"You mean—" Minji began. "Yes," Mrs. Chung replies, "Mrs. Bae and His Majesty were betrothed before Her Majesty just like how Seokjin and Irene are betrothed." She lets out a sigh. Hoseok walks up to Minji and replies, "Don't blame yourself, Minji; Seokjin never liked Irene anyways."

"But she is still his fiancée."
"Trust me," he reassures, "You getting pregnant is
probably the only way out of this engagment."
"Hoseok-sshi!" Mrs. Chung replies, hitting his arm.
"Ow!"
"Shut that mouth of yours." she snaps, "You are
making things worse."

Before Hoseok could defend himself, Minji orders, "Can I have some alone time? I won't leave the room." Hoseok and Mrs. Chung look at each other, nods at Minji and eventually leaves Seokjin's bedroom. Once closing the bedroom door, Mrs. Chung hits Hoseok's arm once more. "See what I told you." she replies, "Ms. Kim doesn't even want us in the room anymore." "But I'm just telling the truth, Mrs. Chung." Hoseok retaliates, "Seokjin really doesn't want to marry Irene."

"It's a deal." Mrs. Bae replies, "Come along, Irene, we're going home this instant." As Irene and her omma leave the mansion, Seokjin couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh. "Halmeoni," he replies, "do you really think that Minji could face up against Irene and her crazy mother?" "Of course I do." she replies, "Don't you trust Minji?" "W-well I-I—" he stutters, "W-what I meant was that—" "Look at him,  Seokjin's omma asks. "That's not what I was about to say." Seokjin replies, "What I'm trying to say is—you know what, I'm done talking and I'm going to tell Minji about the situtation." He storms out of the living room and heads on upstairs.

Seokjin reaches his bedroom door and grabs a hold of the knob; however, stops himself from entering into the room. 'Have I always doubted Minji ever since she came here?' he thought to himself, 'Have I always thought about her feelings besides my own?' Seokjin lets out a faint sigh, gently pulls down the knob and walks into the bedroom, only to find Minji asleep in his chair, facing the window. He quietly closes the door behind him, tiptoes over to her and leans against the wall, staring at Minji with gentle eyes. 'She must've been waiting for me.' Seokjin thought. Just then, Minji open her eyes and looks up at Seokjin. "Seokjin-sshi?" she asks, sitting up on the chair, "When did you get here?" "Just right now, actually." he replies, walking over and kneeling in front of Minji, "Did I keep you waiting too long?" Minji shook her head with a smile and replies, "Not at all; how did it go?" Seokjin sighs heavily and replies, "I'll tell you later; but, do you want to eat something?" "Sure, why not?" she replies.

The two head down into the kitchen, where Mrs. Chung and Mr. Han were preparing dinner for the night. "Young master," Mrs. Chung replies, once noticing them and stopping what she was doing, "why are you and Ms. Kim down in the kitchen?" "I want to use the kitchen for a bit." Seokjin replies, rolling up his sleeves, "You and Mr. Han can take a break for now." "But—" she replies. "Mrs. Chung," Mr. Han interrupts, while handing Seokjin an apron, "you know that Prince Seokjin has a passion for food; there's no need to stop him at all."

"What about—"
"Enough with excuses, Mrs. Chung."

Mr. Han pushes Mrs. Chung out of the kitchen with him; Seokjin sighs in relief before heading over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. "Is there anything I can help with?" Minji asks, walking besides to him. "Don't worry; I can do it." he replies, drying his wet hands, "I don't want you to—" "A l;ittle kitchen duty isn't gonna hurt the baby,. Seokjin-sshi." she replies, washing her hands, "Besides, we are a married couple; we need to work things out together."

"Can you cook?"
"A little."
"Well, we're going to be cooking spaghetti from scratch." Seokjin explains,
"Can you handle making that?"
"Just tell me what to do." Minji replies, with motivation.

Throughout the whole process, Seokjin slowly teaches Minji how to prep the vegetables and get exact measurements. From the entrance, Mrs. Chung, Mr. Han and Hoseok are spying on the couple out of curosity. "When do you think they'll actually do something romantic?" Mrs. Chung asks, "I wanna see some interactions between them." "It's not like your weekday dramas, Mrs. Chung." Mr. Han retorts, "His Highness isn't really a romantic man himself." "Mr. Han is right." Hoseok adds on, "Whenever it comes to cooking, Seokjin is too serious."

"How are you so sure about that?"
"I'm just saying." Hoseok explains, "It's not like—"

"The tomatos are still to thick, Minji-sshi." Seokjin replies, interrupting their conversation, "Dice them a little smaller like mine." "O-okay." she replies. As Minji continues to cut the tomatos similar to his, Seokjin unintentionally comes up behind her, wrapping his arms around her body and grabbing a hold of both her hands. "Seokjin-sshi?!" Minji exclaims, looking up at him. "Let me show you more closer." he replies, trying to guide her hands. Meanwhile, Mrs. Chung, Mr. Han and Hoseok were immediately shocked by Seokjin's sudden actions. "Did he really just do that?" Mrs. Chung asks. "I think he did, Mrs. Chung." Mr. Han replies. "Keep it up, Seokjin." Hoseok replies, "Keep it up."

