I Became the Narrow-Eyed Character in the Little Prince Game

Poke, poke.

A gentle pressure against my cheek.
Behind my closed eyelids, a faint light flickers.
The hazy consciousness stirs, weighed down by exhaustion.

I rub my tired eyes, still heavy with sleep.
The sight that greets me is the familiar view of a hospital room.
“……”

Someone is holding onto my sleeve.
I look down at the bed.
Sitting atop the white sheets is a little girl, no more than ten years old.

A girl with a frail appearance, even for her age.
When our eyes meet, her small lips part to speak.
A delicate voice, like the chirping of a bird.

“Oppa! You weren’t listening to me again!”
A sharp, pouty tone—uncharacteristic of her.
Was she sulking?

The little girl was staring up at me with a slight scowl.
The hospital gown draped over her small body made her look like a little angel.
I blink, momentarily dazed, then reach out and take her tiny hand in mine.

In that small palm, there was a warmth that felt almost precious.
“Sorry… I dozed off for a bit.”
“You said you’d play with me! You’re a liar, Oppa…”
“I’m really sorry. I won’t do it again. Can you forgive me this time?”

“You said that last time, too. You promised so many times already.”
“I mean it this time. I promise, I really do.”
“Then, promise me again!”

“If that’s what it takes, I promise.”
“Hmm… Okay! I forgive you!”
“Thank you.”

“Hehe.”
Her mood lifts quickly.
She leans in, resting her head against me as if she’d been waiting for it.
Like a habit, I gently stroke her hair.

The little girl leans into me, giggling softly.
The warmth sinking into my chest felt undeniably real.
“Oppa, I cried again today.”

“...Are you feeling better now?”
“I cried because I missed you. But the nurse unnie told me to stop, so I did.”
“So, Nurse Unnie looked after you again. I should thank her properly, shouldn’t I?”

“She said that if I kept crying, my hardworking Oppa would feel sad…”
“You’re such a good girl. Even while crying, you were thinking of me.”
“Hehe. So, praise me quickly!”

A smile so bright it could shatter.
I caressed her hair gently, afraid it might break.
The soft black strands fell like silk through my fingers.

The image reflected in my eyes was more precious than anything in the world.
My lips curl into a faint smile.
“You’re amazing… my little sister.”

The only light left in my world.
And soon, that light would go out.
Day after day, I watched over the angel trapped in that hospital room.

Taking each day, one tentative step at a time.
***
There was nothing remarkable about my life.

It was an ordinary, impoverished existence.
Just slightly more miserable and slightly more tragic than the average.
If I were to put it plainly, it was the kind of life you’d only see in a cheap, clichéd melodrama.

But for us, that was our reality.
-Oppa!
Our family was just the two of us.

Me and my little sister, ten years younger than me.
Our parents had both died in an accident.
It happened right around the time ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) my sister was about to start elementary school.

I still remember that day.
-Are you sure you’ll be okay?
-Can you really take care of your sister?
-Mom and Dad are going away just for two days, but we can’t help but worry.
-You know what Mom always says, right? Look after your sister until we get back.
-We’ll call you once we get there.
Their wedding anniversary.

They’d decided to go on a small, modest domestic trip.
The last image I had of them was watching them step out the door.
And the next thing that came wasn’t a call from my mother—
but a doctor, delivering the news of their death.

I remember standing there in a daze, going through the unfamiliar motions of a funeral.
My sister clung to my sleeve the entire time.
-That’ll be 7,560,000 won.

Burn the bones, place them in an urn, lay them to rest in a columbarium.
The steps every person’s remains must go through when they die.
I learned, earlier than most, just how much those steps cost.

I pulled out the crumpled condolence money, counting the wrinkled bills with trembling hands.
That small stack of paper felt unbearably heavy.
The scent of funeral money clung to my young, trembling fingers.

-What am I supposed to do now…?
After the funeral, I returned to the house.
Leaning against the window, I muffled my sobs every night.

What lay before me was nothing but a hellish path.
I was still just a kid.
Everything terrified me.

But I couldn’t break down.
-Oppa, are you crying…?
I couldn’t afford to break down.

My little sister, knowing nothing of what had happened, only glanced up at me, worried.
I hadn’t even noticed she was awake, standing there in her pajamas, hugging me.
For her sake, I had to harden my heart.

The memory of that day, when I sobbed uncontrollably, was still painfully vivid.
-I’ll work as hard as I can! Please, hire me!
I dropped out of school.

Abandoning my youth, I picked up heavy tools.
On hot days, I carried rebar.
On cold days, I poured concrete.
While kids my age were making memories, I was building walls and hauling steel.

