Creak~

The bathroom door opened as a little girl emerged out. Right after she came out, a delicious aroma reached out to her. And then, with her nose leading her, she was led towards a boy brewing a soup.

Watching the boy’s back stirring the large pot, she thought it looks kinda funny because of his small body size.

Even though the boy couldn’t see her, he could still hear her steps coming closer.

“Ooh? You’re done So-Young?”

“Nn… but Hyun Goo your clothes are a bit big for me.”

“Really?”

The boy spun around to take a short glimpse at her. In return, Cha So-Young began flailing out her arms to showcase the long sleeves.

“It’s fine, it looks cute on you... I’m almost done, so wait for a bit.”

“Okay.”

Because the dining table only had one chair, she scanned around the place and prepared another one for her to use. And so, while she waited patiently, she swung her legs back and forth as a bored and carefree looked was attached to her face.

It was a peaceful period, a moment where she could escape finally from the clutching anxiety. A short instant where only the sound of the soup bubbling accompanied by the crackling of the small fire was heard.

But shortly after, her legs abruptly slowed down until she eventually froze in her place. She had been unknowingly pulled into her own thoughts. In her vision, a memory was slowly formed.

Similar to now, in the past, she had often sat patiently while she waited for her mother to prepare their food.

And although it wasn’t a frequent thing to happen as they had their own servants to do the cooking. But occasionally, her mother would go to her personal kitchen and invite the whole family.

Right… her family. Her father, her older brother, and of course, herself. They'd all sit at the table and chat about all sorts of things.

Sometimes her father would tell various kinds of stories, or sometimes she would annoy her brother while her mother would join in the conversation and tempt them with food samples once in a while.

But now… those memories felt like a distant past to her.

“Hyun Goo…”

Her eyes fixated on the boy’s figure, still stirring the soup.

“Hm?”

However, the boy only answered plainly as he kept his focus on perfecting the soup.

And soon, the little girl opened her mouth and let her faint words resounded within the quiet kitchen.

“…Thank you”

When Tae Hyun Goo heard it, a cheeky grin flashed on his face as he finally turned around to look at her.

“Oh my, I’ve been wondering when you ar—”

All of a sudden, his body stiffened in position as his words were halted inside his throat, unable to escape. A stunned expression could be seen on his face.

There, he found So-Young staring at him with reddish, tear-filled eyes. Tears that kept rolling down her face in an unbroken stream.

Overwhelmed by her emotion of grief, the little girl had clutched her hands together to her chest. She tried wiping her tears away. But it was all for naught since new ones would keep pouring down.

“I-I’m sorry Hyun Goo, you told me not to cry... but... but…”

Painful. That feeling pierced his heart when he saw her like this. He could sense her desire to scream, to just break down and weep in sorrow. But she forced her small body to hold it in.

Looking at her suffocating like this, it truly made him feel lost at the sudden situation. For a split moment, the boy had forgotten that the one in front of him was just a mere child, not even past her 10th year.

In the end, he pondered for a while.

Soon after, he took a long breath to himself and grabbed the steaming pot before bringing it over to the table. After arranging the plate, he poured the hot soup and placed it in front of her.

Meanwhile, the little girl remained quiet throughout all the process. Her eyes had even swollen from all the tears.

“The soup is ready. Eat it while it’s still hot.”

So-Young stared blankly at the steaming soup with her eyes still like drizzling rain. Even though she was hungry despite eating the fruits from before, she seemed to have lost the appetite to eat.

But when she caught the sight of the boy’s encouraging smile, she decided to eat it regardless.

The first spoon entered her mouth.

Then the second.

The third, the fourth.

Gradually, her hand goes faster and faster to gobble the plate in front of her.

“Careful, don’t burn your tongue.”

When she heard his words, she was once again reminded of her mother.

That exact sentence… That familiar tone… It was as though the one before her was…

She nodded obediently.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Looking at her calming down, Tae Hyun Goo’s smile deepened as he continued to watch over her.

