Chapter 2: Money and Talent Pour In

                      Chapter 2: Life (1)

During the few days he spent in the hospital, no more quests appeared.

Was that really the end after just one?

Maybe it had truly been an illusion, or perhaps a dream. The 9.56 million won prize money might have simply been an exquisitely timed stroke of luck.

“Or maybe…”

Was there some kind of activation condition?

He’d have to think about that.

For now, the priority was going through the discharge procedures.

Just then, his family came in.

Father, mother, and even his younger brother and sister, who looked like they’d been dragged along. Still, the moment their eyes met, they wiped away any trace of annoyance and sent glances laced with unmistakable worry, even if their tones were gruff.

“Be more careful from now on, you idiot!”

At Ryu Hyun-ah’s words, their mother smacked her on the back.

“Calling your oppa an idiot?!”

“Ow!”

“I hit you because it hurts!”

“You always only do it to me…!”

It was a very harmonious family.

Truly.

They bickered, but they all knew deep down how much affection they held for one another. Ryu Seong let out a small chuckle—then his eyes met his father’s, who was wearing an expression that said he couldn’t do anything with these kids.

“Ahem. The hospital bill was fully covered by the other party, so we just need to prepare for discharge.”

“I’m sorry, Dad.”

“Sorry for what? You’re not hurt—that’s what matters.”

“I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“Good. Get ready and let’s go home.”

“Yes, sir.”

He packed his few simple belongings into the carrier and left the hospital. His younger brother, Ryu Hwan, came over and snatched the carrier from him.

“Give it here.”

“Oh wow.”

“Hey, what!”

The kid was acting all embarrassed.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

Ryu Hwan walked ahead quickly, looking shy. Their parents watched with pleased expressions, and Ryu Seong followed behind with a small smile. They soon reached the elevator and went down to the first floor.

So many people.

He passed through the crowded corridor full of patients and their guardians and stepped out into the outside world.

“Phew, the air’s nice.”

He could have come out for fresh air anytime, but the sense of liberation that came with the word “discharge” was almost comparable to being discharged from the military. Okay, maybe comparing it to military discharge was a bit much. Anyway, the important thing was that he was finally going home.

*

The house, reached twenty minutes later, was—as expected—comforting.

“Ughhh, home is the best.”

“You just got discharged today, so put job hunting on hold for a while and just rest properly. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am! Understood!”

Nodding at his mother’s words, Ryu Seong entered his room, flopped onto the bed, and stared up at the ceiling. The joy of being home lasted only a moment. That bizarre quest he experienced in the hospital refused to leave his mind.

Card open!

Even when he thought it with strong intent, there was no response at all.

Quest! Status window!

At this point, he even felt pathetic for shouting it inside his own head.

Still—just in case.

Preparing for the one-in-a-million chance, he even said it out loud.

“Card open! Quest! Status window!”

Silence.

“Ha, damn it. So embarrassing.”

Apparently that wasn’t the way.

He’d have to think of something else.

If the quest really existed, there had to be a way to trigger it again.

However.

Even after quite a bit of time passed, nothing he hoped for appeared.

*

He ended up being busier than expected.

Quest? What quest.

He focused entirely on figuring out how to receive another one—trying this and that—but nothing worked. Honestly, he didn’t even know what he was supposed to do. Still, he didn’t give up and kept experimenting with different approaches, yet in the end, no quest showed itself.

Even the anticipation faded.

“Tch.”

Not long ago, he had started preparing for job hunting again.

He researched companies, looked into hiring periods, and even submitted applications to a few places. Of course, so far, none had passed.

“This is tough, seriously.”

Just then, a message came from Lee Shin-woo, so to relieve some stress, he left the house.

“I’m heading out!”

“Be careful on the road!”

His mother came out to see him off.

“Of course. I’m never getting into an accident again.”

“Right. You remember we’re all going to the outlet tomorrow, don’t you? Don’t come back too late.”

“Yessir!”

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the setting sun.

Wow.

The way the red glow tightly embraced the clouds always captured his gaze.

The weather’s really nice today.

He walked along, keeping the scenery as company, for about ten minutes. In the distance, Lee Shin-woo’s chicken shop came into view. As his destination drew closer, the narrow alleyway beside the building naturally caught his eye.

Meow…

A cat’s cry came from there.

“Hm?”

The moment he absentmindedly looked toward the alley, he saw a kitten and what appeared to be its dead mother. The instant their eyes met, an indescribable emotion surged up.

Pity, sorrow, compassion, and so on.

And at that moment—

A familiar sound struck his mind like lightning.

[Ding!]

He was so startled he froze in place. A semi-transparent window and text appeared before his eyes.

[Quest Activated!]

[Console the Departed Life.]

[A young kitten within a 10-meter radius is unable to leave its dead mother’s side. It has been starving for several days and hasn’t even had a sip of water. Hurry and save the dying life.]

[Remaining time: 120 minutes]

[Success Reward: Random Card, Good Deed Points.]

[Quest Failure Penalty: You will catch a cold.]

The quest he had been waiting for so desperately.

This was the second one.

There was no longer any need to dismiss it as an illusion or a dream.

This was real.

He had kept doubting it, but the overwhelming sense of reality right now wasn’t something he could simply ignore even if he wanted to. Of course, the fact that a life had ended and another tiny life was now in danger didn’t sit well with him at all.

But on the other hand…

It almost felt like this quest was giving a push to his hesitant back.

“If it hadn’t been a quest…”

He probably would have hesitated for a long time and just walked past.

No—he definitely would have.

Step.