Every night, dragging my exhausted body back home, I’d eat a cup of instant ramen and pass out.
Every day felt like it was shaving years off my life.
But even so, it was fine.

-Oppa!
Whenever I returned home, you were there, smiling so brightly.
That innocent smile was what kept me going.

Whenever I felt exhausted, I would always imagine it—
The sight of you, all grown up.
“You’ll be happy, right?”

I wanted you to be different from me.
To live a life like other kids—one that a child should have.
Instead of piling up bricks at construction sites, I wanted you to build memories with friends.

To go to school, to plead for expensive academy fees, to experience small acts of rebellion.
And at the end of it all, to walk through the gates of a university, whether it was good or bad.
To live a life where you could truly understand what living meant.

“Please, at least you...”
Perhaps it was selfish of me.
The things I never knew, the things I gave up on, the things I regretted—

I wanted to give you all of it.
I wanted you to be someone who could dream, chase those dreams, and make them come true.
I exchanged my own school days for the sake of that wish.

My only dream was your happiness.
I had no dreams for myself.
So.

You were my dream.
“Things will get better, right?”
Three years passed just like that.

I became an adult, and our precarious life finally found some balance.
My sister had just turned nine.
It felt like I’d finally learned the ropes of living through hell.

Life began to feel a little more manageable, even a little happy.
And then, in my arrogance, I let myself think:
“Maybe... I’m doing okay.”

But it didn’t last long.
I soon realized—
Happiness was never on our side.

“She has, at most, six months left.
You should prepare yourself.”
My sister fell ill when she was ten.
According to the doctor, it was a rare disease.

You know the kind—the kind with a name so complicated, it only ever shows up in movies or dramas.
A disease that slipped into her frail body, a disease I couldn’t even begin to understand.
The fear I felt when I first heard the twisted name was probably because of that—

The fact that the doctor’s response was always the same: there was no cure.
“Why...”
An ordinary, impoverished life.

Just slightly more miserable and slightly more tragic than most.
That small degree of difference—it was sometimes crueler than anything else.
I had no choice but to crumble.

“Oppa... Am I sick?”
She looked up at me with tearful eyes.
The stark white hospital bed and her pure white patient gown stood in stark contrast to the pitch-black reality.

I held onto her frail body, crying but unable to let her go.
Maybe I was just scared of being left alone.
I was too weak to let her go.

“Kim! You’ve been working hard these days, huh?
Got something going on at home?
Your eyes are filled with fire, man. Even just watching you is terrifying.
You’re so young... shouldn’t you be out having fun or something?
But still, you’re a hardworking guy.”
I kept living fiercely, just like before.
Hospital bills kept piling up.

To cover them, I had to tread even deeper into hell.
Mornings were for deliveries.
Afternoons were for construction sites.
Evenings were for nursing her.
Nights were for more deliveries.
I knew it was meaningless. But I refused to believe it was meaningless.

If I could just buy her a little more time, I was willing to do anything.
If I didn’t have that resolve, I felt like I’d go insane.
“Please.”

I just wanted you to live.
Memories drift through my mind like a gentle current.
Slowly, I open my eyes.

“Oppa!”
What I see beyond my blurry vision is the same white hospital room.
And there, sitting on the same white bed, is you.

The same, bright smile as always.
You grab onto my sleeve with a sunny grin.
“You were listening to me, right?”

“Of course... of course I was.”
“Hehe! And then guess what? Nurse Unnie said that today...”
You chatter on, your voice like a cheerful song.

I say nothing, only stroking your hair as you talk.
Outside the window, the setting sun paints a summer evening.
I smile faintly as I continue our small talk.

“So that’s it.”
The soles of my feet, which had just been trudging through the construction site, throb with pain.
The aching muscles testify to a grueling day.

What awaits me after this is another round of nighttime deliveries.
Despite the exhaustion closing in on my eyelids, I force myself to stay awake.
I wanted to treasure this moment—the time I could spend with you.

I think to myself:
“So this... was my nightmare.”
A white hospital room.

A little angel living beyond that door.
My nightmare was nothing more than a memory, and memories are always so heartbreakingly precious.
I clasp her warm, small hand gently.

“Dawnbringer.”
I was trapped in a nightmare.
To be precise, I was locked within my own subconscious.

With a light touch, I pulse the power of lies through my fingertips.
Everything seemed fine. Once confirmed, I let the power dissipate.
In the back of my mind, I thought of the girl fighting her own battle somewhere else.

“Neria... I hope you’re holding on.”
This stage was set for her.
All I could do was watch from afar.

Trapped in this tender, fleeting nightmare.
“So anyway! I told the nurse Unnie that...”
“Really? You’re so brave, my little sister.”

For now—
I decided to stay.