‘What should I do? Even though I got some fresh air during lunchtime, I still feel unwell….’
Still, it was bearable so far. Eloise genuinely thought so.
Until the veteran worker Alicia dropped a bombshell.
“Well, shall we try it ourselves now?”
“Pardon?”
When Eloise turned pale and startled, a flash of disappointment crossed Alicia’s eyes.
“Why? Was my explanation insufficient?”
“No, ma’am!”
How could it be insufficient? Her explanation was as detailed as it could be.
Plucking chicken feathers? Isn’t it just grabbing the chicken and plucking the feathers one by one like pulling weeds? That was the thought Eloise had before entering the workshop. However, imagination and reality were completely different.
To begin with, ‘just grabbing the chicken’ was an impossible notion.
The workers who caught the chickens brought them from the chicken coop, barely managing to catch them and ‘snap’ their necks, leaving their heads ‘dangling’. The women then quickly dipped the chickens in hot water and hung them upside down.
That way, it would be easier to drain the blood later.
After that, the feathers had to be plucked swiftly. If the chicken started to stiffen, it would not only become difficult to pluck the feathers but also risk tearing the meat.
In short, it required plucking quickly but not too forcefully.
In other words, it was a job that required considerable skill.
However, that wasn’t the only reason why Eloise felt troubled.
The chickens hanging upside down on long poles had white feathers, and their heads were all drooping down.
Naturally, their necks appeared twice as long as when they were roaming the chicken coop, and their appearance undeniably reminded Eloise of cute ducks.
It was only natural for Eloise to feel uncomfortable.
“Alright. So now you can do it on your own, right? It’s not a complicated task.”
“Yes. Of course.”
“I’ll be watching, so give it a try. Don’t worry about the speed.”
Alicia, who had carefully supervised the work all morning, took a big step back.
Finally, it was a confrontation between the white chicken dangling upside down and Eloise.
“……”
Eloise, with her trembling gaze fixed on the chicken’s fluffy chest, swallowed dry saliva as if suppressing her uneasiness.
‘This is a chicken, not a duck. A chicken, not a duck….’
How fortunate it was that this factory didn’t handle ducks.
Even though she tried to think that way, the sensation of the drooping chicken was truly terrible.
“What are you doing? You need to hold the body properly. If you take this long, it’ll become harder to pluck the feathers.”
Moreover, it had been dipped in hot water, retaining an unusual warmth… It had been alive until just now…
“Hey, you don’t look well. If you can’t do it—”
“No! I can do it.”
Eloise, who answered with determination, grabbed the chicken tightly.
The moment the lukewarm and squishy flesh clung to her fingertips, nausea surged up from deep within her throat.
“Urgh…!”
Eloise ran out of the workshop like a pebble flung by a slingshot. There wasn’t even time to follow the command of her consciousness.
“Ugh, huurk, huk….”
Frenzied retching assaulted her. In the midst of her unconsciousness, she covered her mouth, inadvertently inhaling the pungent smell of chicken that had permeated her hands, further twisting her stomach.
Fortunately, only dry heaves followed without actually throwing up anything.
It seemed to be because she hadn’t eaten lunch properly.
Eloise, wiping her mouth with her sleeve and straightening her hunched body, finally realized that three women had followed her out.
Judging by their surprised expressions, they must have witnessed her frantically retching.
‘This is the worst….’
She had barely endured the difficult half-day that had started earlier than ever.
Although she had been assigned a challenging task, she thought that if she could survive the first day, she would somehow manage.
‘But to show this kind of spectacle from the start….’
What if it looked like she was protesting, saying she absolutely couldn’t do such lowly work, even though it was a desperate job for someone, as Mr. Osborne had said?
She didn’t want to disappoint the people who had warmly and kindly welcomed her, despite her inexperience…
While lost in thought, Alicia, Melanie, and Pumpkin approached closely.
Eloise bit her lip, feeling like a sinner.
“Has the nausea subsided?”
“I… I’m sorry. I….”
“If you can’t do it, go to Mr. Osborne and tell him so. The three of us can handle it, so it’s not more than we can manage.”
“Pardon?”
At those words, her clear eyes welled up.
The tears, gathered like beads, didn’t fall down her cheeks but remained, making her eyes appear even more transparent and pitiful.
“I was just startled because it was my first time… That’s why. I’m sorry for disappointing you.”
“What?”
“But I didn’t come here with a light heart. I’ll try again….”
Alicia, naturally surprised, patted Eloise’s trembling shoulders and said:
“Of course you can be startled since it’s your first time. And why are you apologizing to us? We’re not the owners here.”
