Who is She?

Wow!"

Yul-i's eyes widened.

Su-a's house, which she had gotten permission from her mother to visit, was full of fun things.

The yard had a slide and other play equipment she had never seen before, and the room was filled with cute and pretty dolls.

But what caught Yul-i's eye more than anything else were the delicious sweets and snacks.

Yul-i's eyes sparkled more than ever as she looked at the numerous snacks.

"Try this!"

Eun Su-a picked up a snack and popped it right into Yul-i's mouth.

Surprised for a moment at having a snack put in her mouth without even seeing what it was, Yul-i's eyes went round.

The moment it entered her mouth, a savory and sweet flavor spread softly.

Her cheeks filled with the complex taste.

Yul-i cupped her cheeks and smiled happily.

"I-It's yummy!"

"Right?"

"Uh-huh!"

"That's my favorite snack. Ahem!"

Seeing Yul-i's happy smile, Eun Su-a seemed pleased as well and grinned along.

"Try this one. This one too! And this one!"

"How is it? Delicious, right? I'll give you some often if you come over to my house, so you have to stay friends with me, okay? Got it?"

"Okay!"

Yul-i nodded her head with an excited face.

A proud smile appeared on Eun Su-a's face as she watched Yul-i.

Eun Su-a liked Yul-i very much.

The moment their eyes met when Su-a was playing with her friends in the marketplace, she had instantly wanted to become friends with Yul-i.

Back then, she didn't know her name, her age, or who she was.

And that evening, Eun Su-a told her mother that she had met a girl at the market who would become her best friend for life.

Of course, seeing her daughter call a girl her age whose name she didn't even know a lifelong friend, her mother had laughed it off, thinking, *My daughter is such an oddball,* but eventually, as time passed, the two became close friends, just as Su-a had said.

It was truly a strange and wonderful connection.

How should one put it?

Eun Su-a was the type to make friends with everyone, but for some reason, Yul-i was a friend she wanted to become even closer with.

And it was the same for Yul-i.

Su-a was the first friend Yul-i had made since coming to Hebei, and more importantly, they got along very well.

It was as if they had been friends for years.

She had friends in Sodam Village, but none she clicked with as well as Su-a.

What would be a good word for such a connection?

The two children, their eyes meeting, smiled shyly at each other.

After finishing a plate of snacks, the two began to play with dolls.

Yul-i chose a cool warrior doll, and Su-a chose a merchant doll in fancy clothes.

They played with the dolls, creating a story.

However, what had started as a story about a warrior saving a merchant attacked by bandits had, by the time they realized it, turned into a story where the merchant defeated the villain and the warrior was counting money.

But Yul-i and Su-a were satisfied, saying this too was a profound ending in its own way.

After they finished playing with the dolls and sat them neatly in their places, they went out to the yard and rode the slide.

They took turns, each sliding down three times.

Sharing and order were among the most important teachings of the Sowol Academy.

Next, they got on the swings.

They had a contest to see who could go higher, and Yul-i won.

Su-a was disappointed and vowed to win next time.

After playing like that for a long time, they went back inside and drank the beverages that had been prepared for them.

"Phew!"

Yul-i and Su-a exhaled refreshing breaths after drinking their beverages.

Despite the cool weather, beads of sweat had formed on the children's heads from running around so much.

But even that was a pleasant feeling at their age.

After a short rest, Yul-i and Su-a started playing with the dolls again.

This time, it was the story of a scholar and a young lady.

How long had they been playing?

Suddenly feeling the need to use the restroom, Yul-i shot up from her spot.

Seeing her, Su-a told her where the restroom was.

"Go out of this room and go straight to the right."

"Okay! I'll be right back!"

As if in a hurry, Yul-i threw open the door and ran toward the restroom with quick little steps.

Not long after, Yul-i finished her business and came out of the restroom.

*Heehee.*

Yul-i's face was all smiles.

It was fun.

Yul-i had never known that visiting a friend's house could be this enjoyable.

*I'll play a little longer before I go home!*

Just as Yul-i made up her mind and was about to return to Su-a's room.

*Swish.*

From behind Yul-i, a mysterious black hand reached out for her.

A while later,

"Huh? Why isn't she coming back?"

Su-a, who had been waiting for Yul-i alone in the room with a bored expression, shot to her feet.

It felt like quite some time had passed, but Yul-i hadn't returned.

Tilting her head, Eun Su-a left the room and headed for the restroom.

Then she called out for Yul-i.

"Hey, Yeo So-yul! What are you doing! Why are you taking so long?"

But contrary to her expectation of hearing Yul-i's reply right away, no answer came back.

Eun Su-a slowly opened the restroom door.

No one was there.

"Yul-i?"

Yul-i had disappeared.

\*\*\*

In a small clearing in the forest, not far from Eun Su-a's house.

There, a scrawny man was looking at his subordinates with a sinister smile.

"You handled the job properly, right?"

"Yes. Of course. Who do you think we are?"

"We went in perfectly, and brought her out without a trace."

"Well done. Heh heh."

