The World I Was Supporting Was Real

Episode 2. The Happiness of a Thousand Won

* * *

――I want to quit.

It was an ironic conclusion for someone who had thought ‘I want to live’ more than a hundred times.

Erin no longer wanted to continue living. Although she had barely survived and escaped, she had not given up hope for life at that moment, but it was fleeting.

Erin recalled the first verse of the Bible. The sentence that the nun at the village church always cited to the children.

―In the beginning, when there was only light and darkness, there was God.

“Mother, like it says in the Bible, does God really watch over us? Does He care for us?”

“Yes, He does. God always watches over us with kind and merciful eyes.”

“Then why did the plague come to our village? What did Milia’s family do wrong to be massacred by bandits? Why do those bandits still live freely without any punishment for their deeds?”

“……Erin.”

When asked such a question, Mother placed her hand on my shoulder with a look that seemed to say I had spoken words that should never be uttered.

“Never say such things anywhere. Do you understand? No matter what happens, you must not carelessly speak words that deny ‘God’. Do you understand?”

“But―”

“Aren’t you old enough to understand? Please, listen to your mother. I beg you… If you too leave my side, this mother will…”

“…….”

Mother was the only one who did not lose a loved one after experiencing the plague as she wished.

…Because she ended her life first.

‘Oh, why…’

The bandits who ravaged the influential Milia family in the village.

When the stored food ran out, they began to plunder the surroundings again.

Mother threw herself to save Erin, and in the chaos, managed to escape the village with her life.

The public authority completely collapsed due to the plague.

All the guards who were supposed to maintain order either died or left, and the royal family, unable to come up with a sharp solution, was helplessly leaving them alone.

If God really existed, would He just overlook this?

If He does nothing, can He really be called God?

…Such philosophical worries were only until the second day after successfully escaping.

‘Thirsty… water…’

The hunger was unbearable.

But more importantly, it had been too long since I last drank water.

It was not easy to find even a puddle of rotten water. Even if I found a place with water at a frequency as rare as beans sprouting in a drought, it was easy to notice that drinking it would lead straight to death due to the swarms of flies.

Of course, if I set my mind to it, I could find water somehow. There must be a way. Climbing the mountain to find a stream, or maybe… some method known only to seasoned adventurers.

But Erin was too weak and frail to actually carry out such methods. Lacking proper knowledge. Since the plague, I hadn’t eaten properly, and my body was a mess. What could I actively do now?

‘I want to live, I want to live…! I must… I must live…!’

Suddenly, I remembered the words of the nun I met at the church.

Believe in God. God surely exists. One day, at a very decisive moment, He will surely whisper to you that He has never left your side.

‘Oh God…’

Please, watch over me.

If you have mercy, show me the way to live.

It’s okay if you just show me where the water is. I will gratefully drink even if it rains. Please, please…

Even as the unanswered questions lingered around my lips, my vision gradually blurred.

The desire to live grew weaker and weaker.

Everyone had left. My family was all dead, and the villagers had been mercilessly slaughtered by bandits.

Even if I found water and survived alone… would it have any meaning?

Even if I quenched my thirst, would there really be a future for me?

So, I just want to give up now.

I want to stop.

I want to go to my family. I want to return to where my departed friends are…

Thinking that, I slowly closed my eyes.

And then, I whispered to my emotions. This is the end. Let’s calmly prepare for the end. There is no hope. God…will never look down on us.

I thought I had calmly organized my thoughts before the end.

Surely, that’s what I thought.

‘…No…’

Tears began to flow from Erin’s eyes.

No.

I couldn’t really organize my thoughts.

I don’t want to die. If I can live even now, I want to live.

God. Are you there? Are you really looking down on me?

If so…

Just as Erin was about to lose consciousness without even finishing the sentence—

＜＜＜I’m watching you.＞＞＞

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, a strange hallucination echoed in my head—

――Pshshshshshshsh!!!!!

“…?!”

A miracle happened.

* * *

‘No, what kind of sudden development is this…?’

I absentmindedly checked the next episode notification that said, ‘The next episode has been uploaded!’

Title: ‘A Miracle Suddenly Happened’.

The content was quite a spectacle.

A girl named Erin was running away and collapsed in agony. Well, that’s fine, but at the end, she sought God, and suddenly a stream of water began gushing from the bare ground.

A very abrupt and contrived development!

‘Still, well…’

The girl named Erin was started by the sudden gush of water, but soon her face lit up, and she hurriedly drank the water.

And below that scene, as if it were a narration, the author’s words suddenly appeared.

[Mr. Igwogwodon has donated 1,000 won! Thanks to him, Erin could drink water! Thank you! Erin’s benefactor, Mr. Igwogwodon!]

