Chapter 2

I sucked on the formula with all my might and fell into thought.

It really did come true.

I tried moving my body. My fingers and toes twitched.

Then Sister Theresa studied my face from one angle to another. She touched my forehead, and a small smile appeared on her lips.

"I was worried you might have gotten a fever after being out in the cold for so long. Still, you look all right, thank goodness."

Wow.

I had cried myself nearly to death in the freezing snow. Really?

Shouldn't I be collapsed in bed by now?

I wasn't even a grown man anymore, just a newborn baby in everything but name.

I wriggled my fingers. My hands and feet moved just fine.

"My little one, you're very healthy, aren't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you?"

Looks like it, Sister Theresa.

I remembered the second wish I had made.

-Health.

This body was certainly healthy. In the end, that wish had come true too.

Wait, then that leaves the first wish...

What had become of it?

Whatever I was thinking, the bottle was empty before I knew it. Sister Theresa rubbed my back with practiced hands. Soon after, a mighty burp escaped me.

"That's it. Good boy."

Her touch was gentle. I grabbed the collar of her clothes with my tiny hand.

It struck me all over again how grateful I was to her.

Thank you.

When I squeezed and wiggled her sleeve, Sister Theresa laughed. I stared up at her.

"Did you eat well, my little one?"

To feed formula to a child she'd never even met, then rub his back for him. And those loving eyes, too. I was sure of it. She meant every bit of it sincerely.

May blessings be upon you, Sister Theresa.

I looked back at her and smiled brightly.

Kyah-

It was a laugh, the only way I could say thank you. It was the best I could do.

But then.

"Oh my!"

Sister Theresa took my hand in both of hers.

"You're so, so pretty. What am I going to do with you?"

And then it happened. Subtitles appeared in front of my eyes again.

What?

I kicked my legs, trying to shake the subtitles loose. But unlike before, the text didn't disappear.

Instead, new words appeared.

'Use the coin?'

What kind of nonsense was that?

I narrowed my eyes. Then I remembered something suddenly.

My first wish.

-The first wish is to grant wishes on a monumental scale.

That was what it had said.

Could this subtitle be connected to that wish?

Something about it was strange. Still, it somehow made sense.

When in doubt, the best thing is to try it.

But how was I supposed to use it?

I did as the subtitle told me.

"Ppuppu- papapa! Ppuaaa- paaang!"

Use Love & Peace Coin!

I flailed my hands.

How am I supposed to use it? Are you going to hand out money or something?

Just then, Sister Theresa, who had been patting me, let out a groan.

"Oof. My back."

I stopped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flailing. Seeing that, Sister Theresa said gently,

"It's all right, little one. I've only just used my body a bit too much. This is what happens when you get old."

At that moment, a wave of emotion crashed over me.

What a wonderful person.

Her back was hurting, and still she had taken in a baby she found on the street and tried to comfort him.

Someone like that deserves every blessing in the world.

But how?

I looked back at the subtitles.

I thought back to the wish I had made first.

-The first wish is to grant wishes on a monumental scale.

Could it be that everything happens if I just say it?

To test it, I spoke the thing I wanted most.

Heal Sister Theresa's back completely.

Of course, what came out of my mouth was baby babble.

"Ppwaang- aaah!"

The moment I said it, the subtitles changed.

I shouted to proceed immediately.

"Ppapa!"

W-what?

Why is there a price?

Why are you telling me this now!

No, wait, you did say it at the start... but still, you should make that clear!

Suddenly, my back began to throb.

Damn it!

I was familiar with this kind of pain.

This was exactly what it felt like after two days of laboring at a construction site...

My face twisted horribly. As I chewed at my lip to endure the pain, Sister Theresa lightly stroked my cheek.

"Oh dear. Does our little one feel unwell somewhere?"

She asked with concern.

I don't want to worry her...

I teared up and tried my best to hold it in. But from my mouth came a very honest little whine.

"Hiiing."

"Oh?"

Sister Theresa quickly picked me up and patted me. After a little while, I felt better.

Ah, Si-Sister Theresa... a little lower than that...

Just as I was wriggling to indicate the proper spot, she tilted her head.

"Huh? My back doesn't hurt anymore. It was throbbing every time I picked you up."

Well, that's a relief. I don't know what it is, but I think I fixed it.

Well, it only hurts me for ten minutes.

For that brief pain, this kind woman would never have to worry about her back again.

That's a relief.

A grin spread over my face. For the first time in a while, doing a good deed again felt genuinely rewarding.

* * *

Sister Theresa, known as Mother Theresa of the "Sisters of the Good People," tapped her now-light back with her hand. The stiffness that had plagued her felt as though it had been swapped out for a brand-new body.

"How strange... This has never happened before."

In any case, it was a relief. At least for today, she would be able to properly care for the children she had been unable to attend to because of her aching back.

Jeong Theresa gently touched the cheek of the little child she had met for the first time that day. The soft feel of that cheek reached her fingertips.

After placing the soundly sleeping baby in the cradle, she gazed down at him quietly. He was so adorable that a smile slipped out before she could stop it.

The nun whispered softly,

"Welcome to our Moseongwon, little one. From now on, I'll be your mother nun."

The beautiful baby's skin was so soft.

Jeong Theresa looked at the child with tender eyes.

She had raised countless children with her own hands, but never one as beautiful as this baby.

Then the door opened, and another little child toddled in.

It was Noah, who was four years old this year.

"Sister!"

"Yes, Noah."

Jeong Theresa scooped Noah up and showed him the sleeping baby.

"Is the baby okay?"

"Of course! He drank milk and fell asleep just now."

"That's a relief!"

"If our Noah hadn't found him, something terrible might have happened."

"Hehe..."

