Leah lowered her head and began examining the maid’s leg. The patient was a kitchen maid who had been burned while preparing food.

“It will sting a lot until it heals. Fortunately, the wound is not deep. The first aid was very good.”

Being a burn wound, it was bound to leave a scar. The good thing was that it was a wound on the leg that was not easily visible, and the first aid was excellent.

“That’s right. If Rikel hadn’t helped, it would have left a huge scar, right?”

“It would have.”

At first, even Leah was impressed when she saw the maid applying an ice compress to prevent blisters when she came.

She didn’t think it was Rikel who had done it.

‘He seems to be surprisingly good at many things?’

Leah’s first impression of Rikel was not very good. No, in fact, she still didn’t have a very good impression of him.

She still couldn’t forget Rikel coming to her and handing over money as a contract fee. He was the one who didn’t hide his dark intentions in front of her.

“As expected! Rikel seems to be good at everything. Even you think Rikel is handsome, don’t you, Pharmacist?”

“He is handsome.”

If you only look at his appearance, he seems decent…

Rikel’s darkly glowing purple eyes were always hidden behind his smiling face.

Leah knew that smile was fabricated to lower other people’s guard. Perhaps that’s why she felt no particular attraction to Rikel’s appearance.

But the maid asking with a flushed face seemed to think differently. Is this how Rikel gains another follower?

‘Like a poor little lamb.’

“The treatment is done. Don’t let it get wet, and apply cold compresses frequently. Come back tomorrow for a dressing change.”

“Thank you! I’m so happy that a pharmacist my age has come.”

Leah straightened her bent waist after finishing the wound dressing. The maid examined the neatly wrapped bandage and asked Leah as she stood up.

“Oh, by the way, are you from the Tren region, Pharmacist?”

“Yes, that’s right. I came from Tren.”

Tren, where Leah grew up, was in the northern region, quite far from the Haidern estate.

Tren, with its small river. The memory of wandering along the riverside with her orphanage friends every change of season was still vivid.

‘Come to think of it, I wonder how the director is doing.’

It had already been a month since she last wrote a letter.

The most recent one was sent before her interview in the capital, before her appointment as a pharmacist was confirmed.

Leah planned to visit the orphanage once a month during her vacations while working as a pharmacist.

The director was like a parent to her, and the orphanage friends and children were as good as family.

[Leah sister! When are you coming then? Can’t I go with you?] [Lisa. Leah sister is going to work as a pharmacist. Lisa needs to study here.] [Hmph.] [Leah. Visit often, okay?]

Lisa was particularly attached to her. Lisa, who was teary-eyed with disappointment, the director, and Theo, who grew up like a sibling.

The orphanage, home to about twenty people, was always filled with laughter.

A smile naturally crept onto her face as she imagined the scenery of the orphanage lush with fresh greenery.

Lost in nostalgic memories, Leah came to her senses at the maid’s voice.

“So you are. Then, have you heard that news?”

“What news?”

Leah turned towards the maid, pausing from organizing the medicines.

Unlike when she was talking about Rikel with an excited voice, her voice was now full of worry.

“You didn’t know yet. Well…”

Could something have happened to her hometown? Leah’s heart started racing anxiously at the sight of the hesitating maid.

“It seems there’s been terrible flood damage from heavy rain. My relative lives in Tren too. They say there are already quite a few disaster victims.”

“Heavy rain? Is it very serious?”

Leah, who was organizing medicines, froze in place in surprise.

“Yes. They say it’s very serious. That’s why I just sent a letter to my cousin sister.”

Come to think of it, the rainy season was approaching. Leah had forgotten because it hadn’t rained yet in the Haidern estate.

Moreover, since Tren was in the northern region and not a place prone to flood damage, she had been more at ease.

‘Oh my goodness.’

Leah covered her mouth in shock. Tren already had poor drainage facilities, and if there were many disaster victims…

The damage to the orphanage was obvious.

‘As if it wasn’t bad enough with the recent food poisoning outbreak that’s been straining the orphanage’s finances.’

Leah had been sending money to the orphanage regularly. One of the reasons she was tempted by the promise of good pay was for the orphanage.

Although they received support from the lord of Tren, the orphanage was always anxious about the financial support that could be cut off at any time.

That’s why Leah had vowed to become a well-paid pharmacist and support them herself. But the orphanage director had always refused, saying Leah didn’t need to do that.

[Leah. You need to live your own life too. Don’t you need to save money for marriage? You don’t need to support us like this. You’re my child too. It’s enough for me that you’ve grown up and become independent.]

‘She must be having a hard time but not saying anything because she’s thinking of me.’

That’s the kind of person the director was. She always didn’t want to burden Leah, who had grown up like the eldest sister.

After the treated maid left the pharmacy, Leah took out a letter paper and pen.

‘I should write a letter to Theo.’

Theo was a friend who grew up with her at the orphanage. Knowing that sending a letter to the director would only result in a reply telling her not to worry, she planned to hear the details from Theo.

And just as she was about to leave the pharmacy with the hastily written letter,

– Knock knock.

There was a knock and the pharmacy door opened.

“Ah! You’re here. A letter came for you, Pharmacist.”

