She nodded her head. Then her soft voice overcame him.
“I should have been able to protect my daughter. Because it happened to me first.” She paused a moment. “Moon Won’s father,” she breathed the last very quietly.
“His father?” he queried in a whisper. Thunderstruck. “No wonder you didn’t trust the man.”
“But it did no good,” she mourned. “I still failed her. And whatever my deficiency, apparently, I passed it on to her.”
“Your deficiency?” he quizzed her incredulously. “You have no deficiency. You are absolutely perfect, Sam Sook. How could you ever think that this – any of it – was your fault? You and your daughter both came across some very twisted men. That is not your fault.”
She began to tremble again. “But why us both? She is a child. She did nothing to deserve this.”
“You were a child too. You also did nothing to deserve the pain. The fear. Or the shame. It’s not yours to carry. It belongs to Moon Won. And his father.”
He hugged her closer. “I am so sorry for what you endured. And for what Se Ri has endured. But you must believe that this was not your fault. That you didn’t attract him through your behavior. Or in any other way. You did nothing wrong.
“Sam Sook,” he reached up and cradled her face in the palm of his hand as he gazed down intently into her eyes, her beautiful eyes now red-rimmed with sorrow, “you must believe this. Because if you don’t believe it, then neither will Se Ri.”
She burst into tears again as she acknowledged the truth of that hit. But he had just lanced a big bubble of her pain. It was going to take a while to process all this agony. She clung to him as she continued to weep into his robe.
For his part, Yeo Wool was quite happy to stand there holding the love of his life in his arms. He would gladly remain here with her for the duration of the night. Together, they could watch over her little darlings. There was nowhere else that he would rather be. Than holding Sam Sook close. And breathing truth into her hair.
––
She remembered so many things as he held her in his arms. But one particular memory came to the forefront of her mind. About two weeks after she’d befriended Yeo Wool.
“Hey, my friend!” Sam Sook called out to Yeo Wool as he bent over his tiny plant.
His fingers pressed the warm dirt firmly around the little seedling. He glanced up at her. And delight crowned his face with his joy at seeing his special friend. Their friendship was new enough to still feel like a miracle to him.
As he gazed at her, his brow furrowed. “What’s that?” he asked as noticed the garden implement in her hand.
“A rake. I’ve brought you a rake.”
“Why?” he asked.
She shrugged. “You’re always playing in the dirt out here. And I saw this as I was walking through the marketplace with Eomma. I thought of you. Thought you could use it. Maybe in the fall when the maple leaves hit the ground.”
She stopped talking. Neither of them wanted to think of autumn. She would be long gone by then.
“Anyway. Here.” She shoved her hand towards him and held the rake out to him.
He grinned up at her as he reached out to take it. Then he stood up and brandished it like a sword. He swung it around a few times as he spun around.
And Sam Sook giggled.
“I love it!” he beamed up at her. “Now I have a weapon!”
“To use against those fearsome leaves,” she tittered.
He glanced down at the open patch of dirt. He pushed the rake through it a few times. Then he looked up at her.
“Thank you, Sam Sook.”
“It’s nothing.” Her shoulders bounced up carelessly again.
“I wasn’t talking about the rake.” His expression sober now, he paused.
She peered down at him. Her brow wrinkled.
“I was talking about you. You’re my best friend, Sam Sook.”
Her expression melted.
“And you always will be.”
