Book III: The Prickly Hedgehog
"Oww!"
The girl huffed and shoved Soye.
Soye stumbled back helplessly and landed hard on her butt.
She could have stood her ground, but she didn't trust herself to hold back.
The girl—presumably Socheong's older sister—shielded her brother behind her.
Her eyes wavered as she realized a second too late that Soye had actually fallen.
But she quickly pulled herself together and stepped forward to demand answers.
"What did you do to my brother?!"
"We were just playing together."
Soye replied, deliberately hunching her shoulders a bit.
Unlike her daydreaming brother, this girl had a fierce edge to her—though she was clearly a softie at heart.
"Together?"
"Are you his sister? I'm Tang Soye."
"I am Tang Soso. And—"
Soso put her hands on her hips.
"You played together? Who would believe that? You must have bullied him."
"Why would I bully him?"
Knowing Soso wouldn't believe her anyway, Soye felt it was a waste of breath to even try and explain.
"He is completely covered in dirt!"
Soye let out an "oh" and looked at Socheong.
When she first saw him, Socheong had been dressed quite neatly.
But they had played so hard that, by then, they were a total mess.
It looked as though he had been rolled across the dirt floor like a straw mat.
His clothes, and especially his shoes, were tattered.
Well, kids that age turn into a total mess the second you look away.
Soye felt wronged.
"I-I'm not that dirty my… am I?"
She looked down at herself.
Admittedly, her clothes were a bit dirty from chasing and throwing that ball.
Still, she wasn't a total mess like Socheong.
Although she looked just as young as Socheong on the outside, she had the mind of a fully grown adult.
A normal child would finish having a blast, forget all about it, and move on.
But to an adult, playtime always came with a chore list: returning home, bathing, doing laundry, cleaning, and so on.
With great fun comes great responsibility…
A wistful look crossed Soye's face.
As Soye struggled to answer, Soso drove the point home.
"You broke this, didn't you? Am I wrong?"
Soso held up Socheong's ball.
Because they had played so wildly, the once-smooth wooden ball was now cracked and splintered.
It looked like it might scratch someone's hand if they weren't careful.
Soye hadn't noticed, which left her completely off guard.
"I-I…"
"Socheong loved this ball so much…"
Soso choked up for a moment.
She tried to act mature, but she was clearly still a child.
She seemed distressed by the thought that her younger brother had been bullied while she wasn't looking.
"You said you didn't want to associate with the branch families, so why are you bullying him?"
Soso struggled to control her emotions.
Soye stared at her, utterly dumbfounded.
"Me?"
I'm sure there's a story behind why I'm living here rather than the main estate. But if the previous me refused to associate with the branch families, what am I supposed to do now?
"Yeah, you! That's why we left you alone."
"When did I ever say that?"
"Your nanny told my mom!"
Soye's eyes widened.
"She told her not to dare push lowly kids onto the precious young lady!"
Her hostility felt a bit too intense to be just about Socheong getting covered in dirt.
Was this the nanny's doing, too?
"Really?"
Soye asked, utterly aghast.
"I said that?"
"Don't play innocent. I heard everything your nanny said."
Shame and rage twisted her flushed face.
"Just because you're from the direct line doesn't mean you can ignore the branch head for an entire year…"
Soso's shoulders heaved a few times, the tip of her nose bright red.
"Anyway, don't even dream of bullying my brother again!"
Soye swallowed a sigh.
Claiming ignorance wasn't going to cut it here.
She had no choice but to show them through her actions.
"Dat's just my nanny's opinion."
She planted her hands on her hips and locked eyes with Soso to show she meant business.
"I'm going to play with Socheong! From now on!"
With a sharp turn of her head, Soye shifted her gaze to the boy.
Socheong, who had been frozen under his sister's fierce aura, flinched when his eyes met Soye's.
"Hey. Tell her."
Was that too confrontational?
Soye winced internally, but the words were already out.
"We had fun playing together, right?"
"No!"
