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Beom Sook left Dae Hee’s room to leave Na Mi alone with Ni Na for a while.  Instinctively, he knew that the girl would feel more comfortable with that capable young woman if he weren’t there.  As he wandered his massive house, noting all of the changes that had taken place in that space in just a few short days, he recognized that only one person could have inspired him to give his home such a makeover.  Or to adopt two dozen children.  Only one woman had that kind of power over his heart.

Ni Na.

He couldn’t explain how she had made such a home for herself in that preoccupied heart.  He had once believed that Soo Yeon was taking up too much space in that noble organ for him to ever set it upon anyone else.  But that had been before he met Ni Na.  She was the most remarkable woman of his acquaintance.

He reflected upon the character of the young woman comforting that hurting girl right now.  He contemplated the heart of the fascinating creature whom he had met just eighteen days ago.  Only a few months older than the girl, Ni Na still possessed the wisdom and compassion required to solace her in this traumatic moment. 

He recognized something.  The more time that he spent with Ni Na, the greater depths of her heart he fathomed, and he was now absolutely certain that she was the woman whom he desired to make his wife.  Could anyone else possibly possess the strength of character and the width of heart that this girl did?  She might be twelve years younger than he was, but she possessed a maturity beyond her years.

And he wanted her. 

He sighed.  He had planned to woo her today.  He’d arranged for his chef to cook them an amazing luncheon.  He’d been planning to escort Ni Na back to his house for a picnic on the back terrace.  The weather today was unseasonably warm and would have supported his endeavor perfectly. 

But…now his plans would not come to fruition.  He made a quick decision.  He informed his mother of his plans and left the house.  He didn’t return for another hour.  By the time he entered Dae Hee’s room again, Ni Na was alone with the tiny child.  The little girl was sound asleep.  Ni Na was sitting on her bed, her back up against the wall.

She glanced up at him in surprise as he strode through the open doorway.  But when she saw him, her face lit up, and a smile illuminated her eyes.

“How is she?” he asked.

A frown wrinkled her forehead.  “She’s been asleep this whole time.  She’s burning up, Beom Sook.”

He could hear the worry in her voice.  “She’s going to be all right.”

“I know.  It’s just…this is the scary part.”

“The scary part?” he queried, perplexed.  But before she could respond, he answered himself with enlightened accuracy.  “Your mother.”

She nodded.

“We’ll let her sleep a couple more hours.  If she doesn’t wake up on her own, we’ll wake her, and we’ll make sure she drinks water and takes some medicine,” he uttered confidently.  “She’ll make it, Ni Na.  We’re not going to lose her.”

Her head bobbed up and down again.  But her teeth were chattering, and he could see her shivering.

“Ni Na?”

He recognized the enemy which she was battling.  Fear. 

The fear of loss.

And he recalled her words of earlier this morning.       

“I love her, Beom Sook.  I feel like she was supposed to be mine.  Had my life gone a little differently, had I been matched with a husband as early as some of my acquaintance, I could have been that child’s mother.”

He shut the door and crossed to her side of the bed.  He gazed down at her.  “Scoot over,” he commanded her tersely. 

She did.  But she stopped short of the child. 

He sat down next to Ni Na and slid his arm around her shoulders.  Drawing her close to him.  His hand began to chafe her arm.  Then he could feel her trembling.

He bent towards her and breathed into her ear, “Everything is going to be all right.”

She nodded her head, but then the sob which she’d been resisting, coaxed into the light by his tender voice, suddenly bubbled up and escaped her lips.  She turned towards him and began to sob against his chest.

He tightened his hold on her.  And bent to drop some kisses in her hair.

What could he say to comfort her?  What words would reassure her?

He hadn’t planned it.  He simply searched his own heart for something solacing.  And opened his mouth.

“I love you, Ni Na,” he breathed against her ear.

And he felt her tense.  It seemed to him that she ceased to breathe.  After several of those breathless seconds had passed, she drew back and gazed up at him.

“What?”

His lips curved into a rueful smile.  “I love you.” 

It was a simple statement of fact.  But such a tender sentiment that her heart bent completely towards him.  Right before it began to gallop.  Pounding out a crazy rhythm that completely disconcerted her.  She knew that feeling was born of joy, but she felt totally out of control now.  As though she didn’t even have the ability to summon her lungs to do her own bidding.

“You do?” she breathed in astonishment.

He bobbed his head.  “I had this elaborate plan to woo you today.  To lure you to my house for a picnic outside on my terrace.  Surrounded by my garden.  It’s coming to life right now,” he explained eagerly.

“I was going to chat with you and set you at ease.  Even as I speak, my chef is working on an amazing meal.  I was trying so hard to impress you, but then…Dae Hee…”  His voice trailed off.

Ni Na’s eyes flooded with tears again.  “Beom Sook, you don’t need to work to impress me.”

He crumpled his brow.  “I know that your heart already belongs to someone else.  It’s…okay.  I know you may not feel for me what I feel for you.” 

He swallowed.  “But I wanted you to know how I feel.  It’s no pressure.  If you think that the man you love has changed his mind, or ever will, then I will bow out.  Gracefully.”

“No, Beom Sook, it’s not like that.  He—”

The door swung open suddenly, and they both jumped a mile.

His mother stood on the other side of that open doorway and stared at them.  “I’m sorry to startle you, but three more children have come down with a fever.  Beom Sook, I need your help.  I think we should isolate the children who are sick from the others.  I was wondering if you could help me oversee the preparation of the rooms.  If possible, I think we should give them each their own room.”

A wave of worry flowed across Ni Na’s countenance.  “You don’t want to keep them all together?”

“No.  But we’re going to need several adults to sit with them.  And I’m going to summon the doctor.  I don’t like that so many of them have become sick.”

