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“So…what’s the problem?” Soo Ho asked Jung Sook a moment later as he caught up to her again.

She glanced up at him in confusion.  “Problem?”

“That you need to solve.”

“Oh,” she blew out a long puff of air.  Then she turned her gaze towards the horizon.  “The sunrise is beautiful this morning.”

“That doesn’t sound like a problem.”

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards.  “No, it’s not.  But, really, look!” 

She pointed at the sky now bathed in rosy light as a burning ball of orange slid above the boundary line of the earth.

“It is truly beautiful,” he responded heavily. 

But he wasn’t looking at the sun.  He was gazing at the radiant glow that was illuminating her face as she stared at that magnificent sphere.  It was reflecting its glory off of her countenance.

He’d been watching her for more than two months now.  Every day he found that countenance a little more compelling.  Once a rather plain face, it now seemed to grow in beauty.  And character.  His eye was drawn towards the tiny lines that framed her mouth when she smiled.  Before sliding upwards to enjoy the light glowing from her eyes.  Those eyes turned his way a moment later, and he caught his breath.  Though he wasn’t sure why.

Two tiny valleys suddenly appeared between those intriguing eyes as she puckered her lips before remarking, “You weren’t even looking at the sunrise, were you?”

He cleared his throat as his eyes slid towards the now roseate dome of the earth.  He unleashed his prepossessing grin on that newborn glory before turning back towards her.  His beauty washed over her momentarily before she set her eyes firmly on the road and plodded onward. 

She couldn’t afford to notice how handsome he was.  He could, after all, have any girl that he wanted.  He’d already proven that.  Many times. 

Of course, there was one exception to that rule. 

Her. 

She wasn’t about to cave to the wonders of that beguiling smile.

He fell in beside her again and tilted his head to the side as he studied her.

“So…are you going to tell me?”

Frustrated, she glanced his way.  “Tell you what?”

“What your problem is?”

She released a deep sigh.  “If I do, you cannot speak of it to anyone else.  It involves two of my students, and as such, must be kept private.”

He stopped walking and saluted her as his face was suddenly shrouded in sobriety.  “I give you my solemn oath, milady, that I will not speak of it to another soul.”

She scrutinized his open countenance for a moment.  “You’ve had a fairly easy life, haven’t you?  Gotten your way?  Not rubbed up against too many obstacles?”

Startled by her question, he glanced sharply at her.  “No.  Of late, I’ve met plenty of obstacles!”

He laughed as he thought of all the trouble into which he’d fallen as a hwarang – and of the fight that had landed him among the hwarang to begin with.  But then, as he reflected on the rest of his life, he realized that she was right. 

“I guess, up until a few months ago, you could have said that I’d rarely been challenged.”  He grimaced.  “Except by Ban Ryu.  But I suppose that doesn’t count.  Because you’re talking about true hardship, aren’t you?”

She nodded.

He sighed.  “I guess, compared to some other folks, I haven’t suffered much.  As a hwarang, I’ve endured a lot, but outside of that training ground, my life has been pretty easy.”  He studied her for a moment as they continued walking.  “What about you?  It sounds like your life has been pretty hard.”

“I would say that it’s the reverse of yours.  Replete with difficulties until several months ago.  The last year has easily been the best period of my life.”

“I’m glad.”  His easy smile reappeared.  “I’m glad you’re content now.”

He surprised a shocked, “You are?” out of her.

He nodded.

“But…why?  I mean why would you care?” she asked as she turned her head to look at him.

“I don’t know,” he murmured truthfully as his eyes held hers.

She felt her heart give a tiny flutter and instantly berated it.  Steering her gaze back towards the road and picking up her pace.  “Come along.  I’m going to be late if I stop to chat anymore.”

“You still haven’t told me what the problem is.  And I did solemnly swear to keep your secret,” he uttered cheerfully.

She heaved another sigh.  This boy was so persistent.  But she wasn’t used to sharing her troubles with anyone.  “It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course, it does.  Come now.  Talk to me.  It’ll be good for you.  It’s no good to carry your burdens alone.  You must share them.”

She peered up at him.  “Is that what you do?”

He shrugged.  “I guess.  I don’t really have any troubles.”

She blinked.  “Two of the girls hate each other.  They’re always picking fights with one another.  And the class has split into two factions.  For and against these two girls.  Yesterday, they caused a huge ruckus, and half the afternoon was wasted on my attempts to make them get along.”

He grinned widely suddenly.

“You think this is funny?” she asked crossly.

He nodded his head strongly.  “It is.  Because I used to be one of those girls, and Ban Ryu was the other.”

“Excuse me?”  Puzzled, she furrowed her brow as she gazed up at him.  Completely lost.  She was pretty sure that he’d never been a girl.

