“Are you going to spend the entire night in this room? Watching over your girls?” he whispered into her hair.
She nodded her head.
“But, love, you’re going to exhaust yourself.”
“I do not care,” she breathed despairingly.
“Then I’m staying with you.”
She gasped, “You cannot.”
“Why not?” He frowned down at her.
“For obvious reasons. You and I are not married. We cannot possibly stay alone in a bedchamber overnight.”
“Then we shall just have to marry.” He glanced around as though searching for a priest hiding under the bed.
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Why was the man teasing her at a time like this?
“You think marrying me is a ridiculous idea?” he breathed softly, obviously hurt.
“No,” she hastened to reassure him. “I didn’t mean that at all. I just meant that there’s no call for you to marry me. I am fully capable of watching over my girls alone at night.”
Although the last month seemed to belie those words.
“What if I want to marry you anyway?”
Her eyes widened as she stared up at him in astonishment. Her heart beginning to race.
Was he serious?
“I mean who is going to watch over you at night if I don’t?” he whispered.
She blinked. Speechless.
And he allowed the tiniest of smiles to rest upon his lips. “I simply adore you, Sam Sook. I always have.”
As she began to protest, he set the tip of his index finger against her lips to silence her. “And don’t you begin to argue that I don’t really know you. I know you are the best friend I ever had. It’s still true. Who stood by me at my grandmother’s funeral? And lent me her tiny daughter for comfort?”
She blinked up at him as she recalled how he’d hugged Se Yeon close to his chest for half that afternoon.
“And I know you are a fierce mama bear who would do anything to protect her babies.” He glanced down at them before catching her gaze again. “So marry me so that I can protect you all.”
“Yeo Wool.” Her heart bent sharply in his direction as it prepared to pound once more. But her voice held a warning.
“She’s going to be okay, you know,” he murmured as his eyes strayed towards Se Ri again.
But Sam Sook gazed up at him. Heartbrokenly. “No, she’ll never be okay.”
“Hush. She can hear you. Do you want her to believe those words?”
She stilled. “But I’m not okay.”
“I know. But you will be.”
“What?”
“You will be okay.”
“How?” She furrowed her brow at him.
“Once you accept my love for you.”
He felt her tense. And he sighed inwardly.
“Am I that repulsive?” he queried quietly.
“What?” she gasped, suddenly staring up at him once more. “No! Of course not.”
“You’re lying. It must be me.” His arms slowly slid away from her. As his heart slipped to the floor. “You simply have no feelings for me. I get it. You cannot make yourself love where you do not feel anything.”
The crushed expression on his face bruised her heart.
“No, it’s not that. I swear. Yeo Wool, you are…”
He turned away from her. Debating whether he should leave. If she really didn’t want him here…
“…perfect,” she breathed.
“What?” Pivoting, he faced her once more. “What did you say?” He stared down at her in wonder.
“You are perfect. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“Then there’s nothing wrong with you either.”
Now it was her turn not to understand. “What do you mean?”
“I was bullied once too. Remember?”
She did.
Suddenly, that scene floated before her in all its dreadful intensity. Those boys. Ganging up on him. With their threatening postures. Their cruel hands reaching out to shove her now-beloved Yeo Wool backwards. Their words terrifying a defenseless, little boy.
What would he have done if she had not appeared? Would he have cowered before them as she had trembled before Moon Won’s father?
“What did you do?” she asked abruptly as her eyes searched his.
“Do?” He was at a loss.
“When I left. When I moved to Lord Jeong’s house. What did you do about the bullies?”
“Oh.” His face seemed to fall, and her heart raced again. Pounding in her throat.
Had they hurt her friend?
She was suddenly terrified that they had. That her leaving had cost him more than anyone should have to pay.
“I remembered what my dear friend told me.” The corners of his lips twitched upward.
She blinked. Uncomprehending. “What?”
“‘Yeo Wool, it doesn’t matter who your father was. You are precious. Those boys don’t have the right to pick on you just because you are different from them. They only messed with you because you didn’t believe you were important enough to stand up to them.
