.fifty.

Minji spent the entire day after searching for her husband and Han and Soon Deok's house in the living room of her house. She could hear the servants as they came and went, checking on her every so often and offering her something to eat or some tea. But she declined every single time. She was too worried about her husband to even think about eating. The entire day went by and she rested her elbows on the coffee table, propping her head up on her hands. She was already beginning to drift off to sleep when she heard the front door open and footsteps that sounded all too familiar to her.

She knew it wasn't the servants because they had long since excused themselves for the night. And she immediately knew it was him because she had learned to tell by the pattern of his steps when her husband was approaching. 

She pushed herself up to sitting and turned her head towards the door excitedly. She could not see him, but she knew he was there. Eun took one silent look at her and walked right past, heading in the direction of the guest bedroom. He still wasn't prepared to talk to her and he needed some time alone, meanwhile she probably wanted to go back to acting like everything was normal between them. Minji felt her heart drop into her stomach as she heard his hurried footsteps get fainter as he walked away without even acknowledging her. 

"Eun..." Her voice called sadly.

But he said nothing, only continued walking until he entered the guest room and shut the door. He had spent the entire day after his altercation with Jung at the lake, contemplating his relationship with Park Hak Soon. He didn't understand what he was doing wrong. Sometimes he felt like she did indeed love him, but then she'd come at him with statements like that. That she was still in love with Jung and that she only loved him as a friend.

Minji wanted to go to his bedroom and beg for him to talk to her. But she also thought she should give him some space, and that was what she did. She would give him the space he needed until he felt ready to come and talk to her.

His indifference towards her lasted close to two months before his resolve finally faltered. In all that time the two teenagers lived in the same house without speaking to each other, and with Eun avoiding Minji all day. He was at an advantage, since he could see and he just turned around and walked the other way when he saw her coming. There were many times where he wanted to talk to her, when he wanted to kiss her, but he told himself that it was pointless to carry on a relationship where only one person was giving everything. Only one person was in love.

It had been a usual morning for them now. Half of the servants would go to the master bedroom to help Minji with her morning routine, while the other half of the servants would head to the guest bedroom to help Eun. The two would then go to the dining room in the house to have breakfast in silence. At times, Minji would gather some bravery and try to talk to him,  after which he would simply get up and leave the room. Most of the time though, she stayed silent as well, so as not to spoil his meal. 

Just as she thought, the servants had spread the news all over the kingdom that she and Eun no longer slept in the same bed. Soon Deok had arrived to talk to her and ask if everything was okay, and that was when she told her what she heard from the servants who went in to help with the chores every morning. Even Eun's mother had come and talked to her, asking her what had happened between them and why her son seemed so sad when he visited her. Minji explained that they were going through a rough patch, without giving too many details, as she felt it was something for her and her husband to solve on their own.

As she left her room to head for the dining room, Eun was a few steps behind her, having left his own room as was the usual. He saw her stop in her tracks in front of him and he almost walked around her, huffing with annoyance. But then he witnessed as she swayed to the side, a hand moving up to her forehead, and her knees gave out beneath her. She fell to a heap on the floor with a light thud, eyes closed, and having lost consciousness. 

Eun's eyes widened in shock and he was on his knees, by her side in a flash. "Jagiya!" His voice was desperate as he cupped her face in his hands. "Jagiya, stop playing. Wake up." He called, just like he had that one time he scared her in the forest and she fell unconscious. Only this time he had done nothing to her. She had fallen on her own without him even touching her.

When she didn't wake up, he started calling for help. "I need help! Please."

He looked down the empty hallway to the house which led out to the living room and then the dining room and kitchen. When minutes passed and no one came to help, he gathered some strength despite his lack of it, and picked her up in his arms, pushing their bedroom door open and taking her over to their bed. He hadn't slept there with her in almost two months, and now he was there with her under very unpleasant circumstances when the last time he was there he had held her in his arms. 

"Jagi..." The tears started gushing out of his eyes. 

Having heard his yelling down the hall, the servants came rushing in to help him. He instructed one of them to go find a doctor, and he had the others tend to her, since he didn't know how to.

-

When Minji came back to her senses, there was a room full of people watching and waiting on her. One of them was her husband, one was a man who appeared to be a doctor, and the rest were her hand maidens who were waiting to be directed. As soon as she opened her eyes, the doctor asked them to leave, in order to give her some space and some air. They nodded and left the room, leaving only three people there. 

