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Chapter 04
“Being a Daughter-Crazy Dad Was Just a Concept, Duke!”
The next thing I had to do was help Bell breathe a little more easily. I reached for the buttons on her shirt. Even then, Bell resisted.
“…! W-Why are you taking it off…?”
“If you don’t want scars, bear with it for a second.”
As I opened her shirt, just as I feared, Bell’s skin was blotchy all over. Some spots were red and swollen.
“Definitely an allergic reaction.”
Just then, the assistant teacher handed me a damp towel. I gently wiped the raised areas. It wouldn’t bring the swelling down right away, but at least it would keep her from scratching.
“Jackson, come support her back.”
“Why me?! What about Ararugi? Is that thing contagious?!”
“If it is, I’ll marry you.”
“…N-No thanks!”
Despite his protests, Jackson hurried over and propped up Bell’s upper body. Her ragged breathing slowly began to calm.
“Huuu…”
“Bell, can you breathe okay now?”
Bell gave a weak nod. Thank goodness it didn’t seem too severe.
“You knew, right? That melon makes you sick?”
“Yeah.”
“Then there’s nothing more to say. Just take it easy for a while. Jackson, watch her and make sure she can breathe fine.”
Jackson nodded almost on instinct.
Meanwhile, the adults who should have been taking responsibility were trying to sneak away. Where do you think you’re going?
“Ex–cuse–me, teacher?”
“U-Uh? What is it?”
“Don’t you have something to say?”
The director’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“What, you want a thank-you or something? Helping a friend isn’t anything that special!”
“Oh? So you’re not thankful?”
“What? You insolent brat! You should be thanking me for the rest of your life! Keep talking like that, and I’ll dump you back where I found you!”
“Yeah, right. We all know you get government funding based on headcount.”
“…What did you say?”
“If I die, it’s you who gets in trouble. Don’t the priests come weekly to count the kids and check their health before giving you the money? Or am I wrong?”
The assistant teacher’s pale face was all the answer I needed. So I was right. Not exactly a hard deduction.
You think I didn’t hear you muttering earlier that the subsidy would get cut if a kid died?
And on priest-visit days, you only wash the kids’ faces with cold water to make their cheeks look rosy, right? Just to fake a healthy look?
I knew because an old orphanage director once told me that’s a trick corrupt institutions used to pull during inspections.
I stepped forward confidently. Since I’d already caught her eye, I had to firmly plant the idea that I wasn’t a kid to be messed with.
“If you don’t say thank you, I might just go back to the cafeteria, pick up that melon off the floor, and force Bell to eat it again.”
“You little…!”
“You think I won’t?”
Of course I wouldn’t. But trash like them assume everyone else is as rotten as they are.
“You little demon…!”
“The kids are all witnesses to what happened today. When the priest arrives, who knows? One of them might just blurt out, ‘They forced a kid to eat something they couldn’t!’”
“…”
“Maybe the priest will cover for you. But will the noble coming today be so generous?”
“F-Fine! Thank you for today!”
At last, the director gave up. Her face beet red, she yelled the words, then grabbed the assistant teacher’s collar and stormed off down the hall.
Hearing her angry voice fade into the distance felt satisfying… but ugh, I really did it now.
I scratched my head.
It looked like I got the upper hand, but that was only because the director was thrown off by the unexpected situation. Who knows—if I tick her off, she might keep me alive but make my life hell.
“Damn it.”
Well, what’s done is done.
I returned to my room. Bell, who was lying on the bed and looked better than earlier, noticed me.
“S-Sol… Are you okay? Did the director…?”
“She glared at me a bit. That’s all.”
“She’ll definitely go after you now…”
“Probably.”
“She’ll start giving you less food on purpose… and pick fights to have an excuse to hit you.”
“She’s obviously that kind of person.”
The classic villain type. Simple but effective at making people suffer.
Bell’s face darkened.
“Then why did you help me?”
“I did it because I could. Back when I was in another care facility… there was something like this, too.”
Sometimes donated food came in without allergen labels. The director would store it in the pantry until it was checked, but sometimes kids snuck in and ate it, and chaos would break out. It was up to the older kids to deal with it.
But Bell didn’t seem to be asking about that.
“Before you even treated me… you begged the director not to force-feed me.”
“…”
“And then you went after her and confronted her, too?”
“Eh, it was nothing.”
“You’re the only one who did that ‘nothing.’”
“…”
“No, in my whole life… you’re the only one.”
You’re reviewing your whole life now?
I almost laughed—but the serious look Bell gave me made my smile vanish.
Wow. This kid has really beautiful eyes. Like a lake in a cave on one of those travel shows. You’ll definitely be popular with girls one day.
I patted his head. Bell scowled.
“Don’t treat me like a kid.”
“You are a kid.”
“I’m probably older than you.”
“I’m more mature.”
“Ugh…”
Bell had no comeback. And I decided to tell a story appropriate for my “maturity.” One of those grown-up “back in my day” tales.