“….”
Contrary to the expectation of being reprimanded, Alicia’s tone was kind.
As Eloise blinked in a daze, the rounded teardrops rolled down her cheeks.
“It’s your first day anyway. Didn’t you come to test whether it’s a suitable job for you?”
“That’s right, Miss Bailey. It seems like this kind of work is completely new to you, so there’s no need to push yourself.”
“If you want to find an easier job, I’m sure Mr. Osborne will understand. You’re still so young.”
At Pumpkin’s last words, Eloise’s shoulders visibly flinched.
Finding an easier job. In fact, she had been thinking about that all morning.
However, Eloise couldn’t deny that it was only a few months ago when she had grumbled that working all day stringing beads would be better than sweating.
‘Even if I find an easier job, there will surely be other hardships.’
No, to begin with, making money could never be entirely easy.
That was evident just by looking at her father, who struggled day and night to find a way to make money. Above all…
‘What I truly wanted was good people, not an easy job.’
Having finished her thought, Eloise lifted her head, and the faces of the three women filled with worry came into view. Her small fists clenched tightly.
“I… I want to try again.”
“Miss Eloise, are you sure you’ll be alright?”
“…I’ll be fine.”
I won’t give up on a new job, leaving those people, or returning home intact.
Eloise, reaffirming her resolve once more, smiled with a tender face.
“It’s a job that brings laughter instead of screams to people’s dinner tables.”
[This is the timeline separator]“Eek!”
Eloise let out a sharp scream.
Occasionally, there were chickens that flapped around even after being dipped in hot water, so this was already the second scream.
“Startling, isn’t it? These birds run around even with their heads cut off.”
“Yes, they’re truly remarkable birds. Be careful not to get scratched by their claws, Miss Eloise.”
The large pot used for dipping the chickens was constantly emitting hot steam, making the workshop stuffy throughout.
Eloise wiped the sweat gathered on her forehead and managed to reply.
“…Yes, I will.”
Her eyes were also filled with some kind of liquid, whether it was sweat or something else.
‘It’s just meat. The happiness of the dinner table….’
Amidst the steamy haze, Eloise desperately muttered to herself, trying to forget the fact that these chickens had been alive and well until just moments ago.
Otherwise, she couldn’t possibly define the guilt and regret that ached her heart.
The skin of the plucked chickens was white with a hint of pale pink.
A form that couldn’t be imagined from its original shape, an unknown organism that couldn’t be named…
“Well then, I’ll take them!”
When four chickens were neatly plucked by the diligent hands of the four women, the man in charge of cutting the chickens came from the back and took them away.
Strictly speaking, they worked in the same workshop, but there was no contact other than him occasionally coming to take the chickens.
Finding it a bit strange, Alicia hinted that the factory owner placed great importance on the morality of the employees, especially between the opposite sexes.
Due to the atmosphere of immediately dismissing anyone involved in a scandal, unmarried men and women were cautious even when greeting each other.
In fact, that was the reason why Mr. Woodley had to leave this place, but Eloise, unaware of the circumstances, could only nod her head with an awkward smile while brushing off the feathers stuck to her clothes.
Of course, even in the midst of that, her mind was busy.
‘I can’t let them find out that I’m living with a man. That would be the end of everything!’
Situations where she had to lie unintentionally were increasing.
However, Eloise still tried to think positively.
It was indeed fortunate that she had found a job right away and met good people.
Ah, it was also fortunate that the place for removing chicken feathers was quite far from the slaughterhouse, so the terrible sounds couldn’t be heard.
Although plucking chicken feathers wasn’t an easy task, at least it didn’t involve catching chickens, twisting their necks, removing their intestines, or cutting them into pieces…
Unlike the bead factory, working while sweating and the atmosphere of working together made time feel less slow, which was also something to be grateful for.
“I’ll be leaving first.”
“Ah, didn’t Miss Eloise say she was finishing early?”
“It must have been tiring on your first day. Get some good rest without thinking about anything.”
“See you tomorrow, Miss Eloise!”
With heartwarming farewells, Eloise left the factory feeling fulfilled and refreshed, inhaling the fresh air into her lungs.
And at that exact moment, she realized how terribly she reeked.
‘Ugh….’
It was a desperate situation to have to cross a crowded main street and pass through the square in this state, but she quickened her pace without a moment to cry out.
She had to hurry. To thoroughly wash her body before Ansel Blaine returned.
__________
My Clingy Little Husband (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.