The boy denied it flatly.
Soye staggered for a moment from the shock.
I thought the two of us were having a blast. What did I miss?
"I knew it! You were bullying him!"
Soso pulled her brother closer.
To this, Socheong replied brightly.
"She didn't bully me. I played."
"With her? Didn't I tell you not to hang out with the young lady in the pavilion?!"
Socheong vigorously shook his head.
"Not with the lady! With the ball!"
Both Soso and Soye reeled at his reply.
"What? The ball?"
His answer was pure, unadulterated innocence.
Wow. I mean, I'm the one who told him we were just playing with the ball, but he took it completely to heart. There's just no predicting how an actual kid's mind works.
Soso also stared at her brother with a look of bewilderment.
"Y-you told me not to play with her! So I only played with the ball!"
Socheong seemed immensely proud of sharing this fact.
Soye had to force down the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
I don't know who raised him, but the kid is sharp as a tack.
"You… Just wait till we get home."
Soso tightly gripped her brother's hand.
She tucked the ball under her arm and whirled around to face Soye.
"Alright, I get what happened today."
Her voice carried significantly less venom than before.
She might not trust Soye—who was practically a stranger to her—but she clearly believed her brother.
Should I consider this a relief?
"But don't come near me or Socheong."
Soso turned to leave, the hem of her light purple skirt swirling gracefully.
Soye quietly watched the two children walk away.
"How am I even supposed to smooth things over?"
Socheong's blunt answer had managed to soften Soso's hedgehog-like prickles a little.
But this isn't enough.
She had failed in her original goal of meeting Socheong's parents.
However, Soso had just mentioned that her mother was the branch head of the Tang Clan village.
That made the branch head a decent target to reach out to.
Yet, the truth she had learned from Soso about the nanny weighed heavily on her mind.
Why is she using my name to pull stunts I never even committed?
Soye fell deep into thought, crossing her arms.
One thing was for certain: she had to stop the nanny.
To do that…
I need to create a situation where the nanny has to take responsibility.
Soye made her decision.
She chose not to return to the pavilion just yet, lingering along the road instead.
She knew it was the exact route her nanny always took.
"Young lady?"
Before long, the nanny appeared, carrying a wooden basket.
Catching sight of Soye, Gong-hui furrowed her brows.
"Didn't you say you were only going as far as the garden? Is this the garden? A person in poor health shouldn't come out this far—"
Her tone was quite stern, but Soye ran and threw herself into the nanny's arms.
"Nanny!"
She ended up hugging the woman's legs instead of her waist, but in her own mind, it was a proper hug.
"Oh my!"
Soye looked up at Gong-hui and smiled.
Playing the good child to make the nanny drop her guard was easy.
But it makes me sick to my stomach.
"I was waiting for you! Sing me a wullaby."
This is all to disarm the enemy.
Soye snuggled up to her, chasing the only warmth she was allowed to have.
"Please?"
"…Just this once."
Giving her a playful glare, Gong-hui took Soye's hand and stepped through the outer door.
* * *
The nanny reduced her outings.
This was because the child, who claimed she would only play in the garden, kept going outside.
Soye had Gong-hui right where she wanted.
First. The nanny is trying to isolate me.
The version of herself Soso had described was an incredibly nasty, spoiled direct descendant.
For a whole year, Gong-hui had apparently been her sole mouthpiece to the outside world.
It had been that way since long before Soye fell ill and remembered her past life.
But once she recovered, Soye started wandering outside.
This was already her second time sneaking out.
Gong-hui was bound to be anxious.
If this kept up, everyone would realize Soye was nothing like the rumors.
Second, the nanny was definitely involved in my poisoning. Why else would she steal the miniature porcelain gourd if not to destroy the evidence?
Last night, she had once again overheard the nanny interrogating Geum-a.
Her voice sounded more anxious than threatening.
Third.
Soye watched the back of Gong-hui's head as the woman snuck another look outside.
She is all alone.
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