.sixty seven.

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"You're wrong if you think Eun would ever hurt me. Please let me go."  

-

The princess was not at all happy to have been rejected by the tenth prince and asked to leave his house. Though she was the princess of a fallen kingdom, it tore at her pride to have a prince of Goryeo prefer the daughter of some general over her. She felt that she was much more important and of a higher rank. She thought things would go differently--that he would quickly accept her into his life, and into his bed no less because all men were weak like that. But this prince wasn't. He was loyal to his wife and that made it a challenge for Jangmi. 

She returned to the king's throne room in the palace with her arms crossed over her chest and her lip jutted out in distaste for what had just happened to her. A princess rejected by a prince. She had never been rejected in such a way.

The king had been talking with a court lady animatedly when the princess stormed in. The king stopped what he was doing and his smile dropped at the sight of her. He could clearly tell that the princess was returning to him with bad news. The court lady excused herself with a bow of her head and left the room, leaving the two there alone. The moment she was gone, the princess threw a tantrum like a whiny child. "Your son desires not a second wife. I only went to his house to humiliate myself." She glared at the monarch who was at that moment at his most vulnerable. There were no guards around, as they had trusted the court lady to be alone with him. They were now standing outside the door awaiting instructions.

Jangmi thought it would be easier. She thought the tenth prince would easily give in to her advances. But she had been wrong--she and the king both.

"That's why I sent you." The king explained calmly, practically rolling his eyes at her. He thought she would be smarter than this and not give up so easily after the first try. "They say your beauty was unmatched in all of Baekje, even more than your mother and sisters. I thought surely you could do something to convince him. He's just a boy after all, and boys more often think with the head in their trousers than the one on their shoulders." With a nonchalant sigh, he gave a shrug of his shoulders. "If the job is too much for you to handle, I can call forth one of your sisters. Perhaps they can sway my Eun."

The princess quickly shook her head. "I can do it. I just need more time. Your son will take me as his wife."

"Very well." The king nodded, and she was dismissed.

It wasn't after several days that Jangmi returned to Eun's home. The tenth prince was in the garden, playing with some wooden toys that Ji Mong had brought over for the twins to play with. Eun had Eunbi sat on his lap while Soohyun played with another toy nearby. Minji was inside the house feeding Jinki. Often times, Eun tried to get her to join them outside. She was allowed one hour out of bed rest to soak up some rays of sun. But Jinki wasn't allowed to leave the house yet because of his fragile state. Even the slightest breeze could make him fatally ill.

As long as Jinki wasn't allowed to leave the house, Minji didn't want to leave it either. She didn't want to leave their child all alone while they all had fun as a family outside without him. It was cruel and unfair. Eun continued to resent their youngest son for it--because he was taking all of Minji's attention and keeping it for himself. 

On this particular day, Han and Soon Deok were joining the three with their first child. As the princess approached them, their happiness and conversations ceased. Jangmi was momentarily jealous of them and their happiness. Young royalty without a care in the world, while she had to sell herself out to the enemy's king to keep her people safe. How lucky it was to be them. They didn't have to worry about where they would sleep that night, or whether or not they would eat. They were perfectly safe within the four grand walls of their estate and had probably never seen the horrors of war.

Eun quickly appeared irritated to see her, and the other two looked confused. They didn't recognize her, and they didn't know why he was reacting that way to her. Looking to his younger brother, and his sister in law, he asked of them, "Would you please take the twins for a walk around the property? I have to deal with this person. But I won't be long."

He didn't offer more of an explanation to them, but they both nodded and got on their feet. Soon Deok cradled her daughter securely in her arms while Han got back on his feet and rushed towards the twins, scooping them up in strong arms. The twins giggled. They were still so young and they adored their aunt and uncle. Their father and uncle resembled each other so much that the twins often made the mistake of calling their uncle Han appa. Han didn't really mind because he knew they would eventually grow out of it once they learned to tell the difference.

The couple walked away with the children and Eun got on his feet, dusting the grass off his gown. 

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not interested?" He asked her with irritation dripping off his words. He would need to talk to the guards later about their continuing to let the princess into his home without his permission. But no doubt, they were doing it with permission from the king.

"I will not give up so easily." She stated firmly.

Inside the house, Minji had been breast feeding Jinki when she heard the commotion. A nurse was there to help her and the general's daughter handed the baby off to her to go out and investigate. 

