Behind The King

Family

"Are you sure you really should be running with us today?"

Seung-a fought back her smile as she heard the concern and worry in Yeong's voice.

"You were right there when the doctor said it was still safe to run at this stage of my pregnancy, right?" she reminded him gently as they began to jog slowly behind the Royal Guards.

Yeong sighed, "I know, you're right, and I know you've been following doctor's orders really well. I just can't help but worry."

She smiled at him and said, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine, and I promise to tell you if I feel unwell."

She pat his shoulder reassuringly, then nodded her head towards the front of the line. "You should probably keep an eye on her though, she keeps running to the front of the line."

Yeong craned his neck then sighed, "She takes after her mother that way." He jogged ahead and caught up to the little girl and said, "Yoo-Ri, what did I tell you about jogging with Mommy and Daddy?"

Seung-a couldn't help but laugh as she watched their daughter thrust a bouquet of wildflowers in front of her. "I was just picking these for you and Mommy," she said with wide-eyed innocence, and even from afar Seung-a could see Yeong softening.

"Thank you, sweetheart, now come back and run with us. Mommy and I are lonely back there without you," he said with a smile as he placed his hand on his daughter's head.

All too soon, the morning run was over and they were back at the stables. Seung-a took her usual place behind the Royal Guards and began to stretch, watching as Yeong led them all in the stretches. Yoo-Ri stood beside him and copied his movements, and all the guards were unable to hide their smiles as they followed the father-daughter tandem in front of them. Even after they were dismissed, the guards lingered behind and played with Yoo-Ri. She was a ball of sunshine and energy that just brightened up everyone's day.

"Yoo-Ri! It's time for us to go home and have breakfast!" Seung-a called out to her daughter, then watched as she said goodbye to all the guards that she considered her uncles.

Hand in hand, they made their way to their home beside the barracks. His Majesty had it built when he found out that Yeong was planning to continue living with Seung-a in the barracks. He had received an earful from the King and quite the swatting from Lady Noh, and the memory of it always made Seung-a smile.

The rest of the morning flew by quickly as they showered, had breakfast, and got ready for work. Yoo-Ri usually spent the day in the care of Lady Noh where she received the same household training that Yeong had received decades ago.

Seung-a stood by the sink and did the dishes, as Yeong stood beside her to wipe the dishes dry.

"We're both meeting with Lee Gon and Tae-eul, right?" Seung-a said as Yeong winced. She knew that even after all this time, he still wasn't used to calling His Majesty by name. But it was getting cumbersome to refer to two people as Majesties so they agreed to use their names in private.

He nodded, "We need to brace ourselves for a long day. We'll have a lot to discuss since they're preparing to go to their study for a long time. I think Tae-eul wants to spend a lot of time with her dad before the baby arrives."

Seung-a glanced down at her belly with a smile. "Who would've thought we'd be pregnant at the same time? Our due dates aren't too far apart too." It was going to be the King and Queen's first child, as they had delayed the baby-making so that Tae-eul could better adjust to life in the Palace and her responsibilities as Queen of Corea.

"Do you think we'll need something to deflect the attention from their extended stay?" Yeong snapped his fingers, "We could set up a social media account for Captain Seok."

Seung-a laughed, "Sorry, he already has one, his girlfriend set it up for him." Yeong turned to her in surprise, "Girlfriend?!" She widened her eyes at him, "You're not supposed to know! But yes, he's seeing someone in the household and they're keeping it very hush-hush."

Yeong shook his head, "This is why you're the head of the Public Affairs Office, nothing gets past you. So if not that, did you think of anything you might use to create buzz while they're away?"

Seung-a hid her smile as she concentrated on the dishes and said, "Well, we could use your social media account to announce that we're having a boy."

She snuck a glance at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that he had frozen. He blinked, carefully set the plate down on the counter, and turned to face her. "What did you just say?" he asked with a slight tremble in his voice.

Seung-a washed the bubbles out of her hands and pat them dry on her apron. "I said, we're having a boy," she said as she rested her hands on her belly, then looked up at Yeong with a small smile. "I asked the doctor not to tell you at our last checkup so I could tell you myself."

Her heart felt like it was about to burst with joy as she watched Yeong break out into a wide grin. "We're having a boy!" he whooped as he pulled her to him in a tight embrace.

Yoo-Ri came running out of her room at the commotion, and Yeong picked  her up and exclaimed, "You're going to have a baby brother!"

The little girl clapped her hands in delight as Seung-a snuggled up to Yeong's side and he kissed the top of her head.

"What a great start to our day," Yeong said as he set Yoo-Ri on her feet and they gathered their things to leave their home for the day.

"Oh by the way, Lee Gon and Tae-eul are having a boy too," Seung-a said as she shut the front door behind them and locked up.

Yeong turned to her with a soft smile on his face. "That's amazing. There'll be two little boys running around in this place again, after all these years."

Seung-a reached for his hand and squeezed it tight, "A new Unbreakable Sword for the next King."

They watched as their daughter ran ahead of them, and they shook their heads, "Those boys will have that little girl bossing them around though."

Yeong sighed as he wrapped an arm around Seung-a's shoulder and said, "But thanks to those three children, the future of this Palace looks very bright."

Seung-a looked up at him and smiled, "I can't wait for our families to see what lies ahead for us all."