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And Beom Sook stared after her.  Quite bewildered. 

He had believed for several days that if he proposed to her – no, when he proposed to her – that she would not be indifferent to his suit.  After all, she had allowed him to comfort her in his embrace just a few days ago.  And she had claimed that she wanted to be his friend – his confidante.  Yet.  Here she was insisting that the welfare of these children was more important than her own future.

It disturbed him greatly.  For he had found no one else with whom he could envision spending his own future.  None but Soo Yeon.  And she, of course, was lost to him. 

So…Ni Na was his only hope for a happy marriage now.  And he definitely needed children.  With his vast wealth, he needed heirs to bless.

So the question was…how could he convince this girl to accept his suit?  Even if he couldn’t give her his whole heart?

He followed her to the strawberry stand and accepted the bag of strawberries the owner handed to him as Ni Na paid.  That was when he realized that he had allowed this girl to pay for everything so far.  As they approached the tangerine stall, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his own silver.

“Here,” he held it out towards her, “I would like to pay for the tangerines.”

She glanced down at his open palm before beaming up at him.  “Oh, Beom Sook, you are such a darling!” she breathed.  “Thank you!”

She accepted his bounty and skipped off to buy the remainder of the fruit.  She also passed a man cooking a huge vat of rice and convinced him to part with the entire thing.  Including the vat.  However, she did promise to return it soon.

A few moments later, the three of them were walking down the street, the young lord hauling a steaming vat of rice along the road while the girls carried the fruit.  Ae Ri was still clinging to their own bag of strawberries.

“Your cook is still going to make us something delicious with these, right?” she whispered into her friend’s ear as she gestured towards the bag hanging from her shoulder.

“Absolutely!  I’ve worked up quite the appetite this morning.  By the time we get home, I’m going to be ravenous.”

“You could eat one of these tangerines, you know,” Ae Ri asserted.

“No, I could not.  Beom Sook bought those for the children.”

“My dear, you may have one too,” he offered graciously.

Her eyes met his, and she smiled.  “Absolutely not.  I had breakfast.  They did not.  And can you not imagine what a treat a tangerine must be for them?”

“A tangerine?” he queried with a quirk of one dark eyebrow.  “You have bought them each five tangerines.”

“Precisely!  And they need to eat each one.”  She nodded firmly.  “I can wait until I get home to eat.”

“And you’re going to take them all with you?” he tested her.

She nodded.  Her face went blank suddenly.  “I have no other options.”

“That’s not true,” he argued weightily.

“What do you mean?”  Perplexed, she crumpled her brow at him.

He heaved a deep sigh.  “You may use one of my houses,” he offered grudgingly.

Her face suddenly lit up in astonishment as her obsidian eyes grew as large as saucers.  “Do you mean it?  Truly?”

He nodded.

“Which property?” she asked.

“I have a house close to your school.  It’s a little out of the common way.  So I don’t believe that anyone would complain if it were suddenly occupied by twenty children.  And it’s certainly big enough.  It has a large kitchen too.  And a couple of huge rooms that you could transform into classrooms.  One for the boys.  And one for the girls.  But…you will need to find a man to instruct the boys.”

She grinned at him suddenly.

“What’s that look for?” he queried suspiciously.

“But I know an amazing tutor!” she gasped. 

“Oh, yes!” Ae Ri jumped into the conversation.  “He was even able to make me understand mathematics!  A true miracle worker!”

“Isn’t he though?” Ni Na agreed as she glanced at her friend.  Her eyes twinkling, she finally turned back towards the man whom she loved.  “Would you be willing to tutor the boys, Beom Sook?”

“Me?” he breathed in shock as his index finger lifted to stab himself in the sternum.

“Absolutely!” she declared strongly.  “You are an excellent teacher.  And you must have time on your hands.  After all, you made time in your day to help us.” 

She winked up at him, secretly laughing at him, for she knew the real reason that he had offered to tutor the girls.  But, of course, Ae Ri did not.

He frowned down at the enterprising young lady.  She had him, and they both knew it.  Unless he wanted to admit in front of her friend that he had been shopping for a wife by volunteering at the school, he was going to have to cave in to her request gracefully.

“I suppose I would be willing to help a bit.  But I do have duties on the royal council,” he was quick to add.  “I couldn’t be there all the time.  So you would have to find someone else to work with them.”

“Hmm.  All right, I shall have to work on that one.  Maybe when you can’t work with them, I can apprentice the boys to local shopkeepers and artisans.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” he responded as his eyebrows jumped up again.

“So…we can move them into your house this afternoon?” she asked.

“After they’ve all had a bath,” he asserted firmly. 