‘To go so far as to allocate a comic cut for this kind of blatant flattery?’

It was obviously a commercial ploy, but still, thinking that I didn’t have to see a cute girl suffering from thirst and dying for just a thousand won, it seemed like a pretty good deal.

Gore wasn’t my taste, and the blatant flattery was quite pleasant in its own way.

‘I might be living a life swayed by a desire for recognition without even realizing it…’

As I scrolled down to the last page.

‘…Huh?’

This time, there was a scene of Erin wandering around clutching her stomach, seemingly hungry.

The finishing touch was the ＜Author’s Note＞ at the end.

[She succeeded in drinking water, but she hasn’t eaten yet! For Erin to overcome the trials ahead, she needs to eat! Only donations can feed Erin!]

“Ha!”

I laughed out loud for a long time.

When donation inducement goes this far, it doesn’t feel unpleasant but rather reaches the realm of great amusement.

Alright. You win. I’ll give another thousand won this time.

[ Igwogwodon (Donation / 1,000 won): Since I’m feeding her, let’s go with food too ]

Again, the reply was as fast as lightning.

[ PleaseGiveMeMoney (Author): Thank you so much for your donation! I will let you know as soon as the next episode is uploaded! Thank you for taking care of Erin, Mr. Igwogwodon! We will never forget your kindness, Mr. Igwogwodon! ]

‘Wow. Great response.’

In an era where the basic donation for internet broadcasts has become 2,000 to 3,000 won, or even 5,000 won at most.

Even though it was an obvious ploy, the hot response to a thousand-won punch and drawing exactly what I wanted made me feel like I was spending my money quite well.

‘Good business. This place.’

And so, from that day on-

I became the sole reader of the donation-inducing comic drawn by this ‘PleaseGiveMeMoney’ author.

Starting with Erin finding perfectly good food in the grass ‘literally by sheer coincidence,’ I had been donating a thousand won each episode to help Erin’s journey.

She had been failing continuously, but as her streak of luck continued, her expression gradually brightened. Seeing how meticulously she drew each expression, it was clear she had talent. I wondered why someone like her wasn’t competing with a solid story but was instead resorting to such absurd forced donations – but still, I thought it was quite an enjoyable time.

One day, after following and helping her non-journey journey for quite a few episodes.

‘…Huh?’

This episode’s development was much heavier than usual.

Erin encountered a band of thieves who had slaughtered the village she was in.

In this situation, her life was in danger.

The author’s words were also ridiculous.

[To get Erin out of danger, we need your support! Without support, Erin will inevitably face great harm ㅠㅠ]

The emoticon at the end was extremely infuriating, making it clear that this person was quite adept at stirring up trouble.

Moreover, the direction was very uncomfortable. Saying ‘face great harm’ was putting it mildly; the scenes were blatantly obvious about what she would go through.

‘Wow. The development is too intense.’

Before donating, I left a comment first.

[Igugugodon: Is this development really right? Hmm…]

As expected, a reply came immediately. It seemed the author was constantly checking notifications.

[PleaseGiveMoney (Author): Igugugodon! Don’t worry. As long as you donate, Erin can safely get through this crisis! Don’t forget that the development changes depending on the amount of support!]

They were blatantly asking for money, but I didn’t feel bad since I had quite enjoyed watching the comic with a few thousand-won punches.

What bothered me more was the last sentence, which I felt I had heard before.

[Igugugodon: What exactly does it mean that the development changes depending on the amount of support?]

[PleaseGiveMoney (Author): It’s very simple. Think of it as ‘fate changes in proportion to the amount of support!’ For example, a 10,000 won donation has ten times more power to change fate than a 1,000 won donation. Of course, 1,000 won is still a donation, so Erin can escape the crisis, so don’t feel too burdened!]

‘Haha. Now they’re just outright begging for large amounts.’

They said it was okay to give just a thousand won, but saying fate changes in proportion to the amount of support… isn’t that too intriguing?

Then let’s give 10,000 won as the author said.

[Igugugodon (Donation / 10,000 won): Hahaha, I lost. Here, take it.]

[PleaseGiveMoney (Author): Oh my, Igugugodon! Thank you so much for the 10,000 won donation. 10,000 won! You are truly generous! The next episode will be uploaded next week! We will never forget this tremendous ‘good deed’!]

‘We?’

The last sentence bothered me a bit, but well, it must be referring to the writer and the artist.

If this comic had a separate writer, that would be legendary in its own way.

‘Then let’s wait for a week.’

With that, I turned off the computer and headed to bed without much thought.

From noble mtl dot com