.seventy.

-

"You two should talk. He's your brother and I know he cares about you. I can influence him so that he can forget everything that happened."  

-

Eun and Han returned to their house with a troop of palace guards guiding them. They had warned the two young princes that theirs was a new nation and after the death of their beloved king, it was possible that there would be an uprising. Someone else might try to take up the throne, and that meant the lives of the princes were in danger. The guards suggested for the princes to stay in the palace until further notice. But they didn't want to leave their wives, children, and family behind at their house. Instead, Han and Eun asked them to accompany them to the house, and for some of them to remain in order to reinforce the property.

When they arrived Eun immediately retreated to his bedroom where his wife was waiting for him. At the moment she was sat with the twins atop a blanket on the floor and took care of them while they played. Jinki was in her arms and she turned her head towards the sound of their bedroom door when she heard his approaching steps. She had learned to tell his footsteps apart from the maids, and she instantly knew it was him.

A smile formed on her lips as she greeted him. "Love, you're back already? How's his majesty doing? Did you get to see him?" 

Eun was surprised that even despite the way she was treated by the king, she still wondered how he was doing. And her question was genuine. She didn't hold any resentment towards him. But that was because he was her husband's father. As she had told him several times, he didn't have to love her as long as he loved Eun and their children. 

The tenth prince dropped to his knees beside her and broke out into tears. He quickly sought her comfort and drew his arms around her, taking her by surprise. "He's gone, jagi. He's really gone." He cried into the crook of her neck. His crying had found a way to startle Jinki awake, and the baby started crying loudly. Surprisingly for Minji, the twins remained calm. Eun Bi crawled over to her father's side and tugged on the material of his gown to get his attention. Eun, still crying, pulled away from Minji's side and looked down at the toddler who wanted his attention. Even though she was a bit over two years old, she understood that her father was sad and she offered her comfort. She opened her tiny arms for him and he brought her into his arms for a hug.

Soo Hyun eventually did the same and both twins offered him their comfort.

Minji held Jinki in her arms until one of the maids came into the room to take the children to bed. She took the twins first, and Eun felt empty once he didn't have his two little ones in his arms. The maid came back for Jinki last, and when she was gone, Eun rose onto his feet. He helped Minji get up to and led her towards their bed.

"I'm really sorry for your loss." Minji spoke after a few minutes of silence between them. 

Eun, who had stopped crying momentarily when he felt there were no more tears in his eyes, broke out into sobs again. She pulled her husband into his arms and rubbed small circles into his back to comfort him. 

He said to her through his tears, "I don't know why I'm crying if he didn't even love me all that much."

Minji pulled back from their embrace and cupped his face in her hands. His cheeks were wet and tear stained, his lips wet as well. But she gave him a quick peck on the lips before speaking. "Don't say that, love. He was your father after all. You are a part of him. He must have loved you very much." Eun had always felt unloved by his father, and in some ways, Minji sometimes agreed. But then, when she thought about it, she concluded that as bad as the king was sometimes, he really did play favorites and Eun was one of them. 

The general's daughter had learned from her older sister that there were over twenty princes, but only eight of them lived in the palace and were allowed to spend time with the king. Eun was one of the lucky ones, as she saw it. In a way he was lucky because he had a good life as opposed to his forgotten brothers. And in a way he was unlucky because among the favored brothers, he was the least favored. Him, and Han, and So. The three were the least favored of the eight brothers who were closest to the king. 

"He didn't even see me as a son, jagi. I was nothing more than an extra." Eun continued with a shake of his head, refusing to believe that he was even a bit loved by his father. "He's always seen Han, Baek-ah, So, and I as less than the others. To him, the four of us have always been lower than dirt. Baek-ah, Han, and I because our mothers were seen as not good enough. And So because of his face."

Even despite what Eun thought, Minji thought the king did love him. He had been furious when he thought Minji and Jung were trying to run away together behind Eun's back. Though he didn't show it much, he did care about his tenth son. It was a kind of love that he didn't show often, but it was there.

"Now that he's gone, you must forgive him for what you think was the truth." She begged him because it wasn't good to hold darkness in his heart. It was the same dark that was making him unable to love Jinki. He so badly disliked the fact that he never felt loved by his own father. Yet, in turn he was shunning Jinki. He wasn't giving him the love that their son needed, especially considering that he knew how it felt to be pushed away like that. "Remember him as your father who loved you. Remember all the good moments you shared together. If you think about it, you'll find it in your heart. He cared about you."

-

There had been rumors going around the nation which reached the tenth prince's home that Prince Yo had attempted to take over the throne and had failed, resulting in his death. He had been pursued by his younger brother Wang So in the name of the new king and had perished. Minji felt a sense of relief, as her nightmares had warned her that if Prince Yo ever became king she and Eun would eventually perish. With his death, that meant that her dreams would remain just that. 

Not long after Mu was sworn in as King with a small ceremony there was another ceremony for the king's death and burial. Eun was required to attend both. Minji didn't attend Mu's coronation, as she was still weak from giving birth despite the fact that it had been several weeks already. But she was required by law to attend the funeral ceremony for king Taejo. Minji could feel the hostility brewing as she arrived with Eun and the twins. Jinki stayed behind, one of the maids taking care of him while they were away and it tore at her heart to leave him. But she knew that it was for his own good.

