I would do anything for growth.

I had resolved as such, but it wasn’t easy to actually do it.

Do people in this world do such things for growth?

It was so strange that I had to ask again.

“Sophia, are you sure this really helps you grow taller?”

“It should help. It’s curious that you’re asking twice, Gyeoul.”

Was she surprised that I, who always believed, was now doubting?

Sophia’s eyebrows rose.

“It’s just… it doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Is it that hard to believe?”

“Yes… I don’t understand how this helps you grow taller…”

Did I seem like someone lacking common sense?

Despite my efforts, I still felt frustrated.

“It’s because it stimulates the body.”

“Stimulates?”

“Yes, our bodies grow when they are stimulated.”

“Hmm…”

So in this world, emotional stimulation also leads to growth.

I kind of understood.

“Gyeoul, don’t be embarrassed about not knowing.”

“Okay… I’ll try it.”

But who should I try this embarrassing act with?

Hesitating, I approached Saebyeok, who was lying on the sofa.

Saebyeok was a child with little emotional expression.

If her reaction wasn’t big, it would be less embarrassing.

Tap tap—

I gently tapped Saebyeok’s back.

Her eyes gleamed like a cat’s.

“Saebyeok, can you help me?”

“Sure. What do you need?”

“Just stay still.”

“Okay.”

Saebyeok froze in place.

She didn’t need to be like a rock.

Scratching my cheek, I kissed Saebyeok’s cheek.

It was a quick peck.

“······!”

Saebyeok’s ears and tail perked up, then started to wag at an incredible speed.

It was the fastest I’d ever seen.

Turning my gaze sideways out of embarrassment, I saw Sophia staring at me wide-eyed.

“Gyeoul, what was that?”

“She said kissing makes you grow taller…”

“No, that’s… try it on me too.”

Sophia leaned in and offered her cheek.

Her shark tail wagged.

“Me too! Me too! Do it for Levinas too!”

Levinas stomped her feet in front of me.

Thump thump thump—

The regular thumping on the floor was loud enough to worry about noise complaints.

“Levinas, wait your turn.”

“Okay!”

Sophia was unusually excited, and Levinas expressed her displeasure.

In the midst of this, Saebyeok wore a smug expression.

‘Do they really like it that much?’

What did kisses mean to people in this world?

Despite feeling embarrassed, I didn’t want to see my precious family fight.

Using my beast-kin agility, I quickly kissed Sophia and Levinas on the cheek.

“······!”

Sophia widened her eyes and touched her cheek.

Levinas just stood there, trembling.

Why did they like this so much?

Even though my family liked it, I was too embarrassed to do it again.

“Ahem… living to experience such luxury.”

“Luxury…?”

“Yes, but as your guardian, I shouldn’t deceive you.”

“Deceive me…?”

Sophia’s words were confusing.

I could only blink in confusion.

“I think you misunderstood ‘stretching’.”

“Stretching…”

“Stretching, you know.”

Sophia interlocked her fingers and stretched her arms upwards.

It was then I realized I misunderstood the word.

“Levinas, did you mean stretching?”

“Yes! She said stretching and exercise help you grow taller!”

“······!”

Oh my.

I must have misunderstood Levinas’s short-tongued pronunciation.

My face felt hot, and I covered it with both hands.

Thud, thud, thud—

I heard Yeoreum’s footsteps coming from the kitchen.

“What are you all doing?”

Yeoreum entered the living room and looked around at us.

Sophia was still touching her cheek, and Levinas was trembling with delight.

Saebyeok was melting into the sofa.

Realizing something, Yeoreum approached me and shook my shoulder.

“Gyeoul, what about me?!”

“It’s… it’s over now…”

“Do it for your sister too! Please, I’m begging you!”

“It’s already over…”

“Ugh…!”

Yeoreum fell to her knees.

She was expressing her despair with her whole body.

I couldn’t understand why they were reacting this way.

I decided to make an exception and do it for Yeoreum just this once. She really would be the last.

Only my tail, unaware of the situation, was wagging on its own.

—

—

After lunch, I went outside with the children.

We were all out to collect empty bottles and scrap metal.

“King! Something big happened!”

Levinas, who had gone to collect bottles, came running towards us.

For some reason, her hands and feet were soaking wet.

“What happened?”

“Look at this!”

Levinas’s hands were full of coins.

Altogether, it seemed like about five thousand won.

