doing better than most shopkeepers. In fact, you might even win something."
"Win something? This isn't a raffle at a county fair! This is... this is... a death sentence wrapped in calligraphy!"
Before the Dungeon could answer, the Goblin Coupon Gang burst through the restaurant doors in full uniform.
"Manager! Manager!" their leader shouted. "We heard the word mandatory! That means"
"FREE COUPONS FOR EVERYONE!" the rest screamed in unison.
They began throwing slips of paper in the air like confetti, except these weren't coupons, they were my actual receipts.
"Stop! Those are my tax records!" I yelped, diving to snatch them out of the air.
Mirae crossed her arms, glaring.
"You're going to the meet, aren't you?"
I froze mid-dive.
"...Do I have to?"
"Yes" she said firmly.
"But what about the store? What about deliveries? What about the restaurant?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'll cover. You just, don't embarrass yourself."
"Too late" Spicy chirped from the fryer basket he was currently napping in. "He's already embarrassing."
After the chaos settled, Mirae was still staring at me. Not in the usual teasing way, this was different.
Serious.
"You really don't see it, do you?" she asked quietly.
"See what?"
"That this store… isn't just some weird job. It's important. To the dungeon. To adventurers. Maybe even to you."
I swallowed. "...It's just snacks and coffee."
But even as I said it, the words felt hollow.
The Dungeon chuckled behind me.
"You'll learn soon enough."
I sat at the counter later, staring at the black envelope again.
An invitation.
A demand.
A threat.
Mandatory.
For the first time since opening this shop, I wasn't worried about running out of dumplings or tripping over goblins.
I was worried about what it meant to step out of my dungeon and into theirs.
And deep down, I couldn't shake the thought... Why me?