Eun carried both toddlers in his arms and both were fidgeting uncomfortably. They had only left the safety of the tenth prince's property one time, and that had been when they were only months old. They were curious and also slightly reluctant to see the outside world. They were also unused to wearing the royal clothing they were required to wear for the ceremony.

The moment they arrived at the palace, Han helped them out by carrying Soo Hyun, since Minji could not carry him for a long time. Soon Deok carried her infant daughter in her arms. 

The cermony was't very long, but Minji listened attentively and it was found out that there would not be a ceremony for Prince Yo, as he was considered a traitor. Prince Wook was given praise, as he had been the one to take the first step in stopping the uprising. Minji heard angry footsteps leave the room, and she soon found out from her sister that they were of Queen Yoo. Minji felt for her. As horrible as he was or could have been, it must have been difficult for her to hear them speaking so poorly of him. He was her son after all. 

Afterwards, Minji tried to find everyone to offer their condolences. She hugged Mu first, as he was the new king, and she gave him some words of comfort because he had confided to his brother's young wife that he felt that he was unfit to be king. The people didn't respect him and they didn't want him in the position because of the rumors that he was very ill. She found Queen Hwangbo next and gave her a hug. It was difficult for her to maneuver her way around the room without her sight since it was a place she didn't know well, but she didn't want to bother her husband. He had excused himself for a moment to go talk with Baek-ah, one of the brothers he was the closest to. 

The next person she found was Yeon Hwa, and the princess accepted Minji's embrace gratefully. "Hak Soon, I will miss him dearly." The princess sniffled sadly, and Miji felt a prick in her chest. As bad as Yeon Hwa was sometimes, she definitely had feelings and she truly felt the loss of her father.

"If you ever want to visit me, you're always welcome at my house." Minji made the fulll hearted offer. Eun was still mad at his sister for getting Minji in trouble and being the cause of her losing her sight. But Minji felt like it was time to let the resentments of the past go. Yeon Hwa didn't like Hajin, but she seemed to genuinely love Hak Soon. Minji didn't see any reason why they couldn't see each other. Minji could try to be her friend. "I'm certain the children would just love to spend time with their aunt. The other boys should really visit us too. We hardly get any visitors and we get lonely sometimes." Minji admitted with a sigh.

The other princes always spent time together with each other, but they rarely visited Han and Eun. It was like they had forgotten about their younger brothers.

Yeon Hwa nodded and as they pulled away she bit her lip, her face turning into a frown. "You've lost so much weight, and you look so tired." She commented.

Minji forced a small smile onto her lips in an attempt to reassure her. "Please don't worry about me. The doctor has given me vitamins to take so that I can recover from my weakened body quickly. And Eun certainly takes care of me so well."

The princess smiled to herself and heaved a sigh. "My brother has always been so soft hearted. How has he been doing?"

The general's daughter took Yeon Hwa's hand in her's, giving it a light squeeze. The warm smile on her face remained. "He has been well. But you two should talk. He's your brother and I know he cares about you. I can influence him so that he can forget everything that happened."

"Thank you." The princess gave a small bow of her head.

Minji then excused herself and continued going about the room, offering her condolences to the family. She had been walking carefully with much success, until someone purposefully stepped in her way, making her collide into their chest. As she lifted her hands to feel what was in front of her, she quickly apologized as she felt the cold metal beneath her finger tips of armor. It was a soldier, and she again immediately knew that it was Jung.

"I'm so sorry." She started nervously, and once she knew it was Jung, she tried to turn and walk away. But the fourteenth prince grabbed her upper arm gently to stop her.

"Wait, Hak Soon." He pleaded and she heard the way his voice was weepy and sad.

"Jung." She breathed, still trying to pull away. 

With the king gone, there was no longer a threat on her life, and Jung knew it. That meant that he could once again attempt to pursue her and try to get her love back. Minji realized it as well, and she knew she would have to put more distance between them because she was no longer in love with Jung and she didn't want more trouble to break out between both Eun and Jung. 

"All I want is a hug." He begged her, his grip on her arm loosening just slightly. "Is that too much to ask?"

Minji heaved a sigh. "I guess not."

He fully let go of her arm to draw his arms around her, and she accepted his embrace a bit stiffly at first. Her heart then melted when she felt his tall frame being shaken slightly by sobs as tears escape his eyes.

"He was my father, Hak Soon." He told her, barely able to speak through his tears. Minji only stayed quiet and slowly wrapped her arms around him. "Without him and my brother Yo, all I have is mother, and you." 

Minji froze once again. 

"Jung..." Was all she found herself able to say.

"I need you." He cried into the crook of her neck.

From a few feet off, Eun who had been talking to Baek-ah searched the room for her to make sure no one was bothering her. His eyes fell upon the two former lovers in a corner of the room, in each others arms, and his heart ached. Minji said that she loved him, but now that the king was gone, would she go back to Jung? Eun knew he would be unable to handle that amount of heart break. Minji was his entire life.

-

i had been working on this update for several days and could not find a way to continue it. i wrote the first half and just now wrote the second half. but i rewatched a bit of moon lovers today and regained inspiration. 

i cant believe *cue tempo intro*

i cant believe its been over two years since moon lovers ended. and its been about two years since i started writing this story as well.

thank you all for still being here and still reading. it means the entire world to me. 

since i killed off the king and there is no longer a threat on minji's life, i thought i would be dramatic and bring jung back into the loop. but i do still have plans for him and our new princess. so stay tuned.

-clary