Chapter 28:Money and Talent Pour In

   Chapter 28: Determination (1)

I came to my senses and answered right away.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll do it.”

“It’s written all over your face—you’re thinking it’s way too big.”

“Ah, haha…”

“You don’t have to worry too much. More volunteers will be coming, so you’ll only be in charge of one section.”

“Oh right, that’s true. Whew, what a relief.”

In truth, I had been a little worried because the playground was so large. I had momentarily forgotten that other volunteers would be joining. Reminded of that fact, I headed over to the assigned section.

“You just need to clean up this area and play with the dogs at the same time.”

“Got it.”

I continued with the light cleaning and playing with the dogs. Before long, the other volunteers arrived.

“Hello!”

“Oh my, welcome back. You’re here again.”

“Of course!”

“Alright, let’s start from over here…”

They each took charge of their sections and began tidying up the playground neatly. They cut overgrown weeds, cleaned up the dogs’ poop, and removed any dangerous-looking debris.

While doing various other volunteer tasks, I never stopped carefully observing the dogs. I checked suspicious areas and did my best to look around thoroughly, but…

“This place is really…”

It truly seemed like paradise for the abandoned dogs.

*

The moment I finished the volunteer work and expressed my intention to donate:

[An identical quest already exists.]

[The quest has been shared.]

[The animal shelter ‘Sky Earth Star Earth’ is like heaven for abandoned dogs. Deciding to sponsor this shelter was an excellent choice.]

The regular sponsorship quest has been shared.

Not bad, right?

If I ended up sponsoring multiple places and the quests kept merging, the total donation amount I’d have to give would grow larger, but the rewards would increase proportionally as well.

If I knew the upper limit, I could adjust my donations accordingly, but I decided not to do that. I wanted to donate whatever amount felt right from the heart.

“You said you wanted to sponsor us?”

“Yes. On a regular basis.”

“Oh my, we’re truly grateful.”

“After seeing them today, the dogs really looked so happy. It won’t be a huge amount, but I hope it helps even a little.”

“Of course, it will help a lot.”

“Then, for now…”

I decided to send the donation right away.

It was 2 million won here as well.

When I transferred the money into their account, the couple who ran the shelter widened their eyes in surprise.

“That’s quite a large amount.”

“It’s fine.”

“Oh dear, from next time, you really don’t have to give this much.”

“The amount may vary each month, but I’ll make sure to donate consistently every month.”

“Thank you so much.”

“I should be the one thanking you.”

[The quest ‘Now is the Age of Companion Animals’ has been updated.]

[Sponsorship Goal: 2/3]

[The linked quest ‘Welcome, Is This Your First Regular Donation?’ has been updated.]

[Regular Sponsorship Amount: 4 million won]

The weather was hot and I sweated a lot, but it was an incredibly fulfilling time. Even though I had moved around energetically, I didn’t feel much physical strain.

It must have been the effect of the stamina potion.

It was a reward I would continue to feel grateful for in the long run.

“Well then, I’ll be going. Take care.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work! We really appreciate the sponsorship!”

After saying goodbye, I headed down the path.

Woof woof! Bark bark! Arf arf!

From the playground visible beyond the fence, the dogs came running over, barking vigorously. Every one of them was wagging their tails—it felt like they were giving me a farewell greeting as I left.

“They’re completely different from when I arrived.”

Were they really seeing me off?

“Take care, everyone. I’ll come see you again next time.”

I left the animal shelter while receiving their warm send-off.

*

It seemed the volunteer work had been quite tiring.

I spent the whole day lazing around.

It was a lazy day with no walk and no studying for the first time in a while.

Occasionally, a day like this is nice too.

I couldn’t live every day at full speed, after all.

“Hmm, and…”

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Would you like me to continue translating the next part if there's more text?

To further increase the effect of the stamina potion, it seemed like I needed to exercise. This was also necessary for the more active future that lay ahead.

I should do it properly.

