.fifty two.

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  "When were you planning to let your family know that you and your wife are expecting a baby?"  

-

The family had been gathered at their house and spent most of the day with them. They all had dinner together and made conversation until the sun went down. When they left, Eun and Minji retired to their bedroom together and the servants cleaned up what was left of their reunion with everyone. The two got into bed together after the servants helped them into their sleeping robes and immediately Eun took her into his arms. Now that the excitement of it all had sunk in for him, he had so many questions for her about their baby that was on the way.

He started by telling her another little story of his childhood. It seemed that most things he knew about life were simplified versions told to him by his mother when he was just a little boy. Of course she couldn't really tell him how babies were really made and what happened once a baby was already on the way. With his arms around her, he started speaking slowly, his voice so gentle and like music to her ears. Minji swore that his voice was so smooth just like melted chocolate, and when he spoke, his voice did things that gave her a fuzzy feeling in her stomach. "Eomma used to say that when two people make a baby, a stork delivers it in nine months. I hope it can find our house. What if it drops it off with Han and Soon Deok?" 

It was all he had ever known since he'd never seen a pregnant woman before. 

His mother had Han a year after she had Eun, and Eun didn't meet his other brothers until he was four years old. By that time Jung and Baek-ah, who were the youngest, were already born. His brothers who had wives never brought them to the palace with them and he had never seen a woman pregnant because of that. He thought that in nine months a baby would just be dropped at their door step and that would be that.

Minji brought a hand to her face to stifle a giggle at his words. He was so full of innocence and had lived his entire life protected in some sort of bubble. Sometimes she felt that by making a baby with him she was taking away his innocence. Although, he didn't seem to have opposed at all. He had been very cooperative with her on their first night together despite being very nervous with shaking and sweaty hands. She could hear how labored his breathing was and she had asked him several times if he was okay, or if he needed some air.

"Oh, love." She started with a sigh. It had been two months since she had last felt this happy and this comfortable. Two months since they had talked and everything seemed like the time hadn't passed them. Like this was right after their first night together and they were in each other's arms. "You're such a pure little boy that sometimes I can't help but feel that I'm older than you."

But again, she understood because he was a prince who had lived his whole life pampered and sheltered from the outside world. 

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as the question made its way out of his lips. "What is so funny, jagi?" He jutted out his lower lip into a pout.

"I promise I'm not laughing at you, love. I just think its sweet that you have all these stories about how things work. Your mother was just trying to protect you from information that is for adults only." She explained to him, controlling her light little laughs because she didn't want to make him feel like she was making a mockery of him. That was far from the truth.

"I figured." He confessed to her. "When she told me about making kids, she never said I'd have to use my--"

Minji brought her index finger to her lips. "Okay love." She half-shouted.

It was only the two of them in the room, but she still felt a bit embarrassed talking about things like that with him. Eun, on the other hand, seemed to have no filter when speaking of those things. He was so innocent that he didn't seem to know that a subject like that was taboo to talk about. 

"Anyway," She pulled her finger off his lips as she thought up the words to explain the growth of a baby in her womb. She wanted to say it in words he could understand best. "When two people want to have kids...let's think about it like this. It's a lot like planting a seed. When you finished, you planted your seed inside me. That seed is going to take nine months to grow and then we'll have our baby with us." She touched her baby bulge that was not visible yet, as it had only been two months. At that moment, their unborn child was probably merely the size of a bean.

He placed a hand over hers in awe. "So there's a baby in here?"

Minji nodded her head slowly.

"And..." He was so much in awe that he could barely think of the right words to speak. "We made him?"

Minji nodded her head once more to confirm what he said. She didn't like using gender defying words, especially when they didn't know if it was a boy or a girl yet. But she also didn't want to call her baby it, as she felt like that was dehumanizing her unborn child. Instead, she decided to settle by calling her baby he or him. She would find out the gender until it was born in nine months anyway. "We made him. He's ours, love."

-

As the days went by, no one at the palace gave any signs of knowing about Eun and Minji being expecting parents. But they all knew by now, and the King had invited his tenth son to a party he was to have at the palace. It was a party where everyone would sit around at the table and recite lines from a famous poem and have drinks. The jist of the game included each person saying one stanza, and then they would pick another person to continue. If the other person could not continue with the poem, they would take an extra drink as punishment. 

Eun and Minji walked side by side, linked arms, but Eun pouting and complaining the whole way there. "Why do we have to come to this dumb party?" He whined a question at her. "We both don't want to be here, and they don't want us here anyway."

Minji spoke softly, trying to reason with him. "The King has invited us into his home and he is your father. You shouldn't decline his invitation."

