Chapter 16
Chapter 16
When did it start?
When I began to not be able to sleep soundly through the night. Probably around the time when even being at home felt like I was walking on eggshells, when it became something uncomfortable.
Since then, even during the time I was earning a lot of money working as a host, there wasn't a single time I slept so deeply that I didn't want to sleep more.
Whether I slept alone, or sleeping while holding the naked body of a beauty like Seonwoo Ye-rang next to me, it was always the same.
Rather, lying down next to a client was anything but comfortable—I had to be half on edge. Because the client was the queen, and the host was nothing but a slave.
Even while sleeping, if she demanded something, I'd have to jump up and do it, so it was only natural.
"......"
But today, for the first time in years, I was able to sleep so comfortably that I could proudly say I "slept soundly." I slept so refreshingly that even though my eyes opened around 4:30 AM, I didn't feel the slightest desire to sleep more.
My mind and body were so clear that I felt like I could jump up right now and sprint 100 meters at full speed.
What was the reason for that?
Whether it was thanks to the blessing that suddenly came to me, or thanks to the tiny little girl clinging to my chest like a baby koala holding onto its mother koala, I couldn't say for sure.
"No."
I muttered quietly while looking at Miho, who seemed like she'd crumble at the slightest touch.
"......Maybe this kid is a blessing too."
Anyway, what now?
[Current Time]
[AM 4:34]
I woke up way too early, didn't I?
"We don't have any food. Should I go check out the market?"
I had planned to live on my own even before graduating high school, and after graduation I immediately ran away from home. Since I'd even learned cooking to satisfy women while working as a host, there was nothing particularly difficult about it.
I was good enough to even have a cooking certification.
Even so, the reason I didn't usually cook for myself was, how should I put it... eating food I made myself, alone, got boring pretty quickly.
It's not quite the same as buying it, I guess?
Conversely, seeing someone's face light up with joy at food I made was a bit more comforting.
"Ah, come to think of it, money......"
......I'm a beggar right now, aren't I?
All I have left is my foreign car.
"I must've been crazy."
I should've squeezed out a ton of tips when I was hanging out with Seonwoo Ye-rang so enthusiastically yesterday. If not that, I should've just taken the 100 million won.
Why did I do that?
With my head full of thoughts about going back home, I didn't bother to tease Seonwoo Ye-rang to coax out tips or anything like that in between.
"Hoo, well, I'll definitely earn money starting this month... I can probably manage by swiping my credit card."
Just as I muttered that and tried to get up—
「Kkukkit!」
I saw a tiny, adorable hand gripping my clothes so tightly they wrinkled. The five fingers were desperately clutching my collar, trembling.
"......Da, mommy... Daddy, mommy......"
"......"
I used to think that pitying a pitiful child was sometimes nothing but deception or self-satisfaction...
But maybe that's not the case.
Pitiful is just pitiful. I doubt even God knew I'd end up feeling this way.
"What kind of dream are you having, that you're even crying like that. You stupid glutton. I thought fools don't dream."
"......"
Gently, I wiped away the tears falling from Miho's eyes and stroked her head.
At that, Miho continued sleeping with a somewhat more peaceful expression.
"I can't get up."
I had a gut feeling that if I moved even a little, she'd open her eyes.
I let out a small sigh and had no choice but to keep gently stroking the back of her head, careful not to wake her.
"So small, too small."
Her head was the size of my palm.
Soft and tiny.
Children were fragile, like they'd break if you touched them just slightly wrong, and it wasn't for nothing that children need the protection of parents or adults.
"Hoo, good parents. Good adults..."
Those words felt way too mismatched with me.
"......It's hard, so hard."
I want a cigarette.
My mouth felt empty, and I wanted to put a cigarette in it, but remembering how this kid had coughed painfully from the smoke in front of me yesterday, I couldn't do that either.
"Hyunu..."
Come to think of it, I was calling this kid by name too, without any honorifics.
And Miho called me Hyunu as well.
"......"
Someday, if I keep living together with Miho like this until she grows up, will she call me Dad?
And will the day come when I call her my daughter?
「Pfft!」
What the hell am I rambling about, completely drunk on early morning sentiment? Miho and I were just a business relationship, holding hands for each other's benefit.
To cure my erectile dysfunction, I needed this "blessing," and Miho needed me as a human to protect her until she became an adult.
「Everyone is puzzled as to why the Chosen of Fate picked you, but the result has never been wrong.」
Right.
Why did it entrust a pitiful child like this to a bastard like me? There are far better people in this world than me, scattered everywhere.
"There are probably people you'd trip over who would take care of you much more warmly and devotedly than a bastard like me."
Because she was that pretty of a kid.
"Let's just quietly watch Nutube, since it's come to this."
Carefully picking up my phone with movements that felt like my arm joints might snap, I saw an unexpected notification.
[Seonwoo Ye-rang has sent you 10,000,000 won.]
"......"
A tip of 10 million won... and to a host who just left her behind and walked away, via bank transfer—what kind of woman does that?
Of course, I know 10 million won is small money to Seonwoo Ye-rang.
Still...
"A text?"
Come to think of it, there was also a text from Seonwoo Ye-rang.
[You, who always seemed to see women as nothing but money, gave me chills when you refused 100 million won.
But you know what? That made it even better. I'll leave it to you next time too. Still, since you worked as a host, you should at least take your service fee, right?]
"Ha...!"
Before I knew it, a laugh escaped me.