Minji tried to sit up, but felt herself extremely tired. She was also aching from her fall, as she had bumped her shoulder and her head on the wall. Eun was there beside her with tear soaked eyes and he took her hand in his. His resentment at her was long forgotten in that one moment where he thought he might lose her for good. How could he have allowed such a long time to pass, being without her? 

"What happened?" She asked them with a soft voice.

Her husband began to explain, "We were going to have breakfast when you fainted. So I called a doctor because I didn't know what to do. I was so scared, jagi."

When he called her that again after so long, Minji couldn't help but crack the tiniest hint of a smile. She knew it wasn't the time for that, but she couldn't help it. Eun still cared about her and wasn't at all cold towards her like he had been acting for the past two months. 

The doctor had run his tests on her, the few that he could conduct right then and there. But he knew that it was just enough to know what was wrong with her. "She hasn't been eating well, I can tell by her complexion. But that isn't why she fainted." He paused only for a smile to touch his lips as he finished giving his diagnosis. "Congratulations, your majesty. You and your wife are going to have a baby." He then proceeded to prescribe her some teas she could drink and food she should eat to boost her energy, and he told her that he would be back the next month to check on her progress. 

All the while, the two teenagers sat there in utter awe at what they had just heard. Minji wasn't against the idea of giving Eun children, she was just surprised that all it had taken was one time for her to be pregnant. Ever since their first time, they had not shared anymore intimate moments together.

The doctor excused himelf and left him on his own, giving the servants a set of instructions on the way out as to how they were supposed to take care of the prince's wife now that she was pregnant. 

Eun was even more in shock than Minji was, as he understood even less about having babies.

He instead was quick to apologize about his cold behavior towards her in the last two months. On his knees by their bed, he took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips. "I'm so sorry, jagi. I was just so hurt and absorbed in my own pain that I didn't think about you and how you were feeling."

Minji gave a shake of her head. "Don't apologize, love. You were right to be upset at me. I just wanted to spare your feelings and protect you from everything, but I ended up hurting you myself." Still weak from having fainted earlier, she winced as she sat up. Eun tried to help her, but instead she scooted over to the side to give him some space. Then she opened her arms out to him. "Why don't we let the servants go for the day and just lay here together like we did that one time?" Her offer was so tempting and Eun bit down hard on his lip as he thought about it.

Should they just forget the events of the last two months and start over?

Minji could make an effort to love him.

The thought was so inviting that he ended up giving in. The servants came to check on them minutes later and Minji dismissed them, assuring them like the other time that she would personally take care of her husband's needs. Eun snuggled up to her side like a little boy, needy for her attention, and he wrapped his arms around her, inhaling her scent comfortably. How he had missed everything about her--from her smooth skin to the faint scent of roses that always accompanied her. She was his dream that he never wanted to wake up from. 

"We should announce it to the family soon. I'm sure they'll be very happy for us." Minji spoke softly, growing more and more sleepy in her husband's arms. Her voice was becoming slow and slurred.

If both of them were honest, they had grown so used to the other's company that they had been unable to sleep well in the last two months. Minji wasn't comfortable without Eun by her side and Eun wasn't comfortable without Minji in his arms. Now that they were finally back together, everything seemed to fall into place again and everything was absolutely perfect. They couldn't ask for anything more. 

Eun nodded his head in agreement, spooning her back and his chin resting on her shoulder. "Mhm." He agreed happily, his own eyes growing laden with sleep.

She knew Eun and her family would be pleased--his grandfather, his mother, Han, General Park, her mother, and her sister. They would all be happy for them. But she also worried about the others, what their reactions would be. The king didn't like her, and neither did Eun's older brothers Yo and Won. She wasn't too keen on the idea of announcing it to them. But they would probably find out eventually. She finally thought once again of Jung, and how he would feel. 

But she had long decided it already, it was time to let him go from her heart. 

Perhaps he would stop pursuing her after finding out that she was already going to have a baby with his brother.

-

so their fight only lasted two chapters (although in the universe this takes place in it has been two months almost). like i mentioned in the previous chapter, i feel really inspired with this story lately. so i will be posting super often.

eun and minji seem to be back together. and SHE IS HAVING A BABY AGAIN. isn't that exciting?

our little prince is going to be a daddy.

anyway, question of the day: what happens to their children? in minji's dream there is no mention of children. so will this child live? 

there is still more to come. i have so much planned. a reader asked me if i will carry my characters into the modern era later on. the answer cannot be revealed for now, as i have not decided yet. but i might. it might be interesting to see them interact in modern korea.

-clary