As Minji was getting ready for bed, there was a knock at her door. 'Could it be Seokjin again?' she thought, heading over to answer it. Opening the door, she is greeted by Irene. "Irene?" Minji asks. "Can we talk for moment?" Irene asks. "Uh...sure." she replies, letting Irene enter her room,

"Sorry if it's a little messy, I'm still trying to—"
"Is it possible for you to let go of Seokjin?"
"Huh?" Minji asks.

"When will you realize that you are ruining Seokjin's life?" Irene asks, grabbing a hold of Minji's wrist, "When will you leave his side?" "Irene-sshi," Minji replies, "you're hurting—"

"Silence!!" Irene screams,
"Answer my questions!!"

As Minji tries to break free from her grip, Irene immediately throws her to the ground, kneels down to grab a hold of Minji's nightgown and was about to attack her with a slap, only to be stopped by Hoseok. "Let go!" Irene screams, facing Hoseok. "Not when you're attacking Minji." Hoseok replies, pulling her up from the ground. Mrs. Chung and Mr. Han comes running in and helps Minji up from the ground. "Are you hurt at all?" Mrs. Chung asks, checking Minji's body, "Did she do anything to you?" "I'm fine, Mrs. Chung." Minji replies, glaring at Irene, "Nothing happened to Seokjin's child." Irene breaks free from Hoseok's grasp and storms out of the bedroom. 'She's a crazy !' Minji thought, 'But something seems fishy when she did that.' "Would you like me to report this to Seokjin?" Hoseok asks. "It's fine, Hoseok-sshi." Minji reassures, "I'm pretty sure she didn't mean to do it."

"What are you saying, Minji?"
"I suspect someone is forcing her to do
these things to me."

Returning to the Bae's mansion, Irene sits in the living room with both her parents. "If only Hoseok wasn't there," Mrs. Bae replies, "then you would've finished the job." "Yeobo," Mr. Bae replies, "why are you teaching our daughter to do bad things?"

"They deserve what comes to them." she replies,
"They deserve what they did to me in the past."
"Omma," Irene replies, "even if we were to do
bad to them, what's the outcome?"

Mrs. Bae turns to her daughter and says, "We will replace their royal names with ours, my daughter." "Enough of this nonsense!" Mr. Bae exclaims, "I beg of you not to ruin our family's name just for your desire." As Mrs. Bae watches her husband leave, she looks at Irene once again and whispers, "Tomorrow, you will go to their house again and pretend to be nice to Minji-sshi." "And what if that plan fail, omma?" Irene whispers back. "Are you stupid or what?" Mrs. Bae asks, "I'm going to help you on this one as well."

"How?"
"I have a secret weapon to our plan
that will finally end this once and for all."

Around midnight, Seokjin quietly sneaks out of his bedroom and hurries to Minji's bedroom. He gently knocks on her door, hoping that she would answer. But no one answers. "Minji?" he whispers, "Minji, are you still awake?" In the bedroom, Minji hears a faint voice, calling for her name. Without any hesitation, she turns on her night stand lamps, heads over to the door and sees Seokjin, standing in front of her. "What do you want at this time, Seokjin?" she asks, rubbing her tired eyes, "Can't you see that it's—" Before she could even finish her sentence, Seokjin immediately lifts Minji off her feet and carries her back to her bed, closing the door behind them. "Seokjin-sshi," Minji replies, hitting his broad shoulders, "Seokjin-sshi, what are—" Seokjin gently place Minji on the bed and pulls the covers over them as he cuddles her in his arms. "Yah!" she exclaims, loudly.

"Hush!" he retorts, "You're
gonna wake someone up with that."
"Said the man calling for his wife
at midnight."
"Touché...."

Without hesitations, Minji pinches Seokjin's cheeks until he couldn't tolerate it anymore. "A-alright!" Seokjin shouts, releasing her from his embrace, "N-no more cuddling for tonight." "Good." she replies, with a smirk, "Now get some sleep." Minji rotates her body to face the other side of the room as Seokjin does the same while rubbing his cheeks to soothe the pain.

