* * *
Mom put me back in the stroller.
We arrived at our destination after leaving the elevator.
I checked the patient by the window in the private room.
“Oh dear.”
I heard the surgery went well.
But the patient on the bed looked more exhausted than when she was in Seongbuk-dong.
“Is she not fully recovered yet?”
I heard the caregiver’s voice.
“You need to eat something.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“But you need to eat to recover.”
Oh my.
“No one came to visit, so she lost her will.”
The caregiver, who was saying various things, noticed us.
“Oh, you’re here.”
Mom lifted me and said,
“Auntie An, I’m here. And Kongja too.”
“Miss! This isn’t a good place to bring Kongja!”
Mom carried me to the bed.
The caregiver stepped aside to let us talk.
“I heard the surgery went well.”
Auntie An lowered her head slightly.
“Yes, it went well.”
“Then why are you so down?”
“Just…”
She sighed deeply.
“I’m wondering what life is all about.”
Oh dear.
‘She must be really struggling.’
I suddenly realized.
‘I understand why I need 100,000 coins.’
I didn’t know why the coin price had gone up, but this was the reason.
I sighed deeply.
‘How can I motivate her?’
Mom took off my shoes. I carefully crawled to the patient.
I smiled brightly and said,
“Auntie!”
Auntie An blinked.
Even though it was just a cute baby smiling, her lips twitched slightly.
“Yes, Kongja. How have you been?”
I shook my head vigorously.
“No, why? What’s wrong?”
“Because you’re not here!”
Auntie An blinked.
I looked at her intently and said,
“It’s not okay without you!”
Honestly, I wanted to give better comfort.
“But with a baby’s language, this is the best I can do.”
I hope she understands it as “I missed you.”
At that moment, Auntie An suddenly rubbed her eyes.
“Auntie An?”
“Sorry, Miss. Suddenly, I started crying.”
Mom quickly brought tissues.
Auntie An wiped her eyes and said,
“Kongja, do you need me?”
Honestly, how many kids would understand that?
‘But I do.’
I nodded with a smile.
“Yes!”
Auntie An lowered her head.
My mom sighed deeply and said, “Auntie An, don’t overdo it.”
“No contact from either my brother or sister. Do they think they don’t need a sick old woman?”
Oh dear.
‘Is she talking about people who didn’t even bother to call, let alone visit?’
What awful people.
“I worked hard to educate them, get them married, and now this.”
Auntie An trembled.
My mom hurried to comfort her, but I knew.
‘This calls for some coin power.’
Ah, my coins. I checked my coin count immediately.
[Total Coins: 123,342]
Wow. As expected of a primetime drama.
‘Did it increase because of the reruns?’
Whatever the reason, it was good.
I looked between my mom and Auntie An.
‘A hundred thousand coins might be a lot, but…’
If I could make Auntie An healthy again after all she’s done for me, it would be worth it.
‘Use coins!’
[How would you like to use the Love and Peace Coins?]
‘Make Auntie An healthy!’
[To restore Auntie An’s health, 100,000 coins are needed. Proceed?]
‘Proceed!’
[Execution in progress.]
[Every action has consequences.]
[As a consequence of using the coins, you will fall asleep for 24 hours starting in 3 minutes.]
This is insane!
‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’
The cost is too high! If I suddenly fall asleep for a whole day, my mom will be worried sick!
Sweat started to form on my forehead.
I had no idea how to handle this situation.
‘Stay calm, Ma Kongja.’
Do what you can.
‘I need an excuse.’
Why would a baby sleep for a whole day?
‘I know, there’s no reason!’
But I had to come up with something.
Time was running out.
I yawned dramatically.
“Yawn~!”
It was the first time I had ever faked a yawn like that.
‘Even if it looks weird, don’t look back!’
Because it was an emergency!
Fortunately, my mom asked the question I wanted her to.
“Oh, Ma Kongja, are you sleepy?”
“Yes!”
I looked at Auntie An and said, “Seeing Auntie makes me sleepy!”
I crawled into Auntie An’s arms.
“I couldn’t sleep all this time!”
“Why?”
“Because Auntie wasn’t here!”
Wow. This excuse is ridiculous.
For the record, I had been sleeping and eating well.
Although the baby food didn’t taste great, I still ate it.
“I want to eat the food Auntie makes!”
Auntie An patted my shoulder.
Just as 3 minutes passed, sleepiness overwhelmed my eyelids.
‘Oh, this is crazy.’
I hoped my mom wouldn’t worry too much.
That was my last thought.
***
I saw a familiar ceiling.
Upon waking up, the first thing I did was let out a long sigh.
‘Thank goodness.’
I looked around.
‘At least I’m not in a hospital.’
Phew.
I wiggled in my cradle.
‘I underestimated the cost.’
This was riskier than I thought.
‘Who would’ve thought it would put me to sleep for a whole day?’
Luckily, there was no schedule, and I was just a baby.
‘But what if I become a top star and have to shoot a movie and then suddenly fall asleep like this…?’
I shook my head. That would be unacceptable. I had to acknowledge it.
‘I’ll be more careful from now on.’
Thinking about it, the cost was like a roulette wheel, unpredictable.
‘No, even a roulette has examples.’
This was out of nowhere and without reason.
‘I need to be more thoughtful about using coins.’
Maybe it was because I forcefully pushed a wish to the extreme. The rebound was no joke.
‘Anyway, what happened?’
I rubbed my eyes and looked around.
Judging by the light, it seemed like afternoon, as if exactly 24 hours had passed.
Then, I heard footsteps.
I quickly turned my head as my mom opened the door and came in.
“Mom!”
“Oh, Ma Kongja. Oh my.”
My mom quickly came over and hugged me tightly.
“I was so scared! You fell asleep and wouldn’t wake up!”
I’m sorry.
“I was sleepy!”
“I was about to take you to the hospital if you didn’t wake up soon!”
My mom patted me and sighed.
“You looked like you were sleeping, so I waited, but thank goodness. Ma Kongja, let’s eat first!”
I nodded vigorously. Honestly, I was so hungry after 24 hours that my stomach growled.
My mom carried me out to the hallway.
“Ma Kongja, haven’t you been sleeping well?”
Oh no.
‘Let’s go with that.’
* * *
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