Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 98

98. Ice Princess and the Drumbeat

An old residential neighborhood.

Inside a remodeled house, a girl in an extravagant, princess-like dress was looking directly at the camera.

With exceptionally fair skin, large eyes with even brown pupils, and a high nose, the small child looked every bit the lovely princess to anyone who saw her.

“Hello, everyone. This is SeriSera Mom.”

Next to the calmly seated child, her simply dressed mother waved at the camera.

“Today, Princess Sera will read ‘The Ice Princess in the Forest,’ which was recommended by one of our subscribers.”

-Sera, hello!

-Princess, your online auntie canceled her appointment today just to see you, Sera.

-Our Sera is so pretty today, too.

-Adding an online uncle here.

As the live broadcast of the kids’ channel, which has become a hot topic across YouTube and the media, began, viewers went wild.

-As expected, ending the weekend with our Seses’ [a cute nickname for the sisters] live broadcast.

In just about five minutes since it started, over 10,000 viewers gathered instantly. Consequently, the real-time chat window also filled up quickly.

“Sera, are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

“Okay! Then, let’s start Princess Sera’s weekend reading session.”

The child’s mother stepped out of the frame, and Sera, with a blank expression, began to read the book.

“The Ice Princess spends another day in her cold castle.

The people are enthusiastic as they look at her beautiful clothes and the Ice Princess’s beautiful face. But the princess is neither happy nor joyful at all.

Although it was full of sparkling jewels and delicious food, none of it truly belonged to the princess. Because the Ice Princess was under a witch’s curse.

The people, deceived by her false expression, think the princess is the happiest person in the world.

The princess is so lonely because there is no one who recognizes her true feelings.

She only hopes that this cold castle will melt away quickly in the warm sunlight.”

After finishing reading the book, the child calmly closed it and stared at the camera. Then, the previously quiet chat window exploded with messages, rising so quickly that it seemed to lag.

-Sera, I read a book today because of you. Thank you.

-The pretty child’s voice is so beautiful.

-The princess is pretty today, too.

-Today, the content is a bit heavy for a fairy tale, but it was nice because Sera introduced it, and the atmosphere was different.

“Okay! Everyone. Today, the book that our Princess Sera read was a foreign fairy tale recommended by one of our Sese subscribers.”

The child’s mother, who had appeared unnoticed, introduced the book.

“Our Princess Sera’s nickname is Ice Princess, so I thought it would be great to read this book. Sera, you worked so hard. I love you.”

The mother hugged the child tightly, as if she was proud and admiring, and kissed her forehead.

“Yes, Mom. I love you too.”

-It’s really a heartwarming sight to see.

-As expected, the SeriSera channel is so good because it’s different from other kids’ channels.

-I don’t usually watch kids’ channels because they overdo it excessively, but this is the only channel I watch.

The SeriSera channel, which appeared like a comet six months ago, gained popularity through word of mouth with a slightly unique concept.

Unlike typical kids’ channels, which feature vlogs, mukbangs [eating broadcasts], or experiential formats, this channel simply showed a child reading short fairy tales.

However, the child reading the book was unique. She didn’t laugh excessively or talk much, and she consistently maintained a blank expression, focusing solely on reading the book.

It was, in some ways, an extremely simple concept, but the child’s presence made it explode in popularity.

People were captivated by the child, who was prettier than many child actors. Moreover, after the mother confessed that the reason for the child’s severe blank expression was due to her autistic tendencies, which people had been curious about, the number of fans increased exponentially.

The combination of a pretty child and a child with a perceived illness simultaneously stimulated people’s curiosity and sympathy.

“And today, as we announced to our Sese fans, we will be having our first live Q&A session. So, let’s call our little princess Seri. Seri~”

“Hello. I’m Seri, Sera’s younger sister.”

Seri, who appeared at her mother’s call, was younger than Sera, but she was taller. In comparison, her older sister, Sera, was smaller than her peers.

“Sister~ My sister is the prettiest in the world.”

-Here comes the cute Seri.

-It’s always heartwarming to see Seri taking care of Sera.

-The sisters look so good together.

Seri, who had the reputation of being her sister’s biggest fan, sat close to Sera, put her arm around her, and showered her with affection.

“I will answer the questions as I see them live.”

-Was Sera always pretty?

-What is the SeriSera premonition dream?

-What is the reason for starting YouTube?

“Okay, I’ll read the first question. The reason for starting YouTube, which was asked by 맑음 [a Korean word meaning ‘clear’], was actually because of Sera.”

-Really? Why?

-Did Sera want to do it?

-Was it perhaps because of her autism spectrum?

“Yes. As some of you guessed, I was always thinking about what I could do to help Sera with her autistic tendencies. She always reads books, so I thought, ‘Let’s upload this to YouTube and make it a memory,’ so I started it.”

-Is SeriSera’s father still on the ship?

“Yes, my husband is still on the ship. My husband and I don’t want to quit what we were doing with the channel and treat it like just another job.”

-As expected, a conceptual couple.

-Other YouTube couples should learn from them.

“But the job of being on a ship is dangerous, and the children keep wanting to see him, so we decided to do it for one more year and then quit.”

-But are they really biological sisters? How can they not look alike at all, even if you look closely?

While the live broadcast was in full swing, when someone commented on the sisters’ appearances, people started to react strongly.

-Crazy, do you think all siblings look exactly the same like twins?

-The children’s father also watches the live broadcast from time to time, so let’s be careful with our words.

-If you don’t like it, you can just not watch it, so why come in and write such a thing?

-Manager: Insulting phrases and phrases that use words that are not suitable for children or cause controversy will be deleted without notice.

