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Chapter 07
That person was Uncle Baek!
At first, I didn’t recognize him because all of his hair was completely gone, but looking closely, there was no doubt.
Gasp, w-wait a minute…!
‘Did the lord shave it all off clean? Every single bit, completely?!’
Startled, I touched the hair I had braided into a single bundle and my tail, where downy fluff was just starting to sprout.
Even though Uncle Baek had done something wrong, th-that felt a little too harsh for the uncle…….
It was right while I was having such thoughts.
The lord helped Uncle Baek up and gave him a pat on the back.
“Disloyalty is heavier than a lack of filial piety.”
“G-General……”
As if not knowing how to reply, Uncle Baek’s voice cracked and his face twisted.
Even though he was weeping his heart out like a young child, the way Uncle Baek said, “I will offer you my life,” looked somehow relieved, causing me to let out a chuckle.
The two of them must have made up!
It wasn’t just the lord and Uncle Baek whose expressions were bright. Uncle Jang’s complexion as he watched them was much better, too.
It was as if things had gone back to the way they were before that day!
That’s really wonderful.
“Heheh.”
It was right at that moment.
As if hearing my laughter, Uncle Baek turned his head toward my direction.
And I quickly slid my body down below the wall.
Sliii-de, just like that.
‘S-Scary…….’
My body was tensed up and stiffened rigidly.
It was really, really strange.
The moment our eyes met had been truly brief, and the uncle’s eyes looking at me definitely seemed to be happy to see me….
Regardless of any of that, a chill had run straight down my spine.
And a scene from the past popped into my head with a bang.
“…Hick!”
I quickly hid my body behind a nearby crock pot. Something inside my body was ringing a bell—ding-dong, ding-dong.
Clinging tightly to the jar as if it were a lifeline, I curled my body up.
Now that I thought about it, today was the actual first time I was seeing Uncle Baek in person since that day!
‘I-I thought I was okay…….’
Guess not.
Shivering all over, I strained my ears to listen.
Thump, thump—this was the lord’s upright and regular footsteps.
Followed by the firm, vigorous walking sound of Uncle Jang.
That’s right, compared to the adults I’m small… so if I play it smart, they won’t be able to find me! In the meantime, if I slip into the tunnel I dug…….
Into my ears, filled with high hopes, drifted a familiar sound of footsteps.
The uniquely dragging footsteps, characteristic of Uncle Baek.
Before I even knew it, the corners of my eyes had grown damp and gone all soft and soggy.
‘Lady Hang-ah-aaah…….’
Please just walk past. Just walk right past…!
It was then that the lord’s voice was heard:
“If you wish to return to our family, there is someone you must get permission from even before me.”
“…Right now, is the kid scared of me, so she’s hiding like that?”
“Well, what else could it be for? Hurry up and go over there and kneel and beg!”
“T-Tori……”
The back area was noisy and bustling. I knew the lord and Uncle Jang would protect me, but…….
I couldn’t turn my body around, nor could I give any answer.
“Tori, I’m so sorry-yyy…”
“Hwaaaang!”
At the approaching voice, I simply burst into even louder tears.
Cock-a-doodle-doo—!
My eyes blinked wide open at the sound announcing the morning.
Me, Tori, turning six years old soon.
Having chased after Lady Hang-ah’s whereabouts, I entered the Jangsan Tiger Household and…
Now, recognized by everyone as a member of the Jangsan Tiger Household, a moon rabbit!
“I shall recognize you, Tori, as a member of the Jangsan Tiger Household.”
Ahem.
Nobody tells me to leave! Instead, everyone begs me to stick close by, giving me delicious food every day and patting my head all over.
Placing both hands firmly on my hips and giving a grand, elder-like throat-clearing cough, I immediately pulled out the food storehouse key I had been cherishing in my bosom.
It was the key Uncle Jang had handed to me last night, saying I’d be visiting my hometown for a brief moment.
“Tori, this isn’t a key given to just anybody. It’s proof that Tori is now a member of the Jangsan Tiger Household. Since it’s the key to the food storehouse you restored in pristine shape, you must take good care of it. Got it?”
What’s more,
“Winter is coming, so you’ll need clothes stuffed with cotton, too.”
This winter coat I’m wearing right now was given to me by the lord himself!
This is all a reward for my achievements in restoring the food storehouse and making peace between Uncle Baek and the lord, you see!