There was no more hesitation in his footsteps. He strode straight into the alley without pause. Once inside the narrow path, he moved as quietly as possible to avoid startling the kitten.

Meoooow…

The weak, flickering cry—like a dying flame—heightened his tension.

I’m not too late, right?

A little farther in, he saw the mother cat’s body lying in the corner and the kitten crouched beside it, guarding her.

“Damn…”

It looked worse than he thought.

Did it not even have the strength to run away?

The kitten didn’t try to avoid Ryu Seong’s approaching hand. The mother’s corpse bothered him, but right now the living kitten had priority.

“I’ll come back for her later, okay?”

It let out a quiet cry, as if it understood.

Meow…

He carefully scooped it up and hurriedly pushed the chicken shop door open with his shoulder.

“Hey! I’m heading to the animal hospital first!”

“Huh? What are you—”

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and rushed toward the nearest animal hospital. Fortunately, there were no waiting customers, so he was seen right away.

The examination began.

Time passed slowly, weighed down by worry.

“Guardian, please come in.”

“Ah, yes!”

“The tests are finished.”

“How is it?”

“No major issues like heartworm or herpesvirus, thankfully.”

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

“Right now, it’s just severely malnourished and lacking energy. Since it’s been starving for a while, you can’t feed it too much too quickly. For now, give it small amounts of an electrolyte drink to help it regain strength first. Once it has a bit more energy, you can start with kitten formula milk. It’s still very young, so it gets cold easily—make sure to keep the room temperature warm. Even though it’s spring, it’s best to turn on the boiler to keep things cozy. Also…”

The vet continued with additional instructions and advice.

The vet’s soft voice, calm expression, and firm yet reassuring tone filled him with complete trust. Ryu Seong kept nodding earnestly.

“Ah, thank you so much.”

“No need. By the way… it looks like a stray cat.”

The veterinarian asked with concern. Ryu Seong had been so focused on the kitten that he hadn’t really noticed before, but now he saw she was quite beautiful. It wasn’t particularly important, though, so he turned his attention back to the kitten.

“Yes. Its mother was already dead beside it.”

“Ah, I see. May I ask what you plan to do from here?”

He had ended up bringing the kitten without much thought, but there was no way he could just release it back onto the street now. If he had simply ignored it and walked past, maybe. But once he acted, his personality wouldn’t let him leave things half-finished.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Reaching out once is incredibly difficult—but strangely, once you do, the hesitation vanishes.

“I see. It would be nice if you could drop by occasionally.”

“Yes.”

“And for the mother cat’s body, if possible, bring it in, or just contact the district office—they’ll handle it properly. You can get the rest of the details at the front desk.”

“Thank you.”

After saying goodbye, paying for the various tests and treatments, he left the hospital.

[Quest Cleared!]

[The amount exceeds the standard threshold. Upper limit applied—additional bonus granted.]

[Settling…]

[Settlement complete.]

[Acquired Lowest-Grade Random Card.]

[Acquired 4 Good Deed Points.]

[Good Deed Points have reached 5 → Point Shop is now open.]

[To open the shop, simply think of the shop.]

He paused mid-step at the floating text.

Point Shop?

A virtual shop filled with various items appeared like a hologram right in front of him. He couldn’t very well stand there blocking the hospital entrance examining a floating store, so he mentally pressed the “Close” button at the bottom center. Everything vanished, and his vision returned to normal.

Meowww.

Suddenly, the kitten in his arms licked the back of his hand. Feeling the rough yet comforting texture, he put more strength into his steps.

“Yeah, let’s go home first.”

On the way back, he spotted a pet supply store.

Hmm.

Looked like he’d need to buy a few things after all. He stopped in immediately, asked the staff what was necessary for a newborn kitten, and purchased everything that seemed essential.

“I’ll pay for all of this.”

“Sure, just a moment.”

A considerable amount of money was spent.

Now that he’d actually bought supplies, a bit of worry crept in.

“I really went all out…”

Will this be okay?

He had no idea how his family would react. Still—he’d face it head-on. Before long, he arrived in front of the house and reached for the door.

Beep. Beep-beep.

He punched in the code and flung open the fortress-like front door.

“I’m home.”

His mother, who had been watching TV in the living room, walked over to the entrance.

“Why are you back so early?”

Her gaze landed on the kitten cradled in his arms.

“Hm? Where’d the cat come from?”

“Uh… it was crying next to its dead mother. It looked like it hadn’t eaten at all—on the verge of collapsing—so I took it straight to the animal hospital. The check-up went fine, but I couldn’t just leave it on the street again.”

“I see.”

“Yeah… I want to keep it at home…”

At that, his mother made a briefly thoughtful expression.

“Sigh… alright. You did a good thing—I can’t really scold you for it.”

Fortunately, the reaction wasn’t bad.

“Can I keep it?”

“What can I do? You already brought it home.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Honestly, the house has felt a little empty lately. This might be good timing.”

“Huh? Our house feels empty?”

“Your dad’s always late because of the company. Hyun-ah and Hwan are university students now—they’re busy hanging out with friends. And you were in the hospital after getting hurt. Sure, you’re resting now, but once you get a job you’ll be just as busy.”

“Ah…”

Hearing it laid out like that, he felt genuinely sorry.

“Eyy, maybe I should take it slow with the job hunt—for Mom’s sake.”

“Oh please. Like you could actually do that with your personality.”

“Hehe. Who knows? Maybe I really could.”

Half joke, half serious.

Because a quest had suddenly appeared.

And because of the rewards it gave, his life was definitely going to change.

Smack!

Right then, a sudden back-smack flew at him.

Previous*TOC*Next