Chapter 4: Caught a Cold

“The cold is really bad… Do you need to rest and take medicine today?”

The elementary school teacher took her hand off my forehead and advised me.

Even without such a diagnosis, I had a fever and felt so weak that I couldn’t move, so I was planning to do nothing all day.

I nodded, wrapped the blanket the teacher gave me around my shoulders, and held it tightly so it wouldn’t fall off.

The adult-sized disposable mask I wore, because there were no small masks, didn’t seem to help prevent infection, but at least it prevented me from breathing in the cold air directly.

‘It feels worse than before… Aren’t children’s bodies supposed to be strong?’

It might be my imagination, but compared to when I was an adult, the body aches from the cold seemed more severe.

Could it be that, like my slow growth, my body is weaker than other children’s?

Thinking about that, I suddenly resented the older students who punched me.

Hitting a younger sibling, especially a sick child?

Moreover, as is often the case, bullies’ violence has no reason.

One time, while being hit, I asked why I was being hit, and the bullies answered.

“You look annoying.”

“Damn.”

“It’s fun.”

“Because you’re f*cking annoying?”

They hit my back while spouting such nonsense.

The fact that their brutality doesn’t show in front of the teachers is like seeing the strong prey on the weak in the wild, a true wonder of nature.

‘By the way, I uploaded the video, but it feels empty not being able to see the reactions.’

Lying quietly in bed, I thought about the video I edited yesterday.

When I uploaded a video, watching the views, likes, and comments for about 30 minutes was my pleasure and routine.

I was grateful to the viewers who seemed to be waiting for my videos, and since they mostly left positive comments, it naturally boosted my self-esteem, so it became a routine.

Of course, since it’s a new account with nothing but one video, there’s no one waiting, and it won’t be exposed to the algorithm, but breaking the routine created a big void.

I took out my notebook from my bosom with a small sigh.

I open the page with my future plans.

‘……I started, but will it work out?’

It was a ridiculous plan, even to me.

A plan that had a 90% chance of succeeding only with luck.

It was an absurdly low-probability method, but I had no other choice since it was the only way.

If not adoption, the only ways to leave this orphanage are to run away or to leave as an adult.

I don’t want that.

So I have to keep trying….

‘Ugh……, my head doesn’t work because I’m sick…’

A severe headache gnawed at my thoughts.

This is no good.

I’ll think about it after I get over this cold.

I sighed and pulled the blanket up to my mouth.

The warmth created by my body temperature in the blanket gradually welcomed my drowsiness.

Well, it’s okay to think slowly.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness to sleepiness, the door burst open, and someone shouted.

“Everyone, someone from a broadcasting station is coming later!”

I guess I’ll sleep when I’m dead.

People from the broadcasting industry often come to the orphanage.

To cover a story.

Or to film the cast members who shed tears at the sight of the parentless children and play with them.

Views are absolute in broadcasting.

There are few people who would film parentless children without any reason.

If there is such a person, they must be a saint, a pervert with a thing for children, or a weirdo who gains self-esteem from others’ misfortunes.

And following Xunzi’s words, the first type of person does not exist.

But these things did not apply to people who claimed to be broadcasters but did not carry cameras.

I called such people eccentrics.

“Hello. I’m Lee Seongbeom, a PD at tvM.”

At his introduction, the orphanage teachers widened their small eyes and covered their mouths.

Even the teacher who was blocking the children’s rush from afar kept glancing at him.

Is there anyone in this era who doesn’t know his name?

He was a PD, but he was more famous than most celebrities.

I was young and couldn’t watch TV much at the orphanage, so I only learned about his achievements when I became an adult, but the teachers were the generation who watched his broadcasts in real-time.

A person who was once responsible for the entire nation’s Sunday evening had visited as a volunteer.

It was understandable that the teacher’s mouth wouldn’t close.

“H-how did you come here?”

“Actually, I volunteer at various orphanages. But I didn’t know about this place, even though it’s relatively close, so I came to visit. I just found out after watching the video you uploaded recently.”

Lee Seongbeom laughed broadly and smiled kindly.

However, even while nervous in front of a celebrity, the teacher couldn’t hide her puzzled expression.

And after a while, she said “Ah.” softly and naturally guided him inside.

The teacher was probably thinking this.

‘The children’s dance video we filmed recently. The director must have already uploaded it.’

None of it was correct, but miraculously, the two who communicated entered the reception room to fill out some simple paperwork.