Now that I’ve become a member of the Jangsan Tiger Household, from now on I must work hard and become the lord’s right hand.
“It would be difficult to grant my reconciliation with Baek Su-jong as your wish, Tori.”
“Huh? Th-Then… the reconciliation is…….”
“Isn’t reconciliation a good thing for me and Baek Su-jong? So if you come to have a wish you desire, speak of it separately.”
…Because the lord said so!
If I steadily rack up points with the lord, when I later say, ‘Please give me the hairpin!’ he’ll surely say, ‘So be it.’
To make that happen, the rule is to first fulfill my own chores properly.
Bundling up meticulously in my fur ear muffs, vest, and cotton padded socks, I hurried outside.
My ‘chore’ was right there in the chicken coop.
“Chickies, hellooo-.”
At my small whisper and waving hand, the sound of chickens crying came from inside the coop.
I swallowed hard, gulp.
My first weighty role assigned in the Jangsan Tiger Household, that was precisely….
‘Bringing eggs every morning’!
Until yesterday, I had the help of Uncle Jang, but starting today, since I had to carry it out all by myself to the end, my palms kept growing damp.
The reason I was entrusted with this task was because, even after receiving official recognition, I was the only one who hadn’t been assigned a specific job. Even though I was proudly a member of the Jangsan Tiger Household!
That didn’t mean I had been slacking off. Absolutely! Not.
It was just that Uncle Jang and Uncle Baek kept moving around busily while only assigning me petty chores.
That was why I had been stomping my feet, eager to quickly be recognized as a capable member and win the lord’s complete favor….
However, all those worries were over now!
Carrying chicken feed, I resolutely opened the door to the chicken coop.
The chickens were reluctant to give up their eggs.
So I had to feed them first, and while the chickens were distracted by that, quickly snatch them away.
“Cluck-cluck—cluck!”
‘Oh gasp, they must be super hungry.’
As I approached carrying the feed, the chickens fluttered and flew up, bumping into one another.
Quickly luring the chickens away with the feed to distance them from the eggs, I dashed in.
“Hmm…”
Today, too, I should only take the eggs without baby chickies.
Fortunately, there were only a few eggs with baby chickies inside.
Smiling brightly with the thought that mission completion was right in front of me, I gathered the eggs when suddenly, a fierce gaze was felt from behind.
“Cluck.”
“Hooog-!”
It was Mama Chicken.
Clutching the egg basket tightly to my chest, I backed away toward the door.
“Cl-Cluck-.”
“Uwaaah, I’m sorry! But I left the eggs with the babies behind…!”
After pondering my words for a moment, Mama Chicken soon whipped around and went back to brood over her eggs.
“Phew, thank God…….”
After successfully delivering the eggs to Uncle Jang afterward, I took my share of the snack—roasted corn—and went over to share it with Mama Chicken.
Fortunately, Mama Chicken seemed to have calmed down and ate the corn deliciously.
Having safely finished the day like that, I went over to the main quarters where the lord was.
Every single evening, I was putting in all sorts of efforts to win the lord’s favor.
I tried singing songs for him, telling him old folktales, and neatly lining up his shoes.
……Of course, up until now, the lord had never been overwhelmingly satisfied, though….
However, today’s tactic was something he couldn’t help but be satisfied with, right? Today’s tactic was none other than,
“My lord, you must be exhausted today, so I’ll give you a massage!”
Giving a massage!
Heheh, using my massage skills that even Lady Hang-ah had raved about, I was definitely going to score points to become his adopted daughter….
“…With those hands?”
“Huh? Yes!”
“……Never mind.”
“Hee-ing….”
With a tearful face, I made a plea to the lord. Because failure before even starting was not an option!
That was how I managed to get the lord’s permission, but…….
“When are you going to start?”
“Huh?! Ah, I’ve been doing it since a while ago…!”
“I don’t even feel an itch.”
“……Hee-ing.”
It seemed the strength of my small palms wasn’t refreshing at all to the lord, who possessed a grand skeleton.
…If I grow a bit taller and my strength gets stronger, then surely I’ll be able to give a super-refreshing massage…? I’ll have to plan another tactic…….
Fearing that my massage hands might lose strength because I was feeling discouraged, I moved my hands even more firmly and vigorously.
“Aren’t your rooms cold?”
“No!”
