The Kinsman: A Sequel to Hwarang: The Saga of the Sooks Book #5

Chapter 27: Convinced

She lay for several long minutes, her eyes closed, recalling the tender touch of his fingertips on her bruised skin in the middle of the night. She dredged up every beautiful memory that she could. And found herself yearning for that sweet touch again.

She indulged in a good cry while she lay alone in that bed. Something which she had seldom done. But Dan Se had begun to thaw her frozen heart. And she couldn't seem to find the numbness anymore. Her entire heart felt simply...raw.

She was so tempted to go crawl into his bed with him this morning. What would he do if he found her there when he awoke?

Likely, he would ignore her and leave the room, returning to this one to dress for the day.

Her heart was broken.

She had married a good man. And briefly – crazily – believed that she'd been tied to a monster instead. How could she ever admit the truth to him?

If he knew why she'd fled from him, he would most likely – fairly – think her insane. To believe such a horrible thing – yet again – about him.

As she lay despairing, a knock sounded on her outer door.

"Who is it?" she called.

"Jung Sook," came her friend's sweet voice.

Instantly, Mi Sook's heart lifted. "Come in!" she exclaimed in excitement.

At least, she had one friend. Jung Sook hadn't left her alone.

She watched as her door opened, and Soo Ho's wife appeared. Smiling. But the instant that she saw the tearstains bleeding down her friend's face, her brow crumpled, and she flew across the room. Flinging the door back into its place as she moved forward.

"My dear! What ever is wrong?" Jung Sook came to perch on the edge of the forlorn girl's bed.

"I have royally messed things up with Dan Se. And I have no idea how to fix them!"

"What do you mean? What happened last night?"

"I did just what you told me to do. I crawled into his bed last night." She frowned. "Wait a minute. How did you know that I was in this room?"

"I didn't. I knocked on the other door, and Dan Se answered it. He told me you were in this room."

"He's awake?" How long had she been weeping in her new bed?

"So," her friend brought her back to her story, "you crawled into his bed last night...." Jung Sook furrowed her brow. "But clearly, he was not in it with you this morning since I discovered him in your old room. So, what happened?"

"I don't know. He joined me last night. I know this because I awoke in pain, and his gentle voice greeted me. I asked him to put the cream you brought on my back. And he did."

Jung Sook watched as her new friend's cheeks turned rosy and quickly ascertained that the woman was quite smitten with her husband. "What happened then?"

"I don't know," Mi Sook mourned. "I fell asleep, and when I awoke, he was gone. I found him sleeping in my old bed this morning."

Jung Sook quirked a dark eyebrow. "Did you join him?"

"What?" Mi Sook glanced up at her friend in surprise. "Of course not! He clearly didn't want to sleep with me!"

"Hmm. I wonder...I don't think that's it. He found you in his bed, realized you were in pain, ministered to your back, and went to sleep in the other room. I think he was worried that he would hurt you in his sleep."