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As Ni Na returned to her seat next to Ae Ri, her friend’s face lit up with excitement.  “So…tell me why you were really sitting with that gorgeous man.”

“He was tutoring me.”

“Tutoring you?” she asked, incredulous.  “In what subject?”

“Mathematics.”

Her friend scoffed.  “More like you were tutoring him.”

Ni Na snickered.

And her friend glanced at her in astonishment.  Ni Na rarely laughed. 

“You like him,” Ae Ri breathed in a quiet hiss.

“What?” Ni Na turned to glance sharply at her.

“You do.”

“He is a perfectly nice gentleman,” Ni Na responded primly, turning her face to stare at their teacher.

“Mm-hmm.  And terribly easy on the eyes too.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” Ni Na lied.

Her friend clicked her tongue.  “Come now, Ni Na.  You are usually known for your honesty.”

“His nose is crooked,” she pointed out lamely.  Mentioning the man’s only flaw.  Grasping at straws.  Truly.

Ae Ri stared for several long seconds at the man.  “I guess it is,” she admitted finally.  “But to be honest, I hadn’t noticed.”  Her mouth formed a sudden O as excitement lit up her eyes.  “You must have studied him at length to realize such a thing!”

Ni Na snorted.  “No.  I simply have eyes in my head.”

“Hey!” her friend exclaimed indignantly as she punched Ni Na on the upper arm.

But the quieter girl ignored her.

And their teacher droned on. 

Ae Ri glanced at the gorgeous gentleman again and noticed that he was staring openly at her best friend.  Her lips curved into a smile.  It seemed that he was quite taken with Ni Na. 

She turned to smile at her oldest friend.

Good for her.

––

“Eomma,” Lord Lee Beom Sook addressed his mother later that evening.  Then he cleared his throat.  How to explain his latest endeavor to her?

She glanced up at him, and her mild face lit up with joy at the sight of him.  “Well, good evening, darling!  How was your day?”

“It was…interesting,” he began hesitantly.

Her face was flooded with sudden intrigue.  “And just what does that mean?”

He glanced away from her for a moment.  “I have recently come to a realization.”

“Oh?  And what recent realization is that?”

“I am in want of a wife.”

Her countenance was transfixed by sudden joy.  And she leapt out of her chair.  “You’re looking for a bride?  I’m finally going to get some grandbabies?!”

He chuckled.  “Calm down, Eomma.  If I understand how these things work, it’ll be a little while before you get any grandbabies.”

“Oh!  You are occasionally quite trying, my darling son.”

“Anyway,” he continued as he grinned at her, “I have begun to search for an appropriate lady.”

Amazed, she stared blankly at him.

“And, yes, I know that I did not request your help.”

“Oh, darling, that’s all right.  I’m not the one who will be marrying the girl.  Am I to assume that you’ve found someone who interests you?”

“Maybe.”

She looked suddenly quite excited.  Again.

“Mildly interested,” he murmured.  In an attempt to put a damper on her enthusiasm.

“Oh, darling, this is wonderful!”  She clasped her hands together.

“Don’t get too excited, Eomma.  I’ve just met the girl.”

“And you’re already interested in her?”

“She is…quite unique.  Unlike any girl I’ve ever met before.”

“Oh, this is sounding quite promising!”

“Eomma, please don’t get your hopes up.  I am just at the very beginning of my search.  This is the first young lady who’s caught my eye.  But I’ll be honest.  I…I almost feel like I’m being unfair to any girl I might choose.”

“Why?”  She troubled her brow.

He sighed deeply.  “Because I gave my heart to another girl long ago.  And I haven’t quite recovered.”

“You’re still in love with Soo Yeon?” she gasped.

He glanced sharply at her.  “How did you know that?”

Her face melted into a smile.  “Darling, I am your mother.  I have a sixth sense for these sorts of things.  Soo Yeon is a delightful girl.  But she was never the right one for you.”

He blinked in surprise.  “What?  How can you say that?”

She smiled sweetly at her beloved son.  “You have always needed someone different from the usual sort.”

“How so?” He crumpled his own brow now.

