Chapter 01….
At the southernmost tip of the Great Tiger Kingdom lay a small village called Myeongju.
Once, Kang Jeseung—an official of the Saongwon, the royal office in charge of meals and court cuisine—served as a Jeong 3-pum Byeoljwa, overseeing all food of the royal kitchen. But after falling ill, he came to this remote village to recuperate.
The concubine who followed to nurse him soon conceived a child—that child was Choa.
But not long after giving birth, Choa’s mother—the concubine—also became ill and passed away.
“They say my illness could be contagious. It must be my fault.”
Believing he caused it, the old master was consumed with guilt.
“The child may catch it too. Keep her in the small annex at the far end and look after her separately.”
And so… the newborn Choa was sent away to a small side house not long after she was born.
Five years later.
Choa turned six, raised under the care of the kitchen maids, Bok-hee and Eongnyeon.
Which meant… she was at that age where “No!” burst out of her mouth several times a day.
“Miss, it’s dangerous here. Please sit and wait.”
Once again, Bok-hee was having a small battle with Choa in the kitchen.
“Uuugh, I don’t want to!”
“Our young miss always says no, doesn’t she?”
There was one reason for the fuss:
Lately, Choa refused to sit still and kept creeping closer to watch the cooking!
Worried she’d get hurt near the fire, Bok-hee thought hard—then suddenly grabbed a handful of bean sprouts.
“Then, would you like to try this?”
“What is thaaat?”
“See this? Just pinch the little tail and pull it right off! If you do it well, I’ll make tasty, crunchy scorched-rice snacks for you.”
“S-sc-sc… scorched rice?!”
Choa’s eyes sparkled, and she swallowed her drool with an audible gulp.
“For real? If you lie, the tiger man will go ROAR and take you away!”
Choa furrowed her brows into the shape of an 八, lifted both hands like claws and went, “ROAR!”
“Yes, yes. Of course. Here you go.”
Bok-hee patted Choa’s head and handed her a small bundle of bean sprouts in a straw basket.
“Everyone, stay back! Choa’s going to make them all pretty!”
With a grumble, Choa plopped down exactly where Bok-hee told her, and began fiddling with the sprouts using her tiny hands.
“Hup!”
Then suddenly—before anyone could stop her—she popped a crisp bean sprout into her mouth and chewed like a rabbit.
“Oh? Young miss?”
Bok-hee blinked, then burst into laughter at the sight of Choa chewing with the sprout’s head still sticking out of her lips.
“Aigoo, I can’t stop you. Our cute little miss. How is it? Tasty?”
“Heehee! Crunchy! Water and… grass all mixed! So weird!”
“But no more eating now. Only after the cooking is done, okay? Promise!”
“Okay! Prooomiiiise!”
Keeping an eye on Choa, Bok-hee went back to cooking.
Sniff sniff. Choa flared her little nostrils. Bok-hee wiped sweat from her brow and asked:
“Smells good, doesn’t it?”
“Mm! It’s toasty! I like it!”
“Just a little more, and your delicious rice will be ready!”
“Kyaa! Rice-rice! The riiiice!”
While stirring the firewood in the hearth, something suddenly came to Bok-hee’s mind.
Now that I think about it, in a few days… it’ll be the young miss’s birthday.
She turned to look at Choa.
Poor thing… No lady of the house, and the master bedridden… Her birthday will be forgotten again.
Little Choa knew none of this.
Even now, her small brows were knit in concentration as she neatly plucked only the spoiled tails from the sprouts, her tiny fingertips quick and precise.
“Done! Choa wants scorched rice!!”
Finishing her task, Choa jumped up and demanded her rightful reward.
Bok-hee dried her wet hands on a cloth and checked the sprouts.
“My goodness… such skillful little fingers.”
Any mushy or blemished beans had their heads removed perfectly—only clean, white sprouts remained.
It was so neatly done that Bok-hee could hardly believe a child had done it.
“In that case, I’ll make some scorched rice for y—”
BANG!
The kitchen door flew open. In strode Okdan, the woman who managed the entire household.
“Is it not ready yet? The master’s condition has worsened. He needs his medicine with food, so bring the meal quickly!”
“Yes! It’s almost done.”
“Hurry. The table must be set within half a ban-gak—seven or eight minutes.”
As she turned, she noticed Choa sitting in the corner, and clicked her tongue.
“Again you bring the young miss here… Sigh. This meal is for the master. Make sure she doesn’t touch anything.”
“…I will be careful.”
Bok-hee pulled her apron slightly to hide Choa from Okdan’s sharp glare.
Okdan gave Choa a disapproving once-over and turned to leave.
“Um… Madam Okdan.”
Hesitating, Bok-hee carefully called out.
