Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Chapter 55 The Reward for Good Deeds (4)

"Serin, is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no!"

At Lia's question, Serin started to answer in a dejected voice, then hurriedly smiled and shook her head.

What had happened to Serin's family was far worse than merely something bad.

Lately, her mother and father had been coming home late every evening.

Both pretended that everything was fine, but from conversations she'd overheard while pretending to sleep in the car, she knew they had borrowed money from various places and might eventually have to sell their house and move.

Even a seemingly innocent child could sense the burdens weighing on her parents.

But just like her parents, she couldn't show her sadness.

Not at home, and not even in front of her closest friend.

It wasn't because her pride was hurt.

Having grown up in a wealthy family, she'd left behind the habit of boasting about her expensive clothes, bags, and school supplies in kindergarten.

It was because of Lia.

The photograph Lia had proudly shown her on her phone, saying it was her home, depicted a coffeehouse that looked ready to collapse. The back of the building was even a construction site.

If Lia, who had no mother and lived in such a place, could be so happy, then showing her own sadness felt almost sinful.

"Is your mom busy again today?"

"Yeah."

"Then we can ride the bus together again!"

"Yeah."

"Wow! The bus leaves at twenty past, so we can look around the stationery shop together before getting on."

"You called it a stationery store the old-fashioned way again!"

"Mister keeps calling it that, so I guess I've started saying it too. Hehe."

To Serin, Lia seemed to get names wrong fairly often.

Her mother had told her that Lia called her father "Mister" because her family was different from other families, and that she shouldn't ask about it even if she was curious.

But "Mister" wasn't the only name Lia got wrong.

She called the stationery shop by its old-fashioned name, and elementary school by its former name, national school.

Since Lia almost never forgot anything she'd seen or heard, Serin rather liked these rare mistakes of hers.

And so, for a brief moment, Serin forgot her gloomy mood.

"Let's go inside!"

"Okay!"

Having regained her smile, Serin took Lia's hand and pulled her along.

"Hello!"

"Welcome. Oh my, the princesses have arrived. Look around, and bring whatever you choose over here."

"Yes!"

The stationery shop they entered under the owner's cheerful greeting was a wonderland to the two girls.

Colorful writing instruments, and all sorts of things somewhere between toys and school supplies whose purposes were unclear but which captured little girls' hearts.

Just as in the past, it remained a place that drew children in and made it difficult for them to leave for home or their after-school academies.

"What are you going to buy, Lia?"

Serin's question arose from pure curiosity, not because she wanted an idea of what to choose for herself.

'Lia probably doesn't want anything. Why did she want to come here?'

It wasn't because Lia's family was poor.

They'd known each other for only about a month, but in all that time, Serin had never once heard Lia say she wanted to buy or own something.

Even when other children showed off the expensive school supplies their parents had bought them, Lia merely looked surprised or fascinated.

It was hard to believe that Lia had not only suggested visiting the stationery shop but was actually choosing something.

"Lia?"

"Hm?"

"What are you going to buy?"

"This!"

She must have been so focused that she hadn't heard Serin speaking right beside her.

In Lia's hand was a keychain with a small talisman attached.

"It's a good luck charm! If you carry it, good things will happen! Ma'am, I'd like to pay for this!"

Lia took a crumpled banknote from her wallet, quickly paid for the item, and placed the talisman in Serin's hand.

"Here."

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"If you have this, good things will happen."

The talisman helpfully bore the Korean words "Only Good Things Will Happen."

Even Serin knew that a talisman bought for a mere three thousand won at a stationery shop couldn't possibly possess such powers.

But it was a gift Lia had offered without prying into her troubles, even though she knew Serin was going through a difficult time.

A gift carrying the wish that good things would happen.

"Then I want to give one to Lia too!"

Clutching the talisman tightly, Serin hurriedly chose another identical keychain.

"Oh my, what kindhearted little princesses you are! Come again."

"Thank you!"

'I really hope something good happens.'

Holding the talisman tightly in her hand, Serin made an earnest wish.

And when they opened the stationery shop door and stepped outside, a familiar car was parked in front of the school gate.

"Mom?"

"Hello!"

"Oh my, there you are! Mommy finished all her busy work today, so I came to pick you up. Hurry and get in! Let's go eat the black bean noodles I promised Lia!"

"Okay!"

Her mother, who had come driving herself without even a chauffeur, looked like her old self again.

The mother Serin had so desperately wanted back.

"I think this talisman really works!"

"That's right! We're going to eat black bean noodles too!"

"Pfft, you're right!"

Was it the talisman's power?

And so, without even realizing it, the kindhearted mother and daughter were rescued from the deep mire they had fallen into.

They never knew that the friend who had given the good luck charm was a spirit of the Divine Tree possessing mysterious powers, or that Jinseong, the Divine Tree's guardian, had also helped them.

Just as their good deeds had carried no expectation of compensation, the reward that came back to them bore neither a receipt nor any indication of its source.

____________

"Good work today. I'll be signing off first."

(All right, Manager Kim. Good work. Let's all hurry up and get off work too!)

The workday was over.

Serin's mother had said she would feed Lia dinner before sending her home, so for once, I could relax alone and enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee...

"Why aren't you coming outside when you've finished work?"

"Hm?"

Outside the door stood Sani, his arms crossed and his hind legs tapping impatiently.

"The situation is serious. Neither Lia nor Fox is at the coffeehouse. They must have gone somewhere to eat something delicious without me."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"It doesn't matter because Jinseong eats lots of delicious food at work!"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

Sometimes, talking to Sani gave me the illusion that I was becoming less intelligent myself. His ridiculous arguments nearly made me think, 'Is that so?' and accept them.

