Blog

He gazed up at Jung Sook.  “I need to bring a magistrate.  And to find my father.”  He frowned.  “But I don’t want to leave you alone.  I don’t want to leave you here.”

He stood up.  “Let’s all go.  We’ll lock your door.”

“And leave him here alone?” came the child’s quaking voice.

Soo Ho sobered.  “He’s gone, Bo A.  It won’t hurt him to leave his body here for a few minutes.”

She was still shaking like a leaf.  Jung Sook pulled her towards the door.  And then glanced back at her once happy home. 

“I won’t be able to live here anymore,” she mumbled sadly.  She was feeling badly shaken herself.  As violent as her own father had been, only Dong Nam had been as terrifying as Bo A’s father.  And, at least, her husband had never pulled a knife on her.

Soo Ho stopped her suddenly.  “Wait.”  He reached up, and his fingers brushed her chest. 

And she flinched.

His heart sank.  “Let me cover you.”

“You can’t.  He cut my undershirt.”

“Yes, I just realized that.  Can I get you a clean shirt?”

“Just grab my outer robe.  It’s on that chair over there.”

He helped her put it on as he leaned over her.  “Please,” he whispered.  “Don’t be afraid of me.”

She glanced up at him in surprise.  “I’m not.”

“But…you flinched.”

“It’s just the trauma, Soo Ho,” she soothed him.  “It’s not you.”

He rubbed his hand up and down her arm comfortingly.  “Okay,” he responded in a small voice.

“Soo Ho,” she breathed.  “You just saved my life.  And my virtue.  I am not afraid of you.”

It was completely true.  Had she still entertained any doubts concerning Soo Ho, they had all fled the instant that he’d run his sword through her assailant.

He nodded and steered them towards the door.  “Let’s go.”

––

They stopped first at his father’s house.

“Appa,” Soo Ho spoke as he ushered them over the threshold.  “This is my friend, Gwan Jung Sook, and her charge, Bo A.”

As his father glanced up in surprise, he continued, “They were attacked tonight.  By Bo A’s father.”  He paused a moment.  Then, he enunciated quite clearly.  “I killed him.”

“What?!” his father exclaimed as he shot to his feet.

“He had a knife pressed up against Jung Sook.  And he was attempting to…”  He glanced at the child.

“Your son saved my virtue tonight, sir,” Jung Sook smoothly came to his rescue.

“Your virtue?” the man asked, frowning.  “Aren’t you a widow?”

She instantly flushed.  “Cannot a widow have virtue, sir?”

His eyes perused her intently.  “Are you all right, my dear?” he questioned her in a suddenly soft voice.

She smiled at the kind man.  “I am.”  She drew a steadying breath.  “I will be.”

“Appa, can they stay here while you and I go back to Jung Sook’s house?  The man is dead, but I had to leave him there.  I didn’t want to leave them alone.  So I brought them here.  I need to get the magistrate.”

His father nodded, and his mother appeared in the doorway.

Jung Sook glanced at Soo Ho.  “But don’t you need me to go with you?  I’m going to have to give him my account of the matter.”

Lord Kim Seub looked her over.  “It’s all right.  We will take care of everything.  If he has any questions for you, we’ll bring him here.”

She nodded.  She didn’t want to leave Bo A anyway.

Soo Ho glanced up and saw his mother hovering in the doorway.  “Eomma, this is my friend, Gwan Jung Sook.  And her charge, An Bo A.”

“I am Lady Kim Bit Na,” Soo Ho’s mother introduced herself as she stepped forward. 

She watched as Jung Sook reached up to grab her robe to ensure that she was covered.  Her hand grazed her wound, and she winced.

“My dear,” Lady Bit Na murmured in concern, “what’s wrong?”

Soo Ho interposed, “Eomma, can you have a bath drawn for Jung Sook?  And her wound attended to?”

“Her wound?”  The woman’s eyes grew wide with worry.  “What happened?”

Just then, Soo Yeon wandered into the room.

Soo Ho noticed her.  “Soo Yeon, this is my friend, Gwan Jung Sook.  And her charge, An Bo A.  Can you help Eomma take care of them?”

Her eyes widening with delight, Soo Yeon turned towards the teacher.  “You are Gwan Jung Sook?” she asked with joy. 

And her mother glanced sharply between the young woman and her son.

“Soo Ho has spoken of Gwan Jung Sook before?” his mother wondered aloud.

