Haesoo gently helped the sick village child sit upright. She supported him carefully and brought the bowl to his lips, feeding him the medicine little by little. The child held onto her hand, his gaze fixed on her face.
"Haesoo…" the child called softly.
"Yes?" Haesoo replied, her eyes filled with affection as she looked at him.
"Aren't you afraid of catching the pox?" he asked hesitantly.
"Hey, what?" She smiled. "Never. You're like my own child. What kind of mother would abandon her child just because he's ill?"
She gently ruffled his hair.
The child smiled.
"Thank you, Haesoo," he said.
"Thank you!" the other children in the clinic chimed in together.
Haesoo laughed softly. "You can all show your appreciation by getting well soon, alright?"
"Alright!" they answered in unison.
She stood up and picked up a basket filled with soiled cloths, heading toward the riverbank to wash them.
Haesoo was busy scrubbing when someone suddenly dumped another pile of dirty cloth straight into the clean ones she had just finished washing.
Her hand froze.
She gripped the wooden laundry paddle tightly, knuckles whitening as she slowly straightened.
Her anger simmered as she turned to glare at the women behind her, who seemed completely unfazed by her presence.
"How could we be assigned to care for such disgusting old people?" one of the women scoffed.
From their attire, Haesoo could immediately tell they were from the palace.
"They'd be better off dead," another voice added carelessly.
That was enough.
Haesoo stood up and kicked her basket, sending it tumbling into the river. The splash startled the women, who gasped in shock.
"Goodness—!"
"Better off dead?" Haesoo snapped, her lips trembling with disgust. "Those 'old hags' are far better than all of you combined."
"What?" one of them exclaimed, stunned.
Haesoo turned away calmly and resumed her washing.
"Better than who?" another woman shouted angrily. "Hey! Do you have a death wish?"
She lunged forward, reaching for Haesoo's hair—
"Hold on—hold on!"
Soo Hyuk stopped in his tracks, bending over with his hands braced on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath.
It felt like he had been walking—and running—for ages. Keeping up with the little girl was harder than he expected.
"Hey, Rice Cake," the girl said, glancing back at him, "we're going to miss Haesoo at this rate."
Is he really a man? she wondered. How could he look so exhausted after just a walk?
"Gosh…" Soo Hyuk muttered, wiping the sweat from his face with his sleeve.
What would Haesoo think of him now? He had already embarrassed himself once—he didn't want to do so again.
They walked a little farther before the girl suddenly stopped and pointed ahead.
"There," she said teasingly. "Go in through the front gate."
The village clinic stood quietly before them.