.forty one.
The very next morning as the sun rose over the horizon, Minji woke up to her husband's arms around her as he slept soundly by her side. She sighed comfortably in his embrace and searched for his face with her hands. She bit down on her lip shyly, before deciding to wake him up with a kiss, practicing what they had been getting started the day before. She would have to show him many things, including how to kiss properly. Yesterday's kiss had been pleasant and welcome, but it was short and sweet, full of innocence. He would have to learn more in his married life, especially if they wanted to have children any time soon. Her thumbs swiped over his lips gently, as though memorizing in her mind where his lips were located and what they felt like. Then she leaned in slowly, closing her eyes.
Her lips met his gently and he sighed awake at the feeling. She could feel the shape of his lips curling up into a smile and when he opened his eyes and blinked back, he was met with the image of his wife by his side. Her long hair draped past her shoulders messily framing her childishly round face. She was fifteen in that lifetime and still held features of a child which made her look totally innocent, as did he. But it was normal for people in that era to marry young. For Eun, it was a nice image to wake up to. When they pulled away, the tenth prince greeted her with a sleepy, "Good morning."
"Good morning." She greeted back happily, a smile touching her lips.
With the light coming in through the window, she looked almost angelic to him. He never thought he would ever find a girl to look so good to him. It was a foreign feeling to the boy who had always been more focused on playing and having fun than on the opposite sex. She laid back next to him after pulling away, her head resting on his chest and they stayed there for what felt like hours, just enjoying one another's company until the servants arrived to help them get dressed for the day.
As they were about to lead Eun out of the room like they did every morning, Minji stopped them with a wave of her hand. "My husband can get dressed here starting today. I don't mind." She thought about their married life and the fact that she would soon have to teach him the facts of baby making. He would have to get used to and get comfortable with seeing her fully undressed before him and staying in the room while she changed was a start. The thought made her nervous and made her heart race, as she wasn't sure if her husband would even like what he saw beneath her clothing. But she comforted herself by thinking that she couldn't see him watching her and she wouldn't have to worry about it. She would instead calm herself by pretending that he still wasn't in the room.
Eun stuttered, as he became flustered by her instructions. "I c-can go in the o-other room, Hak Soon-ah."
He motioned to leave, pulling away from her and leaving her head to fall back onto the pillows slowly. She reached for his hand to stop him before he could move too far away from her, finding it almost instantly, and she tugged on it, begging him to stay. Her words were ones that led the servants to believe there had already been something between them. Minji knew there were already whispers and rumors going around Damiwon, about her and Eun, and the fact that they hadn't started getting intimate yet. People whispered about how they were dumb children who had no idea what they were doing. They're two little rich kids trying to play house, the servants said about them.
That was due to the fact that the very next morning after their wedding, the servants had found them fully dressed in their wedding attire and they were not required to change the sheets as they often did when other royals got married. The rumors were started and spread by the servants themselves and had reached the King. Eun hadn't brought himself to mention it to his wife, out of consideration and respect for her, but he had gotten a letter from his father. In it, he degraded Minji and spoke of her with disdain at her for not giving him any children yet and for not being a competent wife. But they had only been married for a bit over a month and had plenty of time for that in the future. Eun wasn't too worried about it, since he'd never gotten intimate with a woman before and was nervous to start so soon when only months prior he didn't even have a girlfriend.
