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“Soo Yeon,” her father’s voice sounded behind her.  She was in the middle of giving Ban Ryu a bite of porridge.

Ban Ryu reached out and pulled the spoon from her grasp before liberating the bowl from her other hand.  “I told you,” he responded irritably, “I am well enough to feed myself.” 

He was embarrassed that her appa had discovered her feeding him like a tiny child.  “And…please…can I have something besides rice porridge?  It’s been nearly two weeks since I was injured!  I’m fit as a fiddle now.”  He slapped his leg and winced.

Her eyes grew wide.  “Ban Ryu!  Don’t you dare reopen that wound!” she gasped.

Looking chagrinned, he grimaced.  “Sorry.”  Then his eyes strayed to her father’s.  After a moment, he dropped them towards his bowl and shoveled another bite into his mouth.

“Soo Yeon,” the older man called again.

She glanced up at her father.  “Yes, Appa,” she spoke grudgingly. 

“I need to speak with you.”

“You may speak freely in front of Ban Ryu.”

“Certainly.  But this conversation isn’t about him.  Come with me.”  He turned and walked from the room.

Heaving a great sigh, she stood to her feet.  Reluctantly.

“Hey,” Ban Ryu muttered, “go easy on him.  He is your appa.  And he has only your best interests at heart.”

“Yeah, right,” she mumbled before departing his room.

She met her father in his office.  “What is it, Appa?”

“Your eomma told me that you’re refusing to eat.”

“I am not refusing to eat, Appa.  I merely have no appetite.  There’s a difference.”

“And why have you no appetite?”

She shrugged.  She had no energy to fight with her father.  She’d been fasting for nearly a week now.  Suddenly, a wave of dizziness struck her, and she weaved.  She reached out to grab the back of a chair to steady herself.

He rushed over to her.  “Soo Yeon!  Are you all right?”  He reached out and touched her arm. 

“I’m fine,” she gasped as the edges of her vision suddenly darkened.  She closed her eyes and clung to the chair back.

“Is it true that you haven’t eaten anything in nearly a week?” he thundered.

She nodded her head.  Then groaned as another wave of dizziness struck her.

“This is absolute nonsense!” he declared in a panic.  “You will eat something.  Right now.  Before you pass out!”

Her fingers digging into the top of the chair, she pulled it out and sat down abruptly upon its seat.  “But I am not hungry, Appa.”

“Then you must be dead already,” he murmured.

She opened wide eyes to him.  Brimming with tears.  “I am,” she whispered.  Then those eyes fluttered shut again.

“If you wish to remain in Ban Ryu’s room taking care of him, I am going to insist you eat.  If you don’t eat, you will be barred from visiting his room.”

She gasped as her eyes flew wide open again.  “You are just…cruel!” she flung the words at him.

“I am cruel because I wish for my beloved daughter to stay alive?  To not perish from malnutrition?” he demanded irately.  “You are ridiculous, child!  Shall I tell Ban Ryu that you are starving yourself as some sort of way to punish me?”

“I care not what you tell him,” she responded stiffly as she sniffed.

“You don’t, eh?” he queried, gazing down at her through narrowed eyes.  “Up with you then!  Let’s go tell him right now.”  He reached down and closed his fingers about her wrist before dragging her up out of her chair.

“Appa!” she gasped.  “You’re hurting me!”

“If I am, it’s only because you’ve nothing left but skin on your bones.  No padding.  It’s your own fault, you know.”

“The loss of my appetite is hardly my own fault.  I’m not the one who denied myself my heart’s desire.”

“Oh, stop it!” he snapped at her.  “You are not the first person to be disappointed in love!  You shall simply have to learn how to get over it!”  He dragged her towards the door.

But she dug her heels in.  “I’m not going with you!” she resisted him.

“Fine!”  He dropped her hand and was surprised when she abruptly sat down on the floor. 

Truthfully, she’d lost her balance.  Mostly due to the fact that her head was swimming right now.  She closed her eyes and lay back down on the floor.  In an attempt to get the room to stop spinning.

“If you won’t go to Ban Ryu, then I am bringing Ban Ryu to you!”  He sighed.  “I hope his leg can handle the journey.”

She gasped suddenly and sat straight up.  Then she groaned and grabbed her head.  “Appa,” she pouted, sounding very much like an overly tired five-year-old, “please don’t make him move.  When the room stops spinning, I shall come with you.”

An exasperated groan left his lips.  He crossed the room and bent down.  He scooped her up in his arms and carried her off towards Ban Ryu’s bedroom.

“Appa!” she squealed.  “You haven’t carried me like this since I was a tiny child!”

“You are still a tiny child!” he grumbled.  “You prove it a little more with each passing day.  I don’t know why I ever decided to marry a little girl off to a man.  Ridiculous!”

She pouted as she gazed up at him, but then another wave of dizziness hit her, and she cradled her head against his strong chest.  And closed her eyes.  A few moments later, he was striding into Ban Ryu’s bedchamber, Soo Yeon still firmly suspended in his arms.

Ban Ryu nearly choked on his last bite of porridge.  He made a point of swallowing it before he opened his mouth.  “My lord?  Why are you carrying Soo Yeon?”

“Because the silly child has refused to eat since she refused to marry Lee Beom Sook.”

“What?” Ban Ryu’s eyes grew round as he stared up at his beloved girl.  “Soo Yeon?  Is this true?  You refused to marry him?”

She nodded.

“But…why?” he asked.

She opened her eyes and gazed down at him.  “Why?  You are ridiculous, sir!  You know why!  I love you!  And I told you I won’t marry anyone else!”

