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Bo A kept glancing behind them.

Jung Sook peered down at her.  “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a man following us.”

Jung Sook felt her gut tighten.  Until she looked behind her.  Then she sighed with relief. 

He might be a fortune hunter, but Soo Ho was harmless.

“It’s all right.  That’s just Soo Ho.”

“Soo Ho?” the little girl queried.  She stared back at the gentleman who was keeping pace with them, but she couldn’t make out his facial features at the great distance separating them.

“He’s the man who stopped your father from hitting you at the market.”

Bo A’s face brightened.  And she stopped walking. 

“What are you doing?” Jung Sook asked as she too came to a halt.

“I want to speak with him.  To thank him.  If he hadn’t come to my rescue, Appa would have beaten me.  And you might not have offered to take me.”

Jung Sook blinked.  “That’s not true!  If I had seen your father hit you, I would have stepped forward to help you.”

The girl gazed up at her.  And smiled.  “Still.  I want to meet him!” Bo A declared with excitement vibrating her vocal cords.

Jung Sook sighed.

But she was still surprised when the little girl took off in Soo Ho’s direction.

The teacher followed her.  Slowly.

––

Soo Ho stopped walking.  Abruptly. 

The tiny mite was flying towards him.  Her lithe, little body carried along on light feet.  But Jung Sook was dragging hers.  She clearly didn’t wish to speak with him.  His heart dipped.

And he waited for Bo A to catch him.

“Hello,” she called brightly when she was still a few yards away from him.

“Hello,” he responded cheerfully.

“You are Oppa Soo Ho,” she stated matter-of-factly.

He bobbed his head.

“Thank you!”  She now recognized him.  “For saving me the other day.”  She stopped just short of him as she stared innocently up at the extremely tall man.

“It was my pleasure,” he replied gallantly.  Then he glanced in Jung Sook’s direction.  “Are you enjoying living with your teacher?”

The little girl nodded vigorously.  “Immensely,” she sighed happily.  She folded her hands over her stomach.  “I think last night was the first night I ever went to bed not hungry.”

Jung Sook caught her words as she came to a stop several feet away from them.  Soo Ho glanced up and straight into her eyes.  He saw them suddenly fill with sorrow as the little girl’s words echoed around her.  An understanding look passed between the two adults.

He glanced back down at Bo A.  “Then I am so happy you found your unnie, Jung Sook.  I am sure that she will take very good care of you for the next few years.”

“Me too!” the child grinned.  Then she turned towards her guardian.  “Unnie Jung Sook?  Aren’t you going to say hello to Oppa Soo Ho?”

Jung Sook’s eyes collided with his again.  And a frisson of warmth floated on the air between them.  She could almost believe that he truly cared for her.  And…maybe he did. 

Or perhaps he really wanted her fortune.  Maybe that was the treasure that he’d been seeking when he’d first sought her out. 

But perchance, in the meantime, he really had come to like her.  A little.  Even if he didn’t really love her with the devotion which she now craved.

But she was not a young miss to have her head easily turned by the first man interested in marrying her.  She was a widow.  Free to choose her own path.  Liberated to walk it alone.  If she so chose.

And there was no reason that she would ever marry again. 

Only a faithful, everlasting love could have convinced her otherwise.

The kind that, for a few fleeting moments, she had believed Soo Ho might possess for her.

But she no longer had confidence in his devotion. 

Too artless to hide his true motives, he had spilled his secrets into her lap a couple of nights ago.  And they couldn’t go back.  She was no longer hiding in ignorance.  And he was no longer veiled in mystery.

She now understood the reasons that he had first struck up an acquaintance with her.  And pursued her each morning.  And rescued her from the vagabond.  And befriended her.

What she didn’t understand was why he had come to the aid of a defenseless child in the marketplace.  Soo Ho hadn’t even known that Jung Sook was there.  Watching.  So that one selfless act on his part must be attributed to a good nature.  And a kind heart.

A heart that she had believed – for a short time, at least – beat for her.  How very disappointing to discover it wasn’t so!

So she bobbed her head at him and greeted him with a prim, “Kim Soo Ho.”

He frowned, her chilly wind wrapping around him in distressing waves.  “Good morning, Jung Sook.”  He refused to use the surname that villain had given her when he’d forced her to marry him.

She noticed.  And her resolve wavered for a moment.  But then she erected her defenses again and held out a hand towards the child.  “Bo A, we must be going.  School starts soon.  We can’t be late.”

The child gazed up at her out of guileless eyes.  “Can Oppa Soo Ho walk with us?”

“It’s all right, Bo A,” he murmured quietly.

“Please?” the girl ignored him in her continued appeal to her teacher.

Jung Sook gave a curt nod of her head.  “You may walk with him.”

Bo A’s face lit up with pleasure, and she skipped towards him, coming to a halt next to him.  She gazed up at him as her teacher turned and began to walk back towards the school.  After another moment, Soo Ho fell into step a few feet behind her. 

“Why are you walking this road?” the little girl asked the tall man curiously.

He cleared his throat.  “To keep you safe,” he answered cheerfully after a moment.  Then he unleashed his glowing grin on her.

The girl’s ruffled eyebrows rose in surprise.  “To keep me safe?” she asked in awe.

“To keep you both safe,” he corrected her.

Bo A studied his face as he watched her teacher’s departing back.  And a sudden light lit up her understanding.  She slowed down and crooked her finger at him as he matched his pace to hers.  He bent towards her.  And she whispered into his ear.

“You like Unnie Jung Sook, don’t you?”

His eyes caught the child’s a moment later as he straightened minutely.  “Very much.”

“Then why are you so sad?” she asked perceptively.

He sighed.  “Because I made a mistake,” he breathed quietly.  “And she doesn’t trust me now.  And I don’t know how to fix it.”

“Hmm,” the girl hummed thoughtfully.  “Perhaps I can help.”

His eyebrows shot up.  “Do you think so?” he asked hopefully.

She bobbed her head decisively.  “I do.”  She beamed up at him.  “Leave it to me, Oppa Soo Ho.  Leave it to me.”

His lips twisted into an amused half-smile as he gazed down at the adorable mite.

“Does this mean that I can consider us friends?” he queried softly.

The girl smiled up at him.  “Absolutely.  The very best of friends.”

After all, only two people had ever rescued her from her appa’s anger.  And they were both walking along with her now.  The most excellent way that she could think to thank them was to help them reconcile with each other.

She eyed her teacher reflectively.  Then her innocent gaze slid towards his face.  She studied them both for several minutes.  Her eyes darting back and forth between them.  Her lips curved into a wide smile. 

A new thought had occurred to her.  Unnie Jung Sook and Oppa Soo Ho were a perfect match.  Both compassionate and brave.  It seemed to Bo A that they should marry.  Clearly, Unnie Jung Sook deserved a knight in shining armor like Oppa Soo Ho.  The question was…

How could she convince her guardian of his superlative worth?