“Levinas, where did you find these coins?”

“I picked them up from where someone threw them away!”

“Someone threw away this much money…?”

“Yeah! There’s still more! Let’s go pick them up together!”

Levinas grabbed our hands and led us.

We arrived at a small park’s fountain.

“Oh no…”

I had a bad feeling.

I quickly looked inside the fountain.

It was filled with coins that people had thrown in.

Levinas had picked up the coins from the fountain.

Just as I was about to stop her, Levinas and Saebyeok took off their shoes and stepped into the fountain.

“King! This looks like a place where people throw money!”

“Let’s pick it all up.”

The two children began collecting coins from the fountain.

I could feel the gazes of the people around us.

“Look, those kids are picking up coins from the fountain.”

“They’re beast-kin kids. They probably don’t know any better.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just cute.”

The murmuring from the people in the park reached us.

I tried my best to suppress my embarrassment as I approached the children.

“Umm…”

I needed to stop them.

I took off my shoes and stepped into the fountain.

As soon as I grabbed Levinas and Saebyeok’s wrists, I heard a woman’s voice from behind.

“Kids, you shouldn’t pick up those coins.”

Startled, I turned around.

It was a policewoman I had met before.

Realizing I had been caught again, my body started to tremble.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, you didn’t know.”

Despite our wrongdoing, the policewoman didn’t get angry.

She just smiled gently at the children.

“Police! We can’t pick up this money?”

“No. It’s because people’s wishes are attached to those coins.”

“Wishes…?”

Levinas tilted her head in confusion.

She didn’t understand how coins could hold wishes.

“People throw coins into the fountain and make wishes.”

“But Levinas picked them up?”

“Yes. Then their wishes won’t come true.”

“Oh no…”

With her eyes wide, Levinas clutched her pocket.

In that short time, she had collected a lot, and her pocket was heavy.

“What should Levinas do?”

“It’s okay. You can just put the coins back.”

“Okay…! Saebyeok, put the coins back too…!”

Levinas quickly turned her pocket inside out.

A shower of coins fell back into the fountain, creating ripples.

Saebyeok, watching Levinas, lifted her shirt to reveal more coins.

The coins started to spill out from inside, revealing a glimpse of her belly.

“······?”

How could so many coins fit inside someone’s clothes?

No, more importantly, when did she even collect that many?

As I was distracted by the cartoonish scene, the policewoman slipped her hand under my armpit.

“Alright, one at a time, please.”

She lifted me out of the fountain and set me down outside.

Seeing how fun it looked, the kids eagerly waited for their turn.

“Police, can you buy wishes with money?”

Levinas asked as she let the policewoman pick her up.

The policewoman gave Levinas a somewhat ambiguous smile.

“Well? No one really knows for sure.”

“What?! They throw money without knowing?!”

“Yeah. Because there’s hope that their wish might come true.”

“Hope! Levinas likes hope!”

He-he-he.

Levinas giggled behind her hand but then slumped her shoulders.

Her rabbit ears drooped down, almost covering her eyes.

“Levinas doesn’t have money to buy hope…”

Even though it was just a single coin, she couldn’t just throw it into the fountain. To Levinas, that coin was incredibly precious.

I understood her feelings because I had also once trembled over a mere 100-won coin.

“If we don’t have money, we can’t buy hope?”

Saebyeok, who was still in the fountain, asked us.

Levinas was the first to respond.

“Yeah… Without money, you can’t buy hope…”

“Then we don’t have hope, I guess.”

“Yeah…”

The shocking conversation between the children made my head spin.

“Hey, I’ll give some coins. Let’s each throw one.”

“Won’t it be hard to throw away money?”

“But we need hope, don’t we…?”

I rummaged through my pockets.

I had two 100-won coins and three 500-won coins.

Since 500 won was precious, I handed the two 100-won coins to the children.

“King, aren’t you going to throw one?”

“No. I only have 200 won.”

“If you don’t throw it, you won’t have hope…?!”

“It’s okay. I have you and Saebyeok.”

No matter how much, I couldn’t throw away 500 won.

I reassured them, but as I stepped back, someone grabbed my wrist.

“T-throw this…!”

A boy I had never seen before placed a coin in my hand.

Why are you giving me this?

Before I could ask, he had already run off.

Confused, I just stared at the boy’s retreating figure.

For some reason, the people around us were giving me odd looks.

—

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