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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Seongjin Group's Visit
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I nodded.

*As long as I was handsome, a name like Bartholomew wouldn't matter.*

With the right face, even a country-bumpkin name could sound like it belonged to a heartthrob.

The nun looked at me. I gladly extended my tiny hand.

“Our Gongja, your hands are so small and pretty.”

Aren't all babies’ hands like this?

*Still, there's nothing I wouldn't do for our dear nun.*

I gripped the nun’s finger tightly. It was nothing special, but she smiled brightly.

“Gongja. Mommy’s back was hurting so much lately. Even going to the hospital only helped for a little while, so I accepted this pain as one of the Lord’s trials. But since yesterday, my back has been perfectly fine. I wonder why?”

Oh dear, you must have been in a lot of pain.

*I made a wish for you.*

“Boobaaaah! Booaaah!”

“Oh my! How cu-cute…”

The nun kissed my hand and said.

“Did our Gongja receive the gift of healing?”

That’s not it.

I shook my head.

I’ve always tried to live a decent life. Though healing the nun was more of an experiment, I’ll admit.

*Still, all's well that ends well, isn't it?*

Buwaaah. Byabya!

As I flailed my arms and legs, the nun laughed.

“It would be nice if you grew up as Mommy’s child just like this, but our Gongja is so pretty…”

The nun whispered softly.

“It would be better if you could meet parents who are better than Mommy.”

Ah.

*Is she talking about adoption?*

A sigh escaped me. Isn't that like winning the lottery?

*Well, there are parents who raise adopted children well, but…*

I knew it wasn't that easy.

*Adoption…*

If it’s going to happen, is it better to go young?

Well, no. More important than the timing is what kind of parents you meet.

*After all, there are people out there who adopt a child just to get priority for a new apartment.*

Rather than going to a home like that, it's a hundred times better here.

The nun's calloused hand caressed my cheek. I purposely pressed my lips to her hand.

*You are a truly good person.*

“Boobapapapa.”

*So if you're hurting, please let it out.*

“Byaaaabyabyabya!”

I've got wishes in the quadrillions, so I'm happy to spend them on you all.

“Oh, how cute.”

Huh.

I tilted my head.

*The amount has dropped. It's only going up by one?*

Why is this happening?

Just when I decided to save up a lot, the amount I get decreases?

*Should I be saving these, just in case?*

I looked at the nun. Her back feeling better, she looked purely joyful.

She was a truly good person.

*Still, for a nun like her, of course I have to use them!*

I immediately made my wish.

*‘Use Love & Peace Coin!’*

“Buuuu! Papapa, byabya!”

Though the sound that came out was just miserable babbling.

*It's fine. I'm handsome!*

If you're handsome, everything is fine!

I tried my best to ignore my burning face and looked at the subtitles.

*‘Make the nun’s body healthy!’*

“Boopapapam, papopapapam!”

A hiccup suddenly escaped me.

*Wh-what?*

Hey, what’s with this inflation?

*Fixing her back was 100 coins!*

Why is making her healthy 1,000 coins!

After I argued for a while in my head, the subtitle changed.

Hiccup!

Maybe because I was a baby, my whole body shook with a single hiccup.

*Is the nun's health bad?*

I observed the nun carefully.

The diligent nun was changing another baby's diaper, soothing the crying infant as she worked.

*Her complexion doesn't look bad…*

Still, this price difference was serious.

*Should I save up coins for now?*

How can I possibly gather a thousand? Should I just use them for something else?

Hiccup!

After changing the other baby's diaper, the nun looked at me and said worriedly.

“Our Gongja, are you hiccuping? Want some water?”

The nun stroked my stomach. For a moment, my heart swelled.

This was truly unconditional love.

*May you be blessed! Sister!*

“Boobyabyabyabya! Byabyabya!”

The nun laughed as she looked at me.

*If I can't make a person like this healthy, I'll change my name from Lee to Kim.*

I'll change my family name. Of course, my name in this life is already Gongja, though.

*I will definitely make you healthy. Damn it. When am I going to save all this up?*

What do I have to do to make that happen?

*To… to save up coins…*

I stared blankly at the nun. In fact, the answer was already there.

*I have to be cute!*

And overwhelmingly so!

I smiled brightly and flailed my arms and legs.

Yes, just as I thought!

I put my hand in my mouth and acted cute. The nun saw me and laughed along.

“Our Gongja is just so cute!”

I was about to act even cuter, but another baby started crying. The nun immediately went over to them.

Darn.

The moment I figured out the method, I also realized its limitation.

*The increase is too small.*

Why? I tried to guess.

*Is there perhaps a limit to the coins you can get from one person?*

At first, it was in the hundreds, but now it was just one at a time.

*They call it Love & Peace, but it's so stingy. Then again, love and peace always do come in dribs and drabs.*

The conclusion was simple.

*I need other people.*

If many people saw how cute I am, gathering 1,000 should be easy.

*How can I get more people to see me?*

Not many people came into the nursery due to hygiene concerns.

Just then, the door slid open and a small child walked in cautiously.

“Sister! I'm here!”

“Noah. Did you come to see Gongja?”

A small child stood on his tiptoes and peered at me.

*Oho! An audience member has arrived.*

Since visitors were a rarity, he was a very precious guest indeed.

I deliberately moved my arms and smiled.

Kyah-

As I flapped my limbs, the child's face turned pink.

“He's small, and cute.”

You're small too, kid.

Noah reached out his tiny hand with all his might and grabbed my foot.

*Well, I'm probably cuter, though.*

This must be the Noah mentioned in the subtitles earlier. Still, it was only five coins.