It wasn't that I was mocking Seonwoo Ye-rang's actions.
On the contrary, I was grateful.
It was amazing.
"Ha, seriously..."
No matter how well I performed, no matter how satisfied I made a woman, I had never received this kind of text even once.
"What is this, really?"
Host and client.
There was an unspoken atmosphere between the two. The women knew that hosts saw them as cash cows, and the hosts knew that the women wanted to use money to treat them however they pleased.
Just the relationship between host and client.
We all unconsciously recognized that and always drew the appropriate line. And Seonwoo Ye-rang was one of the women who knew that line better than anyone.
But that woman sent me a text like this.
"So, it was even better..."
......If Miho hadn't been there, would I have been able to earn this much goodwill from Seonwoo Ye-rang? Would I have played along with the game that desperately just to get back home?
Could I have coolly turned my back without caring about money or anything?
"See, maybe you're a blessing too."
I gently stroked the head of Miho, who was fast asleep.
Even though she had a fairly relaxed expression, the strength in her hand still gripping my collar hadn't changed, and I couldn't help but smile like an idiot.
Having someone rely on me this much... it didn't feel bad.
「Buseusseu.」
「Kkeumppeok, kkeumppeok.」
Miho opened her eyes around the time my hand was starting to go numb from the strain.
To be exact, it was 8 AM.
Just as I was thinking I might as well close my eyes again since she'd been sleeping so long, she rubbed her eyes with that characteristic childish motion and blinked her big round eyes.
"Did you sleep well, you glutton pig."
"Hunyaam, I slep well for da firs time in a while. Hyunu, Hyunu!"
"Uh?"
As I got up and hung the coat I'd been using as a blanket on the hanger, Miho tugged at my sleeve.
Surely she's not saying she can't go to the bathroom alone?
I taught her yesterday.
No matter how much of a fool she is, that's a bit...
"My tummy's rumbwing! Chicgin! Gib me chicgin."
"......Give me back the feelings I had this morning, you pig."
What the hell is inside this kid's head? Is it nothing but eat, shit, and sleep?
"......"
It was even more creepy to think that the thought I had a little while ago might not be just a passing worry.
If I opened up that kid's head, maybe there'd be a brain the size of a puzzle piece inside.
"Hey."
"Uh!"
Maybe because she ate well and slept soundly.
Miho definitely seemed more energetic than yesterday. Well, they do say that simple people have the most energy.
"Do you know how to count numbers?"
It was a question I'd wanted to ask ever since I heard she had counted way past ten yesterday.
"Uh! Miho's not that dumb."
"Try it."
"One, twoo, threee..."
"Oh."
Just as I was about to let out a small admiration, I had to squeeze my eyes shut at what came next.
"Four, five, six, seben, eight, nine, ten! And one more."
"......"
Her mathematical knowledge stops at ten?
Or is that normal for her age? Didn't she say she was 140 years old? Is she even human in the first place?
I stared blankly at Miho's ears.
No matter how I looked at them, they were noticeably long.
[What? I never once told you the children were human. Do you really think I'd bless you just to entrust you with a human?]
[Miho is an elf.]
"Oh, an elf."
You're a legend too for only telling me that now.
「Umjjeol!」
The moment I uttered the word "elf," Miho's body stiffened. And the atmosphere seemed to shift to a slightly guarded one, so I quickly changed the subject.
Because the thing I developed the most while working as a host was being able to read the room.
"We've got a lot to do today. Buy clothes, buy toothpaste, buy some food. Well, since we're going out anyway, it wouldn't be bad to wander around a bit. Oh, right. I need to buy a phone too. Lots to do. Hey, in times like this, you write it down in a memo pad. Got it?"
"Memo...pad?"
"Yeah, there's such a thing. As you get smarter than you are now, you'll naturally find out."
"Miho, genius?"
"No, idiot."
"Ugyaaak!"
I lightly caught Miho's fist as she tried to land another nut-punch on me and said,
"If you're up, go take care of your business first, then brush your teeth."
「Umjjeol!」
Miho stiffened again.
The difference from earlier was—
"Oh, ohh... I, I got it!"
She carefully went into the bathroom alone, then glanced at me as she closed the door.
"Don't peek. Okay?"
"Okay."
I nodded confidently, then boldly swung the door open one minute later.
Inside was Miho, standing there after taking care of business, roughly scrubbing her teeth with a toothbrush that didn't even have toothpaste on it.
"Eek! Liar!"
"You're not brushing your teeth properly either!"
"Miho's fine!"
"I'm fine too! Anyway, right now I'm your guardian! A little kid like you trying to be clever already?"
...I thought I was the one who gave my parents a hard time when I was young.
But I felt like this kid might be even worse than me.
「Jjuuuuuuk!」
I deliberately squeezed out a huge glob of mint toothpaste and slowly approached Miho.
"S-stop it!"
"All of this is for your own good!"
"......Kyaaaaaaang!"
And so, after a full-fledged war in the morning over brushing teeth, I decided that since we'd started, we might as well finish everything from washing faces to washing hair.
"Take it off, kid."
"Uheee, too much toothbrushing... Miho's hungry."
Even amidst this, seeing Miho whining that she was hungry, I said,
I do wonder how a whole chicken fit into that tiny stomach of hers yesterday.
"After we wash up and get dressed, we'll go eat right away."
At that moment, Miho threw off the T-shirt of mine she was wearing with lightning speed.
"Good!"
"......"
I already had a gut feeling that today wasn't going to go by easily.