TLCTS | 02

TLCTS

Posted by Arsiii_here, Released on November 3, 2025

Chapter 2

Even she had to admit—she was cute.
The problem was, she wasn’t just cute.

At thirty-three months old, Lee Chaeri possessed a level of maturity that made comparison with other toddlers meaningless.

Diapers? Those were relics of the past.
She didn’t even wet the bed in her sleep—her condition management was flawless.

“She doesn’t even fuss over food.”

Without ever giving her foster parents a headache, she washed her hands, brushed her teeth, and didn’t act up.
That was Lee Chaeri.

Of course, being that way required a lot of effort.

“Keep it together, Chaeri.”

If she relaxed even a little, she’d start acting like the child she was.
It felt like she was holding onto her sanity all day just to endure.
That’s why, by evening, she was always drowsy.

From 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.—a full 12 hours of sleep.

“My room… I really love my room.”

It was her first time having a room of her own.
Even the idea of “sleeping separately” felt like a blessing.

Every morning, she’d get up, neatly fold her bedding, turn off her mood light, and step into the living room.

“Mother, Father. I hope you slept well through the night.”

That much was basic courtesy.
Using a formal tone helped her conserve mental energy.

Naturally, her parenting difficulty level was set to easy mode.

Her foster mother, Kim Haseon, was growing more and more confused.

“People said raising kids was exhausting…”

Everything she read online suddenly felt like lies.
Even those “problem child” shows must’ve been staged, she thought.

When she was folding laundry, Chaeri would waddle over with pebble-sized hands and ask,

“Do I fold underwear too?”
“Huh? Oh—sure, would you?”
“Yes!”

And she really did fold them—underwear, socks, everything, neatly.

After finishing, she stretched proudly and declared,
“I’ll go brush teeth now!”

Speaking in third person like a cartoonish toddler was a little cringe, but she had to tolerate it.
She couldn’t afford to waste extra mental energy worrying about that.

A child who did everything on her own—Kim Haseon felt not just touched, but reverent.

“It’s like an angel has come to us, honey.”
“Yeah, it really feels that way.”

Even her husband Lee Jiseok, who had been skeptical about adoption, now often found himself smiling.

“If I’d known, I would’ve adopted too.”
“How is she so smart and adorable?”
“Is her hair dyed? What? Natural? That’s amazing and so pretty!”
“Wow, she’ll be so beautiful when she grows up. She could be a celebrity!”

Whenever they went to the hospital, everyone’s eyes turned toward her.

Her squeaky sandals, yellow duck T-shirt, denim overalls, and hair tied in two buns—plus her polite little bow.

“Hello! I’m Lee Chaeri, daughter of Lee Jiseok!”

Squeak squeak—

She could’ve gotten applause.

Her only problem was… the weight of her head.

While bowing, she lost her balance and fell forward.

Thud!

“Oh no, are you okay?”
“Chaeri, are you hurt?”

This top-heavy body!

She quickly stood up again.

She wasn’t hurt, but she wanted to cry. She wanted to run into her dad’s arms.
That was pure three-year-old instinct.

“They say for babies, mom and dad are the whole world.”
That wasn’t wrong.

Even if they were foster parents, affection seeped in so easily.

“Don’t get attached.”

Because the real love would soon be given to their biological child.

Right now, she was just the “practice older sister.”
Her role was to grow up safely, behave well, and quietly become independent when she came of age.

…But still.

“You never know.”

Maybe the future could change.

This Chaeri was different from the one in the novel.
She listened well, slept alone, slept through the night, made her bed, bowed politely—
A model child any parent would be proud of.

“You never know.”

So Chaeri hoped.
Just a little.

And three months later—
As in the original story—Lee Jiseok and Kim Haseon conceived a biological child.

It was 8 p.m.—she usually would’ve been asleep.
But not tonight.

Her eyelids were heavy, yet her mind stayed awake.

Chaeri cracked her door open slightly.

No light leaked out, but she could hear their voices clearly.

Her parents were looking at an ultrasound photo.

“This is the baby’s sac. Isn’t it adorable?”
“It really is. So cute.”
“And this is the yolk sac.”