I reached out my short, chubby arm. It was a bonus.

As expected, Noah was impressed.

“Whoa!”

Darn.

*It decreased again. How am I supposed to collect 1,000 coins?*

This isn't going to be easy, is it?

Noah stared at my face for a long while. The child's eyes were round.

The child turned his head and said.

“Sister, people are coming tomorrow!”

Oh.

*Tomorrow? Is more of my audience arriving?*

If I act cute for them, maybe I can collect some coins?

*Alright.*

But the nun let out a deep sigh.

“Hm? Ah, yes… they are.”

Huh?

She didn't look very welcoming.

“Sister?”

“I'm just worried. Those people just come once and leave, but the children miss them. I'm very grateful, of course, but still…”

Ah.

*…That makes sense.*

This was common back when I did volunteer work, too. Some celebrities would come once for a TV show and make promises they couldn't keep.

*Like saying they'd definitely come back.*

That's a really terrible thing to do. Innocent children believe those words wholeheartedly.

At least I never did anything like that.

*I actually came back regularly.*

It got to the point where the kids would tell me to stop coming.

Phew-

As I sighed, Noah gently tickled the bottom of my foot and said.

“Someone rich is coming!”

“Ah, it's the day the people from Seongjin Group are coming.”

“That's why all the nuns are busy.”

The nun, having changed the baby's diaper, wiped her hands and stroked Noah's head.

“I'm not fond of that kind of thing, but…”

The nun looked at me with a worried expression. For my two-person audience, I smiled brightly.

Kyaaa-

Noah laughed, but the nun only gently brushed my cheek.

“But we can't help that it increases our funding.”

She had a point.

*Well, don't feel guilty about things like that, Sister.*

That's just how life is.

I wriggled my arms to comfort the nun. As my short limbs moved, this time, both of them laughed.

“Oh, you pretty thing. So cute…”

The coins didn't increase any further.

But I didn't like seeing the nun's gloomy expression. So for the two of them, I smiled and acted cuter than usual.

Their faces brightened up, if only a little.

* * *

A few days later. When I woke up in the morning, the atmosphere was unusual.

I drank the milk the nun gave me and flailed my arms and legs.

*Increase, coins!*

Find me cute! Quickly!

“Puuu!”

But the nun wasn't paying any attention to me.

*Is this normal, or is it because of something else?*

Come to think of it, they did say people from Seongjin Group were coming.

*Is she still feeling bitter about it?*

Since the coins showed no sign of increasing, I just quietly drank my milk.

Soon, the formula bottle was empty, and the nun patted my back.

*Burp-*

After I burped, the nun placed me in my cradle and stared at me.

*Why, why are you looking at me like that?*

Hoping the coins might increase, I gave a little smile.

“Byabya!”

I smiled until my cheeks hurt, and only then did the nun's expression soften a little.

Thank you for the coin, Sister. This time, how about some cute flailing?

Just as I was about to wriggle my arms and legs, another nun opened the door and came in.

“Sister Teresa!”

“Yes, Sister Maria.”

It was a nun I'd never seen before.

“You know Ms. Ma Sujeong is coming today, right?”

Sister Teresa sighed.

“I know.”

“They said they'd like to take a picture holding a baby for their promotional materials. Which child would be best?”

Sister Maria looked at me.

This is my chance! I blinked with all my might.

*Take that, my dazzling gaze attack!*

How about it! My charm!

I had aimed my charming attack at Sister Jeong Teresa, but unexpectedly, someone else took the bait.

“Oh my, how cute! Who is this child?”

“Noah found him in a flowerbed. His name is Gongja.”

“Gongja?”

The new face stood before me.

I gladly put on a cute display for my new audience member.

*Watch me do this!*

I held out my hand, clenched it into a fist, then opened it. The new nun smiled brightly at the sight.

“He's really, really so cute.”

“Yes. He was out in the cold for a long time. Thankfully, he seems to be healthy.”

“Oh dear…”

She looked at me with pity.

“Then…”

The new nun offered me her finger. I gladly took it.

“Are you going with this child?”

I narrowed my eyes.

*Yes! It's me!*

Sister Teresa said.

“Yes. It seems best.”

“The pictures will certainly turn out well.”

Alright!

But after saying so, the two nuns sighed at the same time.

*I don't know why, but they don't seem too happy about it.*

I gripped her finger tightly. Sister Teresa looked at me and said.

“Then we should get ready.”

“Yes, we should put the baby in some nice clothes.”

“Ms. Ma Sujeong is coming here, right?”

“Yes.”

“This is where the babies are. I'm worried too many people will come crowding in.”

Aha. I get it.

*Seongjin Group, Ma Sujeong, baby.*

The answer was simple.

*So a company that sponsors this place is coming here to take some promotional photos.*

And for that, they needed a cute baby.

*And that cute baby is me.*

But the nuns were worried that this kind of publicity stunt might end up hurting the other children.

*I understand how they feel.*

The nun dressed me in new clothes. I wriggled my arms and legs.

The nuns looked at me with complicated expressions. I smiled brightly as if to reassure them.

*It's okay, Sisters.*

“Babyabyabyabya!”

*I'll smile my best and bring in lots of money.*

Well, it is what it is, but money is money. You'll use that money for abandoned kids like me, right?

*Life is complicated.*

As I kept smiling, the nuns sighed in unison.

“When did they say she's coming?”

“She's already here. She should be coming soon.”

Just then, a murmur of voices could be heard from outside the door. It was right after the nun had finished changing me into clean clothes.

The door opened.