.fifty nine.

-

"I am no longer a boy though. Now I am a man." 

-

Minji had no way to tell the passing of days in Goryeo. She also had no way of knowing when Eun's birthday would come around. All she knew was that it was a couple of months after hers, and that he would be turning nineteen. She marveled at the thought that a whole two years had passed since she had appeared in the prince's private baths with Hajin. Two years since she had been away from home in the present time. According to Soon Deok, who knew how to tell what the days were in Goryeo, she claimed that Eun's birthday would be in three weeks. 

As the days passed, Minji made plans behind his back to secretly throw him a birthday party with the people he most cared about---Han, his mother, his grandfather, Soon Deok, Baek-ah, Wook, and even So. 

Eun had been very grateful to his brother for taking good care of his daughter during the ceremony. Now it seemed he and his older brother were getting on very well. He even favored him over brothers he used to hold in high esteem before, such as Jung and even Wook.

Minji planned for something small, but she had a whole day full of surprises for him. On the day that it finally came around, she made sure to get up very early. She had instructed the maids on the previous night on what she wanted to have done. She was going to make his favorite breakfast and take it to him in bed. That morning she did just that, the maids were careful to wake her and help her out of bed without her husband waking up. He slept soundly as she left the room with them. They prepared a spread of rice, soup, and banchan--different little side dishes that she knew he would like to accompany his meal.

With the tray in her hands, she walked towards their room already knowing the way well despite her disability, and placed the tray of food on a table by the side of their bed. Now with her hands free she leaned down over him and cupped his face in her hands as she roused him from his sleep with a kiss. "Rise and shine, love. Every day by your side is special, but today is even more so because nineteen years ago today you were born. Nineteen years ago today the most handsome boy in Goryeo was born. Happy Birthday."

He blinked back, confused at first, but when her words sunk in and he smelled the food she had set on the bedside table, a big smile spread across his lips. 

Eun sat up in bed and slid to the other side to make room for her. He then grabbed her arm and pulled her down gently to sit next to him. He replied to her in a playful tone, "I am no longer a boy though. Now I am a man."

Minji nodded her head in agreement. 

Her husband reached for the tray of food and examined the spread before him. "You made all of my favorite foods. Thank you, jagi." He commented, surprised that she had even noticed what they were. But Minji had been observing him for those three weeks, subtly and mentally jotting down what he liked and didn't like to eat. She wanted to start his say off with a meal that he would love, and let that open up for the rest of their day together.

"I made it all myself, so it might not be entirely edible." She bit down on her lip nervously. She wasn't even sure if it looked good. But she knew the maids wouldn't let her sink on her own. She got along well with some of them and they had helped her arrange every dish so that it looked good to her husband.

"I'm certain it will be delicious." He assured her, and eagerly began to dig in.

With every chopstick full of food he brought to his mouth, he made sounds of approval and praise. He offered him some food, but she assured him that she had a light meal and that the breakfast feast was for him to enjoy. About halfway through his meal, though, she started feeling sick, as though her stomach were churning. She had been cuddled up to his side while he ate when she quickly pulled away and covered her mouth with her hands when she felt a wave of nausea hit her like a ton of bricks. She climbed out of bed and barely made it to the bathroom down the hall when the contents of her stomach were emptied out in the chamber pot below her.

Eun followed quickly behind her, eyebrows furrowed with concern.  "What's wrong, jagi? Are you coming down with something?" 

She reassured him with a shake of her head. "Go back to bed and finish your food, love. I think it was just something I ate this morning that didn't agree with me."

It didn't feel like a regular stomach bug, but rather a familiar feeling she had felt when she was pregnant with the twins. Minji dismissed it though, as she and her husband had limited physical activity with each other. Her doctor had warned that getting intimate was out of the question for the first few months, as she needed her energy to recover from the birthing process. But she and Eun were young, and they had needs and desires. More than once already they had caved given into their love. If Minji recalled correctly, it had been about twice. And her cheeks reddened as Han's words echoed in her mind. Pregnant after just one time. You must be a real stud. If things kept like they were, they would need to find a sure method for contraception if they didn't want a house filled with over ten children. They both only wanted four after all.

Eun stood in the doorway watching her with concern, not fully understanding what was happening. When she was finished and freshened up, they both returned to their room where Eun continued eating his meal. Once he finished, Minji helped him get dressed for their next activity. They would spend their morning playing out in the grass with the children. That ensured the babies would get some sunlight, and gave them the chance to play. They were about five months old and were starting to become curious about their surroundings. 

After that they would be going down to the lake with together, while Han and Soon Deok watched over the kids. During that time that Minji would keep him out of the house, Soon Deok and Han would set up for the celebration. 