“Okay! Everyone, the manager has forcibly removed them, so stop now. And I have good news for you. Oflix [a fictional streaming service] is filming a documentary about the world’s most influential children, and our SeriSera has been selected as the representative of Korea.”

-Wow! Jackpot! I already know they have a lot of foreign fans, but now they’re real global stars.

-Is this finally an opportunity to peek into the daily lives of our princesses?

-I’m so excited.

“Thank you for your support. I refused at first, but the PD [Producer] and writer said they would only film for one day with the minimum number of people, so I accepted. I’ll film it well and let you know. Then, our princesses have to talk to their dad, so we’ll wrap up the live broadcast here today.”

-No! Don’t go.

-I was happy to see the princesses live today.

-Have good dreams, our princesses.

“Seri, Sera, you have to say goodbye to our Sese fans, right?”

“Goodbye.”

“Bye, Seses!”

With the children’s greetings as the last, the children’s mother ended the live broadcast.

Despite the short live broadcast that day, real-time donations exceeded 5 million won [approximately $3,800 USD]. Most of the donations were directed towards Sera.

“Mom, did I do well?”

“Of course. Our Sera always does well, right? Oh! Dad’s calling.”

“Dad!”

As soon as the broadcast ended, a video call came from the sisters’ father as if he had been waiting.

-Wow! My pretty Sejin and Seyoung.

“Did you watch the broadcast today too?”

-I saw it! I’m in a lodging near the port. You’re working hard taking care of the kids alone.

“It’s not hard work. Rather, I’m holding on because of the kids. Don’t say that.”

The children’s mother took care of the children diligently even while talking to her husband.

“Seyoung, you have to say hello to Dad.”

“Dad.”

The expression of the child, who had been expressionless like an ice princess, changed very slightly.

-Yes, my pretty Seyoung. Are you getting along well with Mom and Sejin?

“I miss you, Dad.”

-Dad misses our princesses too.

“Mom, my stomach hurts again. I need to poop. Bathroom.”

“Now! Does your stomach hurt again?”

“Uh-huh, quickly.”

At that time, the mother’s gaze kept turning to the phone as the second daughter made a fuss, saying she urgently needed to go to the bathroom.

“Honey, I’ll end the call now……”

“Ah~! Mom, Sejin says her stomach hurts.”

“Okay. I understand. Seyoung, you have to go to bed now. Say goodbye to Dad and hang up.”

“Mom, it’s coming out.”

“Okay, let’s go quickly.”

As the mother hurriedly headed to the bathroom with her younger sister, Seyoung quietly moved to the corner.

-Seyoung. Is there anything wrong? Mom is always worried about Seyoung.

“Dad, you know, I……”

Just as Seyoung, who had decided something in her father’s worried eyes, was about to confess,

“Seyoung. You have to wash up, right?”

The mother, who had approached unnoticed, snatched the phone.

“Honey, it’s time for the kids to sleep.”

-Has it already become that time? Honey, I’m always sorry and grateful to you. Please take good care of Seyoung.

“Are we strangers? Why are you saying such things between husband and wife? Seyoung is my pretty daughter. Go in quickly. Take care of yourself.”

-Okay, I’ll hang up. Sleep well, our Seyoung.

“Good night, Dad.”

“Hey, Kakao [a Korean messaging app with AI assistant features], play the big drum sound continuously.”

The mother, who hung up the phone, suddenly turned on the music on the living room speaker and grabbed Seyoung’s wrist.

“You, follow me.”

Then, with a vicious look on her face, she was taking Seyoung to the basement.

“Please forgive me.”

In the place where the child passed, her dress, necklace, and sparkling hairband all fell to the floor one by one.

“Did I do something wrong? Mom……”

“Mom? Who! Who is your mom?”

“A, Auntie, I’m sorry.”

“Are you crazy? Who are you calling Auntie? You! What did you say to Dad?”

“I didn’t say anything……. I didn’t say anything. Really. Please forgive me just once.”

With a ‘thud,’ the basement door closed.

* * *

After a while-

The woman called Mom was standing on the basement stairs, staring at Seyoung, who was lying on the floor.

“We’re filming tomorrow, so don’t do anything stupid and do well. Otherwise, you’ll hear the drumbeat again. Got it?”

“……”

“Answer! You’re not answering.”

“Hic……. Yes.”

“What are you crying about like you did something well? Stop crying right now? It’s unlucky, why are you crying?”

“I’ll stop. I stopped. I……. I’m hungry.”

The words Seyoung mustered up the courage to say, having only eaten one slice of bread all day, were drowned out by Sejin’s voice coming from above.

“Mom! Sejin’s stomach hurts again! Where are you? Mom~!”

“Mom is studying with her sister. I’ll go now.”

“My stomach hurts!!”

“Our princess, Mom is going up. I think we need to go to the hospital tomorrow.”

Thud-

Once again, the basement door was tightly closed. Only the old light bulb flickered as if to comfort the sobbing Seyoung.

“Hello, spider.”

A large spider passed by on the dark, dusty basement floor.

Another child her age would have been surprised, but Seyoung neither startled nor cried.

It was less scary to have that spider than to be alone.

“Spider, I hurt too……”

Seyoung was neither an autistic child nor an expressionless ice princess. However, the fear and frightening presence she faced every day made her lose her expression, and they attached the label of a non-existent autistic tendency.

“Dad, Seyoung is sick.”

Today, she desperately prayed that someone would save her from this hellish reality.

“Please save me. Please……”

Seyoung, sobbing in a pitiful voice, fell asleep exhausted from crying, stroking the blue marks that had increased on her body.

“Help me.”