.fifty nine.
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"I am no longer a boy though. Now I am a man."
-
Minji had no way to tell the passing of days in Goryeo. She also had no way of knowing when Eun's birthday would come around. All she knew was that it was a couple of months after hers, and that he would be turning nineteen. She marveled at the thought that a whole two years had passed since she had appeared in the prince's private baths with Hajin. Two years since she had been away from home in the present time. According to Soon Deok, who knew how to tell what the days were in Goryeo, she claimed that Eun's birthday would be in three weeks.
As the days passed, Minji made plans behind his back to secretly throw him a birthday party with the people he most cared about---Han, his mother, his grandfather, Soon Deok, Baek-ah, Wook, and even So.
Eun had been very grateful to his brother for taking good care of his daughter during the ceremony. Now it seemed he and his older brother were getting on very well. He even favored him over brothers he used to hold in high esteem before, such as Jung and even Wook.
Minji planned for something small, but she had a whole day full of surprises for him. On the day that it finally came around, she made sure to get up very early. She had instructed the maids on the previous night on what she wanted to have done. She was going to make his favorite breakfast and take it to him in bed. That morning she did just that, the maids were careful to wake her and help her out of bed without her husband waking up. He slept soundly as she left the room with them. They prepared a spread of rice, soup, and banchan--different little side dishes that she knew he would like to accompany his meal.
With the tray in her hands, she walked towards their room already knowing the way well despite her disability, and placed the tray of food on a table by the side of their bed. Now with her hands free she leaned down over him and cupped his face in her hands as she roused him from his sleep with a kiss. "Rise and shine, love. Every day by your side is special, but today is even more so because nineteen years ago today you were born. Nineteen years ago today the most handsome boy in Goryeo was born. Happy Birthday."
He blinked back, confused at first, but when her words sunk in and he smelled the food she had set on the bedside table, a big smile spread across his lips.
Eun sat up in bed and slid to the other side to make room for her. He then grabbed her arm and pulled her down gently to sit next to him. He replied to her in a playful tone, "I am no longer a boy though. Now I am a man."
Minji nodded her head in agreement.
Her husband reached for the tray of food and examined the spread before him. "You made all of my favorite foods. Thank you, jagi." He commented, surprised that she had even noticed what they were. But Minji had been observing him for those three weeks, subtly and mentally jotting down what he liked and didn't like to eat. She wanted to start his say off with a meal that he would love, and let that open up for the rest of their day together.
"I made it all myself, so it might not be entirely edible." She bit down on her lip nervously. She wasn't even sure if it looked good. But she knew the maids wouldn't let her sink on her own. She got along well with some of them and they had helped her arrange every dish so that it looked good to her husband.
"I'm certain it will be delicious." He assured her, and eagerly began to dig in.
With every chopstick full of food he brought to his mouth, he made sounds of approval and praise. He offered him some food, but she assured him that she had a light meal and that the breakfast feast was for him to enjoy. About halfway through his meal, though, she started feeling sick, as though her stomach were churning. She had been cuddled up to his side while he ate when she quickly pulled away and covered her mouth with her hands when she felt a wave of nausea hit her like a ton of bricks. She climbed out of bed and barely made it to the bathroom down the hall when the contents of her stomach were emptied out in the chamber pot below her.