“And I told you to marry him!” he exploded. 

He watched as her face grew pale. 

“He was your best chance at a good match!” Ban Ryu ground out, surprising her father.

“You told her to marry Lee Beom Sook?” Lord Kim Seub asked, incredulous.

The younger man nodded.  “I sure did.  But the silly chit turned him down.”  He groaned and leaned his forehead up against his palm.

“Why did you tell her to marry him?  I thought you loved her yourself.”

Ban Ryu opened his eyes and met his gaze squarely.  “I do love her.  With all my heart.  That’s why I told her to marry him.  He’s a good man.  He’ll take good care of her.  She deserves a man like him.”  He tried to smile, but the corners of his mouth wouldn’t cooperate.

Perplexed, Lord Kim Seub stared down at him.  “But…don’t you want to marry her?”

“I can’t marry her.  I have nothing to offer her.”  The boy wouldn’t meet his gaze now.  “I am nothing to offer her,” he mumbled.

“What’s this?” her father demanded.  “What do you mean: you are nothing?”

Staring down at his own lap, Ban Ryu pleated the blanket with his fingers.  “I shouldn’t have to explain myself to you, my lord.  You know better than anyone how worthless I am.  In fact, I shouldn’t be taking up space here in your home any longer.”  He glanced at Soo Yeon.  “I shouldn’t be here distressing your daughter either.  I will retire to the hwarang house.” 

He made a move to climb from the bed.  But Lord Kim Seub deposited his daughter in the chair before stepping forward to reach out and touch the boy on the shoulder.  “You are not going anywhere, sir.  If you reopen that wound and die a grievous death, I shan’t be able to face the king ever again.”

Ban Ryu sighed in frustration, leaned his head back against the wall, and closed his eyes.  “I apologize, my lord, for so disrupting your household.  And for my pernicious influence on your daughter.  I should have refused her from the very beginning.  I beg your pardon.  I have ruined her best match.  All the fault lies with me.”

“Don’t believe him!” she cried out suddenly.  “He tried to deny me!  But I wouldn’t listen to him.  This is all my fault, Appa!”

Lord Kim Seub’s head was swimming as the two continued to argue with each other.  “Enough!” he hollered, stunning them both into silence.  “You two will stop fighting like a couple of three-year-olds.  Ban Ryu, you will remain in this room until you are fully recovered.  You will not fight any of the doctor’s orders.  Nor will you work against your nurses.  You will do your utmost to heal well.  So that you can return to the king’s service.”

Then the noble lord turned on his daughter.  “And you, Soo Yeon, will eat a complete meal right now, or I will go find a cane with which to beat your bottom!”

“Appa!” she gasped, embarrassed.

“Don’t you ‘Appa’ me!  You’ve been trying to starve yourself.  What’s the difference if you starve yourself to death or I beat you?  Either way, it’s abuse.”

Exasperated, he heaved a deep sigh.  “You will either eat, or I shall remove you permanently from Ban Ryu’s presence.  Just as I threatened you before.”  Then he strode from the room and issued crisp commands to a servant to bring a tray of food to his daughter.

Her father returned a moment later.  “A tray has been ordered.  I will remain until I see that you have consumed it all.”

“But, Appa, I can’t possibly eat that much food after a week of fasting.  I’ll make myself sick.”

“You should have thought of that sooner,” he retorted coldly.

But he relented when he watched her struggling to eat it all a half hour later.  “Finish your broth,” he demanded. 

When she did, he snapped, “Enough!  You may eat more in three hours.  Now you will rest.  To your bed!”  He pointed at the yo bed in the corner.  “Take a nap.  Before you pass out.”

She didn’t argue.  Eating had exhausted her.  Her body was no longer used to performing the hard work of digestion. 

As she stretched out and closed her eyes, her father turned towards the young gentleman occupying his guest bed.  “When you are feeling better, we have business to discuss,” he announced cryptically.

Ban Ryu quirked a midnight eyebrow.  “My lord?” he queried.

“It will wait,” Lord Kim Seub insisted before departing the room.  “I will return at a later date.  Treat my daughter kindly in the meantime.  Unless she refuses to eat.  In which case, you may beat her,” he grumbled as he shut the door behind him.

Soo Yeon snorted in anger from the corner of the room.

“You must admit, Soo Yeon,” Ban Ryu intoned, “you did deserve that.”

“Ha!” she sulked.  “I did not.  It’s not my fault that I can no longer stomach food.  I’ve had my life’s dream ripped from me.  How am I ever to eat food again?” she wailed dramatically.

And he rolled his eyes.  “Seems to me you did just fine a few minutes ago.  As your appa said, you’ll try again in three hours.  I feel certain that by then you’ll be able to cram a little more food into that cute belly of yours.”

“Cute belly?” she fumed as she gazed down at her trim waist.  She ran her hand down the front of her robes.  “What belly?  I’m flat as a piece of parchment here.”

“Indeed,” he murmured.  Then his lips flipped upward.  “But don’t you know?”

“What?” she demanded.

“I like my girls with a little meat on them.”

“Ugh!” she huffed and rolled away from him.

He heard her snoring a couple of minutes later.  So he permitted himself to laugh.  That girl was absolutely ridiculous!

But, of course, he should have known that when he’d first taken a liking to her.  She had, after all, crept through a crowded street to harass her brother.  Mistaking Ban Ryu for Soo Ho.  That moment of mischief had led to his infatuation with her.  And to hers with him.  A hallmark of this whole absurd affair.

Really!  He just needed to wipe the girl from his mind.  So he could get on with the rest of his life.