Chapter 1: A Useless Success

“Your child has an autoimmune disease.”

The doctor’s calm voice froze the air.  

The moment I heard it, all thoughts stopped.  

A rare disease.  

One whose cause is unclear and whose treatment is difficult—that was the illness quietly taking over my younger sibling’s body.  

The money I had saved until now was only 50 million won.  

I thought it was enough, but that was an illusion.  

The first month’s hospital bill came to 16 million won.  

I inquired with the insurance company, but they said insurance payments wouldn’t come through until discharge.  

There was no help to be had.  

The remaining money instantly dropped to 34 million won.  

Despair clung to me like a shadow.  

“What am I supposed to do….”  

To treat my younger sibling, money was necessary, but my mother and father hadn’t prepared for their old age and couldn’t afford the hospital bills.  

The only one who could help was me.  

Fortunately, my recent work performance was good, so there was a decent amount in my bank account, but paying about 20 million won each month was impossible.  

So I explained my situation to the publisher, negotiated advance payments, and took out the maximum loans I could.  

I wanted to pour everything into my younger sibling’s treatment.  

I didn’t even want to imagine losing them.  

For my younger sibling, I could do anything.  

“I’m going to work now.”  

To raise the hospital fees, writing was crucial.  

My younger sibling wanted that too.  

And I made a promise with them.  

I vowed to write a highly successful work no matter what.  

“Author! Big, big hit!”  

Just as I arrived home and waited for the elevator, I received a call from my publisher’s representative.  

Their voice was full of excitement.  

“Congratulations!”  

The representative kept repeating “big hit” and “congratulations,” raising the tension.  

“What’s going on all of a sudden?”  

I couldn’t help but ask.  

“Oh, you haven’t checked Lunpia yet, have you? Your work was just featured in Lunpia’s recommended articles and exploded in popularity! Just ten episodes in, and it’s ranked 14th on the first page!”  

“...What? Did you just say that?”  

Only ten episodes had been published.  

Ranking 14th in just ten episodes was an unbelievable miracle at this point.  

Such success was hard to achieve without a stroke of luck.  

“Haha, I believed in you. I always knew you’d get your chance to shine. Haven’t you been working tirelessly? The recommendation fee is good, and the advance payment is excellent. Not to mention the subscribers. If this keeps up, I think you’ll reach your target ranking easily.”  

“I-I’ll contact you right away.”  

My mind was full of thoughts about my younger sibling, so I hadn’t even looked at Lunpia yet.  

I had only set up serialization and been busy trying to gather money, neglecting to check anything else.  

“No, I’ll inquire about promotions on Lunpia so that your work can be introduced to more readers. Congratulations, truly.”  

“Thank you.”  

After ending the call with the representative, I hurried inside, turned on my computer, and connected to the site from my favorites.  

[10th place Na Honja Muhan Sangjeom (Infinite Shop Alone)]  

[Views: 5,200 Recommendations: 364 Comments: 123]  

[Likes: 4,800]  

“Ah.”  

[6 works recommended.]  

Views, readership, recommendations, likes.  

All four indicators were perfect.  

Tap tap.  

Every time I pressed 5, the views, recommendations, and likes steadily increased.  

“I can do this.”  

I immediately closed the window and started preparing to write.  

When the tide comes in, you have to pull hard!  

Without a moment to rest, I focused all my nerves on the monitor.  

Clenching my teeth, I hammered the keyboard.  

18 million won.  

August came, and an enormous hospital bill went out again.  

My bank balance decreased once more.  

But now, it was okay.  

[Real-time rankings]  

1st place Na Honja Muhan Sangjeom.  

Views: 32,800, Recommendations: 2,296, Comments: 1,152.  

Likes: 30,800.  

By episode 20, the latest views exceeded 30,000, and recommendations surpassed 2,000.  

Among works serialized on Lunpia, it was an overwhelmingly impressive record.  

Expected paid conversion and purchase numbers were estimated at least 10,000.  

The minimum monthly earnings from Lunpia’s first month were expected to be between 3,000 and 4,000 won.  

Combined with the sales of completed works I had written so far, I seemed to be able to maintain over 2,000 won per month.  

If it was released on other platforms, sales would rise further!  

Now, the hospital bills for my younger sibling could be comfortably handled.  

Thump thump.  

The paid conversion was just around the corner.  

The views steadily held in the 38,000 range, awaiting the paid conversion at episode 26.  

The conversion time was 7 PM.  

Thump thump.  

My heart throbbed wildly.  

6:58 PM, 6:59 PM, 7 PM!  

The time had come.  

7:02 PM, 240 purchases.  

Just two minutes in, the latest episode gained 240 purchases.  

About three hours later, it had reached 6,800.  

“Ha, ha ha… It’s done. It’s done!”  

The expected paid conversion count was adjusted upward to 20,000.  

Cheering wildly, I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth.  

“Let’s focus more. And tell Dahye to have hope. Tell her not to worry about hospital bills anymore and to receive treatment freely!”  

The light of hope began to flicker.  

But where there is light, darkness is bound to fall.  

Dahye’s condition deteriorated further.  

The sky was cruel.  

After undergoing a biopsy, she couldn’t even straighten her back.  

The more tests she took, the worse her symptoms became.  

Bit by bit, hope slipped away.  

  

“Mom, don’t go anywhere.”  

