Chapter 3: Be fully Recovered
It took five days from the day I first opened my eyes for the ring to fully recover its smooth, oval shape.
My body’s recovery was slower than expected, so the schedule kept getting postponed. Thanks to that, I slept to my heart’s content for those five days.
I’m not kidding; I think I slept for about 110 out of 120 hours.
Even the 10 hours I was awake were because Lee Hyejin and Park Gyutae were checking my condition.
…Well, I don’t know if that’s something to brag about.
Anyway, after my body changed, I became unusually sleepy.
It was as if I was trying to catch up on all the sleep I had missed in my original body.
No matter how much I slept, I craved more.
But strangely enough, apart from the desire for sleep, I didn’t feel any other human physiological needs…?
I hadn’t eaten anything for five days, but I wasn’t hungry at all; I was perfectly fine.
Anyway, on the fifth day, when the ring was fully recovered.
In other words, today, awakened by Lee Hyejin as usual, I immediately realized something as soon as I woke up.
For some reason, my body felt unusually good today, unlike usual.
Therefore, for the first time, I sat up on the edge of the bed on my own.
Then, to check if my legs were moving properly, I dangled my feet, and…
“Hmph…!”
Lee Hyejin quickly covered her mouth with both hands again.
But even though her mouth was covered, her eyes were clearly smiling.
…What on earth did that occasional reaction mean?
Puzzled, I stared at her.
My gaze seemed to snap Lee Hyejin back to her senses, and she quickly cleared her throat.
“Uh… Yes, Angel. Starting today, you will be carrying out the postponed schedules.”
Schedule…? Schedule….
Come to think of it, I’d been sleeping so soundly lately that I’d forgotten. What was this schedule they’d been talking about?
I was just a small child with a ring and wings now. Was there anything I could even do?
Since I was curious, I didn’t hesitate to ask Lee Hyejin.
My voice should be working now, so it was a simple matter of asking.
“What does the schedule involve…?”
Then, a voice that could be described as fittingly cute echoed in the room.
Even though I hadn’t intended it, it had a slightly sleepy, gentle quality.
“Yes… Hick!?”
Anyway, at my voice, she let out a shriek and jumped in surprise.
“……?”
What was that? That reaction, as if she’d seen a ghost or a bug….
No matter how you look at it, that stung a little….
My current voice was also unfamiliar and strange to me.
But seeing that kind of reaction hurt a bit.
Because of that, I stared at her with a sulky expression, then carefully got off the bed and stood on the floor on my own.
It was the first time I had set foot on the floor in a full five days.
Thanks to that, I later heard that at that time…
[Breaking News] South Korea’s Angel finally takes her first steps….
[Breaking News] An adorable and great first step…
Internet articles with titles like that were apparently posted in droves.
‘Right, walking isn’t a problem either.’
To get used to my smaller body, I diligently walked around the room.
Now that I looked, the room was indeed enormous.
It seemed to be dozens of times larger than the room I originally lived in before my body changed.
Plus, perhaps because my height had shrunk so much, everything felt even bigger.
‘Dizzy….’
Perhaps because my perspective had changed, I felt a spinning sensation in front of my eyes every time I took a step.
It seemed like I would need more time to adjust to this body.
Thump.
So, I sat down on the floor again and idly waved my hand a few times towards the untouchable ring above my head before asking.
“So, when does it start? That schedule thing?”
“Ah, this is so annoying! Why are these old geezers so impatient!? Don’t they know the meaning of absolute rest!? Ab. So. Lute. Rest!!!”
“Ca, calm down. Director….”
At the Korean Angel Research Institute, responsible for research and development related to angels.
As Choi Eunju, the director of the institute, vented her anger, biting the end of her pen, those around her began to watch her cautiously.
But her anger was perfectly justified.
They had brazenly contacted her, saying they would use an Angel who was only five days old for their political show.
Well, in reality, they had put it more euphemistically, but it was essentially the same thing.
“Whoa… No, and is this even the right order? Huh!? If this is how it’s going to be, why do we even exist!? I’m going crazy.”
“Haha….”
Choi Eunju slammed her pen down on the desk and ground her teeth.
Besides what she had already mentioned, there was another important reason for her current anger.
It was the fundamental reason for the existence of this ‘Angel Research Institute’.
“Are they really going to wait for an accident to happen before they come to their senses?”
It was the fact that each Angel possessed a single ‘desire’ that represented them.
Because of this, there were separate precautions or response protocols.
To speak of an actual case, the Russian catastrophe.
When the world’s first ‘Angel’ was born in Russia, humanity did not understand what kind of being it was.
The result was the partial destruction of Novosibirsk, one of Russia’s major cities.
The loss of life was less than expected, but the damage was severe enough to paralyze most of the city’s functions.
For reference, that incident wasn’t because the Angel was an evil being.
It was simply a catastrophe created by a pure state, perfectly described by the words ‘pure evil,’ completely devoid of modern societal common sense, coupled with the erroneous response of humans.
Of course, Russia had also been simply unlucky.
“Haa….”
In any case, Choi Eunju’s worries only deepened.
She had a gut feeling that the catastrophe from that time was about to repeat itself.
‘Don’t tell me…, don’t tell me they built another research institute for this?’
Somehow, such a rational suspicion suddenly popped into Choi Eunju’s head.
She had wondered why they would needlessly build two research institutes, one in Seoul and one in the mountains, but it seemed this had been their plan all along.
“Damn those sons of b*ches. Just all die!”
