.fifty six.
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"Ji Mong also told me that our son will have the throne some day. He has the star of a king."
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Minji was exhausted and had been in and out of sleep. She didn't know how much time had passed when she woke up next, but her husband was right there beside her. His own dark brown eyes were laden with missed sleep, and he was filled with relief when he saw her finally awake. A big smile spread across his lips as he threw his arms around her. Minji felt bloated and sore all over and the slightest touch from him made her wince in pain. He quickly noticed this and pulled away from her. He couldn't quite understand why she had winced at his touch and there was hurt in his eyes. Minji could not see it, but she could feel it. She could almost sweat that the pain she felt was the equivalent of being run over by a car.
"I'm so glad you're okay." Her husband said to her quietly, his voice shaky and on the verge of tears.
She lifted a hand weakly to touch his face and he sighed into her touch. "How long have I been asleep, love?" She asked him, already expecting him to say it had been a couple of days. Without modern science, she had been forced to strain her body and make extra efforts to push out not just one but two children. She hadn't even had the strength to name them when she passed out from exhaustion.
The doctor had instructed the maids to clean the babies and then place them on their mother. He thought that the sound of her beating heart would calm them, a method that he used quite often and seemed to work. Afterwards they were dressed in clothing Eun's mother brought for them. She had been the most prepared and was already buying them clothes and other accessories. Since they didn't know if it was going to be a boy or a girl, she had gotten outfits for both genders. They were then wrapped in blankets and their grandmother put them to sleep. Eun, in the meantime had not seen the children either. He loved them dearly, they were his as well, but his priority was his wife. Once knowing that she would be okay he would go and check on them.
"Five days." He informed her in a pained voice.
In truth, those five days had been the longest he had ever lived. It was torture not seeing her about the house, and the children cried all the time. They were babies after all. But they didn't let him sleep at night and they only calmed when brought to their mother for breast feeding. He had missed her dearly and he wanted to embrace her, and shower her with kisses. He slightly felt jealous of the babies, since he wanted to be the one nestled in his wife's warm embrace. But she was unconscious and could not embrace him even if he wanted her to.
The general's daughter didn't realize it was early morning until the maids came into the room. This time they were followed by Eun's mother and in her arms were the two babies, one in each arm. She smiled proudly, like she had never seen any babies more lovely than the ones in her arms in that moment. Except of course her two sons. Eun looked up at his mother walking into the room and he was also almost glad that Minji could not see the state he was in. For days he had been worried to see her unconscious in their bed, despite the doctor informing him that it was normal. He hadn't been able to sleep or eat. There were already dark circles under his eyes. He knew she would have worried and scolded him for not taking care of himself.
"Its time to feed the babies." Minji's mother in law smiled at them and stopped at the foot of the bed, placing one child in his mother's arms gently and then another. Minji again winced at the pressure under their weight, and Eun quickly reached for her.
"Should I help you, jagi?" He asked her with concern.
Minji wondered, "Have you held them yet?"