“You may not realize this, son, but you are quite unique yourself.  You are an amazingly brilliant man.  Destined for great things.  And you need a woman who matches you.  In intelligence.  In poise.  In demeanor.  And in heart.  Soo Yeon is a kind child.  But she has never had any interest in academic pursuits.  She would have bored you long ago.  Had you ever spent much time in her presence.”

He simply stared at her.

“So,” her eyes lit up, “tell me how you met the young lady in question.”

“At her school.”

“At her school?”  Her whole face was suffused with pleasure.  “This sounds very promising, indeed.  Is she the top pupil?”

He laughed.  “Quite possibly.”

“Excellent,” she commented firmly and succinctly.  “So…when do I get to meet this paragon of intelligence?”

“Tomorrow evening.”

Her eyebrows slapped her hairline.  “So soon?”

He nodded.  “She invited me to dinner.”

“Just you?” she asked, shocked.

He tilted his head to the side.  “Yes.  But then she retracted her invitation because she lacks a chaperone.  So I offered to bring you.  And she was delighted.”

“She was?  Delighted to meet your mother?  How strange,” she murmured as she considered what kind of young lady would have the temerity to invite a young man to dinner alone.  But then would realize her mistake and relish the prospect of meeting his mother.  A potential mother-in-law.

He snickered.  “Eomma.  She is just a friend.”

“Is she now?” she asked sharply.  “Already?”

He furrowed his brow again.  “Yes,” he responded carefully as he drew out the word as though it carried three syllables instead of one.

“Hmm.  How…interesting.”

“I think, Eomma, that you will find her quite charming.  I think…that she is quite lonely,” he muttered thoughtfully after a moment.

“Lonely?  Wait.  No chaperone?  Where is her mother?  Her father?”

“Her mother died six years ago.  Her father is…often away.  He is a diplomat.”

“A diplomat?”  She gazed curiously at him.  “Of whom are we speaking, darling?”

“Do you remember Appa’s friend?  Lord Choi?”

“Why, of course, I do!”  Her face lit up in happy remembrance.  “Such a wonderful man!  He was your father’s best friend…for a very long time.  Until your appa passed.  Then we…lost touch.”

“I know.  That was, apparently, because he married.  And soon, they had a child.  A little girl.”

“She’s his daughter?” she asked, suddenly intrigued.  Cheerfully so.

He nodded.  “Her name is Choi Ni Na.  She lives alone.  With her servants.  Today, she shared her lunch with me.  It was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.”

Her eyebrows jumped up in shock.  They enjoyed the victuals of a very good chef. 

“When I told her so, she invited me to dinner.  So I could sample a hot meal.”

Her face split into a big grin.  “She likes you,” she purred.

He grimaced.  “Eomma.  Don’t jump to conclusions.”

“I am not.  What young lady invites a man to dinner upon their first acquaintance?”

“How did you know that I just met her?”

“Because this is the first you’ve spoken of her.  And you hide very little from me.”

“That is because I do not find it necessary to do so,” he responded firmly.

She tittered.  “Don’t worry.  I promise not to embarrass you tomorrow night.”

He cocked one midnight eyebrow.  “I know you will not.  If I had thought for one moment that you would, I would not have suggested that I bring you with me.”

She chortled.  “I am happy that you still like me after all these years.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Eomma.  You are delightful.  I know it, you know it, everyone knows it.”

Her face melted in tenderness.  “Thank you, darling.  I will make sure to set her at ease.”

“I know it.”  He took a deep breath.  Thankfully, this conversation was behind them.

“Does she know – do you think? – that you’re considering asking her to be your wife?”

“Eomma, it’s a little premature for that.  I just find her slightly…intriguing.”

She smiled knowingly at him but refrained from speaking.

“And she clearly needs a friend…so…”

“So we are going to dinner at her house tomorrow night,” she finished his sentence cheerfully.

“Yes.”

“Excellent,” she smiled at him.  “Are you hungry?  I think dinner is almost ready.”

“Shall I escort you into the dining room?” he held his arm out to her.

“Yes,” she beamed up at him as she rose from her chair.  “If I was going to have only one child, I am very glad that he was you.”

“And if I could have only one eomma, I am quite thankful that she was you, Eomma.”  He bent and kissed her cheek.

Had Ni Na seen the tender respect and infinite affection which he possessed for his mother, she would have fallen even more in love with him in that moment.