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“Ban Ryu!” Soo Yeon called out as she opened the door to his outer room. 

A moment later, her mother met her.  “Hush!  The man just fell asleep.”

“What?” Confused, her daughter stared at her.

“He suffered a fall while he was in the garden.  He popped one of his stitches, and the doctor had to fix it.  He bled a little.”

At the distressed look on her daughter’s face, Lady Bit Na rushed to reassure her.  “He’s all right.  The surgeon said that the wound is healing fine.  He just put a bit too much pressure on that spot when he fell.”

Soo Yeon burst into tears.  “It’s all my fault!  He fell because I left him alone.  Without a crutch.  I was supposed to be his crutch.”

Was she his crutch?  Was she holding him back from doing what would make him truly happy?

“Oh, fiddle!  He is a grown man.  And his leg is far enough healed that he can walk on it.  I think he just slipped on the wet ground.”

“Wet ground?”  Soo Yeon rushed into his bedroom and crossed to the window.  She stared out at the rain that was now soaking the ground.

She turned back towards her mother.  “But it wasn’t raining when we were outside.” 

She glanced at the man sleeping in the bed.  His hair was wet.

“He got drenched?” she asked, horrified.  “Was he shivering when he came in?”

She looked down at his outer robe.  The one she was still wearing.

“He must have been cold.  He gave me his robe….”

“He’s fine,” her mother insisted.  “He changed into dry clothes when he came inside.”

“He was drenched?!” Soo Yeon cried.

Her mother rolled her eyes.  “Why are you so overwrought?  Your brother has gotten wet often enough, and you’ve never worried for him.”

“He wasn’t recovering from a grievous wound at the time.  And it wasn’t my fault….”

“Your fault?” her mother queried, confused.

Soo Yeon bobbed her head and burst into tears.  “It’s all my fault.  He probably stayed outside to stew after I came in.  Then he got wet and slipped on the stones and busted his leg open and….”

Lady Bit Na sighed, wondered how she had produced such an emotional child, and pulled the girl into her arms.

“I promise you, Soo Yeon, he’s going to be just fine.  He is a strong young man.  Look at all he has already overcome.”

“But if I had just accepted him, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Accepted him?  What are you talking about?”

“He asked me to marry him.  In the garden.  A couple of hours ago.”

“He did?”  As understanding dawned, Lady Bit Na turned shocked eyes on her daughter.  “And you refused him?”

“Not exactly.”

“Well, what exactly happened then?”

“He told me that he was only marrying me because Appa insisted upon it.”

“That doesn’t sound quite right,” her mother reasoned.

“But what if it is right, Eomma?” that distressed girl asked.  “What if he only asked me because Appa insisted we should marry?”

“Why would your appa insist that he marry you?”

“Because you caught us kissing on his bed.”

“Ah.  I see.  But,” that fine lady furrowed her brow, “I thought you wanted to marry him.  And it is clear that he wants to marry you.”

“Is it?”

“Oh, you silly girl!  Yes!  Have you not seen the way that boy looks at you?  I’ve never even seen him smile at anyone else.  But when you’re near, he can’t wipe the grin off his face.”

“Truly?” Soo Yeon breathed.

“Truly,” her mother smiled at her before shaking her head.  “Really, Soo Yeon, sometimes you are the most ridiculous of girls.”  She turned to glance at Ban Ryu.  “That poor boy.  You broke his heart, and then he fell and busted his leg open.”

“I know,” whined Soo Yeon.

“I am fine!” that young gentleman suddenly burst out.  “A little rain isn’t going to kill me, Soo Yeon.  And, of course, I love you!  I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me elsewise.”

“Ban Ryu!  You’re awake!”  She flew across the room and sat down on the edge of his bed.

“Of course, I’m awake.  I’m not a two-year-old.  I’m not in the habit of napping all afternoon,” he replied, blatantly ignoring the last few weeks of his life.

“I am so sorry, Ban Ryu!” she exclaimed, gazing down at him with tears shining on her eyelashes.

He reached up and cupped her cheek with his hand, drawing the pad of his thumb through the moist tracks of her tears.

“What are you sorry for?” he murmured softly.

“I will marry you!  If you’ll still have me.”

“Well, I don’t know.  Are you going to abandon me every time I tell you that I love you?” he teased her stiffly.

Her eyes widened.  “Of course not!”

He nodded his head.  “And do you believe me when I say that I want to marry you because I want to marry you?  And not because your appa wants me to marry you?”

Her head bobbed up and down. 

He continued, “Now, won’t you admit that we’ve experienced a bit of a miracle?”

She glanced down at his mending thigh.  “Absolutely.”

“I’m not talking about my leg.”

Her eyes careened into his.  “What then?”

“I’m talking about your appa agreeing to our marriage.”

Her lips slowly spread into a wide smile.  “Oh.  That.”

“Yes.  That.  Because I might have survived a sword stick.  But it wouldn’t have mattered one whit if I couldn’t have had you.”

Her eyes filled with tears as she stared at him.  “Truly?” she breathed.

He nodded his head.  “I was contemplating a lonely existence for several sad days.  Before your appa agreed to our marriage.”

She pouted suddenly as her eyebrows became angry.  “That’s another thing, Ban Ryu!  What took you so long to propose to me?  Eomma caught us kissing weeks ago!  Why didn’t you ask me to marry you that very day?”

His lips quirked.  “Well, first of all, to propose to you that very day, I would have had to crawl on the floor.  You were already sound asleep in your yo bed when your appa confronted me.”

Her brow was still glowering at him.  “Then why didn’t you propose the next day?”

“Because I wanted to be able to get around on both of my feet alone before I asked you to marry me.  And it’s a good thing I waited too.  If you had deserted me in the garden back then, I’d have been stuck out in the rain for hours.”

She frowned at him.

He sighed.  “I was trying to be romantic.  I wanted to ask you outside.  In our garden.  Somewhere that meant something to both of us.”

“Oh,” she emitted in a tiny voice.  Properly chastened.

“Oh, indeed.”  A smile teased the corners of his lips as a caressing light left his gaze to touch her tenderly.

But she missed it.  She was studying her fingers gripping his bedsheet.

“I think, my dear, that we should seal our engagement with a kiss.  After all, this bed is where it all started,” he muttered jokingly.

Her eyes flew up to crash into his.  And the corners of her lips fought for supremacy.  She finally gave in to the smile attempting to light up her face.  And she leaned towards him.  In full view of her mother.

“Oh, dear!  I seem to have forgotten my embroidery!” that fine lady remarked as she turned towards the next room.  She disappeared a moment later.

And Soo Yeon continued to bend towards her beautiful beau.

His lips curved into a smile.  Right before hers claimed them.  In a very sweet kiss.  Indeed.