Rewinding in time, to the moment when Li June and Aki encountered each other for the first time as children.
" Back to work! Stop dawdling and go back to work if you want to eat. "
The kids were tasked to chop wood, but one of the kids wasn't performing the task properly. That kid was Aki. He was frail in appearance and didn't weigh much. He was doing everything he could to keep up with the arduous work, but it wasn't an easy task.
The leader who was monitoring the kids' work noticed that one of them had barely chopped any wood. Approaching Aki who happened to be the kid in question, the leader uttered arrogantly, " Why is it that you barely did anything? Are you slacking off? "
" No, I—---- " Aki could barely speak before the leader. He was trembling in fear and his hands were shaking. Managing to utter a few words along the lines, he said, " I'm not slacking off, I'm chopping the woods. "
" You call this working? "