Soo Yeon nodded.  As did her father.

Her mother instantly appeared cross.  “And no one thought to include me?”

Soo Yeon grimaced.  She hadn’t meant to let Soo Ho’s secret out.  But she needn’t have worried; her mother had turned stern eyes on their father instead.

“Seub, what’s this about?”

“Um, dear, I will need to talk to you about that later.  Soo Ho and I must go attend to matters right now.”

“It’s all right, my lord,” Jung Sook intervened smoothly.  “I will apprise your wife of the details.”

He glanced at her with respect, bowed to her, and whisked his son out the door as Jung Sook turned towards her benefactor.

“Kind lady, do you happen to have something this child can eat?  We have not had dinner.”

“Oh, gracious!  Yes!  Please.  Have a seat!”  Lady Bit Na sent a servant to obtain a meal for her guests.  “And you require a bath?”  She turned her attention to Jung Sook.

What she required was a scouring agent to completely rid her body of that man’s foul touch.  And her mind too.  She shuddered as she suddenly wondered if he’d ever set such a hand upon his daughter.

“I’m all right,” she whispered as she stared down in concern at the little girl.

“My dear, what happened?” Lady Bit Na asked.

Jung Sook met and held her gaze for a moment before she turned her attention back to the child.  “Bo A, do you think you can eat a little?  Or is your stomach too upset?”

The girl just gazed up at her out of forlorn eyes.

“Soo Yeon,” Jung Sook addressed Soo Ho’s sister, “do you think that you could find something sweet to tempt Bo A?  And maybe take her on a tour of your bedchamber?  I’m sure you have all sorts of wonderful things to fascinate a young girl.”

Soo Yeon took the hint.  “Certainly.  Would you come with me, Bo A?  Would you like to see my doll collection?”

The child glanced up at her, a slight interest ruffling her brow.  “You have some pretty dollies?”

Soo Yeon bobbed her head.  “I do.  Lots of them!  Maybe…you could pick one out to take home with you,” she offered generously.

Her unexpected kindness drew a tear to Jung Sook’s eye as she glanced in surprise at the younger woman.  “Thank you, Soo Yeon, for such a wonderful offer!” she gasped.

Bo A parroted her in a tiny voice, “Yes, thank you.”  She stood up and glanced back at Jung Sook.

Her teacher gently explained her actions to the child.  “You can come join me again in a few minutes.  I just want to speak to Oppa Soo Ho’s mother about what happened tonight.  And you don’t need to hear it all again, now do you?”

Bo A shook her head and silently followed Soo Yeon out of the room.

Jung Sook glanced up at Lady Bit Na.  Who chose that moment to speak.

“I think you aren’t just any friend of my son, are you, my dear?” his mother asked perceptively.

She shook her head.  “And I think that you and your husband can’t possibly approve of your son’s interest in me.”

The woman’s face registered surprise at the girl’s candor.  “And why is that, my dear?”

“Because I am a merchant’s daughter.  And I was married to a trader.  I am not of noble stock.”

His mother frowned.  “That certainly does make your path a bit more…challenging.  But not impossible.” 

Lady Bit Na had seen the way that her son looked at this young lady.  She had also noticed an increased maturity in him of late.  And she suspected that it had something to do with this woman right here.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened tonight first?”

Jung Sook sighed.  “Well, to do it justice, I must first explain how Soo Ho and I met Bo A.” 

She regaled his mother with the whole tale from beginning to end.  Leaving out the parts which involved intimate scenes between her and Soo Ho.  But by the end of it, his mother was beaming with pride in her son.

“He really has become a man, hasn’t he?” she breathed in awe.  “I despaired of him ever growing up for so long.  I had hoped that becoming a hwarang would instill some character in him.  And I believe it did.  But you…you have made so much more of a difference in him, I think.”  She studied the girl carefully.

After a moment, Lady Bit Na continued, “I suppose it makes sense that he would have fallen in love with a widow.  After all the wild oats he sowed, it’s not too surprising.”

Of course, Jung Sook assumed that she meant that she’d welcomed him into her bed already.  And she couldn’t have the good woman believing such a scandalous lie. 

So she cleared the air primly, “I have not been intimate with your son, my lady.”

Dismay flooded Lady Bit Na’s face.  “Oh, my dear!  I didn’t mean that!  I didn’t think that!  Not for one moment! 

