.eighty four.
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"But you and your brother are still so young. You have so much to live for. Take this opportunity to escape with your wife and children before its too late. Take them to a place where they'll not know hatred against their own brothers for a simple title."
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Every day since Yo had taken the throne, Minji spent it living in fear. There was just a worry in the pit of her stomach that she could not shake, and she knew it had everything to do with Yo. It didn't help that she remembered from history lessons back in the present that there was one king who would murder all of his brothers because of his greed for the crown. Now, Minji thought it was probably Yo. It had to be him, and it was only a matter of time before he would come after her husband. But in order for a king to get rid of any possible threats to his throne, he had to pull the weeds from the root. That meant that her children, but especially Soo Hyun and Jin Ki were in danger, if only because they had been born male.
If he was feeling gracious that day, perhaps he would spare Eun Bi and Eun Ji. But Minji knew that was highly unlikely because Yo hated her, and he resented his brother. He would make their ends a slow and painful one.
For days, as soon as Minji made her request towards her husband, Han and Eun spent several days away from home. They were arranging for a secret escape out of the county, which Eun still thought was a little too much. But Han certainly thought it was a good idea. He convinced his older brother by telling him to think of it as a vacation and that they would return one day once things were no longer dangerous for them. Dangerous in their own country, Minji shuddered at the thought. This was Eun's country, the place where he grew up. And now he was in potential danger because he was a prince, because he came from a prominent family, and because he was male. How unfortunate things were in the past, Minji thought to herself. Brothers against brothers for a throne, a title that was fleeting like most things in life.
Eun certainly told her that. He told her that the king often told his sons that when they were having breakfast together on the balcony that overlooked the courtyard. "Enjoy this time we share together, boys." He would tell them with a sad smile. To Eun, those days felt like they had taken place centuries ago. He was only seventeen when he remembered that particular day. Now he was twenty four, and a man himself, with children of his own. "Happiness, like most things in life, is fleeting. You never know when you will be able to smile and sit down with your brothers like this again."
How right he was, Minji thought to herself.
On that particular day though, she could practically feel the air thick with tension. Han had heard from his military contacts that the king had summoned the nobles and the other princes to the palace. Both Eun and Han had been surprised that they were not included in the meeting, and Minji just knew that it was probably because they would discuss something that had to do with them.
She had even woken up from her usual nightmare, except this time around it felt so much more vivid. She remembered every single detail and she woke up crying in her husband's arms. He was startled awake by her cries and tried to comfort her, wrapping his arms around her tight. He whispered words of comfort to her, assuring her that he would be the one to protect her from everything until his very dying breath. He assured her that in a week's time, they would be out of the country and living in Japan in a little cabin in the woods. Han had been the one to arrange it, and Minji fathomed that the eleventh prince had probably been in contact with Jung. Both were military men and probably knew the same people.
Minji and Eun got up that morning and went about their daily routine as though it were a normal day. But Minji still felt a weight on her chest that didn't let her breathe.
