.twenty three.
When she least expected it, Minji and Hajin had been in Goryeo so long that they were slowly starting to adapt to their new lives there. Minji was happy with her betrothed, Prince Wang Jung, while Hajin seemed to be getting along well with the eighth prince. Though she hadn't said anything to Minji about it, she knew there was something there. The fourteen year old guessed that her friend was in denial about her feelings for the time being--the eighth prince was her cousin's husband after all, and even though it was socially acceptable for a prince to have several wives, Minji knew it was probably something Hajin would never agree to.
She didn't know exactly how much time had already passed while in Goryeo, but on one specific day, Jung had a special day planned for them. He took her to the village and showed her off to the villagers, linked arms with her and a broad smile on his lips. Then they went to their secret place to spend some time together. By the end of that afternoon, he returned her to her house and walked inside with her. As they went into the sitting room area, her friends and her sister jumped out, shouting at her, "Happy Birthday Hak Soon!" The fourteen year old had been taken by surprise, not only that there were surprise parties a thousand years before her own time, but because she didn't even know it was her birthday.
Soon Deok grinned at the fourteenth prince in gratitude and approval. "Thank you for keeping her out all day so that we could decorate."
He nodded his head with a smile.
Minji was touched by the gesture and saw that her closest friends in Goryeo were there to celebrate her birthday with her--Hajin, Baek-ah, Han, Yeon Hwa, and Eun. Her parents were there was well, all with smiling faces. There was a cake atop the coffee table in the middle of the room, and in the back of the room was a pile of presents.
Her older sister hurried to her side and grabbed her by the hand, bringing her to the head of the table, in front of all of her loved ones. Minji was speechless at the kind gesture and brought her hands to her face in surprise. She turned to Jung with realization as it hit her. "That's why you kept distracting me when I told you I wanted to go back home." He nodded, confirming her suspicions. Since days earlier, Soon Deok had recruited the fourteenth prince to help her with Minji's surprise party. Jung of course was happy to help since it meant he would be spending the entire day alone with his favorite person.
They sang the happy birthday song to her and then she got to open her presents, most of which were from Jung. But she was surprised when she even got a present from Eun. "That one's from me." The tenth prince pointed out excitedly.
It was one of the few remaining presents. She had gotten gold and silver hair pins from Jung, a new dress from her family, scented soaps from Hajin, a strange musical instrument from Baek-ah, a necklace from Yeon Hwa, some more expensive presents from Jung, and then there was Eun's present. As Minji opened it, she almost felt as though her heart dropped into her stomach at the sight of what it was.
The gift was a little silk ball, exactly like the one Jung had given her back when they first went to the village together. But it wasn't the present that surprised her, but the meaning behind it, which she didn't doubt the tenth prince was oblivious to. He was childish and didn't concern himself with other things, but Minji figured the other people in the room would know what it meant and some of them would see it differently. The words of the village merchant echoed in her mind as she held the ball in her hands.
Legend has it that if a boy gives one of these to the girl he likes, she will fall in love with him.
Her eyes looked to her sister Soon Deok first because she knew that she liked the tenth prince. She looked as though a ton of bricks had been dropped on her, her smile wiped clean off her face. She then looked to Jung who sported the same expression. He certainly didn't believe in old children's legends, as he had mentioned to her before. But it was the fact that he had already been suspecting something going on between the two that caused a prick in his chest.