But having been gazed at by him for so long, the young girl began to feel embarrassed as a slight blush marked her cheeks.

“Y-you should also start eating Hyun Goo.”

“Aah… right,” having been reminded by her, he was startled for a bit before quickly pouring the soup into his plate and swiftly joining her.

Soon, the two of them leisurely ate their way through the soup. And although there were still some remaining, it was a fulfilling meal.

.

.

.

Trrrrsss!

The sound of water rushing from the faucet echoed throughout the wooden house. Tae Hyun Goo was seen bringing the pot over to wash it thoroughly. But then, two hands appeared beside him, bringing over the rest of the plates and wooden spoons.

“I want to try washing it too…” said Cha So-Young.

Although he didn’t show it, the boy felt delighted when he saw her being initiative in helping.

“Do you know how to do it?”

So-Young felt a little dejected and shook her head. The servants had always been the ones that cleaned everything for her. Not only that, she had only seen them wash the dishes once as she was playing around the kitchen at that time.

“Alright, just follow me. It’s not hard at all.”

Quickly enough, it didn’t take long for her to get the hang of it. And while she was a little sluggish, all that mattered was that she was cleaning it meticulously.

Watching her eyes so focused on the task, Tae Hyun Goo felt a little guilty for what he was about to say.

But he had to. And looking at the time, it was already late in the evening. So considering that she had been exhausted all this time, she should be quite sleepy already.

He believed the faster he resolved this, the better it was.

The boy called to her with a gentle voice.

“Hey So-Young…”

“Yeah?”

“…Why don’t you want to go home? Can’t you tell me?”

In that instant, Cha So-Young’s hand stopped moving. Tae Hyun Goo glanced at her, already expecting this kind of reaction.

“You can’t tell me?”

“I…”

She tried to answer him, but every time she wanted to recall the details of her past, fear unknowingly began creeping into her heart. Despite knowing that she could tell him about it, she truly didn’t wish to relive the painful memories again.

As a result, the feeling of guilt weighed heavily on her mind, viciously gnawing at it.

And as she was just a child, she didn’t even understand this complex feeling. In fact, she believed that she was stupid for not just telling him. But her body simply refused to listen to her.

Perceiving her state of conflict, Hyun Goo waved his hand in front of her to wake her from her negative spiral.

“Hey, what are you thinking so hard for? It’s fine if you don’t want to. I don’t mind at all!”

When So-Young heard that, her current feelings were only amplified even more.

“But—”

“No but!”

The boy quickly showcased his bright teeth of a smile, “Look at me, do I look like I’m that desperate?”

So-Young slowly shook her head.

“I’m sorry Hyun Goo…”

“It’s fine~”

But despite his reassurance, So-Young’s mood still didn’t show any sign of improvement as her head was hung low. Looking at her like this, Tae Hyun Goo’s eyes masked a glimpse of insight.

“Then how about this. Tell me about your parents! How are they like?”

The truth was, this was his true intent.

He was worried that the reason she left her house was because of her parents failing at their job. Or to put it bluntly, He was afraid that she had been abused back at her home. Thus, leading to her running away.

This was why, after asking this question, the boy made sure to perceive her reaction to assess the truth.

And thankfully, she didn’t seem to express any feeling of fear or agitation when hearing a question regarding her parents.

Although it may sound wrong, he was glad that the reason for her running away turned out to be something else. But even with that, Tae Hyun Goo kept his brows furrowed.

‘But… why does she seem a little sad?’

So-Young opened her mouth as she began describing her parents.

“Dad and mom… they are the best…”

“Dad… is very kind. Dad always helps people out and always teaches me to be kind and smart to everyone”

“Mom is also very kind… Mom always plays with me whenever I’m alone. And even when I did bad things. Mom never shouted at me.”

Listening to her description, the content certainly indicates that she was loved greatly by them. But for some reason, her expression only grew worse.

