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Ni Na and Ae Ri ambled arm in arm down the street.  On their way to the colorful market that had opened on the square that morning.

“I am craving apples,” Ni Na admitted.  “It’s too bad that there won’t be any for months.”

“But we can get tangerines and strawberries today!” Ae Ri gasped with zest.  She nearly squealed.  “I am so excited!  I have been craving strawberries!  Maybe you can get your cook to make something mouthwatering with them.”

Ni Na laughed.  “Are you still trying to steal my cook?”

Ae Ri’s eyes grew wide.  “No way!  I just want to move in with you.  Permanently.”

Ni Na giggled.  “I think your mother would miss you.  And your sisters.”

Her friend rolled her eyes.  “Wouldn’t they just?  They’d miss teasing me.  And getting into my stuff.”  She turned towards Ni Na and tugged on her arm pleadingly.  “PLEASE.  Let me move in with you!”  She sighed deeply.  “You’d be saving me from the twins!”

“I think you’ll survive.  You’ve made it fourteen years already,” Ni Na chuckled as she thought of Ae Ri’s mischievous younger sisters.  Always up to pulling a prank on their older sister.  And her best friend.

“Come,” Ni Na chucked her chin in the direction of a booth.  “I see strawberries!”

A few minutes later, with a bag full of strawberries, they headed towards the tangerine stand.

Someone suddenly jostled Ni Na.

“Sorry!” muttered a little girl.  She turned to flee.

But Ni Na had felt her hand brush up against her.  So as the girl ran down the street, the young woman slipped her hand into her pocket.  And discovered that her silver was gone.

“Hey!” she hollered after the girl.

Which only made her flee faster.

Ni Na shoved the bag of strawberries at Ae Ri with a gasped, “She stole my silver!” before taking off after the young child.

The young woman raced after the fleeing child.  Pursuing her through the crowded market.  But Ni Na was able to keep her eagle eye on that small form as she wove in and out of the huge mass of people.  She continued to follow the girl as she swerved down a side street.

A few yards from the end of that street, a certain lord was taking a leisurely stroll.  Lord Lee Beom Sook glanced up as the little girl rounded the corner and went barreling down the road.  He quirked one dark eyebrow in surprise as she raced past him.  But his lazy eyebrow found itself also excited in the next moment as a taller girl appeared around the bend and chased the first.  Gaining on her with every step.  They both exited his line of sight at the end of the street when they turned left.  Intrigued yet again by a certain young lady, he found himself quickly following them.

Ni Na was nearly out of breath when she followed the girl into a stand of trees as the final road petered out before a small forest.  She paused for a moment, leery of entering that dark wood.  But, with a shrug of her shoulders, knowing she was following only a small child, she pursued the girl into the woodland.  A moment later, she realized her mistake as she was instantly surrounded by a large group of ragtag urchins.

Some of whom weren’t that tiny.  She felt her heart begin to pound as she spun in a circle to face some older boys.  But then she felt that pounding organ dip when her eyes took in the huddle of little girls hiding behind them, farther back within the line of trees.  She noted their torn clothes and their dirty faces.  And the fact that each of them was quite slender.

“Who are you?” she asked.  She glanced around.  “Do you live here?  In the forest?”

Then she detected their underlying fear.  The little girls looked apprehensive.  The boys attempted to appear fierce.  But she could smell their trepidation.

“Leave now.  And we won’t hurt you,” spoke the eldest with bravado.

Ni Na narrowed her eyes at him.  “I am not going to harm you.  That child,” she glanced at the little girl nestled in the midst of the group of girls, “captured some of my silver.  I think she meant to give it back to me.  I have come for it.”

“What need have you of a bit of silver?” one of the boys asked contemptuously as his eyes slid down her form, raking her elegant robes with a glance filled with disgust.  “You clearly have never gone hungry a day in your life.”

She felt pity for him in that moment.  “You may be right.  But living a good, honest life is important.  And thievery is never all right.”

She watched as several of the older boys lifted their chins at her.  Clearly put off by her words.

“Again, that’s easy for you to say.  You’re not hungry,” the tallest one spoke again.

“And we are,” quavered a tiny voice behind him.

She glanced in the direction of that precious tone and met the eyes of the girl who had stolen her silver.