“‘But it’s just not true. You are important. And all the things that make you different from them…those are the things that have given you your sweet heart. Those are the gifts you can use to bless others. Your voice. Your tender heart. Your quick readiness to be my friend. Don’t let them silence the parts of you that make you special. Honestly, they’re afraid of you.’”
“What?” She stared up at him.
“Don’t you remember? That’s what you said to me. A couple of days before you left.”
“I did?”
He nodded. “So I listened to you.” He grinned. “Because you were so smart.”
“What happened? Did they bother you again?”
He glanced carelessly her way. “Oh, yes. Of course, they did. As soon as you were gone. The very day you left, in fact.”
He had been heartbroken. The very first friend he’d made – and she had left him. Alone again. But not unarmed as it were.
They’d found him in his grandmother’s garden. They’d lied to his sweet mother and told her they were his friends. So she’d unleashed them on his private sanctum.
As he had sat weeping over the loss of his best friend, he’d suddenly heard their taunting voices.
“Oh, look at the little crybaby. He’s lost his only friend. Even she didn’t really like him.”
He reached up to wipe the tears away with the palms of his hands. Then he stood up. Clenching his fists. Ready.
“You are not welcome here,” he hissed. Amazed at his own courage.
“Your mother let us in.”
“Then you lied to her. Because she would never let a bunch of bullies into her house.”
“But she did. She knows how worthless you are. After all, even she won’t name your father.”
Those, of course, were fighting words. And Yeo Wool found himself instantly unwilling to put up with such darts anymore. He bristled. His face hardening.
He glanced around. Looking for a weapon.
There were four of them. He needed a weapon to even the odds.
His face brightened as he saw one. Just to his right. He reached out and grabbed it. Brandishing the rake before him. Once again, Sam Sook had armed him for battle.
“Take back those words. Right this instant! Eomma is a good person. She doesn’t deserve your spite.”
“Ha. He thinks he’s going to teach us a lesson with a rake.”
“You’ll be sorry you ever picked up that rake,” the tallest boy declared, stepping forward.
So Yeo Wool swung it in his direction. And determined to learn martial arts at the soonest possible opportunity. He would ever let these boys have the upper hand again.
He advanced towards the menacing lad. “There might be four of you, and I might not be able to overcome you all. But I will blind the first one of you who seeks to hurt me.”
The tallest boy stopped in his tracks. He glanced uncertainly down at the younger boy. A boy whom he had always considered defenseless. An easy target.
But something had shifted. Yeo Wool wasn’t an easy target anymore.
So he backed up. “Whatever. I’m going home.”
“Hey, where are you going?” His less courageous friends called after him.
“He’s not worth it,” he muttered. “Why did we decide to pick on a little kid? I’m bored.” He wandered off.
And one by one, with backward glances at Yeo Wool, so did the other boys.
And he stood alone finally. Victorious. Still brandishing his garden rake. The one Sam Sook had given him.
He grinned. “Sam Sook was right. ‘False bravado. Stand up to them. Find their weakness. You might get hurt, but you’ll teach them a lesson they’ll never forget. And they’ll know that you’re not going to be pushed around by them anymore.’” he mused. “She was right.”
She stared up at him. “So, they just left you alone?”
“Of course not,” he laughed.
Concerned, she crumpled her brow. “What happened?”
“As soon as they left, I informed my mother that they were bullies who tried to beat me up. She banned them from ever crossing our threshold again. Then I asked for taekwondo lessons. And I bent all my concentration on learning. And learning well.
“I met with my teacher every day. Within a month, I could fell a man twice my size. Especially if I caught him off guard.” He grinned wickedly suddenly. “So the first day they caught me alone, I was ready for them. The tallest one just couldn’t leave well enough alone. So I taught him a lesson he never forgot. His friends never forgot it either. Nobody ever messed with me again.” Especially after he’d learned to wield a sword.
Her face lit up. “Really? I am so happy you were safe! For a long time, I worried about you. Every day.”
His expression melted. “You did?” His eyes searched hers. “Does that mean that you are not indifferent to me then?”
