chapter_0397

Chapter 395: Underprivileged Neighbors

Gaeul hadn’t returned from getting water.

Just as I was about to track her through pheromones-

“Aaaaaang!”

Gaeul’s alarm sounded from the edge of the park.

It was an alarm to call someone in emergencies.

“Gaeul…?”

I rushed toward where Gaeul was.

There I found her grabbing a woman’s ankle.

“Give back!”

Gaeul held the woman’s ankle with one hand while spreading five fingers with the other.

Her palm seemed to have some meaning.

“Gaeul, what’s wrong?”

“Shuin! Give back! Give back!”

The repeated “give back” and five fingers.

I could easily interpret the meaning.

“Five 100 won coins?”

“Nyung…!”

Could the woman have taken her 500 won?

Just as I started feeling wary-

The woman frantically waved her hands.

“Th-that’s, there was 500 won in the vending machine so…”

“Ah…”

Had Gaeul put 500 won in the machine to buy a drink?

Nothing cost 500 won, and not knowing how to get it back, she must have stood there blankly.

Meanwhile the woman bought a drink, which explained why Gaeul was acting this way.

“Ah…! The, Gaeul’s money should still be in the machine?”

“Heuk…?”

The woman pointed to the coin return slot.

It was a small slot where coins dropped out.

“See this? This is where you get money back.”

“Really?”

Gaeul put her eyes up to the coin return slot.

While she examined inside and stuck two fingers in, the woman put money in the machine.

“Keep watching, money should come out now?”

She put in 2000 won and selected a 1500 won drink.

A 500 won coin dropped into the return slot.

“…!”

Gaeul pulled out the large 500 won coin.

Even now with good income, seeing a 500 won coin felt nice.

I patted Gaeul’s head as she held the coin.

“Wow, Gaeul got her money back?”

“No.”

“No…?”

“Give back!”

Gaeul shouted “100 won” and spread five fingers.

She seemed to want five 100 won coins instead of one 500 won coin.

“Gaeul, this is the same as five 100 won coins put together.”

“Heuk…?”

Could Gaeul not calculate money yet?

Tilting her head, she came to me and opened her bag zipper.

From the coin pouch in her small bag she always carried-

Gaeul took out five 100 won coins.

“Give back.”

“Yeah. 100 won.”

Crouching down, Gaeul lined up the five 100 won coins.

Making 100,100,100,100,100 won.

“Back back back back back.”

“Gaeul, if you put 100 won coins together like this it becomes trillions?”

“Nyung! Trillion…!”

Gaeul held out her palm to the woman.

To inflate 500 won into trillions.

Gaeul was scary in her innocence.

“What…?”

The woman showed her bewilderment.

I was also stunned and could only stand there blankly.

**

Though Gaeul had inflated 500 won to trillions, the woman didn’t get angry.

She just gently taught Gaeul how to count money.

“Now, how much is it all together?”

“Three back!”

Gaeul held up three fingers toward the woman.

We applauded as Gaeul got the right answer.

“Shuin!”

Gaeul giggled at the clapping.

She was happy about learning something.

“So she’s learned up to 900 won now?”

“Yes. But 1000 won seems still difficult.”

“1000 won is much harder since the unit changes. Let’s stick with up to 900 won for now.”

“Okay.”

The woman who taught Gaeul numbers waved goodbye and left.

Watching her back, I belatedly realized.

She was the woman who once gave Levinas fake bills to buy carrots.

Was it a million won, or hundred million?

Anyway I remembered she gave a large bill and 1000 won.

As I stared at the woman’s retreating back, Levinas and Saebyeok came running from the opposite direction.

“King, Gaeul puppy what are you doing here?”

“We were learning numbers.”

“Numbers?”

“Yeah. And how to use the vending machine too?”

“Vending machine too?!”

Instead of answering, I glanced at Gaeul.

She put two 100 won coins in the machine.

“Ahem.”

Puffing out her chest, Gaeul pressed the return button.

Two coins dropped into the return slot.

“Wow! It gives money back!”

“Yeah. Amazing, right?”

“Yeah!”

Finding it fun that the machine returned money, Gaeul kept inserting and returning coins.