“I would be more than happy to spend all that silver buying you all a meal, but I would like her to give it back to me first,” Ni Na spoke in a clear voice that carried to the whole group.

“Ha.  You just want your silver back.  You don’t care for us,” the boy remarked scoffingly.

“No one cares for us,” a smaller boy spoke up.

“I am not no one,” she responded truthfully.

For she did care for them.  As she gazed upon a group of more than twenty scruffy kids, her heart bent in their direction.  Towards all of them.

“Where are your parents?” she quizzed them.

“Dead,” came a flat voice.

“All of them?” she gasped.

They each nodded their head.

“And you’ve no other family?”

“None that would take us.”

“They have trouble enough feeding their own children,” one of the girls mumbled.

“Well, though my own mother is dead, I won’t have trouble feeding you.  Give me my silver, and I will bring back enough food to feed you all,” she pressed her point again.

The boys drew a step closer to her.

“What are we to do now?” one of the boys asked their leader.

“You’d best listen to the woman.  Unless you want to find yourselves brought before the magistrate for trespassing, thievery, and threatening a noble lady,” came a deep, steady voice from behind her.

In the next instant, she heard the scrape of a sword’s blade against its scabbard.  She spun towards that voice.  She would know it anywhere. 

Beom Sook.

Her heart, which had been pounding furiously, began to calm itself as the boys all fell back to stand in front of the girls.

“Her silver,” Lord Lee Beom Sook breathed firmly.

The tallest boy reclaimed it and stepped forward to hold it out towards Ni Na.

“Thank you,” she responded cheerfully.  “Now I have enough to buy you all dinner.  Would you like some rice?”  She grinned at the little girls.  “And there are strawberries now.”

Several delighted faces lit up as their eyes grew wide with wonder.

“Strawberries?” breathed one of the girls.

“How do you stay warm enough out here?” queried Ni Na suddenly.

The thought of them sleeping on the frigid winter ground, exposed to the elements and the bitter wind made her shiver.

“There’s an abandoned cottage a ways back,” one of the boys volunteered.

And three of his friends smacked him.

“Why did you tell her that?”

“She’s caught us, hasn’t she?  Him too.  They can bring the authorities down on us.  They could throw us all in prison now that we’ve been caught with her silver.  We’re at their mercy, I think,” he mumbled defensively.

“You are,” she retorted.  But not unkindly.  “But we have no wish to harm you.  Nor to see you thrown in prison.  Do you, my lord?” she queried as she glanced at her friend who had come to stand next to her.  His sword still drawn in her defense.

“Indeed not,” he responded cheerfully.  “We speak the truth and will bring you some food.  But you must stay here so that we can find you again.”

He was certain they would flee like startled deer into the depths of the forest the instant they were gone.  So he continued, “But I understand your fear and know that the moment we turn our backs on you, you will most likely disappear.  In that case, one of you must come with us.”

“I will,” spoke up the oldest boy.

“No,” Ni Na instantly refused him.  “I want her,” she pointed at the tiniest girl in the group, “to come with me.”

“No,” his word was icy.

“She is the one most at risk of your whole group.  Frigid temperatures would wipe her out before the rest of you.  If she remains with me, I will know that she’s safe.  Even if the rest of you run away.”

The older children glared at her.  The younger ones gazed at her with wide, frightened eyes.

“You are all welcome to come with her,” Ni Na pointed out logically.

No one seemed to like that idea either.

“I will,” the eldest boy volunteered again.  He turned back towards the little girl.  “Dae Hee, come here,” he beckoned to her with his hand. 

Reluctantly, she stood up and walked over to him.  He spoke to the group.  “Go home.  I’ll bring the food to you later.”

Then he and Dae Hee walked towards Ni Na.

“I am Ni Na,” she spoke, purposefully leaving off her surname.  “And this is my friend, Beom Sook.”  She smiled down at the little girl.  “You are Dae Hee, right?”

The tiny girl bobbed her head.

“And you are?” Ni Na asked the boy.

“Dae Jong,” he replied quietly.

Ni Na’s eyebrows nearly assaulted the tops of the trees.  “Are you…siblings then?”

He gazed at her.  Trying to read this lady’s intentions.  Finally, he nodded his head.

“Come,” she smiled.  “You must be starving.”

