Episode 2
This was not good news.
I opened my eyes again and looked around carefully.
About ten steps ahead of me, I saw a rope stretched tight across the path.
If I had kept walking, I would have tripped on it and fallen, and a bucket of dirty water would have been dumped on my head.
In this alley, only a few people would play such a trick.
This was the servants’ quarters, and only the head lady or the servant girls came here.
And the head lady would never do something like this.
Which meant the culprit had to be Hye‑jin, the older servant girl who hated me.
Ever since I arrived, I’d been given an easy job because I was the youngest.
She didn’t like that, so she always tried to make trouble for me.
“Heard you got this servant job by flattering the Great Madam, huh?”
“You think you know anything? Go do the laundry!”
“Don’t even think about tattling! Do you think someone that high up cares about little servant quarrels?”
Those were just a few of the nasty things she’d said to me.
She even shoved her laundry chores onto me and ignored me most of the time.
It hadn’t even been seven weeks since I arrived, but so much had already happened.
They loved bullying new girls here.
Anger bubbled up inside me.
How can I get back at her?
I thought and thought, then turned around—just as the head lady in charge of the servant quarters, Madam So, walked in.
“What are you doing there?”
I bowed politely.
“I was on my way back to the servants’ hall.”
“Then why are you standing there?”
She looked at me curiously, not knowing what was going on.
That’s when a perfect idea came to me.
“Ah… yes, I should hurry! I can do more work that way!”
I smiled brightly, pretending everything was normal—then I threw myself toward the rope.
The rope jerked loose too late, and I faked a stumble and rolled dramatically on the ground.
“Ow! Ouch!”
I even cried out for effect.
The dirty water didn’t fall, but the rope was still there for everyone to see.
Now I just need Madam So to notice…
“Yeon‑hwa!”
Madam So rushed over, panicked.
My knee did hurt, but I held back my tears and looked up.
My skirt had torn a little from rolling on the ground.
Ah… this was a precious skirt…
Madam So, though strict, was kind at heart.
She held my hand, worried sick.
(Sorry, Madam… I need your help with something.)
I needed someone to punish those bullies.
She spotted the rope, and her face turned dark.
“Who did this?!”
Her voice boomed like thunder, and I jumped a little.
I knew she was strict, but not this scary.
From behind the low trees, Hye‑jin and a few other girls appeared—girls whose faces I recognized but hadn’t learned names yet.
“M‑Madam…”
“We… we didn’t mean to—”
But Madam So didn’t let them finish.
“I knew you girls were wary of new servants, but I didn’t think you’d go this far!”
“Madam! We didn’t mean any harm!”
“Don’t lie to me! Look up there.”
She pointed to the trees.
Another rope was tied to a bucket hanging above.
They had planned to dump dirty water the moment I fell.
Wow… they went that far just to mess with me.
They put in so much effort…But I couldn’t let them get away with it.
I remembered what Mom always said: “You can’t let injustice slide. If you do, you’ll never be truly righteous.”
But seeing Madam So so angry… I suddenly felt a bit sorry for them.
Maybe I should go easy on them?
“Um… Madam…”
I gently tugged on her sleeve.
“Yes, Yeon‑hwa? What is it?”
Her voice softened a little.
I looked up at her with my best puppy‑dog eyes.
“Please… don’t be too harsh on them…”
Sparkling eyes—my secret weapon.
She covered her mouth and coughed.
“And why is that? These girls set up a trap to hurt someone.
Even if it wasn’t you, I would still punish them.”
Which was her elegant way of saying, “I’m punishing them for a good reason, not just for you—so don’t stop me.”
“I… I just think they probably know they were wrong now.”
“What a kind child you are.
But you’re hurt, aren’t you?
When someone’s life or safety is involved, we can’t just ignore it.”
“Okay, Madam.”
I knew she wouldn’t change her mind, so I nodded quietly.
She helped me to my feet.
“Can you walk?”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Then go to the Medical Hall and get that treated. I can see blood on your knee.”
I quickly looked down.
Sure enough, blood was dripping from my knee.
Wow… I rolled hard. I only meant to fake it!
Madam So gave me directions.
“The Medical Hall isn’t far. Turn right, then left, then go around…”
It sounded a bit complicated, but I thought I could manage.
I won’t get lost… right? Right?…but Mom always said, ‘When you say surely not… that’s when trouble comes.’
“Where am I?!”
I stood on an empty path and shouted.
No one answered.
There wasn’t even anyone nearby to say, “Hey, what are you doing?”
I was lost.
All I could hear was the wind in the grass and birds singing.
Sounds I hadn’t noticed in a long time.
It’s kind of nice to have a moment like this…
I forgot about my knee pain and listened.
There are so many pretty flowers here…
I had wandered into a garden filled with beautiful blossoms.
I thought a place run by fearsome villains wouldn’t have a garden like this—but apparently, Saparyeon’s master even cared about scenery.
Come to think of it, the people here aren’t as scary as I thought…
I had learned something after coming here:
“Dark sect” doesn’t mean only bad guys.
It just means they’re not part of the main righteous sects.
Among them, the truly violent ones were called “black path” groups, like Jianggang Surochai, Hao‑mun, and Nokrim.
Maybe the master of Saparyeon isn’t one of those violent types…?
Mom always said: A house is like its master.
Back home, our peach trees bloomed every spring because of her.
Thinking I’d never see them again made my heart heavy.
The happiness I felt after outsmarting the older girls faded.
“…I need to stop thinking about Mom.”
But it had only been seven weeks since the funeral.
How could adults forget so quickly?
Was I just different from them?
I thought of my siblings.
Mom used to braid their hair every morning, and we’d all come home with messy hair after playing outside.
I miss them. I remember them crying so hard when we had to say goodbye…
I wondered if they were okay in the new home Saparyeon had arranged for them.
I hoped they weren’t skipping meals.
I should send them money when I can.
But first, I needed to finish the task Madam So gave me.
I had to get to the Medical Hall before sunset, then hurry back to my room.
The birdsong had distracted me, but my scraped hands and knees still stung.
“Was it left from here?”
I turned and walked.
This part of the garden was full of red flowers, not yellow like before.
It was fascinating.
“Then go straight…”
I tried to remember Madam So’s directions, but it wasn’t easy.
I had already gotten lost so many times in Heukmunbang, people might start calling me the “lost child.”
Just then, a sudden vision flashed in my mind.
A man stood alone on a battlefield.
His aura was wild, and his face looked terrifying.
These sudden visions were usually connected to people I was about to meet.
In the past, I would’ve told Mom about them.
But now… she was gone.
Who is that?
I focused, watching the vision until the end.
Then I realized—It was the same man I had seen in the earlier vision, the one walking beside me, smiling happily in the future.
But now his red clothes were torn, and he collapsed to his knees with a look of pain and peace at the same time—
like he’d given up everything.
In his arms, I saw someone’s face—and gasped.
It was me.
I looked a little older than now, but it was my face.
Why… why am I crying in the future? Why is he holding me like that?
I tried to see more, but the vision ended.
I didn’t even know his name.
Confusion swirled in my mind.
Who was this man holding me so tightly?
I’d never seen him before.
Is he… someone who will protect me in the future?
For some reason, he felt familiar.
But maybe I was imagining things.
Black hair, fierce eyes…Sharp nose, strong jaw, lips shaped in a confident smile.
A handsome man—he’d probably look amazing if he smiled.
Suddenly, the bushes rustled.
I quickly turned—but a man jumped out before I could react.
“…What’s this?”
He grabbed my collar and lifted me with one hand.
Black hair.
Red clothes.
It was the same man from my vision.
(To be continued…)
