-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Love & Peace Coin
-----------------------------------------------------------------
002
I was lost in thought as I diligently sucked on the formula.
‘My wish did come true.’
I tried to move my body. My fingers and toes wiggled.
Just then, the nun examined my face from all angles. She touched my forehead, then smiled a little.
“I was worried you might get a fever from being in such a cold place. Thankfully, you seem to be fine.”
Wow.
I cried until I was on the verge of death in the cold. Really?
‘Shouldn't I be sick in bed by now?’
I wasn't an adult; I was practically a newborn.
I wiggled my fingers. My hands and feet moved just fine.
“Our little baby, you're so healthy.”
I guess so, Sister.
I recalled my second wish.
-Health.
This body was definitely healthy. So that wish had come true as well.
‘Wait, then there's the first wish...’
What happened to that one?
Regardless of my thoughts, the bottle was soon empty. The nun skillfully patted my back. A hearty burp soon followed.
“There we go. Good boy.”
Her touch was gentle. I grabbed the collar of her habit with my tiny hand.
I was suddenly so grateful to her.
‘Thank you.’
When I gripped and shook it, the nun smiled. I stared intently at her.
“Did you eat well, little one?”
Feeding a strange child and patting his back. And that loving gaze. I could guarantee it was sincere.
‘You'll be blessed, Sister.’
I looked back at her and smiled brightly.
I gurgled happily—
Since a smile was the only way I could express my gratitude, this was the best I could do.
But then.
“Oh my!”
The nun squeezed my hand.
“You’re so, so beautiful. What am I to do with you!”
It was then that the text appeared before my eyes again.
<100 Love & Peace Coins have been generated.>
What?
I kicked my legs, trying to disperse the text. But unlike before, the words didn't disappear.
Instead, new words were written.
‘Use the coins?’
What in the world is this nonsense?
I narrowed my eyes. Then it suddenly occurred to me.
‘My first wish.’
-The first wish is to grant wishes on a quadrillion-level scale.
That's definitely what I said.
‘Could this text be an extension of that wish?’
It was a bit strange, but it also seemed strangely plausible.
‘In times like this, the best thing to do is just try it out.’
But how do I use it?
I did as the text instructed.
“Booboo— bababa! Bwaaa— baaaang!”
Use Love & Peace Coins!
I flailed my hands.
How should I use them? Are you going to give me money or something?
Just then, the nun who was patting me let out a groan.
“Oof. My back.”
I stopped flailing. Noticing this, the nun spoke gently.
“It’s alright, little one. I just overexerted myself a bit. This is what happens when you get older.”
A tsunami of emotion washed over me.
‘She's a truly good person.’
Her back hurts, yet she's holding and comforting a child she found on the street.
‘Someone like her deserves to be blessed.’
But how?
I looked at the text.
I recalled the first wish I'd made.
-The first wish is to grant wishes on a quadrillion-level scale.
Could it be that this thing does whatever I say?
As a test, I stated what I wanted.
‘Heal the nun's back completely.’
Of course, only baby babble came out of my mouth.
“Bwawaang— aaang!”
The moment I said it, the text changed.
I immediately shouted, 'Execute!'
“Baba!”
Wha-what?
‘Why is there a price?’
Why are you telling me this now!
W-well, it did mention it at the beginning... but it should have been more specific!
Suddenly, my back began to throb.
‘C-crazy!’
I was familiar with this pain.
‘This is how it felt after two days of manual labor...’
My face scrunched up like crazy. As I pursed my lips to endure the pain, the nun gently caressed my cheek.
“Oh dear. Little one, are you uncomfortable?”
the nun asked worriedly.
‘I don't want to make her worry...’
On the verge of tears, I tried my best to hold it in. But an honest whimper escaped my lips.
“Hiiing.”
“Oh?”
The nun lifted me up in a flash and patted my back. After a little while, it got better.
‘Ah, S-Sister. A... a little lower than that.’
Just as I was wiggling to get her to pat the right spot, the nun tilted her head.
“Huh? My back suddenly doesn't hurt. It used to ache every time I lifted someone up.”
Well, that's a relief. I don't know what it was, but I think I'm the one who fixed it.
‘Well, my pain only lasts for 10 minutes anyway.’
With this brief moment of suffering, the good nun will be free from back problems for the rest of her life.
‘What a relief.’
A soft smile spread across my face. I felt quite proud, perhaps because it had been a long time since I'd done a good deed.
* * *
Sister Jeong Teresa of the 'Sisters of the Good People' convent patted her now-painless back. Her once-stiff back felt as light as if it were brand new.
“That's strange... This has never happened before.”
In any case, it was a relief. Now she could look after the children to her heart's content, even if just for a day, without her back pain getting in the way.
Sister Jeong Teresa gently touched the cheek of the little baby she had just met today. She could feel the full softness of his plump cheek.
She placed the soundly sleeping baby in a cradle and gazed at him quietly. He was so adorable that a smile escaped her lips.
The nun whispered softly.
“Welcome to our maternity home, little one. From now on, I am your mother sister.”
The beautiful baby's skin was so soft.
Sister Jeong Teresa gazed at the child with gentle eyes.
She had raised countless children with her own hands, but this was the first time she had seen such a beautiful baby.
Just then, the door opened, and another little child toddled in.
It was Noah, who was four years old this year.
“Sister!”
“Yes, Noah.”
Jeong Teresa lifted Noah into her arms and showed him the soundly sleeping baby.
“Is the baby okay?”
“Of course! He just had his milk and fell asleep.”
“That's good!”
“If our Noah hadn't found him, it would have been a disaster.”
“Hee hee....”