“My best friend and I used to hate each other.  And we divided our friends between us.  We were like two separate tribes.  Always fighting with each other.  I’d get him in trouble, and he’d get me in trouble.  He’d irritate me, and I would irritate him.  And we dragged all our friends into our disagreement.  But, you know, it really started with our fathers.  Mine was for the queen dowager and her son.  And his was against them.  So, I think that we divided along family lines.”

“But he’s your best friend now?” she asked a little incredulously.

“He is,” he grinned fabulously.  “He’s even in love with my sister now…as she is with him.”

“What?” she gasped.  “But…how did you make peace with him?”

“Ha.  I didn’t make anything.  We were forced to room together when we joined the hwarang.”

“Ah.” 

She furrowed her brow.  Adorably.  And he noticed.

“But I don’t understand.  How did becoming roommates solve your problem?”

“It didn’t.  But we kept getting thrown together.  And assigned projects to do together.  Actually, it was a whole series of complicated events through which we got to know each other better.  And I began to understand him and his struggles.”  He glanced at her.  “Talk about someone who has had a hard life!  I think that Ban Ryu was bullied by the men in his life from the time he was little.” 

Soo Ho noticed that she suddenly paled considerably.  He stopped.  “Are you all right?”  Again, he reached out to touch her arm.

And she flinched.  And drew away from him.

He glanced down at the arm that he’d just brushed briefly.  “Is there something wrong with your arm?” he queried abruptly.

“What?” she asked faintly.  Her heart was thundering now.  “No.  I’m fine.”  She marched away.  Again, towards the school.

And he followed her.

He stared at her curiously for several silent seconds.

“So…what are you suggesting?” she asked finally.

“Make them work on a project together.”

“That sounds like a recipe for disaster.”

“Do you know anything about their families?  Are they divided along political lines?”

“Hmm.  I don’t think so.  Apparently, they once both loved the same boy.”  She wasn’t about to tell him that he was that boy.

His countenance suddenly skewed to the right as he dropped that side of his mouth in dismay.  “Yikes.  That’s why they hate each other?”

She nodded.  “I think so.  That’s as much as I’ve been able to discern anyway.”

“Are either of them with this boy now?”

She shook her head.  “No.  He rejected them both.  Eventually.  But, for some reason, they still hate each other.”

“They probably both think that if the other girl hadn’t caught his notice, then they’d still be with him.  Completely untrue, of course.  If neither of them had the wherewithal to keep his attention, that’s her own fault.”

She glanced sharply at him.  “I rather think that keeping this particular gentleman’s attention is impossible.”

His eyebrows shot up.  “Wow, that’s a scathing assessment.  I don’t envy this man.”

She snorted.  She couldn’t help it.  They were discussing his own self, but he was completely clueless.

He gazed down at her curiously.  “What’s so funny?”

“Um.  Nothing.  Come along.  I’m going to be late.”  She hurried forward. 

“Are you going to assign them a project to work on together?” he asked as they walked briskly towards the building.

“I don’t know.  But I will take your suggestions under advisement.  Thank you,” she nodded primly at him.

A moment later, she was opening the door to her building.  She turned towards him.  “Thank you for acting as my bodyguard today,” she spoke graciously.  Then generously.  “The queen was very blessed.”

Her kind words rocked his world.  Dazed by such unexpected sweetness, he gaped down at her.  “If only I had been her bodyguard ten years ago, I might have discovered and stopped the poisoning,” he mumbled sadly.

She furrowed her brow.  “Soo Ho, that’s ridiculous!  You would have been a boy of eight years then!”

He sighed.  “I know.  I just…”

“Shouldn’t waste your time regretting something that had nothing to do with you.  At least, you discovered the truth.  That is something.”

“Too little, too late.”

She gazed sympathetically up at him for a moment.  “You did something to stop it, didn’t you?” she asked abruptly as enlightenment dawned.

He nodded.  “I slapped the cup out of her hand.  But it didn’t do any good.  I was too late.”

Jung Sook felt herself softening towards him.  Did he hide a tender heart underneath that careless manner of his?

“At least, you cared,” she whispered.  That was more than any man had ever given her.

His eyes met hers.  And that look held for several long seconds.  Finally, she dragged her gaze away from his to glance at his feet.

“I suppose you’re going to meet me tomorrow morning too?”

He nodded.  “In front of the wall.”

She bobbed her head.  She had only a short walk to accomplish before she arrived at the hwarang complex.  “I’ll see you then,” she whispered, hardly believing herself.

He grinned widely as she shut the door behind her after crossing the threshold into the school.  Somehow, he had made an inroad into the heart of this frosty girl.

He was well on his way now, wasn’t he?

To friendship, at least.