The Mercenary: A Sequel to Hwarang: The Saga of the Sooks Book #2

Chapter 36: Not Fooling Around

Soo Yeon waved goodbye to her father as he slipped outside. On his way to a council meeting. She sighed in relief. She waited five minutes before opening the door to her home. And smiled broadly up at Ban Ryu.

"Hi," she whispered sheepishly as she led the eager, young man into her home.

He grinned down at her. "Hi," he murmured before she led him into a sitting room and shut the door.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked apprehensively. "If your father catches me with you..."

She sighed. "I know. But I miss you so much! I had to see you."

Ban Ryu's father, Ho Gong, had fallen out of favor since Minister Park had been arrested. Ho Gong had been part of the traitor's inner circle, and the king's men were keeping a close eye on all his movements. His title, lands, and wealth had all been stripped from him by the crown. So the other members of the council had distanced themselves from Ban Ryu's father.

Soo Yeon's father had always been faithful to the queen dowager and her hidden son. He fully supported the reign of King Jin Heung and despised the conspiracy to overthrow the true king. Her father had lost all respect for Ho Gong. And he figured that the traitor's son didn't lean too far in the right direction either. Hence, he had no liking for the boy whom Soo Yeon had come to love.

Ban Ryu gazed down at her longingly. He had never been very good at hiding his true feelings from her. His face was usually a study in impassivity. Especially around his elders. Or when he was surrounded by his peers. But his stony mask always seemed to slip when Soo Yeon gazed up into his eyes.

The sweetness in her heart was forever communicating itself through her countenance. And he had discovered that he had no ready defense against it. He had found himself softening around her ever since she'd accidentally touched him inappropriately. In an attempt to wreak vengeance on her brother. Who was constantly teasing her mercilessly.

She had mistaken the silent Ban Ryu for her older brother that fateful day. Instead of punishing Soo Ho, the object of her pique, she had embarrassed the quiet, sensitive boy whom her brother had then considered to be his mortal enemy. The two men had since reached an accord with each other, and in the meantime, she had fallen in love with the guarded Ban Ryu.

Under her gentle influence, he had chosen a different path than he might have had he been left to his own devices. Despite the pressure from his father to wreak havoc as a hwarang and spoil the old queen's plans, thereby endangering the boy king, Ban Ryu had eventually followed the righteous path. Refusing to do Minister Park's bidding in the end. When it was time for the hwarang to surround Jin Heung.

But Ban Ryu's road to redemption had been a bumpy one. He had faltered on several occasions, terrified to be found lacking by both his father and the powerful, cruel Minister Park. Though Ban Ryu had failed to carry out their instructions to destroy the instruments and thereby make the hwarang's performance an utter failure, he had caved to their pressure and slipped a secret note to the crown prince of Baekje. A missive that had eventually endangered both Ah Ro and his friends. Ban Ryu had alerted the evil prince to the fact that the then faceless king had been amongst their ranks.

After barely escaping with their lives and watching several innocent citizens of Silla mowed down by the merciless prince, Ban Ryu had found it easier to choose sides. Soo Yeon's sweet fidelity to him had weighed in that balance too. Desiring to be faithful to his fellow hwarang as well as to the young woman who had turned her affection upon him in such sweetness, Ban Ryu had eventually made a move to support the true king. Soo Yeon, a tender girl with a wide heart, had made the conflicted young man want to be a better person. He had despised breaking her heart and had sought a way to become a man of whom she could be proud. The day that he – along with all the other hwarang – had backed Jin Heung, Ban Ryu had solidified the young woman's devotion to him.