The Target: A Sequel to Hwarang: The Saga of the Sooks Book #6

Chapter 41: Baby Talk

"Ma'am? Has your morning sickness finally tapered off?" Mo Won quizzed Mi Sook early one morning as she greeted her employer and found the woman unusually cheerful.

"I believe so!" Mi Sook declared brightly.

Her lady's maid grinned. "That's wonderful!"

Mi Sook glanced down towards her abdomen. "Am I showing yet, Mo Won? If you didn't know that I was pregnant, would you be able to tell?"

The girl stared at the young woman's torso. "Not with your robes on, ma'am. But when you take them off..."

Mi Sook sighed.

Mo Won was right. As soon as Dan Se returned, the instant he saw her without her robes on, he would know. The only question was...

How would he react?

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She didn't have long to find out.

Two weeks later, after spending twelve weeks traveling with the king, Dan Se returned to the royal city. After the king released him, he stopped by the hwarang house before venturing home.

Soo Ho was the first of the soldiers to greet him. "Dan Se! You've returned! I have the most splendid news!"

Dan Se quirked his eyebrows at his garrulous friend. "Yes?"

"Jung Sook and I are going to have a baby!"

This news stopped Dan Se in his tracks. And he felt an odd tugging at his heart. He stared at Soo Ho.

"Are you?"

"Yes," the cheerful father-to-be bobbed his head enthusiastically. "Isn't that great?! In five months, I'll be holding my son in my arms."

"What if he's a girl?" The words rolled off of Dan Se's tongue without him even giving them a thought.

Soo Ho's face lit up. "Wouldn't that be wonderful? A miniature Jung Sook?! Watch out, world! Here she comes!" he chuckled.

Dan Se felt the corners of his lips tugging upwards. Without his permission. And he found himself happy for his friend. "Congratulations, Soo Ho," he murmured as he turned to head for his old room.

"What about you and Mi Sook? Are you going to start a family any time soon?" Soo Ho's voice drifted towards him.

Dan Se's feet halted. And he turned back towards his friend. "I haven't the faintest idea," he muttered.

Soo Ho's brow crumpled in consternation at his friend's odd tone, then he watched Dan Se pivot and head towards the barracks. Almost like he was fleeing from him.

––

A half an hour later, Dan Se came bursting into his wife's bedchamber as she stood working on her latest painting.

"My love! How I have missed you!" he gasped as he reached out to pull her into his arms.

She turned in surprise, and the tip of the paintbrush in her hand slid across his cheek. Staining his skin violet. And Mi Sook giggled.

Dan Se quirked a dark eyebrow at her and reached up to grab the paintbrush. He set it down on the tray of her easel before turning all his attention on his wife. He bent towards her and claimed her lips in a passionate kiss. He had spent nearly three months yearning for her. He had no desire to wait one more second before whisking her off to that big bed a few feet from them.

But a few moments later, as he removed her robes, something unexpected caught his attention. And made his blood run cold.

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