My Ultimate Ambition

Very early at the break of dawn, Yoona lazily stretched on her bed as she woke up. Adjusting her sleeping to get back to sleep, she felt a spank.

She jumped up with the intention of lashing out at the rude person only to find an angry gaze bearing down on her.

The angry words she made to pour out was she shoved her throat as she curtsied in morning greetings. The deafening silence almost choked her, courageously she peered at the lady's angry face.

" The most hated people in this world are lazy people. If you think you are on vacation here, then I suggest you go back home. I can't believe an old bone like me should be waking up a young blood". Lady Lee saw she has achieved the impact she d.e.s.i.r.ed but didn't respond to the greeting as a lesson to her.

Yoona felt embarrassed and aggrieved. 'Daddy has always let me sleep in but it's just 4 :00 AM. He always said children should get a considerable amount of sleep but I slept late yesterday due to my work... Will I grow short now?".

Lady Lee felt the direction of her thought from her expression," My dear, you have to deny yourself of certain things. A time will come when you have everything then you shall remember today".

"Today is the official day of you being my student. I suppose Teacher Lee shall be how you address me from now onwards", she rubbed her head with a softened gaze. "Clean up now, I will be waiting outside...and you have just 10 minutes", her expression turned serious as she walked out to wait.

Her first chore of the day was to fetch water from this particular river that is especially far from home and firewoods from a forest in a total opposite direction of the river.

Yoona found the instructions absurd but didn't complain for she thought her cooking lessons would commence immediately, notwithstanding the absurdity she complained.

Teacher Lee told her that her personal assistant started entering her kitchen 2 years after being with her

Yoona"...?"

With mouth agape ,she didn't even know what to say, she fell into a deep thought.

'Does it mean I will spend long time here?. No way! Mine shall take 3 months at the least'.

She can't bear staying in this house with such imposing rules , staying 2 years will definitely kill her.

The best scenario she painted for herself is to be famous within 2 years, but what? She's to enter her kitchen in 2 years time? Where is the justice in that? .

Nevertheless, she began her chores with getting firewoods and fetching water from that river and different other rivers as days rolled into weeks.

She was made to taste the water each time she fetched it and was asked questions on what the taste of the water was.

No matter how many times she did, the only thing she knew was that they either tasted salty, muddy, acidic or even alkaline.

After the one month had passed, she almost sent herself packing for she was getting tired of repeating same thing each day.

Teacher Lee informed her of the importance. A good cook should understand the effect of water and firewoods aside the ingredients,on a food.

At this understanding, Yoona relaxed and got more invigorated to taste every water she brought back home.

With the end of one month ,came the end of water and wood lesson.

The following month she was made to learn spices and how to make them herself. That moment commenced her difficulties.

"There are way too many spices and unknown herbs to be learned!", she screamed out in despair.

Teacher Lee brought her to the garden of spices as she called it. Yoona was astounded with the sight that greeted her visage as she couldn't fathom some flowers could be used as spices.

The most astounding thing she found in the garden is one strange ball-like something Teacher Lee called 'nutmeg'.

This is her first time of seeing it and Teacher Lee was not surprised because not many people knows about it in their dynasty.

She was made to sniff and get accustomed to its aroma. Teacher told her stories of how it enhanced the taste and aroma of her food way back at the palace.

Other cooks tried stealing her recipes so as to recreate her superb skills not knowing her secret ingredient laid in her waist pocket, and that is exactly what distinguished her cooking from others.

A friend of hers who was also a merchant had presented it as a gift . He explained the benefits and how to use them. Therefore, she adopted it.

As she was telling her stories at the same thing impacting her lessons, an unexpected visitor arrived.