Today was an all-nighter day.
Since I wasn’t going to school anyway, there was no need to stick to a set sleep schedule. I grinned mischievously and turned on the TV. Watching TV late at night required a lot of preparation. I pulled out a box of snacks from under my bed. It was possible because there was empty space under the bed.
“Huh…”
But the snack box was empty. I must have forgotten to refill it after eating the snacks last time. I sighed softly and got up from the bed. Eating snacks while watching a movie at night was as natural as blinking, breathing, or worrying about the position of your tongue.
Of course, you might forget about these things if you don’t think about them, but I never forgot. Anyway, I pressed the elevator button firmly. Taking the elevator was a must to get to the convenience store on the 1st floor. Sure, I could use the stairs, but going down 10 floors would probably leave me exhausted and collapsed.
There was no reason to use the stairs when there was an elevator. Using the fruits of civilization was the way to go. Soon, the elevator doors opened with a *ding*. Inside were employees—female employees, to be exact.
“Hana! Hi~!”
The female employees greeted me warmly. I waved back enthusiastically, raising my hand high. Greetings were always a good thing.
“Ahhh, so cute!”
“Let me hug you too!”
I ended up being hugged like a doll by the female employees. With a blank expression, I found myself surrounded by women. If I were a guy, I might have been thrilled, but right now, I just felt annoyed. No matter how I looked at it, having a child’s body was inconvenient.
“Bye, Hana!”
“See you!”
After getting off the elevator, we parted ways at the fork. I entered the convenience store. Having a convenience store inside the building was super convenient. The more facilities like this in the building, the better. After all, it meant I didn’t have to go outside!
I grabbed a basket and started piling up snacks for my late-night binge. Some people gave me curious looks, but I ignored them effortlessly. Here, I was the king.
After filling the basket with snacks, I plopped it onto the counter. The convenience store clerk smiled at me. It was the same clerk who was on duty when I secretly bought alcohol last time.
“Hana, you didn’t sneak any beer in there, did you?”
They asked, just in case. But I was different now, so I shook my head vigorously.
“Just snacks!”
“Really?”
The clerk brought out the scanner and started scanning the snacks. The display showed the price skyrocketing, but I didn’t care. The card the boss gave me was more than enough. Rumor had it that the card had no limit… though, of course, a card with no limit couldn’t possibly exist. If someone spent a trillion won and ran off, the credit card company would go bankrupt.
But then again, they wouldn’t issue a no-limit card to someone who’d do that. Credit card companies aren’t charities, after all. They wouldn’t give such a card to someone without income.
After the payment was complete, I stuffed the snacks into plastic bags. The clerk at the counter even helped me with it. Lucky me. With three or four plastic bags in hand, I walked out with a smile. As always, the convenience store was a lifesaver.
Back in my room, I waited for time to pass quickly. Watching TV secretly at night was thrilling. It wasn’t exactly wrong, but it felt like it tickled some rebellious part of me.
After the employees left and evening rolled around, I sneaked into the office for a little reconnaissance. Maru was busy working on something, completely unaware that I was watching. I had no intention of disturbing her, so I quietly returned to my spot.
Tonight, I planned to connect my phone to the TV and watch the new season of *Little Magician Lumi*. I’d been waiting for this day. Just thinking about chewing, biting, and savoring the moment made my heart race.
And so, I was perfectly prepared to spend the night. As long as no uninvited guests showed up, that is.
—
Park Min-soo, who worked at the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, noticed something unusual. Recently, the incidence of lung cancer…
It had dramatically decreased. However, since the statistics occasionally spiked, no one paid much attention. But when it went beyond one month and into the second month, it became something worth paying attention to.
Originally, the statistics were honest. If there were 50 million South Koreans, a certain number of lung cancer cases were bound to occur. Especially in a country like South Korea, where cigarettes are sold. Of course, it was undoubtedly good news that the lung cancer incidence rate was decreasing statistically.
Fewer people were dying from lung cancer, and the medical costs claimed due to lung cancer were decreasing. From the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service’s perspective, it was good if the entire population stayed healthy and lived moderately.
“Min-soo, we’ve received instructions from above. We need to visit all the hospitals in Seoul.”
There might have been omissions or errors in the statistics from the hospitals, so the higher-ups ordered a thorough check. It was only natural. The lung cancer incidence rate had dropped by over 50%, which was unusual. And it wasn’t just a one-month spike—it had been decreasing over several months and remained stable.
“Understood. By the way, I heard other diseases have also significantly decreased?”
“Yeah, that’s what’s giving me a headache, really.”
Not just lung cancer, but even mild illnesses like colds and flu had decreased in frequency. While it was good for the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, it was also an emergency. For hospitals, it wasn’t good news. Many hospitals made money from treating colds, flu, and other minor illnesses.
The strange thing was that statistics for diseases like dementia, other cancers, and severe illnesses remained unchanged. It felt as if someone had invented a miracle drug that wiped out minor illnesses.
“Did someone invent a super serum or something?”
“Come on, Manager, that’s unlikely. It’s probably just a statistical anomaly.”
“But it’s been three or four months already, and it’s still like this.”
“That’s true.”
“Well, from our perspective, saving on health insurance premiums is good.”
“But hospitals won’t be happy, right? Of course, major hospitals don’t rely on treating colds, but local clinics depend on that kind of thing…”
“Local clinics will figure it out. And while the numbers have decreased, they haven’t disappeared completely. For doctors, earning 20 million won a month and then dropping to a few million won less is still manageable. We’re the ones with the bigger problem.”
If this trend continued, not just hospitals but even the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service could face issues. At the end of the year, reports would have to be submitted with a different tone than last year. And if the numbers didn’t stay the same next year and returned to normal, they’d face criticism. That’s why they had to visit hospitals directly to get accurate data.
“Anyway, Min-soo, do your best.”
“Just leave it to me.”
It would have been nice to see statistics from other countries, but for now, they only had South Korea’s data. If colds and minor illnesses had decreased overseas as well, it would have been easier to find correlations.
The only thing that could affect all South Koreans was food. Other factors had too many environmental differences. The only thing everyone could do in common was eat. People can’t live without eating, right? You can skip hobbies, but living beings need to eat.
So, if they could find something different in the food compared to last year, maybe they could identify the factor. Of course, that thought would have to be brought up in a meeting later. For now, they had to visit hospitals in Seoul.
And so, Park Min-soo prepared for his business trip. This darn job gave no rest. Every day felt like a battlefield. He knew what he was signing up for when he joined the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, but still. Most days were spent fighting with doctors.