First, let me finish up what I was doing.

I checked the message I had received from the veterinarian earlier. Excluding the ‘Sky Earth Star Earth’ shelter that I had already sponsored, three people remained.

I contacted them one by one.

(Hello?)

“Hello. I’m the person who received your contact information from the veterinarian the other day.”

(Ah, are you the one who wants to sponsor?)

“Yes, that’s right.”

(Oh my, nice to meet you.)

“Yes. Sorry for contacting you a bit late. As I mentioned, I’d like to provide sponsorship. Would that be okay?”

(Of course, I’d be truly grateful.)

“Then, would it be possible to meet in person?”

(Certainly.)

“So…”

To accurately assess the situation, I met each person one by one and observed how they were caring for the abandoned dogs and cats. Every single one of them looked like they were struggling, and each time I decided to sponsor, the linked quest reacted and revealed hidden information.

[This individual is raising abandoned cats, but is using them as an excuse to receive various benefits from the county office, including YouTuber sponsorships. They are receiving abandoned cat adoption support fees and neutering surgery subsidies. However, the actual nutritional and health conditions of the cats are very poor.]

There was even one person who made my blood boil with anger.

Fucking bastard.

From the system’s message, it appeared that even though they had received neutering surgery subsidies, they hadn’t actually performed the surgeries. Burning with rage, I left without saying another word and immediately called the county office.

“Yes, this is the county office, correct? I have an inquiry. Yes, the address is… Yes, that’s the place. I heard the county office has been providing various conveniences and support funds.”

(Ah, yes. That’s correct. That place is supposed to be caring for abandoned cats.)

“Really? Because from what I saw, it doesn’t seem that way.”

(Pardon? What do you mean…?)

“I went there to sponsor them, but the condition of the animals was terrible. Most of the cats hadn’t even been neutered. It looks like you provided the neutering subsidies without properly checking. Is this acceptable?”

(Well, that can’t be…)

Seeing them try to make excuses, my voice grew even colder.

“No matter how indifferent you are, shouldn’t you at least properly check their nutritional status and health? That’s not what taxes are supposed to be used for.”

The moment the word “taxes” came out, the person on the phone seemed to realize the severity of the situation and began apologizing.

(First of all, I’m truly sorry. It appears there was some kind of problem. We will immediately conduct a proper investigation!)

“Please make sure you do.”

(Yes, understood!)

Fortunately, the remaining two people were genuinely caring for the abandoned dogs and cats with sincere hearts.

“I’ll sponsor 1 million won per month on a regular basis.”

“Th-thank you so much, really.”

1 million won per person.

Since there were two people, that added another 2 million won.

[The quest ‘Now is the Age of Companion Animals’ has been updated.]

[Sponsorship Goal: 4/3]

[Overachieving.]

[The linked quest ‘Welcome, Is This Your First Regular Donation?’ has been updated.]

[Regular Sponsorship Amount: 6 million won]

The quest had been overachieved for now.

There were 6 days left.

It seemed the reward would arrive once the period was fully over.

“Whew, that feels clean.”

If possible, I planned to steadily increase my regular donations going forward. Since the system was practically feeding me these opportunities, there was no reason not to take them.

Ryu Seong could earn good deed points through quests and use those points to obtain confirmed information on stocks or coins. Therefore, if he could gain even one more point, it was worth spending the money.

“Because I can just earn more.”

It was a virtuous cycle that made it possible.

*

DaeGuk High School, Ryu Seong’s alma mater.

Ding ding ding.

All classes had ended, and the homeroom teacher entered the classroom.

“Alright, everyone pay attention.”

Soon after, the teacher distributed one sheet of paper to each student.

“Pass them to the back.”

“Yes!”

Yoon Ga-hee, who was sitting around the middle, received the document and passed the rest backward before scanning its contents.

