Moon’s Labyrinths

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Dark Day of the New Moon

This facility was called the Sunlight Orphanage . There were a lot of children inside, and the place was filled with their voices . The children cried, fought, and made up as they chattered . There was an incredible amount of energy that could be felt within the orphanage . Most of them were orphans without any parents, but this was why the teachers worked hard to make their lives better . This was why the children were all happy here . However, there were also children that made trouble for others . They got into accidents . Children will be children .

However, the orphanage was much more raucous than usual that day . Normally, children and teachers were the only ones residing within . There were unfamiliar people mixed in with them .

A woman moved forward . She was an old lady, who was past her middle age . The old lady greeted the group .

It was said that one’s genes determined how one looked when one was young . But when one became old, it was said that one’s face was determined by the deeds accomplished in one’s lifetime . If the saying was true, then she must have lived a virtuous life . She was old enough that half her hair had turned white . But anyone that looked at her face would unconsciously put their guard down . She looked like someone of high morals . She had a warm smile that made one think of your own grandma, who would always welcome you back home . She had that look .

She was the director of the orphanage . She had been a person of character since she was young . She ran a child care center that reared homeless children into fine adults . She was a woman respected by everyone .

“Hello!”

She was a woman of such stature, yet she personally greeted everyone .

There were 23 people in the group . They all looked to be in their early to mid 20s . There were 19 men and 4 women . They were a mixed sex group that were part of a volunteer club from the nearby university .

This group came twice a month to volunteer, so the director was happy as she welcomed them .

“Please come in . ”

Like it was the case in all orphanages, the manpower here was also always lacking . The fact that volunteers came twice a month to help out was a big boon .

“Didn’t you say you are the president now, Mr . Minsung?”

“Yes . Please look after us, director . ”

“I should be the one saying that . Please look after us . ”

The director talked to the man named Minsung, and then she looked at the people behind him .

“There are a lot of people here today . ”

“The freshmen are here . ”

“I see . ”

Still, the director wondered why there were so many people . It had been five years since she had partnered up with this volunteer club . The freshmen always bolstered the number of members within the club around this time of the year . Even if one considered that fact, there were still too many people . However, the director decided not to worry about it . They were always short on manpower, so she welcomed the large number of people here . Maybe, she would be able to do a spring cleaning today . She started having ambitious goals .

“I’ll introduce you to the new members . ”

Minsung started to introduce each new freshman, who had joined the club . In the beginning, she had a benevolent smile on her face as she thanked and welcomed each volunteer . However, her face started to harden a little bit as the introduction continued .

‘They really don’t look like people interested in volunteering . . . ’

She had run this orphanage for over 10 years . She could tell a person’s attitude at a glance now . She could tell if someone was interested in working or not . The freshmen introduced by Minsung didn’t looked interested in volunteering . From her experience, these kinds of people weren’t passionate about working . She would be lucky if they didn't cause any trouble .

Of course, there were always pretenders when there was a large group . However, the ratio was too large this time .

The director found the cause when Minsung introduced a particular student .

‘It’s because of this child . ’

Beautiful . This word was the only word that could describe her . Her hair was lightly permed, and it fell down like a waterfall . When she moved her head, her hair moved like water . There wasn’t a single blemish on her jade like skin . It was so smooth that a bug would probably slip off her skin if it tried to land . She had full eyelashes that was long and curved . Her lips were deep red, and it made one want to kiss those lips . Unlike the other girls present, she didn’t have much makeup on, but this actually highlighted her beauty .

“Hello . ”

When she lowered her head, her hair flowed like water as it fell across her neck . If the director had a camera and if she had been talented in photography, she would have taken pictures of this girl at that moment . She had the urge to paint this scene . The girl was so beautiful that such impulse arose within her for a brief moment .

In her long years, she had never seen a woman as beautiful as her .

‘Most of the men here are trying to poach this child . ’

The director nodded when the girl bowed her head . She also took a peek at the others . President Minsung and all the men were staring at the girl . They had been mesmerized .

The director let out a sigh inside . She didn’t plan on getting involved in other people’s love lives . She knew it was pathetic for these men to follow around this beautiful girl, but she decided not to even entertain such thoughts . She just wondered how hard these men would work for the orphanage today .

‘Still, this child has the passion . ’

Did she say her name was Jung Jiyoon? At the very least, this girl was passionate about volunteering . This fact made the director relax a little bit .

‘I feel a bit bad for doing this, but I’ll have to use this child for a good cause . ’

Most of the people here had come to look good in front of Jiyoon . Most of the men in the volunteer group had fallen for Jiyoon, so she would make the men work near Jiyoon . The men would work hard in order to look good in front of Jiyoon . The director was going to use Jiyoon to control her labor force .

After the introduction was done, the students were directed by the director and the daycare teachers on the work they had to do . It was as the director had expected . Very few students had come here with the desire to do volunteer work . Their work stalled as they kept eyeing the flower called Jiyoon . The director had correctly assessed the situation, and of course, the daycare teachers furrowed their brows when they saw this . However, the director had years of experience, and she was crafty . Her experience shone in situations like this, and she kept asking Jiyoon to do the hardest work . Of course, she assigned Jiyoon to do these task in front of her admirers . The men completely fell for the director’s trap .

“I’ll do this . ”

Jiyoon was about to move a heavy item when one male student cut in front of her . Before she could say anything, the male student took the heavy item as if he was stealing it from her . He put on a bright smile towards her, and he walked ahead of her with confidence .

‘Is he trying to gain some points doing that?’

His heart was tinged in pink, and he was hopeful . He kept his back straight as if the work wasn’t tiring him at all . He felt Jiyoon’s gaze on his back .