The next morning, Minji finally wakes up from her slumber to see a sleeping Seokjin besides her. As she was about to get out of bed, Seokjin pulls her back and embraces her in his arms. "It's time to wake up, Seokjin-sshi." Minji replies, hitting his chest, "Aren't you—" "Five more minutes." he replies, in a sleepy tone. "It's fine for you, but I'm the wife." Minji replies, "I'm suppose to be getting up before—" "Ms. Kim," Mr. Han replies, knocking on the bedroom door, "Irene and Mrs. Bae are here to meet you." "I'll be out soon." Minji exclaims. Once hearing Mr. Han's footsteps fading, Minji attempts to break free from Seokjin's arms. "Why are you in a hurry?" Seokjin asks, "Can't I hug my loving wife?" "We have important guests." Minji replies, still trying to break the hug, "It's rude to keep them waiting."

"I will let you go, only if—"

Minji quickly peck Seokjin's lips and asks, "Can you let me go now?" "One more." he replies, with a smile. Minji does as he says and Seokjin finally releases her from his arms to let Minji get ready.

Scurrying to greet Mrs. Bae and Irene at the entrance, Minji quickly apologizes for being late. "Minji-ah," Mrs. Bae replies, in a gentle voice, "I'm so sorry for what my daughter did to you last night." "Don't worry, Mrs. Bae." Minji replies, sarcastically, "She didn't leave a mark on me at all." 'Not for long, you !' Mrs. Bae thought to herself, 'You won't be living another day.' "We're planning to have breakfast with you." she explains, "It's at our favorite restaurant." "I should bring Seokjin along too." Minji replies. "That's not necessary." Irene replies, "It's only between us women."

"But I should really tell—"
"No need to do that, my dear." Mrs. Bae reassures.
"I'll text him where we are, Minji." Irene explains,
"Don't worry."

In a hurry, Mrs. Bae and Irene drags Minji out of the mansion just like they planned. Seokjin eventually comes downstairs but doesn't see the three. "Where did they go?" he questions. "I heard that Mrs. Bae and Irene planned to take Minji out for breakfast." Mr. Han explains.

"Without telling me?"
"I believe so."

Seokjin sighs and thought, 'Let's hope they'll actually make up with each other and not try to destroy each other.'

At the restaurant, Minji tells Mrs. Bae to order her food while she runs to the bathroom. "Did you bring the sleeping drug?" Irene whispers to her omma. "Of course I did." Mrs. Bae replies, "I'll give it our server for safe keeping." Once finishing the orders, Minji comes out of the bathroom and joins Irene and Mrs. Bae for breakfast. "Sorry to keep you two waiting so long." Minji replies. "I didn't know what to order for you, Minji-ah." Mrs. Bae replies, "So I just ordered you a glass of orange juice and an omelette with a side of breakfast sausage."

"That's fine."
"Good; I would hate a woman
if she's picky with her food."

Moments later, all their food arrived. "Everything looks delicious." Minji replies, "I wish I could have this everyday." "Don't hold back on eating first, Minji." Irene replies, "Omma is paying for all of us." As Minji continues to consume her food and drink, she began to feel lightheaded. "I should stop eating." Minji replies, wiping with her napkin, "I don't feel so well." "We should head back to the mansion then." Mrs. Bae suggests, "Irene, you help Minji to the—" Before they knew it, Minji has fallen to the floor, unconscious. 'I can't believe it actually worked.' Mrs. Bae thought, 'That's what you get for stealing my daughter's husband.' "What do we do now, omma?" Irene asks, "Where do we go on from here?" "We will take her to an abortion clinic." Mrs. Bae explains, "From there, we will trick the doctors to thinking that she wants an abortion."

"What if Seokjin finds out about this?"
"Don't worry, my child." she reassures, "This restaurant
is owned by me; no one dares to speak the truth around here."
"B-b-but—" "Irene stutters.