[School Field Trip Notice]

[Hello. We hope you are staying healthy as summer approaches. We would like to provide information regarding this year’s 2nd-year school field trip…]

From the very first sentence, her brows furrowed. Without even looking at the dates or location, her eyes stopped at the section listing the amount each individual was responsible for.

4. Individual Contribution: 238,000 won

She couldn’t read any further.

238,000 won.

The notice clearly mentioned the portion the school would cover. Compared to that, the individual amount was indeed relatively small.

But.

To Yoon Ga-hee, even that was a disaster.

“Alright, the field trip fee must be paid by this Friday, so make sure to show this document to your parents as soon as you get home. Understood?”

“Yes~!”

After agonizing for a long time, Yoon Ga-hee stuffed the notice into her desk drawer.

I just won’t go.

She had no intention of showing it to her mom.

It would be too much of a burden.

Besides, she hadn’t been able to go on the field trip in 1st grade either.

Because there was no money.

At that time, a total of six students in the entire grade hadn’t been able to participate. They had all gathered in Class 1 for self-study. In that strange silence where no one really knew each other, they simply worked on the problem sets they had each brought.

She had hated it intensely.

But she had thought it was unavoidable.

It would probably be the same this time.

As she sat with her shoulders drooping weakly, the teacher called her name.

“And Yoon Ga-hee?”

“Yes?”

“Your midterm exam scores improved a lot this time. Come with me for a quick consultation.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Alright, everyone else can head home now.”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

The students greeted the teacher and left the classroom. Yoon Ga-hee packed her bag and followed the teacher to the staff room.

The two of them sat facing each other.

“Ga-hee.”

“Yes.”

“About this field trip…”

It was a topic she didn’t even want to bring up.

Her head naturally lowered.

But the words that followed were completely different from what she had expected.

“You were selected as one of the students with significantly improved grades, so the school has decided to cover the entire field trip cost for you.”

“…Pardon?”

For a moment, she couldn’t properly understand what she was hearing, so she lifted her head and looked at the teacher.

“It’s like a kind of academic excellence award. Anyway, they’re also providing a few other benefits.”

“Benefits…?”

“Yes. Here, take these.”

“What are these?”

“They’re a school uniform gift certificate and bookstore gift certificates for buying workbooks.”

“Ah…!”

She only had one set of school uniforms to begin with.

They were too expensive.

For her family’s financial situation, even a single set of school uniforms was an enormous burden.

The same went for workbooks.

She felt guilty every time she had to tell her mother that she needed to buy new workbooks for each subject. She felt even worse because she knew her family was living day-to-day, earning just enough to eat.

“Here, you should take them.”

“Thank you…”

“Alright, you can go now. Make sure to prepare hard for the second semester midterms too.”

“Yes. Really… thank you so much.”

As she headed toward the staff room door, she took out the gift certificates.

She wanted to confirm if they were real.

There was indeed one school uniform gift certificate and several bookstore gift certificates. Although they were limited to workbooks, there were a whopping twenty 10,000-won vouchers inside. No matter how many times she looked at them, it didn’t feel real. Her mind went blank.

Step.

It was right before she left the staff room.

“Your attitude in class has improved a lot lately.”

“Hehe, has it?”

Even in her dazed state, the conversation pierced her ears. She subtly turned her head and saw the friend who had also missed last year’s field trip and studied with her. They hadn’t talked directly, but she knew that friend’s family situation wasn’t very good either.

“So, the school decided to cover the field trip fee for me.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. I was selected as a model student.”

“Wow…!”

It seemed that student had also been chosen to receive the benefits.

Only then did she understand.

“…”

That benefits had been given to students from difficult family situations, each for different reasons.

Her emotions surged.

An indescribable feeling welled up inside her.

Squeeze.

Strength filled her small hands.

Clenching her fists tightly, she silently made a single determination.

She would definitely succeed.

And she would repay this grateful heart to everyone.

This concludes the full chapter. The story nicely shifts from Ryu Seong’s perspective (his volunteering and donations) to Yoon Ga-hee’s emotional moment at school.

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