The small child whimpered, “I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

“No, Dae Hee.  It wasn’t yesterday.  It was two mornings ago,” her brother corrected her.

Ni Na gasped, and the boy’s eyes found hers.

“She hasn’t eaten in two days?” she questioned him sharply.

He shrugged.  “None of us have.”

“Then we have no time to waste,” Ni Na breathed, reaching for the girl’s hand.

But the tiny child pulled away from her and moved to hide behind her older brother.

“How old are you?” Ni Na asked him.

“Sixteen.”

“Tell us the truth, lad,” Lee Beom Seok insisted, easily detecting his lie.

The boy turned steely eyes on him.  “I am.”

“You are not.”  Lee Beom Seok raked him with an assessing glance.  “I would bet you’re not above thirteen.”

The little girl gasped.  “How did you know that?” she asked guilelessly.

“And I would wager that you’re only about four years old,” the kind lord smiled at her knowingly as he squatted down in front of her after replacing his sword into its scabbard.

“He’s good,” she whispered as she glanced up at her brother.

“Dae Hee, won’t you allow me to hold your hand?” Ni Na queried as she lifted her hand towards the child.

The tiny one shook her head.

“You don’t want to hold her hand, lady.  It’s grubby,” her brother insisted.

“I care not,” Ni Na huffed.  But then she sighed.  “Hold your brother’s hand then, and let’s go.  The sooner we move, the sooner you can eat.”

The little girl’s eyes lit up.

“What would you like to eat, Dae Hee?” Ni Na asked as they headed back towards the market.

They didn’t realize that a large crowd of children was following them.  At a bit of a distance.

“Strawberries!” Dae Hee exclaimed in delight.  “And rice cakes.”

Ni Na laughed.  “I love rice cakes too.”

“You do?” the tiny girl breathed in wonder.

“Yes.  And strawberries.  Though, I don’t like them nearly as much as Ae Ri does.”

“Who is Ae Ri?” asked Dae Hee.

Ni Na gazed down at her as she walked beside her and clung to her brother’s hand.  “She’s my best friend.”

The girl’s eyes grew wide again.  “I have a best friend too,” she admitted sweetly.  “Dam Bi.”

“Is she back there?” Ni Na glanced back and gasped before training her eyes on the tiny child’s face once more.

The little girl nodded.  “She’s my age.  But,” she pouted, “she’s taller than I am.  But I was born first,” she insisted.

Ni Na chuckled as she looked up at Beom Sook.  Then she tilted her head to the right, clearly gesturing behind them.  He glanced back and saw the group of children following fifty yards behind them.  He reached out and slid his fingers along hers before curling his hand around hers.  Protectively.  And reassuringly.  She felt his action and the heart behind it tugging on hers.

She squeezed that comforting hand.

And both of those actions did not go unnoticed by a certain little girl.  She peered up at Ni Na out of great, dark eyes and queried, “Is he your husband?”

Ni Na felt heat suffusing her face.  She shook her head.  “No, Beom Sook is just my good friend.” 

Had she found a way to remove any pressure from the man? 

Now she felt him squeezing her hand.  She peeked up at him.  And he smiled quite sweetly at her.

The little girl watched them.  “Are you sure?” she queried after a moment, surprising Ni Na.

Dae Jong silenced his sister.  “That’s none of your business, Dae Hee.  Hush now.”

Ni Na’s lips curved into an amused smile at she watched the tiny child’s face flood with consternation.

“I am quite sure,” she whispered as she gazed down at the child.

And felt her heart ache a little.  For the child’s words reminded her that even if Beom Sook ever did propose to her, his motive would not be adoration.  But a simple respect.  And, possibly, friendship.  And then she would have to decide if that was enough for her.  She sighed heavily as she attempted to push such thoughts aside.

Beom Sook gazed down at her and wondered why a thundercloud had suddenly darkened her countenance.  She glanced up at him, and he troubled a silent agony in her gaze before she looked quickly away.

What was that about?

His brow furrowed as his heart felt a pang.  Was she upset because he had not proposed to her yet?

Perhaps it was time to move things in that inevitable direction.  Of all the girls he’d met lately, he felt most comfortable with Ni Na.  He was certain that she would make him an excellent wife.  So…why was he procrastinating?