“But…it’s still fairly cool outside.  You can’t expect them to bathe in the stream.”  She didn’t want any of them getting sick.

“I’ll let them bathe in my house.  But they need to bathe as soon as they’ve crossed the threshold.  We’ll begin with the youngest.”

“I think that I should take the girls home with me.  They can bathe at my house while you take the boys to their new home.  That way we’ll put our servants to half the work.”

He bobbed his head.  “I’m not sure that I’m comfortable with them knowing where you live just yet.  How about I open one of my other houses to the girls today?  Just to bathe and dress.  And you can stay with them.  Perhaps bring Auntie Dan O along,” he grinned at her as he called the servant by the affectionate term that Ni Na used for her.

“I think that is a wonderful idea!  Oh, I do love you, Beom Sook!” she burst out.  Without thinking.

Startled, that gentleman stared at her.  So did Ae Ri.  And Ni Na felt her cheeks flooding with color.  And warmth. 

She cleared her throat self-consciously.  “Um, I mean you are such a wonderful man!” 

Then she turned her head to face her friend.  “Ae Ri, could you go to my house and summon Auntie Dan O and a couple of the younger girls to meet us at Lord Lee’s home?” 

Then she glanced back at that noble gentleman.  “Can you give her the address?  Maybe she could arrive ahead of us with a note from you?  Preparing the servants for our descent upon them?”

“An excellent notion!” he burst out.  Still reeling from her words of devotion.

Had Ni Na, on any level, meant that sentiment?

The strength of those words had stunned him.  For his heart had felt astonishingly moved by them.  Far beyond anything that he would have expected.

“Oh!  Ae Ri, I need you to help Auntie Dan O to collect as many clean robes in various sizes as possible.  And undergarments.  For both the boys and the girls.  We’re going to need several outfits.”

Her friend bobbed her head.  “No problem.  My sisters have several they can spare, I am sure.  And I will visit with a couple other girls who have younger brothers.  And I’m pretty sure that Eomma still has some from when my brothers were younger.  We’ll figure it out, and we will meet you at Lord Lee’s home.”

He gave the girl the address, and she handed Ni Na the extra bag of strawberries before taking her own sack to Ni Na’s cook.  Today was sure to be a busy day.  By the time they could eat whatever blissful concoction that worthy lady dreamed up, they would certainly deserve such a sweet treat.

Ni Na bent her gaze on the road ahead.  Her cheeks were still blazing.  She couldn’t believe that she had allowed those words to slip past her lips.  What on earth must Beom Sook think now?

She was simply mortified.  She had intended to keep her true feelings a secret from him.  For the rest of her life.  He must only pity her if he knew the truth.

She released a deep sigh a few moments later.  As they approached the children.  But, before they could turn the corner, Beom Sook reached out his hand and grasped her arm gently.  Stopping her forward movement.

“Ni Na.  Are you all right?”

“Hmm?”  She glanced up at him and smiled.  “Of course.”

“And…you’re sure that you want to offer these children a home?”

“Of course, I am!” she ejaculated.  With no little heat.

“Still, I think that we should tell them that we’re going to offer them a place to stay tonight.  And maybe for the next month since it’s so cold out.  Maybe…not commit long-term,” he mumbled.

Mostly because she was now glaring at him.  “Lee Beom Sook!” she gasped.  “I am not turning my back on those defenseless children.”

He grimaced.  She’d just used his surname.

“Of course, you aren’t.  But what if they refuse to follow our rules?  Or they continue to steal?  Or they get themselves in trouble with the magistrate?  What then?”

“We will cross that bridge when we come to it!” she ground out.  Reluctantly.  “And once they are assured that they’ll get three meals a day, they’ll stop stealing.  Once they see that they’ve got clean clothes, and a roof over their heads, and school, and an apprenticeship, they’ll choose a better path.”

“And if they don’t?”

She heaved a deep sigh.  “Then the magistrate will be there to catch them.  Now, won’t he?”  She gazed wisely up at him.

He chuckled.  And shook his head.  “You are something else, Ni Na.”

She grimaced ruefully.  “Believe me.  I know it.”

“Hey,” his voice sounded as his fingers continued to press softly into the flesh of her arm.  “I meant that as a compliment.”

His sweet words warmed her heart.  As did the expression in his glorious jade eyes.

“Oh,” she remarked.  Just a simple puff of air.  Expressing her surprise.

“Come.  Let’s go find our children, my dear.” 

In the next moment, that hand had slid down her arm, and his fingers were covering hers again.  He tugged on her hand and led her down the road.  In pursuit of their new family.