Minji could hear her heart pounding so loud that she couldn't help but stare at Seokjin instead of looking at the cutting board. 'He has a different aura when he is cooking.' Minji thought, 'And here I am thinking that princes aren't allowed to cook.' "Did you understand now?" Seokjin asks, pulling away from her. "Huh?" she asks, returning back to reality, "What did you say?" "Were you too distracted by my beautiful face?" he asks, jokingly. Minji gently places the knife on the cutting board and attempts to leave the kitchen but slips on the wet kitchen floor. "Careful!" Seokjin exclaims, catching Minji before she falls. Once caught, he gently pulls Minji up against his body and they realize how close they are to each other. "Seokjin-sshi?" Minji asks, looking up at him. Seokjin then slowly leans in closer to Minji's face, placing his lips upon hers. Minji's eyes widen with surprise and confusion as Seokjin continues to kiss her; however, she didn't resist and just went with the flow.

Omo~" Mrs. Chung exclaims, slightly turning away, "I can't watch this!" "Hoseok-sshi," Mr. Han replies, slightly covering his own eyes and trying to block Hoseok's view, "you shouldn't be watching something like this; you're way too young for this." "Aish~ Mr. Han!" Hoseok exclaims, fighting him back, "It's not like you've ever kissed a woman before." "Don't cross it, Lee Hoseok." Mr. Han snaps.

Slowly, Seokljin pulls out from the kiss and sees Minji's eyes are still closed. "Minji-sshi," Seokjin stutters, trying not to blush, "I-I....w-we should probably finish making dinner." Minji eventually comes back to reality and answers, "R-right, but I need you to let go of me first." "O-oh, I forgot." Seokjin eventually releases Minji and the two continue where they left off.

"If only my husband was this loving," Mrs. Chung replies, "then I wouldn't leave the comfort of my home at all." "Keep that fantasy of yours to yourself, Mrs. Chung." Mr. Han replies, "I almost puked in my mouth."

"What are you three doing over that?" Seokjin asks, appearing
in front of the three troublemakers.
"Why don't you ask Ho—?"

Trying to blame, Hoseok, Mr. Han and Mrs. Chung didn't realize that he had already escape the scene. Seokjin crosses his arms and asks, "Then where is this Hosoek of yours?" Both Mr. Han and Mrs. Chung looked at each other and let out a good laugh with Seokjin before running off as well. 'Those three,' he thought to himself, while shaking his head, 'they are always looking for a great show from me.' After handling that, Seokjin turns back to the kitchen and helps Minji with the finishing touches.

Finally done, he plates the spaghetti on a porclein plater and twirls the first bite of pasta on a fork for Minji. "Say ah~" Seokjin replies, playfully. Minji smiles at his playfulness and takes the first bite. "It's delicious!" Minji exclaims, as her eyes lit up with joy, "Better than the restaurants' pasta!" "Alright; here's the second one." This time, however, Seokjin purposely leaves a long strand of noodle for himself, quickly takes a bite without Minji noticing and gives her a quick peck on the lip. "Yah~" Minji exclaims, talking with her mouthful, "Why did you just kiss me again?" "Aren't married couples suppose to share affection for each other, especially when the wife is pregnant?" Seokjin asks.

"Don't try to change the topic, Seokjin-sshi!"
"I'm not tyring to."
"Then answer my question!" she whines.

Seokjin smiles, jokingly, and kisses Minji on the lips once again. "Because my wife is beautiful and sweet." he replies, once pulling away from the third kiss, "And that's all I ever want from her." Minji couldn't help but blush when he complemented her. Seokjin eventually pulls her into another embrace and attempts to take a fourth kiss from her. "There you are!" Seokjin's omma replies, interrupting the moment, "I've been looking for you two." Minji pushes out of the embrace and stands away from Seokjin, looking away from him. "What is it, omma?" Seokjin asks, turning his attention to his omma. "Halmeoni wants you and Minji to visit her at our family's vacation home tomorrow morning." she explains, "I already have the servants packing your suitcases for the trip tonight."

"What for?" Minji asks,
"Why do we need to go to the vacation home?"

Seokjin's omma looks at her son and asks, "You didn't tell her about it?" "I was planning to tell her after dinner." Seokjin explains, "I got everything under control." After she las left the kitchen, Seokjin turns back to Minji and replies, "Halmeoni made a bet with Mrs. Bae aka Irene's omma."

"A bet?"
"I will have to spend time with you and
Bae Irene."
"Together or separately?" she asks.
"Separately." he answers.