Chaeri had seen ultrasound photos before, in her previous life.
They weren’t cute at all.
She couldn’t understand why they were so excited.

“Am I… jealous?”

She took a deep breath.

“Calm down, Lee Chaeri.”

This was all expected. She already knew.
A child would come late, and of course they’d be overjoyed.

But then—

“What about Chaeri?”

Kim Haseon’s voice dropped, but it carried clearly to Chaeri’s ears.

Her little ears perked up.

‘Chaeri’s our daughter too. We gave birth to her with our hearts, so of course we’ll love her.’

She had hoped to hear that.

Chaeri was different from the novel’s version.
She folded laundry, greeted politely, had the lowest difficulty rating as a child.
There was no reason for anyone to dislike her.

“…But sending her back would be wrong, wouldn’t it?”

They had already told everyone around them.
People praised them—‘Such a noble decision! You’re so admirable!’

“If I’d known, we should’ve waited just three more months…”
“Sigh.”

The house, once filled with laughter, now sank into sighs.

Kim Haseon said quietly,

“We shouldn’t have taken Chaeri.”

Silence.
Heavier and thicker than the blanket covering Chaeri.

“I don’t think I can promise not to treat them differently.”

Tears welled in Kim Haseon’s eyes as she covered her face.

“I’m such a terrible person, aren’t I?”

Now that she was pregnant, she wondered if they should send Chaeri back to the orphanage.

Lee Jiseok sighed too.

“No. We can’t undo this.”

A realistic statement. Then he added,

“But having Chaeri as an older sister might be nice, don’t you think?”

A child who helped around the house and understood adults—
Even if it was just imitation, she was undeniably useful.

“You don’t even know the gender yet, and you’re already saying older sister?”

Oh, right. Maybe it was because of Chaeri—
Without realizing it, he’d just assumed the baby was a girl.

“Ahem, well, sister or brother—same thing.”

Laughter returned.

Even though the baby in her belly had done nothing—
Hadn’t smiled, hadn’t moved, hadn’t even opened its eyes—
It still brought them laughter.

“You’re right. We’ll raise Chaeri. No turning back. Let’s stay strong.”
“…Okay.”
“Having her around will help with the baby’s emotional growth too. And in a couple years, she’ll help with chores. You can’t find a babysitter like that anywhere.”

Chaeri pulled the blanket over her head.

Her tiny, soft chest felt unbearably heavy.

“Yep… life really is a series of pain.”

She hadn’t thought she’d cry. But she did.

Everything was unfolding exactly as she knew it would.

They had only gotten what they’d longed for most—a biological child.

Chaeri decided she wouldn’t be too disappointed.

“Tomorrow I turn three.”

Her legal and actual birthdays were different, but officially, tomorrow she’d be three years old.
Precisely at midnight.

That was the day Lee Chaeri would awaken as the world’s only L-Rank Awakened One.

Tick-tock.

The clock’s second hand crawled along.

Tick… tock…

Midnight.

[Congratulations!]
[Occupation: ■■■……]
[Kid Mode activated…]
[You have awakened as ‘The Card-Collecting Child (L)’!]

The one and only in this world—
An L-Rank Awakened who would one day shake the entire world.

At the same moment, a global system announcement rang out—audible only to Awakened beings.

[An L-Rank Awakened has been born!]
[Only one L-Rank may exist per world.]
[If the current L-Rank dies, a new one will be chosen.]
[Killing an L-Rank transfers their awakening.]

“Just like the novel.”

Everything was following the script.
There could only be one.
To take that place, the previous one had to disappear.

From now on, everyone would hunt for that one.

Chaeri swallowed hard.

She knew all this—but being at the center of it made her heart pound.

“Calm down. From now, the Child Buff begins.”

[Child Buff activating!]
[Skill ‘Tower Entry’ has been created!]
[Buff lasts until age 7.]

In this world, Awakened Ones climbed the “Tower” to earn wealth and fame—
An era known as the Age of Towers.

But the L-Rank child could enter the Tower remotely, through her skill.

[Congratulations gift: 1 Card Selection Ticket granted!]

The Card-Collecting Child could summon heroes sealed within cards.

Readers of the original story had called her a Cardcaptor.