We chatted while watching her.

“King, should we play outside later?”

“Yeah. Want to?”

“Heuk! Then over there…!”

**

Seo Min-jae was an ordinary college student.

Though he made money through scams, he firmly believed he was a normal person.

“Collecting donations for the less fortunate.”

There were no less fortunate people really.

All the donations would go into his own pocket.

Well, maybe it wasn’t entirely false since he was less fortunate himself?

Even if he got money, it was just a few 1000 won bills.

In a world where companies scam billions, this was nothing.

Without much guilt, Min-jae collected donations by exploiting people’s good hearts.

Today’s earnings were quite good.

As he thought this, a beast-kin girl approached him.

“You can’t leave money like that!”

Sharp horns and long rabbit ears.

Levinas, a horned rabbit beast-kin, pointed at the donation box.

“U-um…?”

“Money is precious, you can’t leave it like this! It might blow away in the wind!”

“Ah… well, this is a donation box…”

“Donation box?! What’s that?!”

“It’s for collecting money for the less fortunate.”

Less fortunate and donations.

All words Levinas didn’t know.

“L-less for… what’s less fortunate…?”

“Um… it’s when everyone puts money together to give to people having a hard time.”

“Heuk! They’re having a very hard time?”

“Yeah… really hard… can’t even buy the latest phone…”

Sniff sniff.

Min-jae made an exaggerated sad face.

It was self-pity, but Levinas looked startled.

“W-wow…”

How hard must it be to need money collected like this?

Levinas quickly took out her wallet.

Her old coin purse was full of coins.

She took out five 500 won coins.

“Levinas earned lots of money recently! Sold ten whole shaking mushrooms!”

“R-really?”

“Yeah!”

After putting money in the box, Levinas looked around.

She wanted to say something nice to struggling people, but saw no one who looked troubled.

So she just spoke to Min-jae who was collecting donations.

“Hang in there! Levinas used to have a really hard time too, but living on it’s not hard at all anymore!”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah! Now no one scolds me even if I don’t work!”

“…Huh?”

Min-jae usually paid no attention to beast-kin children.

So this new information surprised him.

‘They made kids work?’

What complete bastards.

The scammer Min-jae cursed internally.

“Everyone has hard times! Right now you might sleep on the ground, or get hit by adults! But if you endure, good days will come! That’s how it was for Levinas!”

“What…?”

“…Could you tell that to the less fortunate?”

Levinas looked up at Min-jae with a bright smile.

Min-jae could only keep his mouth shut for a while.

“…How about we go tell them directly?”

“Directly?! Is that okay?!”

“…Yeah.”

“Heuk! Great!”

Levinas brought her family members who were walking nearby.

Hearing about helping troubled people, respect showed in the children’s eyes.

‘Oh no.’

Guilt he’d never felt doing this stabbed at his chest.

He couldn’t lift his face from shame.

Haah.

Sighing deeply, Min-jae checked his phone for nearby facilities.

There was an orphanage nearby.

“…There’s an orphanage not far from here?”

“What’s an orphanage?”

“Um… it’s a place for children without parents or guardians.”

The children fell silent at Min-jae’s explanation.

Puzzled by the long silence, he saw Gyeoul give an awkward laugh.

“Actually, we don’t have parents either.”

“Oh…”

“But we have guardians. They’re as precious as family.”

I see.

Scratching his cheek, Min-jae walked with the children toward the orphanage.

Their conversation along the way stabbed at his chest.

“King, are there bad snakes at the orphanage?”

“Hmm… probably not?”

“Then you don’t get scolded for not working?”

“Yeah. You don’t have to work at orphanages.”

“Huh? Even without parents…?”

No, what kind of conversation is this for kids to have.

Min-jae felt deeply uncomfortable.

“……”

He looked down at the donation box, then glanced at the children.

After repeating this several times, they soon arrived at the orphanage.

“Less fortunate…?”

Levinas tilted her head looking up at the orphanage.

Hearing it was for children without parents, she’d imagined worn tents or shanties.

But the building was nice and clean, with cheerful children playing in the yard.

Boing-

So different from the hardship she’d imagined, Levinas could only stare blankly.