“Then make sure to pull your quilt up well so you don’t catch a cold (gopul).”
“……What is a cold (gopul)?”
“……?”
Heh…….
While listening to the lord’s ensuing explanation, my mouth opened wider and wider bit by bit.
The more the lord explained, the more curious things I found myself wanting to know.
“What is coughing?”
“What is running a fever?”
“I know what ice is, but what is snow?”
It was right at that moment. The lord’s voice, which had been answering my questions for a long time, cut off abruptly.
Wondering what was going on, I looked up, and the lord was looking down at me with his eyes rounded in surprise.
“You… have you never seen snow before?”
“Yes! What is snow?”
“It’s like white powder falling from the sky. When you touch it, it’s extremely cold, and when it hits your hand, it melts and turns into water…”
“Woah! That’s amazing.”
If it’s white powder falling from the sky, would it be like flower petals falling from a white blossom tree?
Or perhaps, white soybean flour?
Would it be soft and fluffy like white rice cake (baekseolgi)?
What would it taste like if you ate it? Sweet? Savory?
Thus, forgetting all about massaging, I fell deeply into thought.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I drifted off without realizing it…!”
And the moment I realized that the lord had been quietly waiting for me all that while.
Nudge-nudge, knead-knead.
As I rubbed the lord’s shoulders and arms—which must have been weary—even more, the lord opened his mouth:
“Your hands must hurt. Stop and go off to sleep.”
“I’m fine, but…”
“Stop.”
“Yeees…, good night, my lord!”
“Indeed.”
It was just the moment I was about to give a bow from the waist and step away.
A quiet mutter from the lord reached my ears, wondering when the snow would fall.
Was the lord waiting for snow just as much as me?
Wishing for snow to fall even a single day sooner, I stepped out of the room.
Early morning, after Jang Baek-gi returned from his hometown.
While the child was still in the chicken coop, the three people of the Jangsan Tiger Household were huddled together with serious faces.
None other than because of the ‘chores’ Tori had been carrying out all this time.
“……Up until now, nobody’s ever been hurt while feeding the chickens. Can we keep it that way?”
“Yes, Tori is quite sensible, and the chickens seem to follow that Tori quite well.”
It couldn’t be helped. Not content with giving every single chicken in the coop a name, she regularly shared her own snacks with them.
The chickens now looked as though they followed Tori better than anyone else in the Jangsan Tiger Household.
“…Ridiculous.”
“Yeah, she’s a truly ridiculous kid. The names stuck on the chickens are Kkosun-i, Kkodol-i, Kkori, Kkoi…”
Imagining Tori calling out the chickens’ names one by one with her soft, round cheeks, a spring-breeze-like smile bloomed across all three men’s faces.
At that moment, Baek Su-jong asked:
“Wait then, does that mean Tori distinguishes every single chicken in that coop?”
“That’s right. Didn’t I say she attached names to them?”
“……Then how are we supposed to catch and eat chickens from now on, pray tell?”
“…….”
“…….”
The temperature in the room dropped chillingly.
Ah. Not a single person had thought of that.
“Lately she’s been glued to the chicken coop all day playing with the chickens… if we say we’re gonna slaughter and eat a chicken she’s grown that attached to……. How startled would the kid be?”
“Ah jeez…”
Following the two men’s sighs clutching their heads, Beom Hyeon’s sigh continued. Even if they bought more chickens, in the end it would only increase Tori’s friends.
In the end, Beom Hyeon spoke heavily.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for his next words.
“……Chickens shall be used strictly for the purpose of obtaining eggs.”
“My lord!”
“My lord, then what shall we serve for meat dishes?”
“……Let’s endure for the time being. If push comes to shove, we can go hunting.”
Going hunting in this middle of winter.
Animals worth eating must have all hidden away tightly to hibernate.
Finding them would be harder than actually catching them.
Naturally turning resolute, Baek Su-jong asked:
“Tori, has she ever eaten a meat dish while I was gone?”
“…Not yet.”
“Well then, if she tastes a meat dish for the first time, she might open her heart back up to me.”
“Well, she gets so happy just being given eggs, so…”
Though Jang Baek-gi’s expression as he continued speaking was sullen, nevertheless, determination gradually filled Baek Su-jong’s face.
His eyes shining with grim resolve, he declared:
“I shall go hunt meat for Tori to eat!!”