No doctor said a kind word—they just shook their heads.  

Severe anxiety engulfed my mind.  

Panic disorder, agoraphobia, depression overwhelmed me, tormenting my spirit.  

Even eating a bite of food each day became difficult.  

My body’s muscles wasted away, and soon I couldn’t even move my arms properly.  

Yet, the hospital barely checked her barely surviving condition, and conducted tests according to their own schedule.  

Harsh medicines were prescribed repeatedly.  

The more medicine she took, the more new illnesses appeared.  

Nurses pressured her to take the medicine forcefully.  

Her energy was quickly depleting.  

“Mom, I want to do something with you tonight. Please put my cosmetics by my bedside.”  

Waking with difficulty from sleep, I asked Mom to take the cosmetics from the room and put them by my bedside.  

“Dahye, what are you talking about?”  

“Please, Mom.”  

I forced a weak smile.  

*Hmm.*  

Her face, which had been so pained until now, was brighter today.  

Was her condition improving?  

Did she want to dress up after a long time?  

With hope, Mom placed the cosmetics by my bedside.  

“Okay, I’ll put them here, alright?”  

For the first time in a long while, I smiled brightly.  

Seeing me smile despite exhaustion made Mom feel like her fatigue vanished.  

“This is the seaweed soup Oppa made.”  

Once a week, my older brother cooked and brought me delicious food at the hospital because he wanted to feed me something good.  

I didn’t eat the hospital food, but I tried to eat even a bite of the meals Oppa made.  

“Oppa must be working hard because of me. I’m really lucky to have Oppa. Right, Mom?”  

My throat was weak, but I mustered the strength to speak.  

After wandering aimlessly for a while, my older brother, who returned three years ago, had changed a lot.  

He had become more at ease and a strong pillar for our family.  

If it weren’t for Oppa, the whole family would have struggled with hospital bills.  

Oppa never hesitated to spend money on me.  

Moreover, he personally brought seaweed soup to the hospital every week.  

Where else could you find such a caring and good older brother?  

I wanted to do many things with Oppa and travel with the family.  

But now, it seemed difficult no matter what.  

“Right? There’s no one but Oppa. So, eat a lot. Oppa said to feed his pretty younger sibling.”  

“Mom, the meat is big. Cut it smaller.”  

My teeth were weak, and it was hard to chew large pieces of meat.  

So I asked Mom to cut the meat into smaller pieces.  

Though my appetite was poor, I tried hard to eat even one more bite.  

“My daughter’s eating well today.”  

Usually, I could barely eat a spoonful, or at most two spoons.  

But today, I ate three spoons.  

Maybe because Oppa made the food, I ate better than usual.  

My strength seemed to be returning, and the dying embers of hope flickered back to life.  

“Mom, I’m full. Just a little more finely cut.”  

I wanted to eat more, but my body couldn’t take it.  

I hid what I wanted to say deep inside and closed my eyes.  

When Mom cleared the tray, I quietly shed tears.  

I want to live.  

But—  

At 5 AM.  

“Ah, it’s done.”  

I finished sending the manuscript to the publisher with difficulty.  

I stretched my aching shoulders and wrists and got up from my seat.  

“Dahye, sleep well.”  

I thought of my younger sibling fighting the disease in the hospital.  

“I’ll definitely cover the hospital bills until Oppa gets better,” I repeated to myself like a mantra and laid down on this sparse futon.  

No, I tried to lay down.  

Until my phone rang.  

“Seunghyun, Dahye, Dahye is in critical condition. Hurry to the hospital...”  

When I picked up, I heard Mom’s urgent voice.  

“I-I’m coming right away!”  

In that instant, my heart felt like it dropped.  

It pounded wildly.  

It’s about an hour from home to the hospital.  

I hurriedly moved to the parking lot.  

“Please, please.”  

On the way to the hospital, I turned the music up loud.  

*Once again, a storm of courage like the fierce wind that won’t be defeated by the rough waves.*  

*Hope to be carved anew on this vast land...<*  

The popular manga’s theme song, known for its rallying cries, filled the car.  

I sang along at the top of my lungs, repeating the lyrics.  

I fervently wished my younger sibling’s heart would beat again, endure the rough waves, and bloom once more.  

Mom and Dad must be wishing for my younger sibling’s heart to beat again as well.  

They didn’t expect a full recovery.  

Even if there were slight disabilities, it was enough.  

I just wanted her to breathe and live with our family.  

That would be enough.  

“I’m sorry. We did our best, but...”  

About an hour after arrival at the hospital, I rushed into the ICU and met the doctor.  

He bowed his head and closed his eyes.  

“...Is that... a lie?”  

How absurd.  

I stared at the doctor with dazed eyes.  

“Dahye! Dahye!”  

There was no time to waste with hospital staff.  

I hurried into the ICU, hoping the doctor was lying, searching for my younger sibling.  

“Da...hyeeeeeeek!”  

“Ah... Dahye. Dahye!”  

Upon arriving in the ICU, Mom and Dad feverishly called my younger sibling’s name.  

With panicked voices, they moved toward the bed where my younger sibling lay.  

“Dahye said she had something to do with Mom tonight! Dahye, Dahye, my little one!”  

I felt dazed watching Mom caress my younger sibling’s cold face while calling her name.  

Her face was terribly swollen.  

It was very different from the face I had seen not long ago.