The nun smiled brightly and kissed Noah's cheek. Noah grinned with delight, but then scratched at his face because the skin there felt itchy.

Noah's atopic dermatitis is still bad.

Looking at the skin that had broken out white ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and raw, the nun let out a small sigh.

She had chosen everything he ate and wore with painstaking care, but in Moseongwon, where many children had to be looked after, it was hard to watch over each one with the attention they deserved.

Jeong Theresa's heart ached at the unavoidable reality of it.

"Mom, this."

Noah kept scratching as he held out a small bag.

But all of the nun's attention was fixed on Noah's face, which he was still scratching at.

"Noah, if you keep scratching, your skin will hurt."

"But... it's itchy."

"What can I do so our Noah won't feel itchy..."

With a helpless sigh, Jeong Theresa rummaged through the bag.

Out came a few shabby items of clothing and a metal name tag.

The nun softly read the name written on the tag.

"Gongza."

The surname had rusted over so completely that it was impossible to make out.

"Gongza?"

At the sound of that, Noah stood on tiptoe and looked over at the baby.

"Is the baby's name Gongza?"

"Yes. Noah. Gongza."

"Heh. He's really cute."

Noah smiled sweetly at the baby. Jeong Theresa smiled too, and patted Noah's head.

"He is. I've never seen such a beautiful baby before."

"Heehee."

"Our Noah should take good care of him."

"Yes!"

If this had been any other child, he might have wanted to pinch Gongza's cheek while he slept, but Noah did not do that.

"Hee..."

Afraid of waking him, he only gazed quietly at Gongza's little hand before gently taking hold of the nun's hand.

"We've got one more child in our family now."

Noah looked around. There were another five or six empty cradles.

"Gongza is younger than me... so I'll make him my little brother!"

The nun laughed and took Noah's hand in hers.

"All right. From now on, Gongza is Noah's little brother."

With the look of someone who had been handed the whole world, Noah whispered to Gongza,

"I'll teach you soccer and feed you milk!"

Jeong Theresa smiled at Noah. Even if they had once been abandoned children, there was no law saying they could not be happy.

She firmly believed that happiness should be given equally to every child.

Jeong Theresa lifted a silent arrow prayer to God with all her heart.

Merciful Lord, please bless these children.

Gongza slept on, utterly unaware of the world. He was so lovely that the nun found herself smiling again.

* * *

Damn it.

Waking from sleep, I sighed and shook my head. I needed to sort my thoughts out.

So I was reborn, and now I'm an orphan.

In any case, it seemed the empty wishes from heaven had come true.

At least I'm healthy, and on top of that, I'm handsome...

I frowned. My past life in the entertainment industry suddenly came to mind.

No matter how handsome I am, if people find out I'm an orphan, it'll be rough at first.

And scammers would swarm all over me, one after another.

No, the real problem is that I'm a newborn baby.

I let out a sigh.

"Ppupu."

A very cute sound came out. I shook my head.

The most important thing is the wish.

Heaven had listened to my wish.

I looked over the clearly visible subtitles in front of me. While I slept, someone must have looked at me, because the coins had gone up.

I stared at the subtitles for a moment.

Let's keep this simple.

If someone became happy because they saw my cute little face, the coins increased. And I could use these coins.

If I use the coins, my wish gets granted.

But along with the wish came a drawback.

Every action comes with a price, was it?

Because of that, I had suffered from back pain for a short while.

I let out another sigh.

"Pprururu!"

Still, the wish had been incredibly effective.

How hard is it to cure a slipped disc, and it got fixed in one shot.

What couldn't I do for a nun who had brought in a complete stranger of a baby and even fed him formula? A price like that was nothing to regret.

Besides, how many wishes did I ask for in heaven?

A snort of laughter escaped me.

"Ppuaaa!"

It had been a monumental scale indeed.

Wow. Not just a unit of ten thousand, but a unit of one hundred million? I'm really greedy, huh.

Come to think of it, that was what had happened then.

I sank into thought.

Causality is adjusted?

Ah. Wait.

Did I end up becoming an orphan because I asked for wishes on a one-hundred-million scale?

That was a very plausible theory. A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

"Ppaaa!"

Hearing the babble coming out of my own mouth, I shook my head.

Wow, that's a scam if I've ever heard one!

To hide something that important, they really were something else.

Still, the wish was powerful.

I smiled a little. Even if I was an orphan, I had a handsome face and a healthy body. That was enough to make a life of it.

And above all else, wishes!

It was a pretty absurd power, but...

I'm the kind of person who uses whatever can be used!

I said it out loud.

I use it!

"Ppuaaaang!"

I gazed lovingly at the subtitles. It was suspicious, sure. But this was a life I'd gone out of my way to be reborn into.

This life, I'm the lead! I'll be in every hit movie there is!

And I had another wish, too.

In this life, I'll go one day looking ugly before I die.

"Ppaaa, ppya! Ppuaang!"

Because from now on, I'll be handsome for the rest of my life.

It was while I was smiling like that that Sister Theresa, whose slipped disc had been cured, walked up to me and laughed when she saw me.

"My, Gongza, why are you flapping your hands like that?"

Huh, was I doing that? Sister Theresa.

But what is Gongza?

She looked at me and smiled brightly.

"Little one. Your name is Gongza."

Excuse me, Sister Theresa. Do you mean the Kongzi from "Confucius said, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mencius said"?

"We haven't settled on a surname yet, but do you see this?"

Sister Theresa shook a scrap of metal in her hand.

"Your name was written here. Someone scratched out the surname on purpose so we can't read it anymore, but..."

Ah.

Gongza.

It was a funny name, but a handsome face could carry anything.

As the face completes the fashion, so too does the face complete the name.

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