STVS 08

~Chapter 08~

The Chief Steward — Jeok Sun-chung (狄循忠) — closed the door and entered the room.

The man who had followed him in spoke up.

“Are you really sure about this?”

Jeok Sun-chung turned to look back. Huang San-pung (黃山風), a man who had long devoted himself to the So family estate since Shandong, gazed at him with concern.

Jeok Sun-chung let out a hollow laugh.

“Worried now, after you recommended him?”

“I was just surprised at how easily you agreed. Shouldn’t we know more about him…?”

“I’ve already found out everything there is to know.”

“Huh?”

Jeok Sun-chung said nothing. From his silence, Huang San-pung could read what he had left unsaid: the investigation was already complete.

‘Seodan, was it…?’

The boy, Seodan, had nothing particularly remarkable in his background.

Just a poor boy living with his widowed mother in Bakra-hyeon. If there was anything noteworthy, it was that he was a filial child willing to do anything for his sick mother.

There was nothing else special, so Jeok Sun-chung hadn’t paid Seodan much attention.

Even when he heard about the incident, he thought the boy had acted out of a desire to impress a girl his age, nothing more.

But the boy he faced was different.

‘He didn’t cry?’

Of course, there were those who hadn’t cried even in the previous confrontations with young masters, but kids that age usually cried, and if blood was involved, all the more so.

Yet the boy’s expression, seemingly casual while observing the situation, was… unusual.

“Have you perhaps trained in martial arts?”

Jeok Sun-chung asked without realizing it. Though judging by the wound on his neck, he thought the boy probably hadn’t.

The young master, though physically weak, had once learned family martial arts from Master Jang.

So he was familiar with pressure points and meridians, and this wound was clearly a strike aimed to barely miss a vital point on the neck.

A top-tier martial artist might anticipate even that and remain still, but an ordinary martial artist would have moved to dodge or block the incoming attack.

‘But this wound…’

It was a wound he hadn’t reacted to at all. He seemed unaware of the incoming strike and took it as is.

‘He’s probably not a top-tier master.’

Just to be sure, Jeok Sun-chung tested him, and the result confirmed it.

Even when a vital meridian point was pressed, the boy remained still.

Even probing for internal energy or testing his reflexes showed no sign of awareness.

Jeok Sun-chung had to admit it.

‘…Then he really is impressive.’

If this boy were an ordinary civilian, this was remarkable.

Even adults would be startled and panic under such a sudden assault; yet this boy recovered his composure almost immediately.

Moreover, he seemed to instantly realize he was being doubted. Quick thinking, adaptable…

‘Bold, flexible, perceptive.’

A fitting talent to serve the young master, wasn’t he?

Ultimately, Jeok Sun-chung chose Seodan. The boy had already done something wrong, so he couldn’t refuse, and since he liked money, a good salary would satisfy him.

He worried whether the young master would be okay, but in truth, he needed to worry more about the boy’s safety.

Still, being a boy of the same age, perhaps the young master would feel more comfortable with him.

‘The young master has been alone for a long time.’

Having a friend now would be ideal, and Jeok Sun-chung chuckled quietly to himself.

“It’ll be fine. Let’s hope so.”

Within a day, I became So Yeon-ri’s servant.

Ridiculous.

‘It was really that easy?’

Honestly, just as the Chief Steward had said, I had prepared myself to be beaten and kicked out.

Not only had I not acquainted myself with the young lady, but my unauthorized intrusion had been discovered. I expected to be thrown out of the estate immediately, regardless of my past efforts.

“You will serve the young lady.”

…Never did I expect to hear words like that.

Not “Would you like to serve the young lady?” but “You will serve her,” as if the answer was already decided and I only needed to comply.

‘Was there really no one else?’

Yes… I suppose so.

The moment those words were spoken, everyone around, even Mrs. Ma, looked at me pitifully.

Reactions varied.

“Eh, you at least handled one mess well. Now they’re looking for someone else…”

First, Uncle Hwang expressed disappointment. After all his effort to train me into a competent helper, it seemed a shame to see me suddenly reassigned.

“No matter how I think about it, I don’t understand! You’re putting a kid who nearly got stabbed into service? Isn’t that too much? Can’t you just refuse?”

Aso was furious. Perhaps because he was the one most shocked at my knife incident, he was outraged by the Chief Steward’s decision. I had to spend a while calming him down.

And then…

“You’re going to serve the young lady? I see.”

Mother understood.

Back home, I explained the day’s events to her in detail—omitting the knife incident. I told her the bandage on my neck was because I fell while escaping.

Mother stared at the bandage. I broke out in a cold sweat, fearing she’d inspect it.

After a brief silence, she spoke.

“You’ll be alright, right?”

I smiled brightly.

“Of course! It’s nothing.”

For a moment, her expression seemed to darken, but she quickly changed it.

“Good. Danna is clever, so she’ll handle serving the young lady well. Don’t worry… cough, cough!”

I hurried to support her.

“Mother, please lie down first. You haven’t been feeling well lately.”

“I’m fine. Just a bit tired. I wanted to talk more with Danna…”

“We can always talk later. If you want, I can stay by your side and continue our conversation. Would that be alright?”

Mother murmured with a faint smile.

“I hope our Danna doesn’t suffer too much…”

I only smiled silently.

Mother hoped I wouldn’t suffer, but I knew better. This wasn’t the time to avoid hardship.

Her illness was worsening.

Like So Yeon-ri, Mother’s disease was incurable. The cause and cure were unknown.

We could only prescribe tonics and watch over her, but even that was reaching its limit recently.

No matter which doctor we brought in, it was of no use. And the best medicines were costly.

‘I need money.’

Fortunately, the salary of So Yeon-ri’s servant was double that of a dung carrier.

Moreover, if I earned the trust of So Yeon-ri and the estate owner, I might obtain rare medicines or skilled doctors.

Yes, perhaps this was an opportunity.

A chance to save lives using the knowledge from the original story—not only So Yeon-ri’s but also Mother’s…

‘I’m sorry, Mother.’

For that, I had to endure hardship now.

I looked at my sleeping mother’s face and stepped outside. The night sky was dark, but the surrounding stars kept it from being pitch black.

I gazed at the sky and clenched my fist.

‘Alright, I’ll do whatever it takes.’

Even if it meant getting beaten by So Yeon-ri.

Wait, So Yeon-ri.

I will become close to you, no matter what!

[Some day, some month]

I started keeping a diary out of frustration.

It’s just scribbled in Korean on dirt, but I lied to Mother about being treated well, so I have no one to tell.

Anyway, it’s been three days since I started serving the young lady.

The young lady is completely ignoring me.

At first, I understood.

Yes, I had been rude during our first encounter. To make up for it, I tried to politely announce myself and waited until the young lady called me in.

I thought, being human, she would eventually open the door out of pity after I waited all day.

But no.

Even waiting an hour, two hours, going to heat medicine, eating meals, or delivering evening medicine—she didn’t respond once until nightfall.

That’s when I realized.

Ah, the young lady isn’t human!

No, even so, ignoring me for three whole days is extreme. At this point, I’m starting to get angry.

Alright, So Yeon-ri.

Let’s see who wins!

[Some day, some month]

Young lady, I lost.