.seventy eight.
-
"But...I think we should send Jinki away. It would do him good not to be so attached to you."
-
It was around the third month of her pregnancy that she was already showing and the children were curious as to why their mother was suddenly getting bigger. "Just in your tummy." Soo Hyun pointed out when Eun Bi mentioned that their mommy was getting a bit big. The twins had seen her when she was pregnant with Jinki, but that had been about two years prior and they had been only two. They couldn't remember what their mother looked like during her pregnancy. Jinki, on the other hand, had never seen her pregnant and it was a big change for him.
She decided it would be best for her to explain it to them calmly, and she did one night as she was putting them to bed in their room. The twins in one bed--they were both infinitely attached to each other and at four years old, neither could sleep if they did not sleep in the same bed--and Jinki in a bed by himself. Minji still felt a prick in her chest at the fact that the twins sometimes excluded Jinki. Although, on stormy or dark nights, she knew they were there for him. She'd sometimes wake them the next morning, only to find out Jinki's bed was empty because he was sharing the bed with his siblings.
Eun followed her into the children's bedroom after she dismissed the maids. By that time, the children were bathed and changed into their night gowns for sleeping. She sat at the corner of Jinki's bed and beckoned for the twins to come to her side as well. Jinki immediately sat in his mother's lap, hiding his little face in her night dress because he hated looking at appa because appa alsways seemed mad at him. Not with the expressions of his face, so as not to make it very obvious, but with his eyes. That's why Jinki always tried to be nice and quiet whenever Eun was around. He wasn't sure what could happen if his father thought he was misbehaving, and he didn't want to find out. His father was tall and strong, taller than mommy and the twins, and Jinki thought he was scary because he never smiled. Not to him, at least.
The twins sat by her sides and Eun picked Soo Hyun up in his arms as he sat down beside Minji. Minji was eighteen now, Eun was twenty one, and she had been living in Goryeo for over four years. Now she did not want to return to the present time. Not when she had a husband and a family to take care of.
Minji started with a smile playing on her lips. "I know you three have noticed that mommy's gaining some weight in her tummy, as Eun Bi put it." The little girl by her side giggled when her mother mentioned her. Minji then continued. "But I want to explain why it's happening and what you three can expect in the next few months." With Soo Hyun still in his lap, Eun balanced the child with one arm and used his other hand to grab a hold of Minji's. She turned her head in his direction and smiled at him. She announced to their children happily. "You're going to have another little brother or sister."
By her side, her little girl cheered. "I'm getting another sister?"
"Or a little brother." Eun informed her, so that she wouldn't entirely get her hopes up. They both knew Eun Bi had been wanting a little sister for a while. She just wanted someone to play dolls with. Sure she had Soo Hyun, and they were as close as ever. But he didn't like to play dress up or dolls.
Minji grabbed Jinki in her arms and turned him to face her. "What do you think about that, love? You won't be the baby of the family anymore. You'll have another little sibling to take care of." At that, she was surprised when she heard her son break out into heartfelt tears and sobs. She didn't know what she had said that would get him to react in such a way. But it wrenched her heart and she held him close to her chest tightly. "What's wrong, Jinki?" She wondered, while Eun only watched them.
