Chapter 7
“Hmph. She keeps using sickness as an excuse, but she’s been draining all the best medicines from Tang Family’s warehouse.”
Tang So-so, the daughter of the branch leader, was a clever girl.
Even though she was still young and not very advanced in martial arts, she already knew all about the herbs and poisons kept in the branch.
So she quickly figured out what was happening in So-ye’s residence.
The medicines being taken weren’t just simple recovery tonics for a child recovering from poison.
Some were old-person remedies, and some were actually closer to poisons than medicine.
But they all had one thing in common:
“Only the most expensive ones!”
So-so gritted her teeth.
When she first heard that a direct-line young miss from the main Tang Clan was coming, she was a little excited.
Even though So-ye was two years younger, she thought they might be good friends.
As someone who had always been looked down on as a branch family child, So-so thought maybe she had a chance to connect with someone important.
But after So-ye’s arrival, the branch’s finances were bleeding dry.
Her mother, the branch leader, had been staying up late constantly.
Whenever So-so passed her mother’s study, she would hear heavy sighs.
“They say she was kicked out of the main clan for being wasteful and spoiled…”
At first, So-so thought it was just a nasty rumor.
But then she saw for herself.
A child’s luxury shouldn’t be more than stacking sweets like candy or cakes, right? Wrong.
When she first arrived, So-ye’s grandmother (the branch leader) tried to visit her personally, but was rejected with the excuse of “still weak from poison.”
After that, all messages came only through her nanny.
And they were all demands:
Meat dishes for every meal.
Clothes that had to be made from the most expensive fabrics.
Jewelry she wore once and then threw away, demanding new ones.
Expensive weapons, saying she wanted to “train.”
Eating all kinds of poisons recklessly, fainting, then demanding more medicine to “recover.”
It was endless.
So-so had even heard her mother being scolded by So-ye’s nanny, Sa Gong-hee:
“Our young miss demands it.”
“How pitiful, being mistreated and disrespected even here in Tang Clan.”
So-so shivered at the memory of that harsh voice.
“That wicked girl! I’ll never deal with her!”
“Uuung.”
But So-so forgot one important thing—her younger brother, So-cheong, was still too young to really understand what she was saying.
***
Later that morning—
So-ye came out for a little walk after breakfast.
She stopped, blinking in surprise.
“Oh? You! The squirrel!”
It was So-cheong.
When their eyes met, the boy panicked and quickly hid behind a tree.
He moved so fast his ball rolled away across the yard.
A chubby little hand stretched out from behind the tree, trying to reach it—but it was too far.
So-ye chuckled. “Cute.”
She walked over to the ball, her footsteps making So-cheong quickly yank his hand back behind the tree.
“Oh my, look at this. A ball, all by itself.”
Her voice even sounded fake to her own ears, but it didn’t matter. She only needed to fool a little kid.
“If no one owns it, I’ll just keep it and play with it.”
“It’s mine! It’s mine!”
So-ye turned to see his little face peeking out. She grinned.
“I’m So-ye. What’s your name?”
“Uh… Uhm…”
The boy hesitated, glancing at her nervously. But when she smiled brightly, he finally stammered:
“S-So-cheong…”
“So-cheong? Tang So-cheong?”
Of course his surname would be Tang, but she asked just to be sure.
“Yes… Tang So-cheong.”
He nodded quickly. He really looked like a sweet kid—round cheeks, soft eyes, and his slightly curly hair carefully combed down.
“Definitely a well-loved child.”
“This ball belongs to you then, So-cheong?”
When she shook the ball, his eyes followed it left and right without fail.
She teased him a few more times, but he just followed the ball with his gaze—no anger, no complaints.
“Not just his looks, his personality really is gentle.”
“Don’t you get bored playing all alone?”
“No… it’s okay…” he mumbled, his childlike lisp making it sound even cuter.
“If I say that line, I sound childish. But when he says it, it’s just adorable.”
“C’mon, let’s play together. I’m bored.”
So-ye coaxed him, tugging at his attention.
So-cheong looked tempted but shook his head.
“My… my sister said… I shouldn’t play with you…”
His gentle eyes were already watery, like he might cry.
That made So-ye pause. “Did the nanny block me off on purpose?”
Indeed, Sa Gong-hee had never let So-ye meet other children. Maybe she wanted to isolate her completely.
But why should So-ye obey that?
“Children my age need friends. Interaction is important for development.”
“Then how about this instead!”
She tossed the ball.
Just like a puppy chasing after a treat, So-cheong instinctively caught it as it fell toward him.
For his age, his movement was pretty sharp—maybe he had already started martial arts training as a branch child of Tang Clan.
“So he only looks clueless.”
“I’m playing with the ball, and you’re playing with the ball too. That means we’re playing together.”
It was a pretty forced argument.
But to So-cheong, who really wanted to play with her, it sounded convincing enough.
“O-okay!”
The boy ran like an excited colt, snatched up the ball, and turned back to her with sparkling eyes.
So-ye pretended not to notice, waving her hand like, “C’mon, throw it already.”
“Heeyah!”
So-cheong shouted as he threw the ball with all his strength.
So-ye caught it easily and grinned.
“I’ll wear him out completely.”
***
Thump, roll, roll…
The ball hit the ground and rolled away.
So-cheong had missed—his stamina finally hit its limit.
The boy plopped down on the floor, gasping for air.
So-ye gave him a thumbs-up.
“Good game. That was a great ball match.”
Kids never ran out of energy.
If you took your eyes off them for a moment, they’d cause trouble anywhere, and no matter how much you played with them, they never seemed to tire out.
And if that kid also trained martial arts?
He’d probably outlast even five puppies at once.
Yet somehow, So-ye had just managed a match against that very So-cheong.
Considering she had nearly died of poison only a few days ago, that was quite an achievement.
“Huuh… huuuh…”
So-ye collapsed onto the ground, panting.
Her mouth even tasted sweet from exhaustion.
Her body was tired, but more than that—her spirit was drained.
Children really were something.
How could they make such a simple game of catch feel so exciting?
“Wasn’t it fun, playing with the ball?” she asked.
“Yeah!”
So-cheong’s face lit up, glowing with excitement as he nodded hard.
“Mom and sister are always busy… so nobody plays with me.”
His cheeks were flushed red like apples from running around.
“But playing with y— with you… I like it.”
So-ye smiled, and then made a half-sincere offer:
“Where do you live? I’ll walk you home.”
She was thinking this might be a good chance to meet his parents.
“He’s called ‘young master’ here, so his family must have some standing in this branch. Since my nanny’s support turned out useless, I need another connection.”
***
“Over here!”
So-cheong, now completely comfortable around her, waved happily.
All the way home he bounced on his feet, swung the ball in his hands, stopped to sniff flowers, or peered at cracks in the wall.
“Oh… no bugs.”
So-ye followed along, realizing how different her new perspective was.
She had unconsciously been trying to see the world with her old adult eyes, but from this short body, she kept having to look up.
It strained her neck.
“Huh. Looking straight ahead feels lighter. Guess I was more tense than I thought.”
Even though she thought she had adjusted well to suddenly being a child again, thanks to So-cheong she realized something important: daily life felt fresh and alive when viewed this way.
Just then, So-cheong shouted:
“Sis!”
In front of a large building stood a girl with a sharp, cold expression.
At his call, the girl snapped her head around.
When her eyes landed on So-ye standing beside her younger brother, her gaze turned icy.
“Get away from my brother!”