“I told you I used to be in a facility before, right?”
“Yeah.”
“There was this older guy who helped me a lot. His name was Eugene.”
It’s fine to say his name, right?
Then Bell suddenly looked up.
“He was older than me? By how much?”
Why are you asking that?
He was two years older than me, but if I said that, Bell would probably claim he’s older than that just to keep the upper hand. So I dodged.
“Much older than you.”
“…Tch.”
“Anyway, he always took care of me, even when he had his own problems. Bought me snacks too. I once asked him why he did it.”
“What’d he say?”
“He said he wanted to be a truly great person.”
“…What?”
“He said, ‘A lot of people help others when they’re doing fine. But I want to be someone who helps others even when I’m struggling. That way, I’ll be remembered as a great person.’ So I’m trying to learn from that.”
Bell muttered,
“That’s a weird story.”
“Well, you got help from someone weird like me, who got helped by another weirdo. So you’re weird too.”
“…Seriously weird.”
“Oh dear, is that so? Go back to sleep.”
I patted Bell’s head.
Bell murmured something like, “You… You’re like a 20-year-old adult trapped in a kid’s body…” while blinking drowsily. He looked like he’d fall asleep soon.
Actually, there’s something I haven’t told him yet—the real reason Eugene helped me even when he was struggling.
That day I got scammed by factory people and walked 15km home crying. Eugene borrowed a bike and came to get me. Later, I found out he’d skipped job training to come.
‘Why do you help me so much, even when you’re having a hard time?’
‘I’m trying to make it a habit to help people, even when I’m struggling.’
‘Why?’
‘So when you are at your worst, I won’t hesitate or weigh the costs. I’ll just run to help you.’
‘…’
‘Cool, right? Don’t fall for me though—I’m not your type.’
‘Gross!’
We laughed as we walked along the highway.
Behind that laughter, I understood what Eugene meant, and it nearly made me cry.
He wanted to be someone who could help without hesitation in another person’s worst moment.
I guess he wanted to become “family” to someone.
…Though, when I told him I got sued by a convenience store owner, he stopped contacting me. That’s okay. I won’t dream empty dreams anymore.
As I stroked Bell’s hair, I remembered stroking Eugene’s just like this.
“Oppa…”
At some point, my little body leaned forward.
Beyond my sleepy vision, the blue-eyed boy murmured, like he was calling something precious.
“‘Oppa’… huh.”
* * *
That night, I had a dream.
I can’t remember anything except that I was happy.
Was it winning the lottery? A chaebol heir hitting me with his car and paying me 1 billion won? Getting hit by a truck and waking up as a pampered princess?
“…”
But when I opened my eyes, all I saw were kids curled up like pill bugs in their sleep.
I sat up. Through the small window made to block the cold, a snowstorm raged like a beast. The sleeping children coughed softly in unison, like a chorus.
I went around tucking their blankets back in place. Under the thin covers, their skinny bodies were clearly outlined.
My new body was no exception. I looked sharp and gaunt—not at all cute. Maybe that would change if I gained weight.
But with just oatmeal porridge and dry, crumbling bread, fattening up was impossible. The director and her assistant seemed to be eating better than us…
…Should I raid the pantry?
I tiptoed toward the director’s private room.
But before I could even start, I failed. For some reason, they were already up and bustling.
“The Count is coming today?! Why didn’t you tell me sooner!”
“I’m sorry! The letter was under the melon crate… B-But we don’t need to prepare anything! The kids look better dirty anyway!”
“We still need to look like we’re welcoming a guest! Ugh, why’s he coming earlier than usual?!”
“Maybe he suddenly needs a kid for something… oof!”
The director elbowed the assistant. I didn’t need to hear more. I ran back to my room.
I don’t want to be adopted by some shady noble. If looking filthy helps, then I’d better get clean fast!
And I’m not the only one who needs washing. I yanked Bell awake and dragged him to the bathroom. He struggled.
“W-Why are you doing this?!”
“Some count is coming today. You don’t want to be adopted, right? Wash up.”
“Huh…? That’s true, but I never said—”
“You said all nobles are trash.”
“…Oh.”
When I warned the others not to trust nobles and said they might feed us to monsters, Bell had agreed—like he really knew what nobles were like.
Bell didn’t ask more. He just rolled up his sleeves. Unlike the other kids, he had great skin. He wasn’t even that skinny.
Actually, there was something off about him—his hair looked messy, but up close, you could see it had been taken care of recently. He even had an oddly refined air.
Maybe… he was adopted by a noble family and got thrown away?
The faces of abandoned friends came to mind, and I bit my lip hard.
Bell must have misunderstood my expression, because he asked gently,
“Sol. No matter who comes… you won’t get adopted?”
“Eh?”
“You seem like… like you could really find a good family.”
Then, for some reason, he added something strange while glancing at me nervously.
“…One with a really great oppa, even.”