But still, the tenth prince wasn't convinced about going and sitting at a table with people who didn't like his wife. The only reason why he was cooperating now was because she had practically begged him to, and still his cooperation was limited. He had warned her that he wouldn't talk to anyone and that he wouldn't have fun. He would just sit there by her side, sulking the entire time. 

"Walk a little bit faster, love." She tried to rush him, picking up the pace herself as she felt like they were already late. Her lips curled up into a small smile as she thought of an idea to convince him. "If you promise to behave and cooperate, I'll treat you to that very special thing that you love so much when we get back home." 

Her words seemed to catch his full attention in a second. He side eyed her with suspicion. "Really?"

She gave a nod of her head. "Only if you're good today, otherwise none of that tonight."

Minji didn't want to use that in order to manipulate her husband, but it was for the greater good. She just wanted to make sure that he would behave and not pick any fights with his brothers because she knew the king would find her to blame as always. Minji just didn't want any problems with his family. 

Eun heaved a sigh. "Okay, I promise, jagi."

Just as they were walking down one of the palace hallways, Eun stopped in his tracks, Minji stopping by his side when he saw Hajin. The tenth prince had long since forgotten about his innocent little crush on the servant who had once been a noble. Hajin bowed in a greeting for both of them, and her eyes landed on her friend with sadness. She had heard from Jung what happened to her on the night before she married the tenth prince and she felt like it had been horrible and unfair. But Minji seemed to be happy with her husband at least.

Looking both ways so that no one might see her, she quickly pulled her friend in for a hug. "Its been far too long, Minji." She said, and Eun made a face at the name she had called her. Minji. Both Minji and Hajin insisted that her name was Minji and not Park Hak Soon as everyone there knew her. By now, Minji didn't fight it anymore and let people call her Hak Soon. The same went for Hajin who let people call her Hae Soo. 

Minji wrapped her arms around her friend slowly. "It has. I have missed you terribly."

"Is his majesty treating you well?" She wondered when the two girls pulled away, looking towards the tenth prince for a fraction of a second before returning her gaze towards her friend.

Minji nodded her head, her words full of honesty. "He treats me like a queen."

Her husband agreed with a nod of her head, announcing proudly. "I will never be king, but she truly is my queen."

Hajin smiled at that. "I am glad." Before any of them could say anything more, she started to excuse herself. "I have to get going. The others are waiting for me because we have to start serving the food any moment now. I hope to be seeing you again soon, my friend."

With that, she turned to walk away.

Eun led Minji towards where everyone was sitting at the table and all their eyes were on them as they entered. There were two seats empty, and they were in between Yeon Hwa and Baek-ah. Minji sat next to the princess, while Eun sat next to his brother. She could feel the glares of what she assumed were Yo, Won, Queen Yoo, and the king. 

But she sat there quietly until Yeon Hwa leaned over and whispered to her. "I'm so sorry about your eyes." She said sadly, biting her lip. Her apology sounded genuine, as she had always considered the real Park Hak Soon to be a friend. Again, Minji wondered what kind of person the real Hak Soon was if she had a friend like Princess Yeon Hwa. But maybe it depended on the person. Yeon Hwa seemed to really care for the general's daughter and she treated her well. It was people she didn't like that she treated badly. "I really didn't know his majesty would punish you so severely. But I just didn't want you to go. It would have been a huge mistake. Jung doesn't know how to take care of himself, much less another person."

Having overheard her apology, Eun shot his sister a glare and spoke with a sharp tongue. If there was one person other than Jung that he blamed for Minji's misfortune, it was Yeon Hwa because she had brought the palace guards them and informed the king that Jung and Minji had supposed plans to run away. "This all happened because you opened your mouth."

Yeon Hwa dropped her gaze, but said nothing back.

"Love." Minji placed her hand over his knee.

Their drinking game continued until the king halted it, asking a question that had taken the young couple by surprise. "So Eun-ah..." He looked to one of his youngest sons. Minji felt her husband tense by her side at the mention of his name. "When were you planning to let your family know that you and your wife are expecting a baby?"

At that moment Minji felt her heart drop and she wanted nothing more than to run out of there.

-

so now we have a bit of a scene like we saw in the moon lovers drama, except it was altered. in the drama, eun ends up getting frustrated with soon deok and turning around and heading back home.

but here, he actually attends their little party.

also, i want to point out that yeon hwa actually cares about hak soon and truly considers her a friend. even bad people can have friends and people that they care about. but minji isn't too fond of the princess. some of you had mentioned before that she probably had ulterior motives for trying so hard to befriend her.

there are none. she simply just cares about her and considers her a friend.

so qotd: should eun and minji bounce and leave the party? what should eun tell his family as to why he didn't tell them sooner? should we see some sassy eun moments with his family, defending minji? do you all still have name suggestions?

-clary