I Thought It Was a Healing Farming Game - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I thought it was supposed to be a Healing Farming Game
Episode 1

My earliest memories always began in a small coastal village.
Waking in the morning, nestled snugly in my mother’s arms, with dazzling sunlight streaming through.
Each time I walked along the shore in front of our house, the salty sea breeze would wash over me.
On sunny days I’d nap in a hammock, and on nights when we lit a bonfire, I’d sit beside my father as he played guitar and sang along with him.
Back then, I believed my life would always be this happy, this radiant, forever.
Until a sudden accident took my parents from me in an instant.
“How could you leave this poor child behind? Come with your grandmother.”
Before my young mind could even fully grasp what was happening, I was taken in by my paternal grandmother and brought to Korea, my father’s homeland.
It would have been a lie to say I wasn’t sad, but with my grandmother there to care for me, I was never lonely.
After a year or two, just as I was beginning to adjust to this unfamiliar place,
Cough—
Blood suddenly spilled from my mouth.
At sixteen years old. Without any warning, a Rare Disease found me.
And now, at nineteen years old.
Whoosh—
As I drew back the curtain hanging around my bed, the Hospital Room interior, reeking of disinfectant, came into view.
I was still in the Hospital.
Outside the window, early dawn was still dark.
Out of habit, I picked up the Tablet placed beside my bed.

4 New Notifications

When I turned on the screen, I saw a notification icon hovering above the cute game icon.

Loading……
5:10 AM

It was early morning in the game village too, the same as in reality.
I moved my character to tidy up the bed, then headed straight outside to take a walk through the In-Game Village.
Before long, I spotted a ladder leaning against a tree.
The Boy harvesting fruit from above noticed my character and quickly climbed down the ladder, throwing his arms around me in an embrace.

Hi, Yumiel! You’re up early again today? I’m so happy to see you.

Seeing the villager circling around my character and greeting me warmly, a smile spread across my face.
A dialogue choice window appeared next.

→ 2. Want to go see the Sea at Sunrise?