I sighed in relief from afar, watching the scene from behind the children who were watching.

‘It’s a success.’

It was a messy plan that relied on luck, but fortunately, I succeeded in drawing him in.

In fact, I might have been harboring some expectations in my heart.

And as if to meet those expectations, he came here.

Just like before.

He found me again this time.

Relieved by that fact, I dragged my heavy body, burdened by the body aches, and barely entered the room.

Now all that’s left is to meet him and desperately appeal myself.

How should I do it?

I racked my dizzy brain.

“Ah, that’s right….”

And a certain idea flashed through my mind.

But as people often say, don’t make decisions when you’re sick.

People who are at their limit or facing a crisis cannot think normally, and they make closed-minded and extreme conclusions.

However, as is often the case with people, in such situations, they forget what they know and act.

The headache, dizziness, the excitement of the plan’s success, and the strong effect of the cold medicine combined to create a sensation like being drunk.

My heated head laughed for no reason.

My decision, made while my normal thinking was eroded by the cold, would later return as a huge shame and create irreversible regret.

“Hehe….”

But that was something I couldn’t know now.

Unable to bear it any longer, Lee Seongbeom handed over the rest of the editing to his junior PD and immediately visited the orphanage.

He expected that someone else would have the same idea as him once the video was uploaded to YouTube.

Of course, the probability was low since the view count was still under 500, and most editors weren’t very proactive, so there was no need to rush.

But Lee Seongbeom, being an eccentric, had a rather impatient personality.

So he visited the orphanage.

He had a brief conversation with the teacher who greeted him, but something felt strange.

‘She doesn’t seem to know about the video?’

It’s not polite to come as a volunteer and immediately ask for the person who made the video.

So he slowly and lightly talked about the video, but he felt that the conversation was going in circles.

Even when he talked to the director, he didn’t seem to know about the video he had seen.

‘Is it not someone from the orphanage? An outsider can’t make a video without the knowledge of the staff….’

It’s a video that clearly shows the children’s faces.

Editing it without permission could be a criminal act.

‘Is this a bust.’

Just in case, he asked for the channel owner’s nickname, but he was met with,

“Dancing Raccoon…. A dancing raccoon? Ah, is that it? Sometimes I watch funny animal videos, and I think I saw a raccoon dancing in one of them!” so they really didn’t seem to know.

Still, it was true that he volunteered at various orphanages, so he simply signed the volunteer paperwork and was guided to where the children were.

There was nothing to do right now, so he was asked to be a conversation partner for the children for a while.

He didn’t dislike children, and the children liked his cheerful personality, so he gladly nodded.

He was thinking that he should just have fun with the children and go.

‘Huh?’

Among the children who were still awkward around a stranger, a particularly small girl approached him.

A blanket draped over her shoulders, and a mask that was too big for her face, covering half of it.

Her slightly visible forehead was a little red, clearly showing that she had a cold.

He knelt to meet the eye level of the child, who looked about 10 years old, and greeted her.

The child’s small steps, almost like a stagger, slowly approached him, and her hazy eyes finally met his.

The child smiled brightly and reached out her arms.

“Hehe…. Mister, can you hug meee…?”

At the innocent child’s request, Lee Seongbeom smiled.

“Sure. I’m tall, so it’ll be fun to be hugged by me.”

He said that and lifted the child.

She was lighter than expected, so he could lift her without difficulty.

The child, suddenly at a higher eye level, didn’t get scared and grinned.

Seeing that expression, he felt proud and looked around at the other children.

Thanks to this child, the sense of wariness seemed to have lessened considerably.

‘By the way, this child seems to have a high fever. Shouldn’t she go to the hospital?”

The body temperature of the child in his arms was unusual.

The orphanage must have given her cold medicine, but it wouldn’t be good for her to be outside in the cold wind.

The child, who had been resting her chin on his shoulder, whispered softly in his ear as he was looking for a teacher with his eyes.

“What?”

“Actually, the Dancing Raccoon video. …I made it.”

The content whispered softly like a secret.

In his mind, a huge shock occurred, like something massive colliding.

For example, it was the same shock as when Captain America said “Hail Hydra” to the Strike Team.

He turned his head in surprise to look at the child, but he couldn’t hear any further answer.

“Haa, haa….”

“Huh?”

The child was breathing heavily, leaning in his arms with her eyes closed.

Suddenly, the blood drained from his face.

“Uh?”

“T-Teacher!!”

I heard later that that day was the most scary moment in Lee Seongbeom’s life.