Mrs. Bae hits Irene in the arm and replies, "Don't you see; once that child in Minji's womb is gone, you will be Seokjin's wife and you will bore him the true heir." Mrs. Bae then gestures two of her servers to take Minji into her vehicle as she and Irene follow behind. "Here's your bonus for helping today." she replies, once they had finish the job, "Now remember to not say anything about this." "Yes, ma'am." they both promise. And so, Mrs. Bae and Irene got inside the car and drive towards the abortion clinic.

Meanwhile back at the mansion, Seokjin continues to pace back and forth by the front entrance. "Seokjin," Hoseok asks, "what are you doing here?" "Minji hasn't come back yet." he replies, with a pouty face. "I'm sure she'll be back." Hoseok replies, "Who did she go with?"

"Mrs. Bae and Irene."
"And you let her go with them?"
"It's not like I had a choice." Seokjin explains,
"I wasn't there when they decided."

Hoseok shook his head at Seokjin. 'Is he really dumb or what?' he thought to himself, 'Why would Seokjin still trust in those two ?'

Mrs. Bae and Irene are consulting with the head doctor of the clinic about Minji's so-called abortion. "And now are you sure that she really wants to do this?" he asks, "Cause if she doesn't, then you'll be in a lot of trouble." "Uisa-seongsaegnim," Mrs. Bae lies, "my daughter-in-law begged me that she wanted an abortion." "It's true, uisa-seongsaegnim." Irene adds on, "My brother passed away not to long ago and she can't bear to raise the child on her own."

"But—"
"I'll even pay you more
than the original price." Mrs. Bae suggests, cutting him off,
"As long as you finish the job in one go."

"Alright, we'll get everything set up for her." he replies, "It will only take an hour." Once the doctor heads into the operation room, Mrs. Bae and Irene decides to leave the clinic without saying where they are going. "Do you think she'll wake up in the middle of the operation, omma?" Irene asks, as they are heading back to the mansion. "She drank nearly that whole glass of orange juice." Mrs. Bae replies, "I'm positive that she won't wake up until the operation is over."

"Something must've happened to Minji." Seokjin replies, as he takes a seat in the living room. "Do you think we should go out and find her, Seokjin?" Hoseok asks. "Minji isn't back yet, dear?" Seokjin's omma asks, walking in.

"Something's fishy about Mrs. Bae's behavior towards Minji;
same goes with Irene." Hoseok replies, "Why would they unexpectingly
befriend Minji so quickly?"

"Isn't this nice?" Seokjin's abeoji replies, walking into the room, "There is no one here to—" "Why are you so happy all of a sudden, yeobo?" she asks. "Nothing." he replies, taking his seat, "Northing at all." "We should investigate this matter." Hoseok whispers to Seokjin, "His Majesty seems like he's onto their plan as well." "We'll have to leave soon." Seokjin whispers back, "I can't stand waiting any longer." Seokjin immediately stands up from his seat and heads out of the mansion with Hoseok following after him. "Where are you two going?" Seokjin's abeoji asks, following after the two. "Yeobo," his omma asks, "would you care to tell me what is going on?"

"See...omma wants to talk to you, abeoji." Seokjin adds on,
"Besides, I have to handle outside business with Hoseok."

Instantly, Seokjin and Hoseok dash out for the entrance before getting stopped again. 'Damn it.' Seokjin's abeoji thought, 'Almost had them.' "Are you going to tell me?' Seokjin's omma asks, "Or do I have to squeeze the truth out of your mouth?" "Yeobo~" he pleads. "Spill it now." she demands, calmly.

Before the procedure even began, the sleeping pill began to wear out alittle, causing Minji to wake up. One of the nurses come into the room, dropping the medical instruments to the floor and asks, "You're awake?!" "Where am I?" Minji asks, "Where is—" "What's the commotion?" asks the doctor, coming to the room. "She's awake before we even started the operation, sire." the nurse explains, turning to look at him, "Her guardians stated that she would be—" "They're not my guardians!" Minji states, while breathing heavily, "They're not my guardians!"