The moment I selected the option, my character dashed off with the Boy toward the sea, their feet pounding the ground.
“So cute……!”
Since I couldn’t actually go outside, I was living vicariously through the game.
In the middle of playing, the curtain of my Hospital Room bed was drawn back.
“Yumiel?”
A familiar face—the Nurse—called out to me.
“You’re up early. Let me check your blood pressure.”
“Oh. Sure!”
As the Nurse retrieved her instruments, her eyes flicked toward the Tablet in my hands.
“You’re playing that game again? Seems like you’re really enjoying it.”
“It’s so much fun! On days when I’m not in pain, I can play all day long.”
Speaking with an excited voice, the Nurse smiled at me.
“I’m glad. You were always bright, but you seem even brighter now—it’s nice to see.”
The Hospital had provided me with this Tablet, and the Nurse had given it to me when I started spending long stretches lying in bed unable to leave.
“Thank you so much. I’m using it every day.”
Once I started playing the games installed on the Tablet, I found myself reclaiming a sense of vitality in my daily life.
Among them, what had captivated me most recently was a Healing Farming Game set in a small island village.
It was the perfect game for someone who missed home as much as I did.
“I’ve already decorated my house so much! Look at this. The villagers come find me on their own now, give me gifts. When you see them every day, you really do grow attached, don’t you? It’s just a game, but it’s so strange somehow…….”
In the midst of my excited rambling, the Nurse suddenly seized my hand.
“Yumiel.”
I felt her hand trembling faintly as it covered the back of mine.
“I have something to tell you.”
When I met the Nurse’s serious expression, my mind went blank.
I knew better than anyone that my physical condition had been deteriorating with each passing day.
So I’d thought countless times that a day like this might come eventually, but…….
“Ah…… um, I……”
“You’re eligible for surgery.”
Just as I was forcing myself to respond calmly, an answer came back that was 180 degrees different from what I’d expected.
“……What?”
I asked back in a daze.
The hand holding mine tightened.
“You can get better.”
The story the Nurse told me, half-dazed as I was, was nothing short of shocking.
A research team had recently uncovered the cause of the Rare Disease and developed a new surgical method.
It was news that the procedure had been deemed safe, and they’d decided to move forward quickly with surgery for critical patients like me.
My heart pounded violently as I listened to the explanation. I asked back with a trembling voice.
“So then…… I can live?”
The Nurse squeezed my hand again and nodded firmly.
“Of course. We’ll just finish the response tests and proceed with the surgery the day after tomorrow. The Director himself will handle the procedure and has already adjusted his schedule.”
“I, I want to tell Grandmother right away.”
“Wait!”
My hand, reaching for the Mobile Phone, was stopped.
The Nurse rushed to explain, her expression troubled.
“It hasn’t been released to the media yet, so we can’t let this leak to the outside world. We’ll brief your Grandmother separately.”
I nodded, trying to compose my excitement.
Even the throbbing pain that covered my entire body—as if I’d been beaten—didn’t bother me in the slightest right now. I was simply overjoyed.
“Ah, but what about hospital fees? How much will the surgery cost……?”
Until now, under the guise of being a test subject for the Rare Disease, I’d been hospitalized at a reduced cost in exchange for participating in various tests and experiments.
But surgery was a different matter entirely.
‘Grandmother probably doesn’t have much money.’
My heart grew heavy at the thought of her borrowing money from all sides for my treatment.
“Don’t worry about that. The research organization is providing quite a substantial surgical grant. The Hospital also said they’d review covering the remaining balance in full.”
“Really? Thank goodness…… Thank you. Thank you so much.”
The moment relief washed over me, tears spilled out first.
“Don’t cry, Yumiel.”
“The truth is, truthfully…… I. Deep down, I kept thinking I’d never get better. That I’d spend my whole life just being sick like this…… that I’d never be able to go home, I was so scared.”
My words kept breaking, interrupted by tears.
The Nurse reached out as if to comfort me, and held me.
“The surgery…… it’s going to go well. Definitely. You’ll get healthy, and then we might not see each other again, so I’m worried about what I’ll do…….”
Thump, thump, thump.
The rapid beating of the heart—whether mine or hers—was impossible to tell.
I wiped my tears and looked up at her, smiling.
“Just because I’m leaving the Hospital doesn’t mean we won’t see each other! I’ll definitely come visit you.”
After spending the past several years together, I’d grown quite attached to the Nurse.
I held back my tears deliberately and smiled brightly, and she returned my gaze with a smile of her own.
Her eyes had already turned red.
“You promise? Cross your heart?”
“I promise!”
I hooked my pinky with hers and nodded vigorously.
The mere fact that there were people who cared for me this much made me feel truly blessed.

* * *

Time moved swiftly, and dawn broke on the morning of the surgery.
“Oh, my dear. My sweet child. Don’t be afraid. You’ll come through the surgery just fine, won’t you? Yes?”
Grandmother walked beside me all the way as I was wheeled toward the operating room.
“Of course, Grandmother. I’ll get well, I promise. You don’t need to worry.”
“That’s right. That’s how it should be. My goodness. Thank you, Lord. Heaven must have heard my prayers…….”
I gave her a bright smile and stepped into the operating room.
The moment I entered, a chill wrapped around my entire body.
The Doctor came in after me, and brilliant light flooded down from above.
“We’re going to give you anesthesia now. Try not to tense up. Just breathe slowly and steadily.”
“Yes…….”
“What do you want to do when the surgery’s over?”
Her voice was clinical yet soothing, calculated to ease my nerves.
I breathed in slowly and closed my eyes.
“Like it used to be…….”
The more I imagined it, the more a smile bloomed across my face.
When I was well again, I’d walk through the countryside, help with the fieldwork, eat delicious food…….
“I want to run around the village, work, and just live life again, enjoying every day.”
“Is that so?”
The Doctor pulled on her surgical gloves and spoke matter-of-factly.
“Good. That’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
In her voice to me, there was the faint trace of a smile.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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