She had stated quite plainly that she wished to be his friend.  And she knew the truth of his infatuation with Soo Yeon.  If he made Ni Na his wife, he wouldn’t have to explain anything to her.  Nor would she be burdened by false expectations.  She would know exactly what she was getting herself into.  And her heart also belonged to another, so he needn’t fear crushing it.

She was, perhaps, the perfect woman for him.  His mother sure seemed to think so.  And Ni Na still did intrigue him.  Maybe he really should consider asking her to marry him.

Dae Hee was clearly becoming more comfortable with Ni Na’s company as they walked towards the market.  Suddenly, her tiny hand slipped into the older girl’s free hand.  Ni Na glanced down in surprise.  The little girl tugged on her hand.  Ni Na stopped and bent down next to her.

“What is it, Dae Hee?”

The child leaned over and whispered into her ear.  “He likes you.”

Ni Na smiled down at her.  “Come along.  Let’s get you some rice cakes.”

“And strawberries?” queried that tiny voice.

“And some strawberries,” Ni Na promised definitively.

The little girl sighed with relief as her tummy gave a mighty rumble.  Reminding the woman that the child was near starvation.  Her heart tumbled again. 

To think that – for several days – she’d been mourning the realization that Beom Sook would never love her as she loved him.  Yet here was this small child whose greatest concern was a morsel of food to keep her alive another day.  Ni Na had everything she needed.  And all she wanted too.  Except for Beom Sook’s heart, of course.  But that was the one desire that was unattainable.

However, all her material needs and wants were well provided for.  She lacked nothing.  In fact, she had so much surplus that she could take care of all of these children for quite some time.  And with that thought, a new desire was born in her heart.

Now she needed to speak privately with Beom Sook.  As they approached the edge of the market, Dae Jong spoke up, assisting her in her mission.  “We will wait here.”

As Beom Sook glanced sharply down at him, the boy murmured, “We’re not clean.  Our clothes are a mess.  They won’t thank us for coming near their stalls.”

Ni Na gazed down at him.  “Do you promise not to leave?  I really am going to spend this silver on food for all of you.  I don’t want you to disappear.  Dae Hee needs to eat.  Will you risk trusting me to feed your little sister?”

The boy seemed to weigh her question.

“You have our word,” Lord Lee Beom Sook rumbled reassuringly.

The boy seemed to make a quick decision.  He bobbed his head up and down.  “I promise.  We’ll wait right here.”

The other children had stopped several yards back.  But they’d kept an eye on the little group as they made their way towards the market.

Ni Na lightly squeezed Dae Hee’s hand before releasing it.  Beom Sook stepped forward, tugging her along with him.  She glanced down at their joined hands and wondered if he was going to release her fingers before they entered the market.  Otherwise, if they came across anyone they knew, questions were sure to be asked.

“It’s all right,” she whispered.

“What?” he glanced down at her questioningly. 

“You don’t have to hold my hand now.  Though I did appreciate the show of support back there.  How did you find me?” she finally quizzed him.

“You ran past me when you were chasing that girl.  I thought you might need my help.  So I followed you.”

“Thank you, kind sir, for coming to my rescue,” she tipped her head to him, fully expecting him to release her hand.

But he did not.

“I am most thankful myself that I followed you,” he breathed out a sigh of relief.  “Who knows what those children might have done if I hadn’t?”

She peered up at him in surprise.  “You don’t actually think that they would have hurt me, do you?”

He shrugged.  “Perhaps.  If they felt threatened enough.  And they obviously needed your silver.”  He glanced behind them to find the boy and his sister still standing where they’d left them.

“Beom Sook, I want to help them.”

He nodded.  “We’ll buy them all dinner.  As we promised.”

“No, I mean I want to really help them.”

Widening in surprise, his eyes found hers.  “What do you mean?”

“They have no home, Beom Sook.  They’re starving in that forest.  Probably freezing too.  They need a house.  And three meals a day.  And clean clothes that fit them.  And baths.  And an education,” she continued.

He stopped walking, his hand drawing her to a halt too.  “Wait a minute.  Are you proposing moving them in with you?” he asked incredulously.

She giggled.  “Wouldn’t that stir up a hornet’s nest?  ‘Noble lord’s daughter adopts twenty orphans and gives them shelter under her own roof.’  They’d think me strange for sure then.”

“Think you strange?” he breathed, uncomprehending.