"What should we do now?"
"We'll have to send her on her way." he replies,
"We can't keep her here any longer."

"But she is still on the pill." the nurse replies, helping Minji out of the operation chair, "We can't send her out on the streets in this condition." "We have other patients besides her to work on; now help her out through the backdoor." he snaps. The nurse nods hesitantly and leads Minji out safely.

Mrs. Bae and Irene enters the Kim's mansion with sly smiles on their faces. "With Minji's baby is out of the picture, my daughter will become the—" Mrs. Bae replies. "What do you mean by that, Mrs. Bae?" Mr. Han asks, stopping the mother and daughter in their tracks. "None of your business, Mr. Han." she snaps, "It's only between me and—" "My husband?" Seokjin's omma replies, finishing her sentence.

"Your Grace!" they both exclaims.
"I know that you're angry at me for
destroying your relationship in the past." his omma explains,
"But you shouldn't hold that grudge against an innocent
girl like Minji; she had nothing to do with our past."

"She is repeating the past!" Mrs. Bae exclaims, "That girl is repeating the same mistake that ruined this family!!" "Everyone makes mistakes, Mrs. Bae." Seokjin's omma continues, "We are humans, not—" Before she knew it, Mrs. Bae raises her hand and attempts to slap Seokjin's omma, only to be stopped by Seokjin's abeoji's grasp. "Your Majesty!" she exclaims, backing away as he lets go of her hand. "I don't know why I didn't see this side of you, Mrs. Bae." Seokjin's abeoji replies, "Even from the past, I never seen you act like this."

"Let me ex—"
"There's no need to explain." Mr. Bae replies, coming into the mansion,
"For I have the truth to share to you all."
"Yeobo...." Mrs. Bae replies.

Roughly half-an-hour later, Hoseok and Seokjin finally reach the abortion clinic, according to Mr. Bae's words. "I hope he's right about this." Hoseok replies. "Mr. Bae maybe strict, but he would never tell a lie." Seokjin explains, heading inside. "Wait up!" Hoseok exclaims, following behind him. Once entering, they both confront the receptionist at the front desk. "What can I help you two gentlemen with?" she asks. "Is there a patient by the name of Kim Minji around here?" Seokjin asks.

"She was already left the clinic."
"How long has it been since she left?" Hoseok asks.
"About an twenty minutes ago."

"Let's hurry." Seokjin replies, referring to Hoseok. He nods and the two heads out of the clinic to search for Minji. While roaming on the streets, Minji did not know where she was going or who to ask for help. Suddenly, Minji blacks out again; however, was caught in the process. Hoseok pulls out his cellphone and dials Seokjin. "I've found her." he replies, "I'll meet you back at the clinic." After hanging up, Hoseok repositions Minji towards his back and carries her to the clinic. Seokjin pulls up the car at the entrance, gets out of the driver's side, and opens the back passenger door for Hoseok to put Minji inside. "You sit in the back first, Seokjin." Hoseok explains, "It'll be better for Minji and the baby." "O-okay." He climbs into the back seat as Hoseok carefully leans back to let Seokjin grab Minji. After that, Hoseok closes the back seat door and rushes to the driver's side to go home. "Seokjin," Hoseok replies, as they are driving back to the mansion, "should we take her to the hospital; we don't know if she—" "It's not necessary." Seokjin replies, cutting him off, "I know that she wouldn't want to kill the baby." "But—" "Trust me on this one." 

Upon returning to the mansion, Mrs. Chung and Mr. Han greets them at the entrance. "Everyone is waiting for you in the living room, Seokjin." Mr. Han explains, "Hoseok, Mrs. Chung and I will handle taking care of Minji." Seokjin nods and heads into the living room, knowing what's to come. "About the engagement between our children," Mr. Bae replies, "I would like to withdraw from it due to my wife's childish actions."

