.seventy one.
He had been embracing her for what felt like seconds to him, until Eun walked up, and cleared his throat to get their attention. Minji froze in place, knowing it was her husband standing there, and given the hostilities between both brothers, he most likely didn't like what he was seeing. She placed her hands on Jung's shoulders and pushed back gently, to pull away from him. The moment that they did, Jung straightened up and shot a glare at his older brother. Eun, in turn, did the very same. Minji could feel the tension in the room suddenly intensify and she felt blindly through the air until she found her husband's hand.
People in the room were starting to stare at them. Minji could not see the changes, but Eun had grown a lot since his marriage to her. Where he had once been a little boy with a childish round face, now he was taller, though not nearly as tall as Jung and Baek-ah who were tall as mountains, as the king used to put it when the two youngest princes hit their growth spurts. They were probably the tallest of their brothers, leaving two of the other younger brothers in the dust in terms of height. But Eun was getting there. Minji could feel that their height difference was bigger now, and he was only twenty, nearing twenty one years old. His face had lost most of its roundness too, and his jaw was sharper, more pronounced.
Minji didn't mention any of it because she loved her husband no matter what he looked like. But he was definitely changing and growing into more manly features.
The two young princes continued to glare at each other until Minji stepped in between them. She let go of his hand and placed her hands on his chest, gently pushing him back. He didn't have any of the babies with him, which meant that he had left them with one of his other brothers. "Love," She begged, feeling the eyes of the court, the princes, and the other royals on them. This was not the place for two brothers to fight over the love of one woman. "I think we should go now. I'm tired, and I would like to get some rest."
Eun immediately softened at her words, becoming putty in her hands. "We will do whatever you want." He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, eyes still attentive on his brother as he glared at him.
At that moment, it was like something within Jung snapped. He no longer cared where they were. All he cared about was his imminent desire to hurt his brother Eun. He quickly drew his sword out and used it to threaten him. "Step aside, Hak Soon." He said to her through gritted teeth. From the mere sound, she knew he was holding out his sword. There were also gasps heard throughout the room, and everyone was now watching them with both fear and curiosity. "All of this is your fault, hyung. If you hadn't interfered, she and I would be together. We would be happy."
Eun grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her behind him. "Jagi, please step aside. Let me deal with him."
There were tears streaming down her cheeks now, and she gave a frantic shake of her head. She never wanted things to escalate that much. How could so much hate grow between two brothers who had once loved each other dearly?
"No!" She cried loudly now. She refused to budge from her place in front of him because she knew that as long as she was standing in the way, Jung would not try to hurt Eun. "Don't do this, Jung. He is my husband and I love him. But even over that, he's your brother. You shouldn't fight with him."
Jung gave a shake of his head. "This is what he wanted. He chose this path the moment he decided to take you from me."
Minji continued trying to reason with him. "What about me? Don't my feelings matter? I love him."
Just as she said that, Eun saw the way Jung's eyes were filled with even more hate and resentment towards him. He opened his mouth to respond when another person stepped in between them. It was Wang So who pushed Minji out of the way and into Eun's arms. There was a clash of metal as he brought his sword to collide with Jung's.