As he had expected, Jiyoon was looking at his back . However, there was no favorable feelings reflected on her face as he had hoped . In fact, there was a slight disgust on her face .

This scenario kept repeating itself . If she tried to do anything that was slightly arduous, the male students cut in front of her . They did her work for her . She was like a sack of barley on the side as she watched everyone else do her work for her . She tried to refuse the help of others several times, yet the male students were obstinate . They wouldn’t listen to her . The disgust on her face continued to deepen .

Jiyoon let out a sigh as she moved to find another task she could do . She had come here to help, not to be treated like a princess . She tried to explain this to the others, but the men just ignored her wishes .

Jiyoon knew why they were acting this way . However, they had chosen the absolute worst way to go about this . Her opinions of them bottomed out, and it never rose .

She once again let out a sigh as she was about to open the door to a random room .

She heard voices across the door .

“Hey . Are you also gunning for Jiyoon?”

It was a familiar voice . He was in the same club as her, and he was a fellow freshmen that had come out to volunteer with her . Moreover, he was the one that had snatched away her broom when she tried to sweep the floor .

“Of course . Aren’t you hear for the same reason? Is there anyone that joined that isn’t gunning for her?”

It was another familiar voice . He was also a freshman that had joined the same club as her . He had snatched away the microwave when Jiyoon had tried to move it .

Jiyoon was taken aback since she was hearing gossip about her . Jiyoon’s hand froze on the door knob as she continued to hear more voices .

“Oh my god . I froze when I saw her for the first time . How could someone like her exist? Idols aren’t as pretty as her . ”

“I’ve had the chance to see couple of idols in the past . They can’t hold a candle to her . Even if she can’t sing or dance, she’ll become a top idol if she debuted right now . ”

“Also, her personality is great, and her body is banging . Isn’t she also from a wealthy family?”

“Her family runs a mid-sized business . She’s got everything . ”

“She’s really the complete package . A complete package . It would be awesome if I could date her . She looks great in the day, but I bet she’s would be awesome in bed at night . She’s quite docile, so it’ll be fun training her . ”

“Girls like her are actually more freaky in bed… . ”

That was all she could take . Jiyoon got out of there as if she was running away .

This was quite common for her . Men always acted nice in front of her . They were gunning for her face and wealth . She could act like a princess, and she could probably live a comfortable life doing that . However, her heart wouldn’t let her do that . There was no way .

“Hey, Jiyoon!”

She heard someone call after her . Jiyoon let out a sigh inside . It was another familiar voice .

“You are here . I finally found you . ”

It was Minsung, the president of her club . Jiyoon quickly fixed her expression and erased the disgust on her face as she put on a smile . She wasn't trying to look good in front of him . However If she looked like she was in distress, there were men that would use that opportunity to get close to her . These type of men would propose solving whatever problem she was having .

“Why were you looking for me, oppa?”

“Nothing much . I’m just wondering if you are tired or not . ”

‘I’m not tired thanks to you guys . In fact, I feel like an invalid . ’

She was about to tell him off, and the words had traveled up her throat . However, she was barely able to push it back down .

“No, everything is fine . Many people helped me including you, oppa . ”

“Still, aren’t you a little bit tired? The other girls were sent to do easy work, yet you were assigned to do heavy work . ”

Minsung was sly as he stood next to Jiyoon .

“I didn’t think the director was that kind of a woman . She’s too much . Has she become jealous in her old age? I guess you are a bit too pretty . ”

As he said those words, he took a glance at Jiyoon .

“If you need anything, you just need to say the word . I’m able to help you with most things . . . ”

“No, I’m really fine . ”

Minsung was persistent as he stuck close to Jiyoon . This time she was firm in her refusal . It was as if she couldn’t completely hide her feelings, and her words sounded sharp . Minsung was embarrassed, but he just said ‘Ok’ before retreating .

Normally, Minsung wouldn’t have retreated . However, he was experienced with women, so he knew how to ‘conquer’ a woman when a woman was annoyed like this . In his head, he already had several plays that he wanted to try right now .

However, he couldn’t carry out those plans . Even if he was experienced with seducing many women, Jiyoon was one of the most beautiful woman he had seen . His heart was beating faster, and he was having a hard time talking . He was acting like a virgin in front of her .

“Whew!”

Minsung turned around, and his shoulders sagged a little bit as he left . Jiyoon let out a sigh once more as she looked at his back .

Time continued to pass like this . Several problems had cropped up, but in the end, the work at the orphanage was slowly wrapping up . Jiyoon was also able to find several tasks she was allowed to do .

After Jiyoon washed the children’s clothes, she had decided to take a break . She sat on a bench located at the orphanage’s small playground .

“You did a good job . ”

Someone was talking to her again . However, it wasn’t the voice of a thirsty and annoying male she had to hear all the time . It was a warm and comforting voice . It was like her grandma’s voice, who lived in the countryside .

Jiyoon turned around . The director was holding two cans of coffee as she looked at Jiyoon .

“Will you talk with an old woman while you rest?”

The director acted naturally as she sat next to her, and pushed the coffee towards Jiyoon .

“Ah . Thank you . ”

Jiyoon received the coffee with her two hands . The cold coffee cooled her hands .

The director opened her coffee first as she drank it . Jiyoon followed after her and also opened her canned coffee .

“In truth, I came here because I have to apologize to Ms Jiyoon . ”

The bitter yet sweet coffee was going down her throat when she heard the director’s unexpected words .

“What? Why would you apologize to me?”

“I used Ms Jiyoon today . I wanted to use the men, who are in love with you, for work . ”