"Anyway, Lia isn't with the Elder. She's having dinner with a friend from school."

"I knew it! We can't let them beat us!"

"Hm?"

"We have to eat something incredibly delicious too and brag about it!"

"Don't be ridiculous. You just want to eat something yourself."

My words were harsh, but we had to eat dinner anyway.

With Lia away, I couldn't be bothered to prepare an elaborate meal. I was tired of delivery food too, which left eating out as the only option...

"Pork cutlets are delicious, and spicy stir-fried pork is delicious too! There's ramen and boiled pork, and the lunchboxes the Director brings!"

Perhaps sensing that I was considering what to eat, Sani rapidly listed the foods he wanted like a rapper.

Unfortunately for him, I had absolutely no intention of entering the kitchen today.

"Let's go out and bring dinner back tonight."

"Ooooooh! Are we going to the supermarket? But there are too many people, so I can't go..."

"No, we're getting takeout."

Truthfully, I could have gone alone. No, that would've been much easier.

If only I could overcome the anxiety of leaving Sani alone at the coffeehouse.

I put Sani in his carrier and placed it on the passenger seat.

"You can see clearly with the top open like this, right?"

"It's much less stuffy! But where are we going?"

"We're going to buy hamburgers. Sounds good, doesn't it?"

"I saw them on MeTube! There's meat inside bread!"

Delicious, inexpensive, and surprisingly light on waste, it was practically a complete meal, provided you were willing to sacrifice your health.

I'd bought burgers for Lia a couple of times on the way home from school, but unfortunately, Sani hadn't had the opportunity until now.

It was a fifteen-minute drive.

Before the medley of children's songs I'd put on for Sani had even finished, we'd bought two hamburger sets and returned straight to the coffeehouse.

But Sani, who should have been devouring his food, looked at the hamburger set with a serious expression.

"This thing is dangerous."

"What is it this time?"

"They give you this much food, and they even give you a toy. I never knew you could get a toy just for eating a meal. I might have to eat nothing but these from now on."

"Stop talking nonsense and eat."

I couldn't bring myself to tell him that wouldn't happen.

After all, I'd personally witnessed Manager Lee eating hamburgers for two straight months to collect all twenty dolls released with a children's meal set.

With Sani's talent for throwing tantrums, it was entirely possible, so I couldn't let my guard down until he'd finished his hamburger.

-KaTalk.

After a dinner so nerve-racking that I barely knew whether the food was going into my mouth or my nose, a KaTalk message arrived from Lia, who had apparently finished dinner around the same time.

「Lia: Mister! Serin's mother bought us black bean noodles! They're really delicious!

Lia: (Photo)」

The photograph showed Lia, Serin, and the CEO of SL Software smiling brightly with their bowls of black bean noodles.

It was the very scene I'd seen through my Divine Eyes.

______________

The office of the Daechun Group Chairman.

-Rustle.

Thick stacks of documents lay scattered around Chairman Joo Manho's desk.

Although Joo Manho normally disliked clutter, he didn't even bother straightening the fallen sheets of A4 paper and remained absorbed in turning the pages of the document in his hands.

"See? Didn't I tell you my son's teacher would cause an enormous commotion this time?"

"Indeed, you did. I had no idea I'd become this busy."

He had already questioned his son and learned that Jinseong was behind the entire affair, including his intentions in suddenly bringing up an AI-related project.

There was nothing to lose.

Jinseong and Sales Team Two had simply placed their spoons on a table where the meal was already prepared.

If permission was granted, they could enjoy a hearty meal. Even if it wasn't, they could simply brush themselves off and leave the table.

But for some reason, the person who had to grant that permission seemed to be the busiest of all.

That was because Chairman Joo Manho was now the one reluctant to let the opportunity slip away.

"How are the stocks?"

He asked without taking his eyes off the documents.

"Yes, the media outlets reporting on this aren't particularly credible in this field, so there hasn't been much movement."

"That's just about right. But was it Department Head Kang from Sales Team Two? That fellow was so inconspicuous I couldn't even remember his face, but he's got some nerve. It takes more than ordinary courage to pick up a project his own Chairman threw away and present it again."

"The audit also found no significant irregularities in the projects carried out with SL Software. If the shareholders don't object, I believe we can proceed immediately."

"Those fellows start foaming at the mouth whenever they hear money's going to be spent, don't they?"

"ORCA AI's returns on investment are limited to improvements in operational efficiency, making it difficult to recover the investment directly. That was why the project was suspended seven years ago, and there's a high possibility they'll oppose it again for the same reason."

"Ah, back then we were digging up land and putting up apartment buildings, so we'd run completely out of money. We had no choice. But things are different now, aren't they? People are even saying we're sitting on our retained earnings and playing money games. If that's the case, now's the perfect time."

Circumstances had changed.

Enough that even the person who had canceled the project had changed his mind.

"And what choice do those fellows have? Once the dance gets started, someone has to come out and do at least a silly little jig before it can end. This project is certain to succeed, so you should throw some more firewood on the flames too."

"Yes, understood."

There were already dozens of articles awaiting approval for publication.

The moment those articles were released, Daechun Group would have no choice but to at least make a show of starting the project, just as Chairman Joo Manho had said.

Unless they wanted to watch their stock price plummet vertically.

"But hold on. My son's teacher started all this, so why are we the ones working ourselves to the bone?"

The roles had been completely reversed.

Meanwhile, the person who had actually set the whole affair in motion was leisurely drinking coffee and enjoying himself.