The morning dew had not yet dried in the faint light (5 to 7 a.m.).
A slave from Min Yeong-gam’s household swept the mansion courtyard, announcing the beginning of the day.
The slave had been up long before their master, moving briskly since early morning.
The diligence of Min Yeong-gam’s slaves spared no one, regardless of age; even young children were no exception.
A boy of about seven carried a basin filled with water towards the inner room.
The water inside the basin swayed uncertainly every time the boy, whose size and weight were mismatched with the basin, staggered.
Splash.
When the door to the inner room opened, Min Yeong-gam revealed himself.
Still not fully awake, Min Yeong-gam called the boy with the sound of boiling water.
“Bring the washbasin!”
His sharp eyes were filled with a chilly morning atmosphere.
His thin lips, tightly sealed, looked incredibly stubborn.
The seemingly struggling boy placed the washbasin in front of the inner room door and quickly stepped back.
The boy went to the kitchen to find his mother for the next task.
“Mother!”
“I’m here.”
The boy’s mother, also Min Yeong-gam’s concubine, hurriedly came out of the kitchen as if she had been waiting.
Handing the boy a clean cloth and a wet towel, the woman did not forget to give her instructions.
“It’s time to change the diaper. You’ve done it several times, so you can do it alone, right?”
“Yes, I can do it alone.”
“Good. I’ll finish this and join the fire shortly.”
“Don’t worry, mother.”
The boy’s response was remarkably polite and calm for his young age.
Taking the cloth from the woman, the boy headed towards the inner room.
Upon opening the door, cries of a newborn filled the narrow room even more powerfully than they did from outside.
In the center of the room, a newborn baby wrapped in a blanket lay in a wooden cradle, crying.
“I’m here, don’t cry, little one.”
As the boy hurriedly approached the baby, a sweet smell rose from below. It seemed to be time to change the diaper, just as the woman had advised.
The boy, with small hands like ferns, began to change the baby’s diaper.
Although it was comical to see a child taking care of a baby, the boy’s movements were quite skillful.
Although the father was different, the newborn was the boy’s first sibling and blood relative.
In the boy’s eyes, his new baby brother looked endlessly cute and lovely, and he didn’t hesitate to help his busy mother.
As he changed the diaper, the baby’s cries gradually stopped.
In the meantime, three distinctive dots forming a triangle on the baby’s navel caught the boy’s attention.
Touching the unique marks on his brother’s body with his small fern-like hands, the boy remarked, “It’s always a unique mark.”
As the time for breastfeeding approached, the boy’s mother entered the inner room.
Watching the mother feed the baby, the boy asked.
“Mother, since Makgeumi is Younggamnim’s son, can Makgeumi become a yangban (nobleman) in the future?”
“He will not become a yangban. If even one parent is a slave, the child inherits the blood of a slave. Makgeumi is also in the same slave status as us.”
“Is that so…”
The boy, who thought his younger brother would be a yangban because his father was one, couldn’t hide his disappointment.
He had looked forward to having a younger brother from a yangban background.
However, things don’t always turn out as expected. Regardless, Makgeumi remained his brother.
For the boy, Makgeumi was an exceptionally adorable and cute younger brother who wouldn’t hurt even if he were poked in the eye.
The boy gently stroked the head of his sleeping brother, who was breastfeeding.
A few peaceful nights passed.
Late at night, the woman secretly woke up the boy who was deeply asleep.
Now awake, the boy, with a sleepy voice, asked the woman, “Mother, what’s happening?”
“Hush!”
The woman covered the boy’s mouth.
After removing her hand from her son lying on the side, she whispered softly enough not to be heard around.
“We are leaving this place.”
“Leaving?”
“Yes.”
The boy didn’t understand what the woman was talking about.
Just as he rubbed his eyes, not fully awake, the woman forced the boy up and took him outside.
The woman, who had secretly left Min Younggam’s mansion, started climbing the nearby mountains, holding the boy’s hand in one hand and carrying the newborn baby on her back.
The boy, with his narrow steps, struggled to keep up with his mother’s pace, panting.
“Mother, I can’t breathe!”
“We have to hurry. There’s no time to hesitate.”
The mother’s distracted movement, as if being chased by something, seemed strange to the boy.
The unfamiliar situation was both scary, and the dark forest, where it was difficult to see even a step ahead, was frightening.
“It’s cold and scary. Let’s go back home.”
“No, you must forget about life in Younggam’s house.”
Without further explanation, the mother walked ahead without stopping.
Then, with the sound of hunting dogs barking nearby, the voices of unfamiliar men were heard.
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!