A Lifetime of Timed Lives

“Daddy, it costs ■■■■■.”

The little girl looked at the hovering texts only visible to her as she stood right in front of the glass panel showing a wide array of ice cream flavours. She turned her head and looked at her father, searching for some sort of affirmation or refusal, but all she got was a simple answer that offered nothing but more questions.

“You forgot, sweetheart. No one other than yourself knows how much something costs,” her father said with a small, affectionate smile.

The little girl looked at three things as she struggled to make her decision — the un-experienced and probably delicious matcha flavoured ice cream, the cashier who was looking at her with expectant eyes, and the two words she had seen ever since she was born.

YES or NO.

Oh, and she forgot to mention the other things happening inside her head right now.

The mini red devil on her right whispering about the utmost delicacy she would taste upon choosing yes.
The tiny holy angel on her left preaching about how she would lose two days of her lifespan just for a scoop of ice cream that she may not even enjoy.
And finally, the imaginary fairy that sat atop of her head, telling her to do whatever she wanted.

“Daddy, I really don’t know what to do…”

Her father knelt down and raised his hands, pinching and squishing both of her cheeks with his fingers.

“Just do what you think is right, Jiheon,” he said gently with a warm smile.

She looked at the tub of deep green ice cream sitting amongst all the other she had tried before, then looked at the

Would you like to buy this matcha ice cream?
Cost: 2 Days.
YES / NO’

glaring at her eyes. Her tiny brain rummaged through everything she had ever experienced in her three years, six months, two days, fifteen hours and seven minutes of life.

She could watch cartoons in those two days. She could sleep all she wanted for those two days. She could play games with Daddy and Mummy for two entire days.

Was that ice cream really worth all of that?

Her finger pressed forward.

The terminal vanished.

She turned and grabbed her father’s hand, pulling him out of the store.

“You sure, Heonnie?” her father asked, halting in his steps to give her another chance.

Jiheon looked at him with firm and resolute eyes, nodding silently.

“■■■■■ is a lot.”

“Matcha ice cream again?” Chaeyoung said, sliding into the seat opposite her.

“Of course,” Jiheon said, digging her spoon into the dark green sphere in her cup that had already been partially carved into. “Can’t start my day without it. It makes me happy, and it also gives me my daily dosage of caffeine.”

“Don’t you get tired of it?” Chaeyoung asked, pushing a cherry into her mouth. Her lips engulfed the small ball and wrapped tight, before she tightened her grip on the stalk stuck to the fruit and gave it a small yank, setting the cherry free.

“Do you get tired of cherries?”

“No, duh? Why would I? It’s one of my favourites,” Chaeyoung said, rolling her eyes subtly.

“Exactly,” Jiheon said. She scooped another spoonful of ice cream and put it into her mouth, humming softly.

“So, what lessons do you have today?”

“Same old. Although, I’ll be doing a co-lesson with Sungmin later on.”

Chaeyoung looked at Jiheon with surprise.

“Sungmin? Isn’t he your—”

“Shush, Lee Chaeyoung,” Jiheon said, giving her a small glare. “Do not say it.”

Chaeyoung’s lips curled up deviously, her mouth parting as she popped another cherry into her mouth. However, right before she bit the fruit off the stem—

“—crush?”

“Ya,” Jiheon gritted her teeth, giving Chaeyoung a small kick on her shin.

Unfortunately, Chaeyoung had long brought her legs up onto the chair, crossing them as she though she had already anticipated Jiheon’s reaction.

“That's really weird though,” Chaeyoung said. “Considering how you both have such different styles when teaching, and teach totally different things, why would the dean ask you guys to do a joint lesson?”

Jiheon scraped more ice cream and stuffed it into her mouth, humming softly.

“Beats me. No one knows what the dean is thinking. Regardless, from what I've heard, it seems that this decision costed him quite a bit of his lifespan.”

“Really?” Chaeyoung asked, eyebrows raised in shock. “Damn… to go so far as to use his life just for the school. He really is dedicated.”

Jiheon pursed her lips and stared blankly at her ice cream which had partially melted into a semi-solid green goop. She stuck her spoon in and stirred it slowly, generating more friction for it to melt faster.

“I wonder how much time he paid…” Jiheon said, thinking about the time when she finally decided to grace her tongue that was virgin to the taste of matcha ice cream.

Four days.

A month after declining it, she had decided to return to the ice cream shop. However, the amount of time it costed doubled from two to four days. At that moment, out of fear that the price would increase further if she hesitated any longer, she decided to spend.

Well, at least she did not regret it. The stupid matcha ice cream had somehow managed to top every single flavour that she had previously liked, earning its place as one of her favourite foods. She cannot go a single day without eating it, especially for breakfast. It had basically become her caffeine equivalent of any working adult slaving and book cramming student.

“So, have you talked to him regarding the lesson?” Chaeyoung asked.

“Yeah,” Jiheon said. “I met him yesterday evening. Wanted to ask if he wanted to plan for it.”

Chaeyoung looked at Jiheon, and Jiheon looked back at her.

“What?” Jiheon asked.

“What do you mean what? So? Did y'all come to a consensus or anything?”