LIGHTNOVELWORLD 5.
5.
“You want me to treat myself too?”
Nod, nod.
Instead of a voice, the small head moved. Jian reluctantly applied a small amount of potion to the back of his hand.
With a cool yet slightly burning sensation, the wound disappeared. The scab covering the wound turned to powder and fell off.
As if satisfied, the child closed their eyes and extended their face.
This is unbearably cute. Jian clenched his fist once before gently applying the potion to the child’s face.
As the child’s features, previously hidden by wounds, were revealed, Jian’s lips parted.
“You’re really… pretty.”
The compliment flowed out naturally. Could the phrase ‘angel fallen from heaven’ be referring to this child? It wasn’t that he was biased; the child’s appearance truly was angelic.
Their blinking eyelashes fanned out widely, fluttering above eyes like the night sky.
The double eyelids neatly folded above large, clear eyes, the button nose, slightly plump lips, and the small flush on their fair cheeks made them look more like a doll crafted by a master artisan than a human.
Especially, the bit of baby fat remaining on both cheeks was adorably cute. While their arms and legs were skinny, looking at just the face, they seemed like a young master from a rich family who had never experienced hardship.
As Jian stared blankly at the child as if enchanted, the child smiled brightly at him. Jian clutched his chest at the sight of their eyes curving into crescents.
He was engulfed in an illusion of flower petals scattering around the child. It was the most heart-damaging scene he had ever witnessed in his life.
His fingertips trembled slightly. A shockingly touching feeling swept through his chest, making him wish he could poke those fair cheeks just once.
“Big brother, pretty.”
“What…?”
It was surprising enough that the child who had been silent all along spoke, but the content was also unexpected. It was the first time in his life that he had been called pretty.
He was about to correct that he wasn’t pretty but handsome, but he was so moved by the child speaking that he covered his mouth with one hand.
“So you can speak…”
He felt dazed, as if he had seen a doll talk. Although the pronunciation was a bit lisped, as if the tongue muscles were underdeveloped, the child’s voice was quite husky.
Come to think of it, even when they screamed yesterday, their voice seemed hoarse. Could they have caught a cold? Their body temperature didn’t seem high though.
After being shocked first by the child’s appearance and second by their speaking, Jian quickly became concerned about the child’s health.
“Let’s check if you have a fever.”
Jian checked the temperature of the child’s forehead and nape with the back of his hand. Although their temperature was slightly higher than his, it was hard to say they had a fever.
The child’s head moved following the direction of Jian’s hand. They grabbed Jian’s hand and gently rubbed their chubby cheek against his palm.
Jian’s gaze became dreamy. He gathered courage and pinched the child’s cheek with his thumb and index finger. His heart pounded heavily at the cheek flesh stretching like rice cake.
It was the happiest moment since realizing he had possessed a character in a novel. Although he was glad to have gained a new life, he often felt lonely.
The Lee Jian in the novel had strength, owned a building, and had money, but like the Jian before death, he had no one to bond with emotionally.
After waking up in the new body, he spent one day in a daze due to the unreality of the situation, then barely gathered his wits and started searching for information about the Lee Jian he had possessed.
It was easy to find information as all electronic devices in the house could be unlocked with fingerprint and facial recognition.
Lee Jian was an orphan just like Jian. The faces and names of the parents in the columbarium photos were exactly the same as in reality. Although the cause was unknown, the timing of their parents’ deaths was also similar.
When he realized this fact, Jian was overwhelmed with a sense of despair at losing his parents again. He had countless thoughts of how nice it would have been if his parents were alive.
If he could have shown filial piety here that he couldn’t before, it might have eased some of the resentment in his heart.
“Are you crying?”
A warm touch reached his eyes. Finding Jian’s silence strange, the child was gently touching his dry eyes with their thumb.
Did he look like he was crying? Jian shook his head with a faint smile.
“Not a single tear has fallen, you know?”
He intentionally spoke in a bright voice to change the somber atmosphere. The child silently looked up at Jian, then came closer and wrapped their arms around his neck. Then they rubbed their forehead against his nape.
The child’s warmth was driving away his gloomy emotions. Instead, what was rising was a sense of relief that he was no longer alone.
He felt that his bond with the child had deepened further. A desire to protect the warmth in his arms sprang up abundantly.
Having gone through many hardships himself, he wanted to be a strong shield, allowing the child to grow up brightly like other children their age, unaware of the world’s hardships.
Perhaps he wanted to give the child the affection and attention he never received in his own childhood.
Watching the child grow up innocently might also comfort his own miserable past.
His heart was dyed in a warm color by the child’s thoughtfulness in comforting him. The child’s heart was as beautiful as their angelic appearance.
While he was deeply immersed in the lingering emotion, a familiar sound hit his eardrums. A thunder-like sound came from the child’s stomach. When he turned his head, he saw the child’s ears had turned bright red.
He tried to hold it in, but laughter burst out, shaking his upper body. The child raised their head and looked at Jian with reproachful eyes.
“I’m sorry. It was just too cute. I’ll make you something delicious right away. Let’s eat, change clothes, and trim your finger and toenails.”
After saying this, he realized there was a mountain of things to do. All of this had to be finished before the café’s opening time.
Holding the child, he headed to the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator door, he was greeted by a six-pack of beer and three lonely eggs remaining from a dozen.
Only then did he remember that he had met the child on his way to the convenience store to buy dinner last night and came straight home.
Opening the freezer door, only cold air rushed out. Living alone, he used to skip breakfast, have a quick lunch at the café, and make do with triangle kimbap from the nearby convenience store for dinner.
Thinking about it carefully, he realized he had been living miserably despite having a lot of money. He felt a sense of crisis that he shouldn’t live like this anymore, if only for the child’s sake.
He wanted to make something delicious, but there was no choice. Jian firmly supported the child’s bottom with his left arm and reached out with his right to take out the eggs.
Fortunately, he had some basic seasonings at home. He washed the frying pan, which he was using for the first time since possessing this body, put it on the gas stove, and looked for cooking oil.
Worried about oil splattering while cooking, he reluctantly put the child down on a dining chair.
He gently stroked the child’s head and made eye contact. Looking into those bright eyes, a smile naturally formed on his lips.
“I’ll make you fried eggs. It’s the only thing we have to eat right now. Let’s eat lots of delicious food later.”
The child silently stared up at Jian’s face. After caressing the child’s cheek once more, Jian went to the frying pan.
After confirming that the frying pan was completely dry, he poured in the cooking oil. He held each egg with one hand and cracked them one by one. With a sizzling sound, the eggs started to turn white from the edges.
As the yolks were slowly cooking, he sprinkled an appropriate amount of salt. He omitted pepper, thinking it might be too spicy for the child.
He took out a plate and placed three perfectly cooked fried eggs on it. He was about to look for a fork but couldn’t find one, so he headed to the table with just the plate.
Until then, the child had been watching Jian’s actions observantly, with both hands on the table.
“Do you know how to use chopsticks?”
The child’s estimated age was five. Jian tried to recall when he was five years old. Forget chopsticks, he couldn’t even use a fork properly and got slapped by his aunt every day.
As expected, the child didn’t answer. Feeling embarrassed for even momentarily thinking the child might be able to use chopsticks when he couldn’t at that age, he cleared his throat and sat across from the child.
“I’ll feed you. You can eat eggs, right?”
Instead of answering, the child just swallowed hard. Their intense gaze was fixed on the eggs.
Jian quickly cut the eggs into small pieces and cooled them with his breath. As soon as he brought it to the child’s lips, their small mouth quickly took the egg from the chopsticks. Jian internally screamed at the sight of the child’s chewing lips.