“Indifferent?” she whispered. Turning from him to cross the room. She pulled back the screen and glanced up at the bright moon. “I have never been indifferent to you, Yeo Wool.”
She still remembered that tiny boy in the marketplace. He’d seemed so alone. So forlorn. Especially once she’d discovered that he lacked a father. As her girls did now. As Se Yeon always had.
He followed her. “Does that mean…?” He stepped up behind her until she could feel the heat of him.
But for a brief moment, she derived no comfort from his presence. Instead, it shook an evil memory.
“Does that mean that perhaps I can inspire a little…passion in you?” he breathed softly.
Her eyes flew open. And she sidestepped to get away from him. She spun to face him then, and he saw the terror in her gaze. He backed up a step.
“Sam Sook? What is it? What did I say? How did I scare you?” He bowed to her abruptly. “I am so sorry.”
She blinked. And her expression smoothed out. “I am the one who’s sorry. I am terribly fatigued.” She yawned into her hand, but he suspected that it was forced.
His heart sank. “You wish for me to leave.”
She smiled at him. “It is not necessary for you to stay. The girls are fine. So am I. We will be safe enough in this room.” She took a deep breath. “Thank you. I cannot thank you enough for all you did for Se Ri today. And for me.”
Stiff now, he bowed to her again. His heart hurting. “You are welcome. Goodnight, Sam Sook.”
She watched his face become an impassive mask. And her heart sank.
He’d scared her. Unwittingly. Still, she’d felt the points of a thousand tiny blades running along her nerves. As he’d awakened the echoes.
She closed her eyes. Would she never be free of her memories?
And what of her daughter?
Her eyes popped open, and she turned to stare despairingly down at her precious Se Ri.
It was going to be a long night.
And perhaps a longer journey back into the light for her beloved daughter.
—
The door to Bo A’s room opened two hours later. And Yeo Wool crossed the room silently before bending to pick up the exhausted woman from the chair in which she’d fallen asleep. Carrying her in his arms, he crossed to the door which connected this room with its adjoining one. He opened it and carried her across to the empty bed. The one which Jung Sook had prepared for his beloved.
Gently, he laid her down on the bed before pulling the blankets up around her shoulders. He gave in to temptation and bent to brush his lips across her forehead.
“Sleep well, Sam Sook. Don’t worry. I’ll keep your babies safe tonight.”
Then he turned and headed for the chair that she’d just occupied.
It was going to be a long night indeed.
—
Jung Sook relieved him at seven o’clock.
Her eyebrows ascended her smooth brow. “You truly stayed awake the whole night?”
He nodded his head.
Her face melted into a smile. “When will that woman realize that you’re head over heels in love with her?”
He grimaced. “I’m not sure she cares.”
Her eyes widened. Greatly. “Oh! Don’t despair, Yeo Wool. She cares. She cares very much! She’s just…closed off from her feelings. But…Sam Sook loves you. I’d bet on it.”
He cocked one dark eyebrow. “Would you now?” he breathed in wonder.
“Don’t give up. Not until that woman is in your bed.”
His eyes flew wide in astonishment. And he furrowed his brow at her. Attempting to discern her meaning.
“You do wish to marry her, don’t you?”
He sighed with relief. She hadn’t misunderstood his aims. He grinned at her and bobbed his head. “Yesterday.”
She heaved a deep sigh. “I know, my friend. Just…be patient. I think she’s used to holding it all in. Being the strong one. For everyone around her. She doesn’t think of herself as delicate. Or desirable.”
She did, in fact, think of herself as damaged. So how was he going to help her see how precious she was to him?
—
“Where is Moon Won?” one maid asked another as they assembled in the hall before their noble lady.
Lady Yang spoke crisply as she faced her staff, “He was executed this morning. By order of the king.”
Trembling, her servants turned as one force to face their employer.
“Why?” one bold girl queried.
“Because he dared to lay a hand on one of my granddaughters.”
It was all she said. But it was enough. The message had been sent and received. Clearly.
No one in that household would dare to touch one of her granddaughters ever again. She had just made sure of it. With the help of that blessed king. Jin Heung.
A king who would always have her allegiance now. Until her dying breath.
