.ninety four.
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"No. My name is Minji. Eun...is the name of my husband."
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Right after the final blow struck her, it was almost instant. She could feel the warm crimson blood pooling around her body and her husband's voice felt miles away from her. There was a slight sting that lasted if only a few minutes, but it all faded into nothing as her consciousness drifted off. There was no way to recover from it, and everyone knew it.
Then there was darkness. Which was something she was already accustomed to since she no longer had her eye sight. But she began thinking it strange when that darkness was mingled with bright streaks of color in front of her eyes, like a brush on a canvas. But the canvas was pitch black and getting more and more clear with images, voices, as her mind seemed to focus on what it wanted her to see.
The very first image she saw was of herself jumping into the lake to save Hajin. The two struggled to keep themselves above water just as an eclipse darkened the skies and didn't let them see where they were going. Then all she could see once more was absolute darkness as her lungs were beginning to fill with water, suffocating her. She remembered her thoughts in that moment, thinking that this was the end for her. She remembered the anxiety as her lungs began to burn when she ran out of air. But then she resurfaced in the private baths of the palace, where a bunch of princes were bathing.
She was confused and in awe as she realized she was in a different time period, where princes and princess ruled the country. It was her same country, but a thousand years in the past. She remembered fighting with Eun in the bath and Jung telling her that she was Park Hak Soon. She was no longer Minji.
She remembered Jung and their relationship, how beautiful it was, and how much they loved each other. She still felt guilt at the fact that they never got their happy ending. But then, if they had gotten married, she would have never found her true happiness with Eun. Eun who was a wonderful husband to her, and a great father to the children. Eun who had matured in order to take care of her and his family. She remembered how beautiful their relationship was too, and how much she loved him. It stung to think of the way their lives had ended back in Goryeo. The way he had tried to sacrifice himself for her safety. But she would never let him go alone, and neither would he.
Every memory was crystal clear and crisp in her mind, as though she had just lived them. She remembered every single detail and felt every single emotion all at once. Every voice in her mind called to her, but the most prominent was that of her husband's, begging her through it all, "Please don't go without me."
Her heart ached at his words because she felt the grief in his voice. He really didn't want to continue living if she wasn't going to be by his side.
As the final memory passed through her mind, the colors faded back out to black and she sucked in a deep breath, her eyes blinking back and adjusting against a bright white light. Minji thought to herself that it was more likely the after life. She was done and she could only hope to see her husband again in what may be their heaven. But instead of the after life, she heard the rushed voices of people talking around her, and the beeping of machines. As she slowly came to her senses, she felt like she was hooked up to different kinds of machines and she then knew there was no way she was still in Goryeo. Perhaps after being struck down in the palace courtyard, she had been sent back home.
But home was no longer where she wanted to be. Her home was wherever her husband was, and he wasn't in this strange place.
"Patient Jane Doe is showing signs of consciousness." Minji heard one of the people say with concern, and she now assumed it was a nurse. She heard footsteps of them walking around rapidly, and she could hear noises of people entering the room as well. But her eyes were still getting used to the blinding lights above her head in the room.
