.fifty four.
-
"Born on that same day are not one, but two stars. But there is more. One of them shines much brighter than the other. One of them has the star of a king."
-
As soon as Yo left them alone at the table, Eun's strong exterior crumbled and he was once again vulnerable in front of Minji. His boyish face contorted into a look of pure pain and he started to cry out, holding his injured hand in his good one, giving it a shake as though to ease his pain. His dark eyes assessed the damage and he noticed his knuckles were starting to bruise from the impact. But it was expected, Yo knew how to fight and had a strong exterior while Eun was softened by his inability to truly defend himself. There were tears stinging his eyes, but he held them in because he didn't want anyone else to see him cry, except for maybe his wife. But they were in the palace and he knew anyone might see them.
Minji felt blindly for him until her hands found his, her fingers ghosting over his injured hand and he winced in pain at her touch. "Are you hurt, love?" She jutted out her lower lip into a pout, worrying for him.
He nodded his head, and replied to her question. "Just a little bit."
Eun was trying to downplay what it really was. But he could not deny that the pain was excruciating. He just didn't want her to worry, or to feel bad that he was injured because he didn't regret it one bit. He knew that if presented the opportunity, he would gladly take a swing at his older brother again for disrespecting his wife.
"Let's hurry back home so that I can make you feel better. Okay?" She said in a low voice. Her words taking on more meanings than just one. Sure, she would wrap a bandage around his hand and made sure he wasn't in any physical pain. But she would also make good on her promise to give him that extra special thing that he liked so much. He had kept his promise to be good after all, even though he ended up fighting with his brother. But that had taken place after the party. Minji was satisfied with what she could get, especially when he had fought his brother to defend her honor.
Her husband eagerly nodded his head and they went home together, thankfully not running into anyone they knew other than a few servants. They returned back to his grandfather's land, where their house had been built, and Minji asked the maids to help her use some herbs to numb the pain, and then to wrap his hand in a bandage to put some pressure on the injury. She then dismissed them after once again telling them her signature phrase--I will personally take care of my husbands needs. Whenever she said that, the service knew what was going to take place between then and Eun knew it as well.
After their intimate moment together they both went to sleep in each other's arms and hoped to forget the events of that day.
-
As months started to go by, Minji's baby bump started to grow and become more visible. She and Eun stopped going to the palace again, as Eun didn't want his brothers to touch her or even so much as look at her. Whenever there was an important ceremony he would go there alone and ask for Minji to wait for him at their house. He would ask the maids to take good care of her and not let anyone but Soon Deok, Han, or her family in the house. Minji didn't mind, although she didn't really feel comfortable letting him go there all on his own. She thought he was still a little boy. An eighteen year old who was still vulnerable to the ill intentions of his family members at the palace. The only ones there who truly cared about him were So and Baek-ah. The latter now visited them frequently and played music for his older brother and Minji.