She shrugged.  “Most of the girls at school think I’m too serious by half.  About my studies.  And in general.  Only Ae Ri is left among my friends.”

“Not Jung Sook’s ward and her best friend?”

“Oh, yes.  They are sweet girls.  But they are so much younger than I.  They rarely speak to us.  They’re kind of…off in their own little world.  I was speaking of the older girls.”

“Anyone who wouldn’t give you the time of day isn’t worthy of you, Ni Na,” he murmured quietly.

She smiled up at him.  This man was so sweet to her.  She opened her mouth to ask him a question.

“How can I provide those children with a home?  You are right, of course.  I can’t very well move them into my father’s house.  But that doesn’t mean that they don’t need shelter.  And provisions.”

He frowned good-naturedly.  “What are you proposing?  An orphanage?”  He studied her face.  “If so, you’re going to need more than a house and provisions.  You’re going to need single women to volunteer to run the orphanage.  To act as their mothers.  To cook and clean and bathe them.”

“And to love them,” she murmured.

He smiled at her precious heart.

“I could do it,” she spoke with firm resolution.  “I could find such women.”

“Could you?” he asked in surprise.

“Yes,” she nodded.  “During the day, I could teach the children.  I’d set up a classroom in the home and run their lessons,” her voice was gaining strength as enthusiasm filled her tone.  “And I’m sure that Auntie Dan O would be willing to stay overnight with them.  And see to any of their needs that cropped up in the middle of the night.”

“What about the boys?” he asked.  “You’d have to segregate the boys on one side of the home.  And put the girls on the other side.  It would probably be best to have a man on the premises too.  Just for protection, if nothing else.”

“That’s just perfect.  Auntie Dan O’s husband, Chung, could fill that spot.”

“You don’t think that he’d like to sleep with his wife?”

“All of these children have already spent – What?  Weeks?  Months? – living together in a tiny cabin.  And most of them are siblings.  Why couldn’t we find a property with a bedroom in the middle for Auntie Dan O and her husband to occupy?  Her side of the building could be set aside for the girls.  And his for the boys.”

“And supposing that your servants are willing to carry out your harebrained scheme, where would you find such a property?” he asked with a bit of humor lacing his tone.  He was grinning down at his little saint.

“That, my dear Beom Sook, is where you would come in.”

“What?” he queried, startled.

“How many houses did you say you own?” she teased him.  “All vacant but for servants, I suppose.”

She had him there.

She gazed up at him imploringly.  “Isn’t one of them large enough to house twenty children?”

Again, she was correct.  All of them were large enough to house those kids.  The question was…did he want to take responsibility for twenty children?

“That’s a huge commitment,” he murmured.

“Indeed.  It is.  But you and I are both rich.  And for what better reason have we been entrusted with such wealth than to use it to help others?  Including the next generation.”

He chuckled suddenly.  “The next generation?  You’re only four years older than that boy.”

She sobered.  “It’s true.  Had I been born under different conditions, I could be one of that group.”

He remained silent for a couple of minutes as they came to the very edge of the market.  She glanced up at him as they stopped walking. 

“It is all right if you don’t want to take on the responsibility.  I fully understand,” she uttered briskly.

Then she headed for a rice cake stall and bought two large platters of rice cakes.  She knew the seller and asked to borrow the dishes into which the cakes were nestled.  With the promise that she would return them promptly.  Then, having obtained the woman’s permission, Ni Na turned around and headed back towards the children.

As he caught up with her, he reached out to take the platters from her.  “And how would you afford to feed and clothe those children every day?”

She smiled.  “I have some silver put aside,” she answered mysteriously.  “And I seem to recall a certain lord offering to sell my pottery to his rich friends.”

His eyebrows threatened to assault a bird flying overhead.  “But if you’re teaching them during the day, how would you find the time to make more pottery to finance them once your silver runs out?”

She shrugged.  “It doesn’t cost that much to feed them.  And I can turn out quite a few pieces each day with just a few hours to work.  Oh, maybe not the houses – they take a lot of time.  But the vases, urns, and dishes don’t take me that long.”  She gazed up at him.  “I cannot do nothing,” she declared flatly.

He frowned.  “What, exactly, do you plan to do if I don’t offer you one of my houses?”

She beamed at him.  “Why, take them home with me tonight.”