The scrawny man, who smiled with satisfaction at the words of his fawning subordinates who were also grinning unpleasantly, turned around.

There, a small child was sitting in a chair.

The man then pulled off the mask the child was wearing.

But then,

"...Huh?"

The scrawny man's face froze as he confirmed the child's face.

After staring at the child for a moment, the man managed to speak.

"Who... is this?"

The man's expression turned strange.

He looked this way and that, from the front and from the back, but this child was not the one he knew.

At the man's reaction, question marks appeared over his subordinates' heads.

"Huh? What do you mean, who is this? Isn't she the daughter of the house you told us about, boss?"

"I'm asking who this is."

"We just kidnapped the little girl who was there, just as you said?"

"This isn't the daughter of that house! Which house did you morons break into!"

The scrawny man couldn't contain his anger and yelled.

At that moment, the small child in front of him struggled to make a sound.

"Mmph, mmph!"

"Right. If you don't know, this kid will."

The man soon untied the gag from the child's mouth.

"Kid. Tell me. Who are you?"

"I'm Yeo So-yul! Who are you, misters! Let me go right now! If you don't, my grandpa won't let you get away with this!"

"What?"

At Yul-i's words, who started yelling threats as soon as her mouth was free, the men chuckled in disbelief.

"Wow, look at the nerve on this one?"

"Kid. Do we look like we're scared of anything? Huh? And who's your grandpa? Who is he that we should be scared of him?"

"Peng Mugang!"

"Right, right. Your grandpa's name is Peng Mugang. Oh, I'm so scared! Hehe."

The kidnappers pretended to be scared and teased Yul-i.

"So who is this geezer named Peng Mugang? Huh? Wait, Peng Mu... gang?"

"B-Boss? P-Peng Mugang, you mean..."

Some of the kidnappers' faces began to turn pale.

"K-Kid. The grandfather you just mentioned, is he the Family Head of the Peng Family, the Roaring Tiger, Peng Mugang?"

Yul-i nodded her head emphatically.

"Ha, Hahaha..."

The man who appeared to be the leader of the kidnappers let out a hollow laugh and looked at his subordinates.

"You... you crazy bastards! I told you to bring me the daughter of a rich family, and you bring me the granddaughter of the Peng Family Head?!"

"No, we definitely went into the house you told us about and brought the girl we saw. You said that house only had one daughter!"

"One! It is only one! Heh heh. Ah, I'm going crazy."

The leader of the kidnappers scratched his head and paced around anxiously.

He had intended to pull off something big, but this was too big.

He just wanted to get some money, but now it looked like he would lose his life instead of getting any money.

"B-Boss. What do we do?"

"What do you mean, what do we do! You bastards!"

Even if they tried to pretend nothing happened and return the kid now, the water was already spilled, and it was too late to clean it up.

The man, who had been biting his lip, finally seemed to make up his mind and spat out his words.

"Since it's come to this... bury her."

"What? The kid? Weren't we just supposed to kidnap her and take the money?"

"Hey, you idiot. She's already seen our faces, so you want to let her live?"

In truth, he had never intended to let the child live after kidnapping her and receiving the money.

But now, getting that money was impossible.

If they got caught by getting involved with the Peng Family, it would all be over.

If they just buried this kid and left this place as if nothing had happened, they would never be caught.

That's what he thought.

"Kid. Don't resent us too much. This is all because of your bad luck."

The kidnappers approached Yul-i again.

At the sight, Yul-i's face filled with terror.

"D-Don't! I said don't! Let me go! Waaaah!"

Yul-i screamed at the top of her lungs.

But her mouth was quickly gagged again, and the child tied to the chair could do nothing.

Soon, tears welled up in Yul-i's large eyes.

Just as the mask was about to be placed over Yul-i's head again,

Yul-i saw something.

"What rotten luck. Get rid of her cleanly."

It was then.

*Thud.*

Something enormous landed on the head of the kidnappers' leader.

"W-What the!"

It was a hand.

An incredibly large hand, several times bigger than that of an ordinary man.

For a moment, a shiver ran down the man's spine from the powerful grip that felt like it would crush his head, and he hastily turned around.

"W-Who's there!"

But there was no one behind him.

Only his subordinates were there.

But his subordinates' faces were pale and frozen stiff.

"W-What is it? What's with you guys...!"

At the man's words, his subordinates raised their fingers and pointed ahead.

The man slowly turned his head in that direction.

"G-Grandpa!"

"My granddaughter. Were you scared?"

"Sniff. Yes."

A man with a massive build was standing some distance away, holding the child they had kidnapped.

Since when?

But... Grandpa?

*Gasp! D-Don't tell me, Peng Mugang?!*

Realizing the identity of the man holding Yul-i, the kidnappers' faces turned from pale to deathly blue.

Stumbling, their feet began to back away.

"There, there. Now that Grandpa's here, everything's alright. Yul-i, can you look at the sky over there, cover your ears, and count out loud to ten?"

"Okay!"

Soon, Yul-i began to count while looking at the sky her grandfather had pointed to.