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“Soo Ho?”  Moon Won caught up with him as he walked through the marketplace.  “Can we spar for a while tonight?” he grinned broadly at his friend.

“Mm-hmm.”  Soo Ho nodded.  “In the field?”

“Behind the school?”

Soo Ho smiled as he remembered his first sparring partner in that field. She was now his precious wife.  “Yes.”

“Seven?”

“Make it six thirty.  I have to be home before eight.”

Moon Won grimaced.  “Your wife still has you under her thumb, eh?  That’s why I’ll never marry.  No woman’s ever going to control me.”

Soo Ho shook his head.  “You’ve got it all wrong,” he laughed.  “I adore Jung Sook.  I want to be with her.”

Moon Won looked at him like he was crazy.  “Hmm.  I much prefer my freedom.”

“That’s just because you’ve never fallen in love.”

Moon Won shuddered.  “I hope I never do.”

—

Yeo Wool made his way to the field.  He glanced up at the bright blue sky and grinned.  He was about to enjoy an hour of swordplay with one of his new friends.  There wasn’t much else filling up his life right now – beyond his service to the king.  So he relished opportunities like this one.

“Moon Won!” he called out to the young man a few minutes later as he spied him performing practice lunges with his sword in the open field behind the school.

“Yeo Wool!” he answered him in surprise.  “I thought I was sparring with Soo Ho tonight.”

“Nope.  He was called away on an errand for the king.”

“Ah.  Must be nice.”

“What?”

“Being friends with someone so influential as the king.”

Yeo Wool smiled.  “What’s nice is being friends with someone as kindhearted as the king.”

Moon Won scoffed.  But he refrained from making any further comments.  “Shall we practice?” His face lit up.  “I’m glad Soo Ho was called away.  I much prefer to spar with you.”

His eyebrows ascending his forehead in astonishment, Yeo Wool replied, “You are?  Why?”

“Because you, my friend, are the superior fencer.”

Yeo Wool frowned.  “Am I?  Truly?  Hmm.  We shall see.  Let me put you through your paces.”  

And then he lunged at his new friend.

––

“Lady Jeong?”

Sam Sook turned to glance at the maid.  “I have begun to pack your garments, milady.  Do you want me to pack all of the girls’ clothes myself, or shall I have Ji Hee attend to theirs?”

“I will assist Ji Hee in going through them.  Se Yeon has most likely outgrown many of them.  We need to clean them out.  That way we won’t have to travel with so much.  But most likely, all of Se Ri’s clothes can be brought.  Whatever she has outgrown will one day fit her sister.”

“And all of your garments, milady?  You wish to bring them all?”

Sam Sook turned towards her wardrobe and stared at all her beautiful robes, intricately embroidered.  Symbols of her husband’s love for her.  He may have been old enough to be her grandfather when she’d married him, but he had always been unfailingly kind to a plain girl.  Even when the worst had happened, he hadn’t deserted her but had rather used his position and influence to shelter her and her child.  Sam Sook was truly sorry that he was now gone.

“Milady?” the servant prodded her again.

Sam Sook cleared her throat.  “Pack them all.”

She might be going home, but she wanted to bring as many of his gifts with her as she could.

“Milady, why doesn’t your mother simply come to live here with you?”

Sam Sook smiled at her servant.  “Eomma has so many friends where she is.  And losing Appa has been horrendous for her.  I wouldn’t want to uproot her.  All my sisters are scattered hither and yon.  And none of them ever doted on her like I did.  She was devastated when I came to live with Lord Jeong.  I feel like this is my opportunity to comfort her.”

Of course, before she let her girls set foot in that house, Sam Sook was going to ensure that one particular man no longer occupied its grounds.

“Besides, you are well aware that the new Lord Jeong actually owns this house and property.  And he is finally coming home.  It is time for me and the girls to leave.  My husband left us well-provided for, but the estate belongs to his son.  It’s as it should be.  His first wife gave him an heir.  And a spare.  And I was blessed with two sweet daughters.  Now we will make our home with my mother.  She is absolutely delighted that we are returning to her.”

“I am going to miss you, milady.  You are the kindest employer I have ever had.”  The servant’s face fell as she considered bidding this generous woman farewell.

“Oh, Seo Yoo!  I am so sorry that I am leaving you behind.  But I could never ask you to leave your family to follow me.”

“You are too kind, milady,” Seo Yoo sobered.  “You are right.  I couldn’t leave my parents.  They rely on me to care for them now.  But thank you for allowing me to serve you all these years.”

Sam Sook hadn’t yet reached eleven years of age when she’d moved into Lord Jeong’s household nearly fourteen years ago.  Seo Yoo had been her guardian and caretaker during those initial, heartrending years before she’d married the lord.  That period of adjustment had been simply horrendous.  Seo Yoo had often comforted the once stiff girl after she’d moved away from her parents’ home to occupy the house of her intended, even before she was of marrying age.  It had been a difficult change, but this woman had made it easier.

And stayed with her all these years as her lady’s companion.

“I am going to miss you so much, Seo Yoo!” Sam Sook gasped suddenly as she reached out to envelop the woman in a warm hug.

The servant smiled as she remembered how unbending Sam Sook had been as a little girl.  But she had grown into a warm-hearted woman over the years, blossoming under Lord Jeong’s kind care of her.  Only in recent years had the smile disappeared from her face.  Though Seo Yoo had never been able to discover why.  But months before her second daughter was born, something had shifted, and some of the walls had been thrown up again, saddening Seo Yoo.

She had once tried to ferret out the secret, but Lady Jeong had brushed away her concerns.  And firmly closed the door on further discussion.  Her husband’s health had begun to decline steadily during those early months of her pregnancy, and Sam Sook had spent nearly all her time with him or their daughter, Se Ri.  He had rallied a bit after their baby girl, Se Yeon, had been born.  Spending many sweet months with his daughter and his adoring wife. 

But a year later, something had slowly snuffed out his life, and he had slipped from God’s green earth into eternity.  And Lady Jeong had been left alone with two little girls.  And now, more than a year after his death, Sam Sook was finally returning home to her mother’s house.  With two little girls in tow. 

How Seo Yoo would miss them all!