Chapter 90

Seorin is the protagonist of this world.

The protagonist of munchkin elitist soda pop and whatnot.

In other words, no matter the crisis, it was a story about how things wouldn’t be too difficult to resolve.

To elaborate further, it was a tale of how everything boiled down to Seorin’s strength.

“Thus, even in the original story, Seorin’s growth rate was incredibly fast.”

But right now, I could see with my own eyes that Seorin was growing at a speed several times faster than that.

Though I wasn’t exactly sure why…

Whereas in the original, Seorin didn’t receive support from others, here in this timeline, thanks to interactions with various people, it seemed easier to level up.

“Since the munchkin soda elite water is the foundation, originally, Seorin would get into disputes everywhere, which slowed down growth.”

But here, not only did that not happen, there were also people like Han Arin and the Spirit Master uncle who gave a helping hand, making growth even faster so I heard.

As I thought about Seorin’s progress, now having gained connections, I absentmindedly blinked my eyes.

Seorin then smiled while fixing my hair.

“After you wash up, Onee-san will read you a fairy tale, alright? Let’s hurry and go take a bath!”

As soon as we got home, Seorin took care of all three of us, gently patting our heads.

I gazed silently at such Seorin and nodded, when Yuna suddenly lit up her eyes and spoke, just like Chae-a often does.

“Fairy tales… let’s read them together!”

It seemed she really wanted to read fairy tales.

Yuna, who usually maintained a calm expression, clung close to Seorin and acted cute.

As I blinked in surprise at Yuna’s unexpected behavior, Chae-a came running and said,

“Chae-a too!”

Before I knew it, Seorin was surrounded by the kids and smiled happily.

Then, nodding, Seorin said,

“Alright, shall we go?”

All three of us nodded and followed Seorin closely.

* * *

I sat dazedly, applying lotion on my freshly scrubbed cheeks.

For various reasons, I was extremely sleepy after washing up.

While spacing out, Seorin, standing behind me, skimmed through the fairy tale books and asked us.

“Is there a particular fairy tale you’d like to read?”

Apparently, there were too many kinds, making it hard to choose.

I was about to say anything was fine, but…

‘Yuna and Chae-a might have something specific they want to read.’

So, I silently looked at both of them.

Yuna tilted her head, confused, and said to me,

“It’s okay if the baby chooses.”

Then she gestured toward the book, looking at me as if telling me to choose.

“…?”

Since Yuna was determined to let me choose without changing her expression,

I reluctantly looked at nearby Chae-a, intending to let her pick what she wanted, but…

“No way! Haeuni should choose!”

With a cheerful smile, she handed over the choice to me.

At her words, I blinked in confusion when I noticed Chae-a sneakily eyeing a green fairy tale book.

‘She must want to read that one.’

Thankfully realizing it late, I pointed to it and told Seorin.

“Igo…”

Upon hearing this, Seorin pulled out the green fairy tale and announced the title.

“Three Bears? Wow, you picked a truly cute fairy tale!”

What exactly is this ‘truly cute’ fairy tale?

As I spaced out, wondering,

Chae-a excitedly reacted beside me.

“Waah! Chae-a wanted to read this too…! So happy!”

She seemed thrilled that the same one was chosen.

Chae-a happily jumped around for a bit,

then hugged me from behind and dragged me along, saying,

“Let’s go?”

Seeing Chae-a so excited made me feel happy too, and I nodded.

*

Apparently, the reason for reading fairy tales was mainly to help everyone fall asleep easily.

Initially, we planned to read in the living room, but perhaps thinking the kids might not sleep well if we did,

Seorin carried all three of us, including me, and placed us on the bed.

Lying on the soft bed, I stretched my arms wide and wiggled around.

Seeing this, Yuna fixed my bangs and said,

“Don’t snore. Understand?”

It seems she thought I was trying to go to sleep.

To clear up the misunderstanding, I nodded and sat up,

when Seorin came over with the Three Bears fairy tale and said,

“Onee-san will read, come here.”

Honestly speaking, I wasn’t particularly interested in the fairy tale,

but since it felt awkward to not listen now, I hesitantly sat next to Seorin,

who opened the book with evident satisfaction.

“Alright, I’ll start reading.”

With that, Seorin began reading slowly, as if reciting from a textbook.

