.sixty one.

-

"I will never accept that monster as our child. Not if he'll be the reason that you're leaving me."  

-

As her pregnancy progressed within the next few weeks, Minji seemed to get worse instead of better. She took all the vitamins her doctor gave her, she ate the healthiest foods, she got plenty of rest, and avoided all kinds of stress by distancing herself from Eun's family at the palace. Now whenever there was a family event or a religious ceremony at the palace, Eun always went by himself, informing the family that she had to stay behind because of her delicate pregnancy. It was almost as though the child were draining her life force, but she had already been weak to begin with and he was just trying to survive within her womb.

When more weeks passed by, she was barely even able to get out of her bed because she was just so tired and weak. Her baby bump had barely grown, as opposed to it growing a lot when she was pregnant with the first two. Eun had the doctor come in to check on her on a weekly basis and he was always giving the prince's wife a look of pity.

"I don't understand." He said, perplexed after having observed her for six weeks in a row. No matter what he did, and no matter how many vitamins he gave her to take, it just wasn't enough for the growing child. "Your wife is following my instructions perfectly, and the child wants to live. But he is fighting so hard to stay alive that he is killing her slowly." The words sent a prick in Minji's chest, and she once again thought to blame herself. She wasn't strong enough to bear this third child. But as long as he could be born good and healthy, she didn't care what it might do to her own health.

Eun could only watch on with concern as it happened. Her skin had lost its color, her body was frail and weak, barely hanging on to her fragile bones. There were dark circles under her eyes that were ever permanent, even though she always got a good night's rest. Yet, even despite everything that was happening, she always managed to smile for him because she didn't want her husband to worry for her. And she didn't want him to blame their child if something terrible were to happen. Minji was already prepared to accept her fate, as she felt her body slowly withering away with every passing day.

"What can we do?" The tenth prince looked to the doctor for an answer.

Minji could already imagine what their only alternative was and she was ready to fight against it. Her worst fears came true when the doctor gave his response. "Its still fairly early in the pregnancy, so...I can prescribe some herbs that will essentially expel the fetus from the womb." 

Minji gave a quick shake of her head, refusing to go along with that solution. "We will not do that. He is my child and I will not let you touch him." There was a glare on her face, directed at the doctor for even suggesting such a thing. She knew from her health classes that after a few weeks, a fetus was able to listen and even comprehend certain things, to the point where they would grow to recognize and even love their mother's voice. She could not bear the thought of killing a human being that was part of her and her husband, a tiny human being who already loved her. How could she betray him like that.

"its for your own good. He's killing you, jagi." Eun tried to reason with her, and Minji felt her heart break. She knew that Eun loved their child as much as she did, but he also wanted her to live, and he would choose her over their unborn child any day. Still, it broke her heart to hear those words come out of his mouth. Their child could hear him and from very early on he would know that he was unwanted by one of his parents. 

The doctor also offered some words in hope of convincing her. "Don't think of it as a child yet, your highness. Think of it as a leech that is sucking out your life force. You need to expel it before it's too late."

But there were no amount of words that would make her budge.

"If you do something to my baby, I will hurt you." Minji warned through gritted teeth. "I'm the one bearing this child, and I'm the one who gets to decide. I want him to live."

The doctor took one look at her, how she was deteriorating so rapidly, and he grabbed the tenth prince's arm gently, pulling him out of the room. Minji heard their footsteps as they walked out and shut the door behind themselves. Once out in the hallway, the doctor whispered, "You must talk to her, your majesty. Make her listen to reason." 

Eun's dark eyes were glazed over with tears. "You heard her. She wants this baby."

"Well then I advise that you prepare for a funeral, your majesty." The doctor heaved a warning. The words make Eun's heart sink, and the thought of losing his wife was unbearable. The tears he had been fighting so hard to contain were spilling out of his eyes like a fountain. He wanted her to listen and get rid of the baby that was making her so sick, but he also didn't want to force her into doing anything. "If we don't get rid of the fetus within these next two weeks, it will be too late afterwards. Only one of them will make it out of this pregnancy alive."

The doctor informed the tenth prince that he would be leaving yet another prescription of vitamins for Minji, but that they would make no difference just like all the other ones. The baby was draining her health and there was no amount of medical help that would heal her. At the rate she was going, she only had the remainder of her pregnancy left to live.

-

Eun had returned to their bedroom and once again tried to reason with his wife, having been convinced by her doctor that they needed to get rid of that baby. What he had once seen as a beautiful miracle, a new human being created by him and the woman he loved so much, he now saw as a curse and he resented him. A part of him was upset at Minji too, for choosing their child over him, her husband. But that just made him resent their child even more. Sixteen, nearly seventeen and not even an adult yet, and already she was withering away so quickly. Perhaps if he talked to her parents they could talk to her and convince her to get rid of the child. They had to.

"That thing is killing you." He had told her with disdain and her eyes filled up with tears.

With a shake of her head, she told him softly and gently, both because she was far too weak and also because she didn't want to argue with him. She knew it would be of no use. If she wanted to get her way, she needed to be level-headed. "Don't say that, love. You were so excited to meet our baby not even one day ago. You know, he can feel it if he is unwanted. I don't want him to feel like that. Even if he's just a baby, that can affect him deeply."