Having gathered all the clues, all kinds of ideas kept popping out in the boy’s mind as to guess her actual story. But he quickly suppressed such thoughts. After all, it was just mere guesses, and he already got what he wanted anyway.

Noticing that everything had finally been washed clean. He told her to follow him. And after a few more steps, he led her inside a room.

As they entered the room, Cha So-Young’s face was gradually replaced with a semblance of interest and curiosity.

“This is your room now.”

Scanning her surroundings, she quickly discovered that the room wasn’t crowded at all, on the contrary, it was rather spacious.

But nevertheless, there were still some intriguing items.

A mask and a robe, for example, could be seen hanging just beside the door, while basic furnishings such as a small table and a wardrobe were positioned right next to the bed. And in addition, not far from the bed, one could view the ancient tree through the window.

Inspecting the place firsthand, Cha So-Young could strongly sense an old and quiet ambiance from the room. Dashing to the window, the young girl was able to witness a gorgeous sight.

An everlasting ashen sky hugging firmly onto the innumerable bright starlight, followed by its silver crescent and blowsy leaves flowing softly with the gentle breeze.

“Woah! So pretty!”

But as she was admiring the beautiful piece, the window was abruptly shut by a foreign hand.

“Alright alright, that’s enough looking around. It’s already time for kids to sleep now.”

So-Young quickly shot him the look of someone who had been wronged.

“But Hyun Goo! You are also a kid!”

“That’s right. But I’m a bad kid. And a bad kid can sleep a little later!”

“…”

Watching his annoying grin plastered on his face, Cha So-Young couldn’t do anything but puffed up her cheek and grudgingly climbed up the bed.

But after a couple of seconds passed by, she opened her eyes and looked at the boy.

“Hyun Goo…”

“What’s up?”

“I’m going to sleep now, so why are you still staring at me…”

Tae Hyun Goo skillfully facades a shocked and hurtful image.

“Oh my~ I am so pitiful~ even though this is my place. I’m not even allowed to look around.”

So-Young felt annoyed by his pretense.

“Hehe, alright alright, I’m leaving now. But you better sleep.”

When she heard that, Cha So-Young’s eyes narrowed down in suspicion. However, she called out to him once again.

“Hyun Goo.”

Almost closing the door, the boy stopped and popped his head back inside to reply to her.

“Yeah?”

Cha So-Young fixed her gaze at his golden eyes, this time, she wanted to say it properly.

“Thank you.”

For a time, the boy didn’t react at all, his face remained expressionless.

“…Is that so.”

He couldn’t put his finger on the feeling that he was experiencing right now. Which to him, was very strange given that he had already heard this not so long before.

He wondered what was so different this time.

“…Goodnight So-Young.”

Right after saying that, the boy closed the door quietly.

.

.

.

The door to the young girl’s room gradually opened. After confirming that Cha So-Young had fallen asleep, Tae Hyun Goo quietly entered the place. The youngster then approached the wardrobe and carefully took out the clothes inside it.

After all, this was originally his room, and now that he had given it to this cheeky little girl, he had to move out all of his clothes now.

After some back and forth of transferring his stuff, he was reminded about something. Moving towards the bed, he took out an old ring from within the table’s drawer, being very cautious to not make any noise.

However, the ring seemed to have only been made with some cheap metal that any blacksmith apprentice could forge out. It was truly anything but unique, just an ordinary metal ring.

As he was attempting to close the drawer once again, his body jolted slightly when something touched his side. Looking beside him, he found So-Young had turned around towards him with her sleeping face still closely attached.

Seeing her peaceful face, Tae Hyun Goo smiled inwardly. But gradually, his face turned deep in thought. He was reminded of her previous words.

‘The best parent huh…’

‘If only mine was a fraction of that…’

Giving out an exhausted face, he gave an, ‘Oh well…’ before quietly walking out, leaving Cha So-Young to rest comfortably.

The little girl had gone through a lot. Thus, a proper rest was of utmost priority.