Reluctantly, he released Ni Na and stood up.  “I’ll come help you, Eomma.” 

He glanced down at Ni Na, and she could read the disappointment in his face.

“I’ll come check on Dae Hee in a while,” he murmured. 

Then he was gone, striding through the doorway before following his mother down the hall.  Before Ni Na could say a thing to comfort his darling heart.

––

The morning flew away from him.  He wanted to be with Ni Na.  Comforting her.  Strengthening her.  Basking in the light of her presence.  But instead, he was running his massive household.

He had set servants to preparing the extra rooms.  And cleaning the bedchambers already in use.  For the moment, he had sent all the children who weren’t sick to the classrooms.  He’d asked Na Mi to find something to occupy them all. 

He knew that they were scared.  With good reason.  So he was seeking some sort of release for them.  He had promised to take them all outside after lunch.  Once the day had warmed up a bit more.  In the meantime, their very young teacher had given them all parchment, quills, and ink, and asked them to draw what they were feeling.

Beom Sook had visited the kitchen to instruct the cook to make lots of bone broth.  And rice porridge.  He wanted the children to eat the most nutritious meals possible.  In the hope that they could prevent the older ones from being infected.  At this moment, the youngest children were the only ones ailing. 

His chef finally arrived with the luncheon that he’d ordered.  He had the man carry the basket full of food to Dae Hee’s room and set it outside the door.  Beom Sook gathered a cup of bone broth and some medicine before heading that way himself.  He drew a deep breath before he opened the door and peeked inside.

Ni Na was lying down next to the little girl.  The woman’s eyes were trained on that tiny face, but as the door swung open, she glanced up at him.

“Beom Sook!” she gasped softly and sat up.

“Has she awoken yet?” he asked quietly as he entered the room and set the cup down next to the child’s bed.

Ni Na shook her head.  “No.”

Just then, her stomach rumbled.  And he grinned.  But then his smile died a quick death as he realized something.

“You haven’t eaten today, have you?”

She shook her head.  “No.  I woke up, dressed, and came straight here, and then I was too worried about Dae Hee to stomach anything.”

“You need to stomach something.  If you grow weak from hunger, how are you going to nurse these children back to health?”

Her gaze sharpened on his.  “How many are ill now?”

“Just the four.  Everyone else seems to be fine….  I have a surprise for you.” 

He headed back to the hallway and picked up the basket.  He carried it to her side of the bed and set it on the little table to her right.  He opened it and began to unveil the savory dishes which his chef had made.  Just for her. 

“This is the meal that I wanted to eat with you.  Outside.  On my terrace.”

Her heart melted.  “Oh, Beom Sook, I—”

“Hush, my love.  Eat.”  He picked up a set of chopsticks and fished out a warm piece of chicken before holding it up to her mouth.  “Open up.”

She obeyed him and began to eat a hearty lunch.  Secretly reveling in being handfed by the most beautiful man whom she knew.  She scooted over and patted the bed next to her.  He sat down gingerly and continued to gather her bites of various dishes to try.

“Mmm.  Beom Sook, this food is amazing!  Are you sure that your chef isn’t as good as my cook?”

His lips twitched.  “You’re just hungry, my love.  Here.  Have another bite.”

A quarter of an hour later, he had fed her more than she had room for.

“Please.  You eat some.  You’ve been running yourself ragged for the past two hours taking care of everyone else.”  She grabbed the chopsticks and scooped up some chicken rice and held it out to him.

“Is it your turn to feed me?” he asked teasingly.  But with a certain heat in his gaze that made her full tummy do a sudden series of somersaults.

She nodded and pressed the food into his mouth.

“You two lovebirds are darling,” a gentle voice suddenly spoke from the open doorway, “but we’ve got two more sick kids.”

“What?” Ni Na glanced up in alarm.  “Who?”

“Na Mi isn’t feeling well.  Nor is Sae Bit.  I told them both to go to Na Mi’s room for now.  They didn’t seem to want to be alone.”

“Do they have a fever?”

Lady Lee shook her head.  “I don’t think so.  They were both complaining of a sore stomach.  They just began to eat lunch.  As far as I could tell, they hadn’t consumed much when they began to complain.”

“Did either of them throw up?” Ni Na queried.

“Not that I know of.  I sent them to their room several minutes ago.  I’m going to go check on them now.  Beom Sook, could you see to the remaining children?  They’re still in the dining room.”

“Absolutely, Eomma.”  Again, he reluctantly stood up.

“Beom Sook, take your lunch with you,” demanded his darling girl.

He smiled down at her.  “I think the children would be jealous if they saw me eating all of this.  I’ll take it to the kitchen.”  When he saw that she was about to argue, he murmured, “Don’t worry.  I’ll eat some of it later.  Besides, I had it all made for you.  And you tasted it all.  So…mission accomplished.”

He smiled sweetly at her before collecting the basket.  He glanced at the cup of broth.  “Wake Dae Hee up and see if you can get her to drink that.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.” 

He walked towards the door.  “Oh!  Did the doctor ever come visit her?”

“Yes.  He came to see her first.  He thinks it’s just a minor illness that should pass quickly.  There have been a few cases in the city.  Fever, chills, tummy ache.  That sort of thing.”

He sighed with relief.  “That’s wonderful.  See?  Everything is going to be all right.”

He sent her another smile before disappearing.  But she had to agree with him.  Now that she knew that he reciprocated her feelings – at least, in some measure – she knew that he was right.  All was well.

But as she glanced down at the hot child sleeping next to her, she still felt uneasy.  She hated fevers.  She reached out to shake Dae Hee gently awake.  It was time to help this child remain hydrated.