Chapter 4 ….
That night, while Bok-hee was tidying up Cho-a’s bed, she suddenly grabbed the sleeve of her fellow maid, Un-nyeon, who had entered the room.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
Startled, Un-nyeon opened her eyes wide and asked. Bok-hee, with a rather determined expression, spoke earnestly.
“Un-nyeon, what if we secretly take Cho-a out to the fields for a little outing on her birthday?”
“The fields?”
Even though their plan to have Young Master see Cho-a on her birthday had failed, it didn’t matter.
“At least we can celebrate her birthday ourselves!”
In other words, the maids who took care of Cho-a had decided that they would pack a lunch and take her to the fields to properly celebrate her birthday.
But first, they needed to convince Un-nyeon standing right in front of them.
“Remember the hill at the far end of the back mountain, where we went to gather water parsley last time? It’s a sunny spot with a nice breeze. I thought it’d be perfect for a little outing.”
Un-nyeon’s eyes widened.
“You know we’ll get in big trouble if we’re caught.”
“I know. But the other maids at the house aren’t interested in the annex, and Okdan Eomeom said she’d be away in the capital for a while… If we go early in the morning, it should be fine.”
Bok-hee held Un-nyeon’s hand tightly and whispered in a low voice.
“She’s always stuck in the annex. I just want to give her a little outing. If we pack a lunch and eat together under the sun… imagine how happy she’d be!”
“Huh? An outing?!”
At that moment, Cho-a, who they thought was asleep, perked up her ears and jumped out of bed, rubbing her eyes.
With her tousled, baby-rabbit-like face, she looked around at Bok-hee and Un-nyeon and quickly exclaimed:
“Cho-a wants to go on an outing!”
“Oh, our little one! Of course, of course. Let’s go. Right, Un-nyeon?”
Cho-a and Bok-hee hugged each other tightly and looked at Un-nyeon pleadingly.
Perhaps unable to resist the four pairs of eager eyes, Un-nyeon shrugged helplessly and finally nodded.
“Alright! Let’s go!”
“Wow! An outing! An outing!”
Cho-a jumped up and down in excitement, while Bok-hee and Un-nyeon exchanged a glance and nodded.
The next day, at dawn.
It was still dark, not a single ray of light.
Bok-hee, Un-nyeon, and Cho-a quietly entered the kitchen.
“Shall we get started?”
Both were confident, being maids who had spent their lives cooking, and their faces brightened with anticipation.
‘If we make it look pretty, Cho-a will surely like it.’
“Little one, you just sit here for now,” they said, placing Cho-a next to them with expectant smiles.
Wearing aprons over their skirts, they began cooking.
“Un-nyeon, tear the seaweed thinly. I’ll season the rice. And we must include the radish strips with soy sauce— that’s the key.”
Bok-hee skillfully mixed a bit of salt and sesame oil into the hot rice, then sprinkled lightly with roasted sesame seeds. She gently folded it together, added finely blanched seaweed stems, and placed a few pieces of savory kelp side dishes nearby.
“Wow, just the smell is making me hungry.”
“Shall we brew some tea to bring along too?”
“Great idea!”
“I want to try it too!”
In the middle of their light conversation, Cho-a’s voice suddenly chimed in.
Only then did they realize that she had been watching them cook intently all this time.
“Hmm…”
Bok-hee and Un-nyeon exchanged glances, then nodded in unison, and cautiously asked Cho-a:
“Would you like to help us make it too?”
“Yes! I want to make it!!!”
Cho-a’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she clenched her little fists and shook them energetically.
“First, wash your hands. Cleanliness is essential when cooking!”
“Yes!”
Quickly—!
Cho-a sprang up, ran to a jar of clean water, and thoroughly washed her hands. Then she returned to Un-nyeon, turned her hands over to show them clean, and proudly said:
“All ready!”
“Perfect! Then let’s start making Cho-a’s rice balls!”
Un-nyeon scooped some seasoned rice into a small bowl and placed it in front of Cho-a. To make sure it wasn’t too hot, she fanned it with her hand.
“Now, shape it round… press it tightly.”
Bok-hee demonstrated with her hands, and Cho-a focused intensely, frowning and pursing her lips as she copied her movements.
“Ugh… like this, like this…”
The fragrant rice slipped softly through her fingers.
‘Huh?’
Her movements were so neat and precise that Bok-hee and Un-nyeon unconsciously held their breath. The way she grabbed, rolled, and shaped the rice balls was surprisingly quick and skillful for a child her age.
“Done!”
In an instant, a perfectly round, cute rice ball was completed.
“Oh my!”
“Wow?!”
Un-nyeon and Bok-hee’s eyes went wide.
“This… looks even prettier than the ones I made?!”
They carefully examined the rice ball Cho-a had made.
‘It’s perfectly neat. The rice grains are tightly held together, and the size and shape are just right.’
It was hard to believe that a six-year-old had made it so perfectly.
“More! I want to make more!”
Cho-a didn’t stop there.
“Tada!”
The next rice ball she made surprised Un-nyeon again.
“Hmm? This shape is unusual…”
This rice ball looked different from the regular round ones.
‘A triangle-shaped rice ball?’
“It looks like a little hat, or maybe a writing stone? What should I call this kind of rice ball?”
“Hmm… a triangular rice ball?”
Bok-hee tilted her head and picked it up. Then she realized something.
‘This seems easier to hold and eat.’
It was much more convenient to hold than a round rice ball.
‘Could it be… that Cho-a thought about making it easier to eat?’
Bok-hee squinted in disbelief, then shook her head.
‘A child that young couldn’t have thought of that. It must be a coincidence.’
“I’ll make more!”
Under Cho-a’s small hands, more triangular rice balls continued to appear neatly. Bok-hee and Un-nyeon, astonished by her skill, just gaped and kept exclaiming in amazement.
“Done! Let’s go now!”
“Great! Time to set off!”
By the time the three had finally finished preparing their special lunch, the sun had risen, and the day was bright.
“Wow, what nice weather!”
Un-nyeon glanced outside and beamed. As she said, the sunlight poured from a sky as blue as silk, making it a perfect day.
Haze rose along the mountain ridges, and peach blossoms fluttered like snow in the gentle breeze. It was truly beautiful.
Could there be a better day for an outing?
“Okdan Eomeom isn’t outside! Let’s go!”
After confirming that Okdan Eomeom had left, Un-nyeon, Bok-hee, and Cho-a packed their lunch baskets and stepped out.
“Oddly, none of the other children are wandering around today. No one in the yard or at the front gate!”