“You clearly have far more important things to do with your time than to entertain my son.  Taking on the care of a child…that shows the level of your maturity.  The fact that my son didn’t run in the other direction reveals his.” 

She perused Jung Sook’s countenance again.  “Has he asked you to marry him?”

“He has expressed the desire to marry me.  But I told him that it was quite impossible.”

“Why?” His mother’s eyebrows simultaneously ascended her forehead.

“Because I have not one drop of noble blood in my veins.  And he, of course, does.”

“But you are rich, are you not?  And silver speaks, you know.”

Jung Sook sighed. 

“What’s wrong?” the older lady asked kindly.

“That is far too complicated,” she murmured.

“How so?”

Jung Sook cringed as she anticipated telling his mother the truth.  “I did your son a great disservice, my lady.”

“What?” Lady Bit Na’s delicate brows created a deep ravine in their midst as she drew them towards her nose in concern.

“I am ashamed to admit that I…I lied to him.  I told him that I have no silver.”

Surprise flitted across the older lady’s countenance.  “Now, what prompted you to do that?”

Jung Sook sighed.  “Look at me, my lady.  And think of your gorgeous son.  Why on earth would he set his affections on a plain specimen like me?  Especially when he’s flirted with plenty of beautiful girls and been received well.  What enticement could possibly tempt him to court a plain-faced widow?”

Understanding dawned in Lady Bit Na’s eyes.  “You thought he only courted you because he thought you were wealthy.”

Jung Sook nodded.  “I did.  So I figured if I disabused him of that notion, then he…”

“…would leave you alone.”

“I thought that would be the easiest way to break things off.  But…he surprised me.”

“How so?”

“He kept showing up.  Every day.  To escort me to the school.  To make sure I was safe.”

“Wait.  I don’t understand.”

So Jung Sook told her the story of the first time Soo Ho had rescued her.  From the vagrant.

Lady Bit Na shook her head.  “My boy has it bad…for you.”

Jung Sook sighed.  “Yes, but I’ve made such a hash of it.  How will he ever forgive me for lying to him?”

“So…you haven’t told him yet that you’re wealthy?”

She shook her head.  “No, I was going to tell him tonight.  But then, well, the attack happened.  And I haven’t had a chance to clear the air with Soo Ho yet.”  She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers against her forehead.

“My dear, are you all right?” his kind mother queried.

“I just have a bit of a headache.”  And the wound in her chest was aggravating her.

“Oh!  My dear!  Your bath!  Now I understand why Soo Ho was so insistent.” 

His mother instantly issued orders to the nearest servant for a hot bath to be drawn for her guest.  Instructions were given for a certain set of rooms to be prepared for the teacher and her young charge.

“You are very kind,” Jung Sook sighed, “but I must find Bo A’s mother and tell her what happened.” 

“No, dear, that is the magistrate’s job.  Let him do it.”

A ball of tension suddenly formed in Jung Sook’s gut.  “How will she provide for all those children now?” she wailed in despair.

“That, my dear, is not your concern.  Nor is it your fault,” Lady Bit Na added gently.

“But it is!  If I hadn’t stepped in that day and insisted that I would take his daughter, he would still be alive.”

“And beating that tiny mite till nothing was left of her but dust.”

Jung Sook closed her eyes and frowned deeply.  But then an answer came to her.  “You’re right.  I am a wealthy woman.  I can see to it that Bo A and her family don’t suffer financially because of the loss of her father.”  Then she sighed brokenly.  “But her mother is likely to hate me now.  And Soo Ho too.”

“If she does, then she’s a fool who didn’t know her own husband.”

“Oh, I think she knew him well enough.  She was quite eager to leave her daughter with me.  Even though I could tell it broke her heart.”

“Then, let’s hope that when the dust settles, she’s a sensible woman who will be grateful for any assistance you offer her.”

“I don’t want to lose Bo A!  She is my very best pupil.  The girl has a bright future.  If she continues down the path which I’ve started her on.”

“My dear, let us not worry about all of this tonight.  Right now, you need a bath.  And some good food.” 

As Jung Sook opened her mouth to argue, Lady Bit Na cut her off, “No arguments out of you, young lady!  You must prove yourself modest and respectful if you expect to marry into my house.”

Shocked into silence, Jung Sook simply stared at her.  And allowed the woman to usher her to a private chamber.  Prepared just for her.  Almost like she was a queen. 

Or a nobleman’s daughter.