The nun smiled brightly and kissed Noah's cheek. Noah grinned happily, but scratched his face where she'd kissed him as if it tickled.
‘Noah's atopy is still severe.’
Seeing the flaky white skin, the nun let out a small sigh.
She had carefully selected his food and clothing with all her heart, but it was difficult to provide more meticulous care in a maternity home where she had to look after so many children.
The unavoidable reality pained Jeong Teresa's heart.
“Mother, this.”
Noah continued to scratch as he held out a small bag.
But the nun's full attention was on Noah's scratching face.
“Noah, if you keep scratching, your skin will get hurt.”
“But... it's itchy.”
“What can we do to stop our Noah's itching...?”
Jeong Teresa sighed in spite of herself and rummaged through the bag.
A few shabby clothes and a metal name tag came out.
The nun quietly read the name written on the tag.
“Gongja.”
The part with the family name was so rusted it was completely illegible.
“Gongja?”
At the nun's words, Noah stood on his tiptoes to look at the baby.
“Is the baby's name Gongja?”
“Yes, Noah. Gongja.”
“Hee. He's sooooo cute.”
Noah smiled shyly at the baby. Jeong Teresa smiled as well, stroking Noah's hair.
“I know. This is the first time Mother has seen such a beautiful baby.”
“Ehehe.”
“Our Noah will take good care of him, won't you?”
“Yes!”
Any other child might have wanted to pinch the sleeping Gongja's cheeks, but Noah didn't.
“Hee hee.”
Afraid of waking him, he simply gazed at Gongja's tiny hand before gently taking the nun's.
“We have one more child now.”
Noah looked around. There were five or six more empty cradles.
“Gongja is younger than me... so I'll make him my little brother!”
The nun smiled and took Noah's hand.
“Alright. From now on, Gongja is Noah's little brother.”
Noah, looking like he owned the world, whispered to Gongja.
“I'll teach you how to play soccer, and I'll feed you milk, too!”
Jeong Teresa smiled at Noah. Though they were children who had once been abandoned, there was no rule that said they couldn't be happy.
She firmly believed that happiness should be given equally to all children.
Jeong Teresa offered a heartfelt flash prayer to God.
‘Merciful Lord, please bless these children.’
Gongja slept, oblivious to the world. The sight was so beautiful that the nun smiled once more.
* * *
‘Damn it.’
Waking up, I sighed and shook my head. I needed to sort out my thoughts.
‘So I've been reborn as an orphan.’
In any case, the wishes I made in heaven have come true.
‘First, I have a healthy body, and on top of that, I'm handsome...’
I furrowed my brow. It was because I suddenly remembered the entertainment industry from my past life.
‘No matter how handsome I am, things will be tough at first if people find out I'm an orphan.’
Scammers will flock to me, too.
‘No, the problem is that I'm a newborn baby in the first place.’
I let out a sigh.
“Booboo.”
A very cute sound came out. I shook my head.
‘The most important thing is the wish.’
Heaven granted my wish.
I looked at the clear text before my eyes. My coins had increased, probably because someone saw me while I was sleeping.
I stared blankly at the text.
‘Let's think about this simply.’
When someone is pleased by my cute appearance, my coins increase. And I can use these coins.
‘Using the coins grants a wish.’
But along with the wish, there was a side effect.
‘Everything comes with a price, was it?’
Because of that, I suffered from back pain, albeit briefly.
I sighed again.
“Bururu!”
But the wish was incredibly effective.
‘Curing a herniated disc is so difficult, yet it was healed in one go.’
What wouldn't I do for the nun who took in a strange baby and even fed him formula? A price like this was well worth it.
‘Besides, how many wishes did I make in heaven?’
A chuckle escaped me.
“Bwaaa!”
It was on a quadrillion-level scale.
‘Wow, not trillions, but quadrillions. I really am greedy.’
Come to think of it, that's what it said.
I was lost in deep thought.
‘The law of causality will be adjusted?’
Ah, no way.
‘Did I become an orphan because I asked for my wishes to be granted on a quadrillion-level scale?’
It was a very plausible guess. A dry laugh escaped me.
“Baaaa!”
I shook my head as I listened to the babbling coming from my mouth.
‘Wow, what a scam!’
To hide something so important... they really were something else.
‘Well, the wish was powerful, at least.’
I grinned. I might be an orphan, but I had a handsome face and a healthy body. This was enough to make life worth living.
‘And most importantly, the wish!’
It's a rather absurd ability, but...
‘I'm the kind of person who uses everything at my disposal!’
I said it outright.
‘I'll use it!’
“Bwaaaaang!”
I looked lovingly at the text. It was a bit suspicious, but this was a life I'd worked hard to be reborn into.
‘This life, I'm the main character! I'm going to be in all the blockbuster movies!’
And I had another wish.
‘In this life, I'll only live one day being ugly!’
“Baaaa, bbuya! Bwaaang!”
‘Because from now on, I'll be handsome for the rest of my life.’
As I was smiling like that, the nun with the healed herniated disc approached and smiled at me.
“Oh my, Gongja, why are you flailing your hands so much?”
Huh, was I? Sister.
‘But what's Gongja?’
The nun smiled brightly at me and said.
“Little one. Your name is Gongja.”
Excuse me, Sister. Do you mean Gongja as in Confucius from 'Confucius says'?
“We haven't decided on a family name yet, but do you see this?”
The nun held up the piece of metal and shook it.
“Your name was written here. The family name isn't visible because someone deliberately scratched it off, but…”
Aha.
‘Gongja.’
It was a funny name, but anything suits a handsome face.
‘Just as a handsome face completes any fashion, it also completes any name.’