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Mi Sook turned over onto her side and stared in astonishment at Jung Sook.

“What on earth would make you say such a thing?”

Jung Sook’s face melted in tenderness.  “He came for you, didn’t he?  As soon as he got my letter this morning?  He came to you.  And then he went to bully your bully of a father into submission.  And then he returned to you.  And tried to take care of you.  In the best way that he knew how.  Of course, he loves you!”

Mi Sook sighed and lay back down on the bed.  She groaned into her mattress.  “I have made a terrible muddle of my marriage already.”

“What?  Why do you say so?”

“Because I told him that I wanted to sleep in another bed.  Without him.”

“Well, that’s easily enough remedied.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just go crawl into his bed.  If he finds you there when he comes to bed, he’ll figure out soon enough that you’ve forgiven him.  Then you’ll make up.  That’s the best part,” Jung Sook giggled.

“It is?” Mi Sook quirked her dark eyebrows at her.

“Absolutely.  Some of the sweetest kisses you’ll ever experience,” she attested to her truth.  Then she peered closely at her friend.  “Has he kissed you yet?”

“No,” the older girl admitted.  Then a cheeky grin lit up her face.  “But I kissed him.  Three times.”

“Oh, you bold thing, you!” Jung Sook laughed.  “Sometimes, a girl has to make the first move.”  She nodded definitively.  “I can see where that might be true with Seok Dan Se.  He’s quite stiff.”

Mi Sook giggled again.  Surprising her new friend.

“What?” Jung Sook quirked an inquiring eyebrow at her.

“He’s a poet, Jung Sook!  He was telling me the most beautiful story of the first day we met.  And the words he was using…I never would have dreamed that Dan Se even knew that many words.”

Jung Sook chuckled.  “Men can surprise us sometimes.”

“I think he is a most extraordinary man,” breathed Mi Sook.

“Then why did you scare him away?” Jung Sook asked as a frown troubled her brow.

“I realize now…how stupid was my thinking.  I reasoned that if he had killed Han Sung to spare the boy from more pain, he might someday put a period to me too.”

“What?” Jung Sook asked, incredulous.  “That is quite absurd!”

“I know.  It was the shock of hearing him say that it wasn’t an accident.  I once believed that he murdered his brother on purpose, so my mind simply bent when he said that.”

“What on earth made you think that he murdered Han Sung?”

Mi Sook shook her head.  “I have known them since we were children.  Dan Se was always so…rigid.  I thought he hated Han Sung.  He bore his punishment often.  I figured he resented his brother because of it.  Han Sung and I would run and play.  But Dan Se never joined us.  I never even saw him crack a smile.  I thought he was terribly bitter.”

“Ah, I see.”  Jung Sook glanced down at her friend’s battered body.  “Is there anywhere else that you would like me to put this cream?”

“My legs,” the girl groaned.  “Thank you so much, Jung Sook!  My back already feels a bit better.  But mostly…”

“What?”

“My heart feels lighter.  Thank you for telling me the truth.”

“I told Dan Se to tell you.  But he didn’t seem to think you would listen to him.”

“Hmm.  Maybe I wouldn’t have,” she sighed heavily.

“Well, you know the truth now.  I suppose that’s all that matters.”