-

They got there by horseback, and walked the rest of the short distance once their horse was unable to. Minji kept him distracted at the lake for a few hours until she thought they would be done setting up. She then asked him to return home because she had one final surprise for him. He grinned with excitement at the thought, thinking it was something for just the two of them to celebrate. 

But as they arrived at their home by horseback, Eun was surprised to see his family there waiting for him. They all had smiling faces, as they were the people in his family who truly loved him. One by one they hugged him and Minji was last, congratulating him again on turning nineteen years old. 

"You turned nineteen while your wife is only sixteen, you're so much older than her. People will think you're her father or something." Han commented jokingly. Eun shot him a playful glare.

And even So joined in on the teasing, a genuine small smile playing on his lips. "Technically they're at the same age level mentally though." He now was no longer tied to the mask shielding his face. Hajin had helped him conceal his scar with make up, and that had helped his self-confidence, but also the way others perceived him. The last was something that Minji genuinely saw as unfortunate. The way he had always been treated because of his scar . Now all of that was in the past, and people acted as though he were an entirely different person. 

"I don't know if that should be considered a jab at me, or at him." Minji laughed at their banter.

Eun only laughed, knowing that they were joking.

Despite his small smiles and banter with his brothers, Minji felt a sadness in So, and she knew of his attachment to Hajin. It made her wonder if he knew something about her, since Minji hadn't seen her since before the children were born. She had still been working in the palace, but that had been months before. When Wook told her that Hajin sent her congratulations for the children being born, he hadn't mentioned anything unusual happening with Hajin. But So seemed to know her better, and he seemed to truly care about her. Minji had no real reason to distrust Wook, but she just couldn't fully trust him. She sometimes felt like the eighth prince didn't want to be seen with Hajin, like he was ashamed of being seen with her. 

She then decided to be brave and just ask him what was going on. "Brother So," She started, for the first time addressing her as her brother. It was a tradition in Goryeo that when two people got married, one's family became that of their spouse as well. "Have you heard anything about Hae Soo lately? Is she still at the palace? Is she well? I have not seen her since before the children were born and I would like to see her."

So dropped his gaze as the thought came to him that he knew exactly where he was and his efforts were powerless to help her. "As soon as I left for China, she was banished from the palace and sent to live with the lowest ranking maids who do the washing." He explained, his voice pained. Minji let out a gasp, and he continued. "I didn't find out until after my return several weeks back, and I have been advocating hard for her to return to her place as a court lady of the palace." 

"But the king doesn't like her either." Minji knew that had she not married Eun, she would have probably suffered the same fate or worse.

But she had been lucky. While she was having a happy and secluded life, away from the hatred and away from the palace, Hajin was off somewhere suffering. Minji would need to find a way to help her, to advocate for her to return to the palace. Or, she thought to herself, she could bring Hajin to work as one of her maids at her house. The king wouldn't deny Eun that if he requested her. That would also keep Hajin away from all the bad people at the palace.

"Well, if I can help in any way, you can count on me." Minji informed him. "Haj--Hae Soo is my best friend."

Wang So nodded his head gratefully. He was a bit confused about the general's daughter, as were his brothers at first. She was a bit different from what he had heard about her, or from what he had seen when he visited the palace growing up. Park Hak Soon was a tomboy who loved playing wrestling with Han and Jung, just like her sister Soon Deok did. A girl who had trained and lived out her whole life like a soldier. She was loud and a bit obnoxious, wearing her heavy metal armor everywhere, and even so she was also good friends with Yeon Hwa. The two used to be inseparable. But this Hak Soon was more delicate, and dainty, and she was caring, even a bit soft spoken. This Hak Soon considered Hae Soo to be her best friend and not Yeon Hwa, as she did before. 

They spent the afternoon together as a family, forgetting about the outside world. When everyone left at night and the two got into their bed after putting the twins to sleep, Eun held Minji close in his arms. 

"Thank you for everything you did today, jagi. I had a lot of fun." He told her through a smile.

She smiled, closing her eyes comfortably and waiting for sleep to take her. "You deserve every ounce of happiness in this world, love. That was only a small part of it."

"My only happiness are you and the children. As long as I have you three, I don't need anything else." Eun said, closing the small distance between them to place his lips on hers. His words sent her heart into a frenzy. Her prince was such a good person who had matured so much for her. 

"I feel exactly the same." She replied.

-

a filler ish chapter tonight, and then i'm going to write one that will be relevant to the story. so it will include stuff that happens in the drama. but also, i will include a little surprise, a pleasant one. and then a not so pleasant moment for our main character.

so please stay tuned for that.

it means a lot to me. question of the day: do you guys think i should include some cute and happy family moments? like them teaching the babies to walk and talk and all that? they need some happiness before i start writing about pain and suffering. lol

-clary