“In a peaceful forest lived a family of bears…”

Though slightly awkward, it seemed Seorin was trying her best to immerse us,

assigning vivid voices to each character as she read.

“Daddy Bear is chubby, Mommy Bear is slim, and Baby Bear is super cute, they say.”

It felt like a nursery rhyme turned into a fairy tale; familiar lyrics were written in the book.

Just as I thought it was charmingly well-made,

an extremely excited Chae-a buried her face in the book and exclaimed,

“Waaaah! This is the first time seeing such a big fluffy white fur… It’s sooo great!”

Then she gently caressed the picture with her palms and continued.

“Roarrrr! They cry like this!”

Her cuteness made me chuckle softly,

when Yuna shook her head solemnly.

“That’s wrong. It’s not roar, it’s ‘Kuang.'”

“Kuang?”

“Yes. They cry ‘Kuang.’ I saw it when I was little.”

Hearing this, Chae-a enthusiastically nodded and shouted “Kuang!” with shining eyes.

Watching the proud Chae-a and Yuna, I giggled quietly,

when Seorin affectionately ruffled both their heads and continued the story.

“As peaceful days went by, Daddy Bear said, ‘Today, the interest rates dropped.'”

“…?”

Why did interest rates suddenly appear?

As I struggled to follow the unexpected plot,

Seorin kept smiling faintly and continued.

“Honey, you didn’t buy any stocks or coins, right? Remember last time when we almost lost the house?”

Thinking modern fairy tales are way too complicated,

and unsure if it’s right to tell such stories to the kids,

Yuna and Chae-a suddenly started discussing.

“Of course! Interest rates are important… They can significantly impact our economic situation!”

“It’s tough, but true. Loans are… ”

“What situation is this?” I thought as tails popped out and started wagging,

then declared,

“Now I’m going to find freedom…! I don’t want to keep doing ‘angnyangnyang’ anymore!”

Then it began wildly shaking its head.

Trying to grab the tail disappearing at high speed, I reached out my hand…

…?

Huh?

It’s way too bright.

Blinking my eyes in confusion,

Seorin stroked my hair and said,

“Haeun looks very sleepy. You fell asleep as soon as Onee-san started reading.”

Did I fall asleep?

Hearing this, I mewed and blinked my eyes, shaking my head while protesting.

“I’m not sleeping.”

“Puhee, okay. Let’s count it as not sleeping then. Come here, let me wipe your drool.”

Seorin wiped the corner of my mouth with a towel while talking.

“By the way, what dream did you have? You were holding onto your tail tightly and saying, ‘Don’t let go! I’m sorry!'”

At those words, I recalled the shocking scene I had earlier.

My tail running away, declaring it didn’t want to do ‘angnyangnyang’ anymore.

Remembering that, my face turned bright red, and I buried my face in the pillow.

“Bu, Bu! It’s embarrassing.”

Not only did I have a weird dream, but I also ended up blurting it out.

Shaking with shame, I tried to suppress my embarrassment when

Yuna patted my back and said,

“Haeuni’s tail, Yuna will hold it for you. So don’t cry.”

Yuna’s comment effectively delivered the final blow.

Thinking I really wanted to cry, I curled up when

Chae-a lifted me and said,

“Haeuni is still a baby, so it’s okay! Right?”

Then she grabbed my tail and my hand and said,

“And let’s make peace?”

She made my tail shake hands with mine.

Is this correct? I wondered absently,

when my tail suddenly stood up on its own,

wrapped around me as if forgiving me,

and started rubbing against my face.

Struggling to breathe properly due to the sudden affection from my tail,

Seorin looked at me and smiled, then said,

“Looking at this, Haeun’s tail seems alive, doesn’t it?”

I agreed with that too.

Hugging my tail, I calmed it down with an ‘angnyangnyang,’

when Yuna, with a serious expression, informed us,

“Haeuni’s tail is a baby tail.”

“What’s a baby tail?”

“It’s a cute tail this size. As cute as Baby Bear.”

Hearing Yuna’s words, the tail wagged in agreement.

Confused by all this, I was spacing out when

Seorin suddenly had an idea and suggested,

“Then, shall we ask Mr. Perseus if Haeun’s tail is really alive?”

Everyone quickly nodded with shining eyes at that suggestion.

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