"Yeobo!" Mrs. Bae exclaims,
standing from her seat.
"Omma," Irene replies, "take deep breaths."

"Your Highnesses!" she shouts, getting down on her knees, "I beg of you to forget about all of this; can you forgive—" "You still dare to ask for forgiveness?!" Seokjin's halmeoni exclaims, "You nearly killed my great grandchild and my granddaughter-in-law and you still want my son to forgive your wrongdoing?!" "Halmeoni," Irene replies, "don't blame everything on my omma; I was also—"

"Irene!" Mr. Bae snaps, "She must learn
to accept the punishment, not runaway from them."
"Abeoji!"
"We will be leaving now."

Mr. Bae gets up from his seat and leaves the living room while Irene helps her mother on her feet, and she drags her out of the living room as well. "What are you going to do, son?" Seokjin's halmeoni asks, referring to Seokjin's abeoji, "Are you going to call off the engagement?" "Give me some time, omma." he replies, "I will inform Mr. Bae about my decision." "If there's nothing else for me," Seokjin replies, inching towards the exit, "then may I be excused?" "Take me to see Minji, Seokjin." his halmeoni replies. Seokjin nods at her request and leads the way to Minji's bedroom.

Gently knocks on her bedroom door, Mrs. Chung comes to the door and replies, "She's still unconscious, your Highness; I've tried everything." "That's alright, Mrs. Chung." Seokjin reassures, "I'll keep trying tonight." Mrs. Chung nods and opens the door for them to enter while Mr. Han pulls another chair to the bedside. Seokjin's halmeoni sighs at the sight of Minji. "I should call a doctor to come and check on her tomorrow." she replies, pulling the covers over Minji's neck, "I'm worried that the—" "Don't worry, halmeoni." Seokjin reassures, "Minji is a strong woman; I'm sure nothing will happen to the baby."

"I'm still going to call a doctor if
she doesn't wake up tomorrow."
"Like I told Mrs. Chung," he replies,
"I'll keep trying."
"Good."

Mr. Han eventually escorts Seokjin's halmeoni out of the room and closes the door behind them. Seokjin and Mrs. Chung then look at each other. "I brought down your sleepwear, your Highness." Mrs. Chung replies, already knowing what he's thinking, "I'll be back." 

Later that evening, Seokjin changed out of his clothes and into his pajamas, which Mrs. Chung had brought down for him, and return to his seat after dismissing Mrs. Chung. "He's staying up the night?" Mr. Han asks. "After bringing down his sleepwear," she explains, "he told me to go to bed." Mr. Han dismisses her once more and heads into Minji's bedroom. "Sire," Mr. Han replies, approaching the bed, "I suggest you let Mrs. Chung watch over Minji; you'll need alot of—" "I'll be fine, Mr. Han." Seokjin replies, turning to face his butler, "Mrs. Chung and you will have to get up early tomorrow with my parents; besides, I have Hoseok to help me take care of Minji all night." "If you insist." Mr. Han replies, without any hesitations. After Mr. Han has left Minji's bedroom, Seokjin sighs heavily and looks at his sleeping wife. He lifts up the covers slightly, grabs a hold of her right hand, places it on his left cheek and whispers, "If only I went with you, none of this would've happened." Seokjin gently kisses Minji's hand and continues to hold it. Throughout the night, he would constantly check on her temperature, constantly wipe down her body and constantly tell her stories until finally falling asleep by Minji's side.

At the break of dawn, Seokjin wakes up and still sees Minji in the same position. 'Please wake up, Minji.' he thought, 'You have to wake up no matter what.' Without any hesitation, Seokjin stood up from his seat, leans over to Minji's face and kisses her on the lips, hoping that something magically would happen. Pulling away from her lips, Seokjin decides to get himself ready until he heard: 

"....Seokjin-sshi...."

• • [ end of chapter nine ] • •