Blog

The next morning, Nuri pushed Insuk into the kitchen bright and early.  Before most of the palace was up.  Insuk gasped as her eyes took in the tiny vase containing a dozen perfect purple pansies.  Next to it sat another plate full of goodies.  This time she spied honeyed tea cookies.  Another favorite of hers.  Perfect for breakfast.  In her estimation anyway.  

But it was the poem that she was most eager to get her hands on.  She plucked it from the countertop as her eyes hungrily devoured its contents.  This time it wasn’t addressed to anyone.  However, the words formed two rhyming stanzas again.

“Captivating hands,

Two beautiful lands,

Elegant fingers,

Your touch, it lingers.

“I long to feel

Something so real

Hidden in your touch,

Just a simple brush.”

Her lips curved upwards in a smile as she read his precious words.  Jimin was wooing her.  Flowers.  Poems.  Sweets.  All the things she had admitted to him she wished someone would employ to woo her heart.  Jimin hadn’t just listened to her; he’d taken her words to heart.  He had put them into action.  

Tender action.  She beamed down at the poem in her hand.  Gentle words to draw her near to his heart.  He was yearning for her touch.

Delicious action.  She reached out and sampled a honey cookie.  It melted in her mouth as she licked the residue of its sweetness off her lips.  He had thoughtfully baked another of her favorite treats.

Beautiful action.  Her eyes caressed the delicate pansies turning their faces towards the sun that was just beginning to rise outside the window.  He had picked her another dozen flowers after being reprimanded yesterday by the queen for picking just one.

Her brow furrowed.  How was he not getting into trouble?  Were these flowers and these cookies another royal favor?  What had Jimin done to find such grace in the eyes of their queen?

—

Jimin had decided to steer clear of the kitchen for a while.  He’d sent Nuri to fetch Insuk so that she would be the first one to see his surprises.  Now he was hovering in the doorway watching her delight in his gifts.  Her back was to him, so she was clueless of his presence.  This was the perfect perch from which to appreciate her pleasure.  Since she didn’t realize he was observing her, she was suffering from no embarrassment today.  She was simply savoring his sweetness.  Basking in his goodness.  When she turned her head to look at her friend, his heart reveled in the cheerful expression of her countenance.  As well as in her sudden outburst of delight.  

“Nuri!  These cookies are divine!  Here!  You must try one!”  Insuk held a honey cookie out to her.

But it was the expression that rippled across the younger girl’s countenance that caused his heart to tremble a little.  Nuri glanced up in awe at her friend.  The most vulnerable look flashed across her face as her eyes searched Insuk’s.

“You’re going to share your cookies with me, miss?” Nuri breathed.

“Of course!  We’re friends now, aren’t we?”

Jimin watched as the tiny girl’s eyes flooded with tears.  “Friends?  I’ve never had a friend before.”

That was the most pitiful statement he had ever witnessed.  It caused his heart to quake again.

Insuk’s face melted into a pool of compassion.  “I understand, Nuri.  But you’ve definitely found a friend in me.  Come, eat the cookie.  It’s so good!”

Nuri reached out to receive the sweet delicacy.  She stared at it in delight.  Her eyes tracing the folds of the flower created by the mold Jimin had pressed the dough into an hour ago.

“It’s almost too beautiful to eat, isn’t it?” Nuri whispered in awe.

Insuk grinned.  “Yes, but it would be a waste not to eat it.  As pretty as it is, it’s even more delicious to taste!”

Nuri agreed a moment later when she bit into the sweet cookie.  Her eyes fluttered shut as a look of utter bliss rippled across her countenance.  Jimin smiled.  He had managed to make two girls happy this morning.  Today was a good day.

He entered the kitchen then as a smile crowned his face with gladness.  “Good morning, ladies,” he murmured as he passed them on his way to the larder.

Insuk’s face flushed with bright color as his eyes collided with hers for a moment.  “Good morning, Jimin,” she greeted him shyly.  Almost like she was meeting him for the first time.

Strangely enough, that was how she felt.  As though she was meeting a part of Jimin of whose existence she had been completely unaware until last evening.