The Bride: A Sequel to Hwarang: The Saga of the Sooks Book #7

Chapter 18: Heartbroken

He spent the next afternoon helping Ae Ri again. And sending surreptitious glances towards Ni Na. Every once in a while, she'd catch one and smile secretly at him. After school, they walked Ae Ri home. Then Beom Sook traveled the remainder of the way home with Ni Na. He lingered with her over tea. In her front sitting room. Then he waited patiently while she changed before heading to her teacher's house with her. They walked the short distance in a companionable silence. Ni Na attempted to cover her nervousness. But he could feel it.

Finally, as they stood before the door to the Kims' residence, he whispered into her ear, "Relax. You're going to be just fine. You'll have a good time tonight. Kim Jung Sook loves you. And so will her family."

Honestly, he was the one who should be nervous. He hadn't seen a certain girl in so long...yet he was about to face her now. To find out if she was still as firmly rooted in his heart as he believed her to be. He drew a deep breath and knocked.

A moment later, a servant was ushering them into the house. And Beom Sook's eyes were on the lookout for a particular young lady. His attention momentarily distracted from the girl at his side.

As Ni Na entered Jung Sook's home with Beom Sook, they were instantly confronted by a room full of people. Her teacher jumped up and greeted them cheerfully.

"Good evening, Lord Lee Beom Sook! Choi Ni Na, how wonderful to see you!" Jung Sook glanced from her to the young lord and then back again, an expression of happy surprise on her face. With perhaps a question hiding in her eyes too. "May I introduce you to my husband, Soo Ho, my sister-in-law, Soo Yeon, and her husband, Ban Ryu?"

But before Ni Na could respond, for a long moment, she was distracted as she glanced at the handsome man standing beside her. And her breath instantly fled. As her heart seemed to crack in half. For Beom Sook was staring longingly at Soo Yeon. Perhaps no one else noticed. But Ni Na could read his expression like a well-marked piece of parchment. She simply did not like what she read upon it.

She inhaled sharply as she felt her heart continuing to fracture. She forced a smile upon her lips and turned towards the young woman to greet her kindly before recognizing the men. Soo Yeon appeared to be about the same age as herself. She was an adorable girl. Ni Na could instantly see how she had captured Beom Sook's heart.

Jung Sook smiled at them all and invited them into the dining room.

"Where is Eomma tonight?" Soo Yeon asked as she glanced around searching for Lady Bit Na.

"She went to visit Lady Han," Jung Sook responded cheerily.

Seated next to Lord Lee Beom Sook, Ni Na slid a surreptitious glance his way and caught him watching her teacher's pretty sister-in-law. And her heart tumbled to the floor once more.

––

After dinner, he escorted her home.

Just the two of them. As he had several times now.

And she determined to probe the pain suffocating her heart. She decided that it would be best to unveil the truth of his infatuation. And to clear the air between them. Better now than later.

"There is this...sorrow I've seen in your eyes. Tonight, it grew in strength.... I wish to...wipe it away," she admitted softly.

And his heart bent towards her.

He stared down at her.

"Beom Sook, more than anything I want...to be your friend. I want you to feel safe with me. To be able to tell me anything," she muttered quietly. "You were right. A solitary existence is...lonely. Not just for me. But for you too. And I have long wondered what pain darkened your eyes."

Though, tonight, she was fairly certain that she had finally disturbed the answer to that question.

"I have no wish to hurt you," he murmured softly.

"To hurt me?" she asked, startled.

He nodded. "I think that...it's no surprise to you that I am...courting you."

She stared deeply into his eyes. And swallowed. But she remained silent.

"And as such, a girl is likely to cherish hopes that her beau feels some special affinity for her."

She blinked but continued to gaze up at him with those gloriously guileless, midnight eyes.

"But how would she feel if she knew that the man who was considering marrying her...still felt a certain affection for another girl? A girl whose head he had never possessed the ability to turn his way."

It was just as she had suspected. Her broken heart splintered some more.

She could think of only one thing to say.

"I understand how you feel," she whispered softly.

He stared down at her in surprise. "You do?"

She nodded.

"You've been in love?" At her tender age? "And had your feelings go unrequited?"

She gazed at him as tears filled her eyes.

He was in love with another girl. Soo Yeon. A girl whom he could never have. Still, she held his heart. Which meant that Ni Na did not.

Though she intrigued him, he did not love her.

This truth was crushing her right now. He had confirmed her suspicions. Wiping away all her hopes with one sorrowful sentence.

She glanced away from him as she blinked. And those tears coursed down her cheeks.

"My dear girl!" he murmured, shocked. Despite her effort, he'd caught sight of one of those tears. "The pain must be quite fresh still, eh? What happened? Did he marry another girl?"

She shook her head but refused to look at him.

"He did not," he murmured. "Was he aware of your feelings?"

"I do not believe so," she muttered. "No."

"Is there – is there no hope of attaining his devotion then?" he queried sweetly.

But with an odd nervousness suddenly causing his heart to flutter a bit.

She looked up at him then. And delved the depths of those beautiful jade eyes. As those tearstains continued to elongate down her cheeks.

"No," she breathed brokenly. "I think not."

A wave of tenderness flowed across his face then. "Perhaps we can solace each other, eh?" he asked with a rueful smile tugging at his lips. He stopped walking and reached up to gently brush away those moist tracks with the tentative touch of his fingertips.

She stared dazedly at him. Her heart continuing to sink. "Perhaps," she mumbled.

But she knew that there was no comfort for her now. She was as lost as he.