Eventually, Choi Eunju gave up thinking.
These old geezers needed to have their heads bashed in at least once.
The schedule was very different from what I had imagined.
Quite a lot, in fact.
It was the kind of thing that someone like me, who lived a low-class life among ordinary people, would never have any connection to….
It was a category of events that ‘I’ could never have conceived of.
Because all I was doing now was sitting on the sofa and greeting visitors, and the first visitor was none other than the ‘President’ of South Korea….
Thanks to that, my body stiffened with pressure.
Even though I had been too busy to care about politics, seeing the president in person made a clear difference.
Th, this is burdensome…. So burdensome….
This kind of thing doesn’t suit a commoner like me….
Moreover, the president shamelessly uttered words like ‘Pride of South Korea!’ and ‘Treasure of South Korea!’ right to my face.
Thanks to that, it was my turn to tremble with shame.
No, I have no idea why I’m a treasure or a pride…!
I’m so embarrassed I could die! Stop!
I could feel my face flushing.
It must have turned bright red.
Anyway, besides the president, the procession of greetings from political figures and other people I didn’t know continued unabated, and by the time the stream of visitors finally ended, it was a whopping 10 p.m.
I woke up at 12 o’clock today….
Mind and body… I need peace of mind and body….
Flop.
I collapsed weakly onto the sofa.
Then, Lee Hyejin suddenly thrust a teddy bear, which I had no idea where she got, into my arms.
“Angel, you’ve worked hard. You must be tired, right?”
It was an incredibly sudden yet natural action.
In my daze, I hugged the teddy bear without realizing it.
Huh…? Something’s strange.
It was a common brown teddy bear, the kind you could easily find at any supermarket.
Realizing what had just happened, I was greatly flustered.
Ah, no matter what, a teddy bear at this age is a bit….
I was so tired right now that I didn’t want to make even the slightest movement.
I naturally relaxed my arms and let the teddy bear drop to the floor with a thud.
“Hmph…!”
At that sight, Lee Hyejin gasped, then looked at me with a face full of shock, as if she had been a victim of a warranty scam.
“…….”
“…….”
A short silence filled the room, and in the end, I had no choice but to pick up the teddy bear again and hug it.
For some reason…, I just felt like I had to.
Park Gyutae sighed deeply as he looked at the stack of documents in front of him, as thick as an encyclopedia.
Before him was the CS (Customer Service) report from the Korean Angel Center.
In other words, it was a condensed summary of complaints related to ‘care’ received by the call center.
Flip.
He turned the page to look at the first one.
The Angel’s clothes look too cold. Please provide warmer, more expensive, and better quality clothes.
The Angel’s attire was decided by a national vote.
Also, it was common knowledge that after the ring recovered, she no longer felt cold or heat, so he quickly moved on.
Flip.
The room where the Angel is staying looks dusty. Please clean it more thoroughly.
The cleaning team cleaned the room every day, so this was a ridiculous complaint.
Besides, how could you even see dust on a screen?
Flip.
I’m worried the Angel might be scared. Is it right to leave such a young and small Angel alone in such a large room? I question whether everyone is truly doing their best to ensure the Angel’s comfort.
…What was this guy on about?
Why did the CS team classify this under care?
What was I supposed to do?
Sleep with the Angel or something?
Park Gyutae sighed deeply and turned the page again.
Flip.
The folded crease running from the right waist of the Angel’s dress to the left leg looks unsightly. Please ensure it is always ironed. Also, wouldn’t it be better to prepare multiple sets of the same outfit? In addition, please brush the Angel’s hair every morning. She is an Angel representing South Korea. Please pay attention to her neat appearance.
“…….”
Park Gyutae silently covered his mouth with his hand, which was propping up his chin.
He remained frozen like that for a long time before turning the page again.
Please change the direction of the Angel’s bed to face south. From ancient times, the northeast and southwest directions have been known as ghost gates, where spirits come and go…….
Thwack.
Park Gyutae squeezed his eyes shut and closed the document.
Lee Hyejin sat at her desk, sighing heavily with a gloomy face as she scribbled something.
[Written Apology]
The reason she was writing an apology was very simple.
It was solely because she had been startled when the Angel called her.
At first, Lee Hyejin thought the order from her superiors to write an apology was a joke.
However, after hearing that that single scene had prompted a flood of protest calls from various church groups, calling it irreverent, and that she might even have to issue a public apology, she was quietly writing with her pen.
“Writing it well?”
At Park Gyutae’s question, Lee Hyejin pouted and retorted.
“No… How could I write it well…? I’m so unfairly accused, it’s killing me…. How can I have to write an apology just for being surprised once…….”
“See, that’s why I told you to be careful with every single action.”
“I, I was being careful! And how am I supposed to be careful about being surprised in the first place!?”
What kind of nonsense was it to tell her to control a physiological phenomenon?
She felt incredibly wronged.
“Sigh… I really thought it would be a healing job, looking at the cute Angel….”
“Hey, if it was that kind of job, do you think there would have been any vacancies? Everyone would have wanted to do it. And you haven’t seen them, have you?”
“…Seen what?”
“The Angel staff from other countries. They’ve all lost their hair due to stress. The one who’s been there the longest is practically a bald eagle.”
“What…? R, really!?”
“Of course, it’s true. And later, when you have time, read through those complaints from CS. It’s a real spectacle.”
“…….”
At Park Gyutae’s shocking statement, Lee Hyejin’s sighs only deepened.