“A letter?”

As she received the letter handed by the maid, she saw a familiar name written as the sender.

‘Theo.’

As if anticipating that Leah would send a letter, it was a letter from Theo. She quickly tore open the envelope and read the letter.

“Ha. As expected…”

As expected, Theo’s letter contained information that the orphanage was experiencing severe financial difficulties.

Moreover, the rainwater that swept through the city flowed into the river, making it difficult to supply drinking water, and secondary disease damage was expected.

Leah rubbed her forehead at the situation in Tren, which was more serious than expected. There were about twenty children in the orphanage. Without support from the city, even basic food and shelter would be a problem for the children.

Thinking of Lisa, Leah let out a deep sigh.

[There’s no problem with the orphanage facility itself, but the cut in support funds is the issue. Also, hoarding of food ingredients is severe, so even drinking water has gone up to 10 coins per bottle.]

Tren, being in the northern region, originally didn’t have much rainfall.

So the unprecedented flood damage probably paralyzed the economy.

[Moreover, the director was scammed by some lowlifes while trying to procure food… Life has become difficult immediately. Leah, I’m really sorry, but…]

Leah’s gaze lingered long on the word ‘scam’ written at the end of the letter.

‘Scam…’

Suddenly, an old memory flashed through Leah’s mind. A memory from her past life that she had forgotten. The story of when she lived as Kang Yoon Ji in South Korea.

.

.

.

Yoon Ji was born as an only child and was living an ordinary life like any other family.

Until her parents were scammed by a man called President Hwang, losing everything from their house to all their assets.

[So why did you trust that person! You said his credit was certain! That your friend said he could be trusted!] [You wench. Did I know this would happen? You also said we should invest! Was this my decision alone? I’m upset too!]

Arguments between her parents, who had been scammed out of all their assets, became frequent. To the point where there were many days of fighting while throwing things.

And around the time Yoon Ji was about to enter elementary school.

Just before school enrollment, Yoon Ji’s family had to flee from loan sharks. It was difficult for her to attend school like other friends.

They had to change schools at intervals of as short as a month or as long as four months.

Living as a fugitive like that, one day. Her parents left Yoon Ji at an orphanage, saying they would come back for her someday.

Clearly,

[It’s just staying here for a while. Yoon Ji, you attend school here.] [If you come with mom and dad, it’ll be hard to go to school like now.] [When mom and dad’s life stabilizes, we’ll come back for you. It’s just a short separation. Okay?]

Although they tried to sugarcoat it with nice words, in the end, they had abandoned Yoon Ji.

Her parents didn’t return even as she went from elementary school to middle school, high school, and became an adult.

Right. Maybe they never intended to come back in the first place. However, Yoon Ji believed those words that they would return soon and refrained from mingling with the orphanage friends.

She believed that she was someone who would leave this place someday.

‘I’m different from the children here.’

‘I have parents. They said they would come back.’

‘I’m not abandoned.’

Yoon Ji was afraid that if she gave her heart to the orphanage friends, her parents might not return.

So she rejected the friends who approached her.

Thoroughly lonely, solitary, she became isolated like that.

One day, two days. A month became a year, and then ten years. The waiting time grew endlessly like a snowball.

By the time she finally accepted that her parents had abandoned her, there was no one by Yoon Ji’s side.

It was too late to regret. It was none other than Yoon Ji who had pushed away the friends who approached her.

So Yoon Ji became independent alone as an adult. Her life motto became to never be taken advantage of.

‘I’d rather be the one to scam. I will never live like my parents.’

She barely made a living with various part-time jobs. Working two or three part-time jobs a day, she gradually built up her living.

Then, while working part-time at a department store, Yoon Ji encountered President Hwang and his wife. Although it had been ten years, she immediately recognized the vicious President Hwang and his wife.

[Honey. You’ll buy this for me, right? I saw last time that Hae In’s mom has a luxury bag display in her dressing room. I won’t ask for that much.] [You’re incorrigible. Okay, I’ll buy it.] [Sir, shall I wrap this for you then?]

That bastard who had ruined her family was living so well. He looked luxurious and happy.

After taking everything from Yoon Ji’s family and serving just 7 years in prison, he was now living in luxury with a respectable title.

Watching that scene, Yoon Ji’s eyes welled up with tears. Why did only she have to be so unhappy?

Why did only her life have to be so miserable?

‘You shouldn’t be this happy.’

It started with revenge.

She wanted to scam President Hwang, who had pushed her family into hell, for a large sum of money and make him just like them.

She wanted to make him feel the despair that Yoon Ji and her parents had felt.

So she approached the Hwang couple, and just as she was about to succeed in her plan. She saw a young child getting out of the Hwang couple’s car.

She should have just ignored it and passed by. But in that young child, she saw an overlap with her younger self.

What was this little money worth?

Was it for this pittance that her innocent life had been completely shaken?

Her heart felt like it was going to break. Yoon Ji covered her face, forgetting she was at a crosswalk.

As she was sobbing, a truck came rushing in the pouring rain. And by the time she thought she should avoid it, it was already too late. That’s how she ended her life.

That was the last thing Yoon Ji remembered from her past life.