Though she didn't say it, she wanted him to think about himself, and how he sometimes felt left out or felt less than his brothers. He of all people should understand and not make his own child feel the same.

"I don't want him here if he's going to take you from me." The tenth prince said bitterly, crossing his arms over his chest in defiance. He wasn't ready to let his wife go when they had only been married almost two years. It was far too little a time to have her and let her go. She had promised him that she would love him for one thousand years. Had that all been a lie?

"Please stop." She begged, finally breaking out into sobs when she felt like she was getting nowhere with him. Her face muffled by her hands, she said to him, "Of all people, I thought at least you would be by my side, Eun."

His heart and his demeanor softened significantly, especially when she called him by his name rather than calling him love. But his resentment towards their unborn baby was the same. He had softened only for his beloved Hak Soon. He drew her arms around her slowly and hesitantly, and she didn't respond to his touch as she normally did. No doubt, she was so hurt by his words that she didn't want his comfort. Not when he was rejecting their baby and advocating for his execution. "I'm like this because I want you by my side longer. I can't bear the thought of losing you. That child is killing you, and it doesn't have to be that way. We can have more in the future, but I can't replace you-"

"Please unhand me." She said to him, pulling away slowly. When she did, he felt a prick in his chest when he saw that her eyes were full of sadness, and also disappointment in him. So much disappointment that he was rejecting their baby. "I don't want you to touch me as long as you're planning to murder our baby."

Eun gulped back against the knot forming in his throat. He was trying to remain strong through all that heartbreak. "How can you choose that thing over me?"

She gave a shake of her head. "I love you just as much as I love Soo Hyun and Eun Bi, and I love this child just the same. Don't make me have to choose."

With tears pooling in his dark brown eyes, he informed her with all of his resolve. "If you let this happen, if you let yourself die like this, I will never accept that monster as our child. Not if he'll be the reason that you're leaving me."

"Eun--" Minji tried once more to reason with him.

But he shook his head. "There's no way you're going to convince me otherwise."

-

He went to visit his brother Han soon after leaving Minji at their house. He needed some air to calm down, and he also wanted to give her the space to think things more thoroughly on her own. Perhaps she would come to her senses eventually. He instructed the maids to take good care of her and prohibit her from getting out of bed, since her doctor had informed she would be needing plenty of rest over the next few months. But seeing as though Minji was hell bent on keeping their abomination of a child, he knew that she would not fight against her doctor's orders. For once, he hoped that she would be as rebellious as he knew her to be and ignore his instructions.

When his brother came to the door after hearing knocking, there was a wide smile on his lips at the sight of his older brother. They saw each other all the time now, but he and Eun had grown close, and Eun was the one brother he had that he knew he could confide in. The same was the case when it came to the tenth prince. The smile on Han's face was wiped clean off when he saw the look on his brother's face.

"What's wrong?" He asked Eun with curiosity and concern. It was difficult for Eun to be upset, since he was normally a cheerful person that didn't let many things get to him. Now that he had Hak Soon, he was even happier than ever. "Here I was, waiting for you to visit so that I could give you the good news, and you show up looking like a scolded puppy."

The tenth prince heaved a heavy sigh. "Hak Soon is with child again."

Han's face lit up once again and he pulled his brother in for a big hug that made Eun feel like he was running out of oxygen. He didn't yet realize that this was exactly what Eun was upset about. "Congratulations hyung! And so quickly after the twins were born. I told you you were a real stud." He said the last part with a laugh, and as they pulled away from their embrace, he added, "I have good news for you as well. My Soon Deok will bear me our first child. She is pregnant as well. It fills me with joy to know that she will be able to rely on her sister, and they can go through their pregnancies together." 

Eun felt a happiness in his heart for his brother, but a sadness for himself and his situation. It was funny how things worked in that way. Han was happy about having a child, while Eun was dreading the coming of his. But he also knew how much Han liked Soon Deok, he had liked her since they were kids, and only now had he gotten to spend his life with her. He only hoped that things had turned out like they did with him and Hak Soon. Soon Deok didn't like Han at first, not in the way that he wanted, but perhaps things had blossomed into something more. 

It was until his initial happiness died down that Han saw the sadness on Eun's face. "If all of these wonderful things are happening, why do you look so sad, brother?"

Eun stood there, shoulders dropped down and with tears threatening to escape his eyes once more. "If she has this child, her doctor says she will die."

-

a dramatic chapter and this story will only have more drama.

now i have to go get ready for school, since i have to leave in about ten minutes. i was going to post this last night, but i ended up postponing until right now because i went to hollywood with my sister for the premier of the chivas movie.

it was epic and beautiful and tbh it almost made me cry. it was about chivas tough times in the recent years and how they managed to win the domestic title in 2017 with matias almeyda.

then i went to stalk the players at their hotel and got some photos taken.

anyway, qotd: do you think eun is wrong? do you think minji is wrong? do you think they will end up getting rid of that baby?

let me know what you think!

-clary