As she reached the entrance of the house, she arrived just as another person was speaking. It was the voice of a woman--the very same that had been at their house days prior. "Why don't you want me? Am I not pretty enough?" There was so much desperation in her voice for him to take her that it was evident.

Eun sighed, more lately thinking over things before saying them. He used to say things and act on impulse. Nowadays he watched what he said in order to spare the feelings of others. "Its not that I don't think you're pretty. You are." The moment she heard that, Minji felt her heart break, and she turned and hurried back into the house with tears stinging her eyes. She thought that surely now he had been convinced and would take that other woman as his wife. She didn't stay long enough to hear the rest of what Eun told the princess. "But I only have enough room in my heart for one person, and that's my wife."

"You don't understand." The princess now practically begged. "If I don't marry you, my people will continue to be slaves of this kingdom."

The tenth prince felt bad for her. But he didn't want another wife and he wouldn't marry her because he only wanted Minji. "My brother Jung is available if you'd like to give it a try with him." He made her an offer as more of a consolation prize.

-

Minji needed to clear her mind and left the house through the back exits. She was still wewak and tired, but she painstakingly made it by memory to the waterfall that she used to go to with Jung. It was a quiet place where no one would bother her because not a lot of people knew how to get there.

She sat atop the boulder that overlooked the water with tears running down her face. By this time, the king was probably announcing the engagement to the entire kingdom. Eun would have a new wife. Someone who could see, someone who was healthy, someone who could give him healthy heirs for the kingdom. He wouldn't need Minji anymore and she would become a burden in his life. She was there crying by herself when she heard soft footsteps coming her direction. 

They weren't quiet ones, which made her think that it was someone she knew. Probably Eun, or her sister, who had seen her leave the property. That was one of the things she most hated about not being able to see. She could hardly get away with anything because people could always see her but she couldn't see them. 

The person stopped right behind her and she fathomed the thought that it was no one from back at her house because she had learned how to tell everyone's footsteps apart from the others. These were footsteps that sounded different--heavier. Kind of like Han's, but still a bit different. Definitely a soldier. 

That was when her heart stopped.

Jung.

"Hak Soon..." Her name rolled off his tongue like something sacred.

She froze in place, but her mind was a jumble of thoughts. The most prominent told her to jump off that boulder and run away, to run back to the safety of her house. She was with Eun now, and she loved him, that much she knew. But she still had so many fond memories of Jung, of their love story that never got to be. She had wanted so badly to be his wife, to be the mother of his children. They were two teenagers promised to each other, yet she had been married off to another just because he was older and got to choose his bride first.

"I have to go." She said just as she turned quickly and jumped off the boulder. The sudden movement had been enough to make her dizzy and stumble forward.

He reached out to catch her in his arms and immediately frowned. 

"You're much lighter than I remember." He commented, feeling her weight under his arms. It had been a while since he last held her, but he did remember being not as skinny as she was now. "What is he doing to you?" He asked her, words seeping with what she could only describe as hate towards his brother. And it broke her heart the way she was tearing them apart because she felt like it was all her fault. She was the only thing standing in between them.

Minji gave a quick shake of her head. "I'm fine. Please unhand me. I have to go back to my husband."

"You know you can tell me if he hurts you." He urged her to speak. But there was nothing to say. Her current state of health had nothing to do with Eun. Or it did, but not in the way that Jung thought. It was all due to the pregnancy. "There's nothing to be afraid of." There was still so much hurt, but also so much love in his words. He wanted his suspicions to be true so that he could save Minji from the supposed hell he thought she was living.

She gave another shake of her head, trying to reassure him. "You're wrong if you think Eun would ever hurt me. Please let me go."

Minji weakly pulled away from his hold, which he only let her do because he didn't want to hold her there by force. The sane part of his mind screamed at him that she was no longer interested in saving their love. She no longer loved him because she had slowly but surely fallen in love with Eun. It was unfair, but it was the way things happened. Jung had finally lost her and there was nothing he could do about it.

He watched her stumble away from him, wanting so badly to chase after her. But he knew the consequences would be fatal if anyone saw them together. 

-

a quick update before i go to sleep because i have a really bad cold. i hope you all like the story so far. minji thinks that she heard eun accepting the princess' marriage proposal. misunderstandings always happen this way.

anyway, question of the day: should i make jung marry this princess? jung has been crying over minji far too long. he needs some love too.

-clary