'I can't argue with that.' Minji thought to herself, 'After all, I am just a stranger to Seokjin; we weren't suppose to be lovers anyways.' "Let's clean up and I'll walk you back to your bedroom." Seokjin replies. After cleaning up, Seokjin does as he said and walks Minji back to her bedroom. Before she could enter the room, Seokjin replies, "If you need anything, just call for Mrs. Chung." "I will." she replies, "Good night, Seokjin-sshi." Minji enters the room, closing the door behind her while Seokjin stood there in agony. 'Everything is gonna be alright.' Seokjin thought, 'Mrs. Bae and Irene won't even take the deal.'

The next morning, Mr. Han and the servants began to stuff all the luggages into Seokjin's small car while he checks up on Minji. At first, he knocks on the door and nobody answers. Seokjin knocks again and still no answer. "Minji?" he asks, knocking on the door, "Minji, are you still in there?" Just then, Seokjin turns the door knob and it was open the whole time. "Seokjin-sshi?!" Minji exclaims, coming from the bathroom. Immediately, he rushes to the bathroom and found a robed Minji drying her hair. "Did you need something?" she asks, turning off the hair dryer. "Mr. Han and the servants are putting the luggages in the small vehicle." Seokjin explains, "Just letting you know."

"Oh okay."
"Don't rush yourself."
"I won't."

Seokjin leaves the bedroom without saying anything else. Minji unplugs the hair dryer from the outlet, places it on the bathroom countertop, heads over to her closet and picks out her clothes for the day. Ten minutes later, she comes out in a sleeveless pink summer dress, paired with white shoes and a  cute straw hat. "Minji-sshi," Mrs. Chung replies, entering the room, "you look beautiful." "Thanks Mrs. Chung." she replies, with a smile.

"He will surely fall heads over heels for you now."
"Don't say it like that, Mrs. Chung."
"I'm serious, my dear." Mrs. Chung explains,
"You are probably the most beautiful girl he has ever met."

Minji couldn't help but smile even more brightly at Mrs. Chung's sweet comments. 'Only until the contract is over,' she ponders, 'then I won't be in his life anymore.'

At the front entrance, Seokjin is dressed up in a white t-shirt paired with a black, ripped skinny jean for pants and a black and white striped outerwear shirt with matching sandals. "Mr. Han," Seokjin whispers, "I want you to keep a close eye on abeoji; I don't want him to contact Mrs. Bae or Irene at all." "But what if he finds out that I'm spying on him for you?" Mr. Han whispers back, "I've been working with your family for years and I don't—."

"Don't worry.; you can't be fired for helping his son."
"I'm coming along too!" Hoseok exclaims, running with his duffle bag.
"Why are you coming with us?" Seokjin asks, "We don't need a third-wheel."
"But it's my job, Seokjin."

At that moment, Mrs. Chung and Minji comes out from the hallway to meet up with the three men. "What are you boys talking about?" Mrs. Chung asks, interrupting them. "Nothing!!" they all exclaimed. "Right~" she replies, as she and Minji giggles.

"You look beautiful, Minji-sshi." Hoseok replies,
"Pink really suits you."
"Thank you, Hoseok." Minji answers, with a smile.

Seokjin takes off his outerwear shirt, walks over to Minji and puts it on her shoulder, covering her slightly-exposed body. "Why did you—" Minji asks, looking up at Seokjin. "You shouldn't expose yourself too much." he replies, not looking at her, "I don't want others to look at you." Minji scoffs at his response. 'One comment from Hoseok and he's already a jealous mess.' she thought.

Two hours of traveling on the road, Minji has fallen asleep on Seokjin's shoulder as Seokjin is keeping Hoseok awake until they have reach the vacation home. "It's been forever since we came here." Hoseok replies, driving up to the front entrance. "It still looks the same as ever." Seokjin adds, "Only a few changes here and there." Once Hoseok had parked in front of the entrance, he began to take out the luggages; however, is stopped by Seokjin's halmeoni. "Hoseok-sshi!" she exclaims, as two servants come rushing out to take the luggages inside, "My servants take it to the rooms." Hoseok nods and heads over to open the back passenger door for Seokjin and Minji. Seokjin carefully adjusts Minji upright on the car seat and comes out to greet his halmeoni. "Halmeoni!" he replies. "Seokjin-ah!" she replies, walking down to give him a hug, "I thought you wouldn't make it before dark."

"Don't worry too much, halmeoni."
"Where's my future granddaughter-in-law? Did she not come?"
"She fell asleep on the way here." Seokjin explains.
"Well," his halmeoni acknowledges, "it must've been a long
ride for her."

"That's all the luggages, madam." one of the servants reported. Seokjin's halmeoni nods and gestures them to leave. "Seokjin-ah," she replies, "bring Minji into the bedroom to sleep; after that, I want to meet up with you and Hoseok in the living room."

While Minji is sleeping in the prepared bedroom, Seokjin's halmeoni gathered Seokjin and Hoseok into the living room. "What did you want to ask us, halmeoni?" Seokjin asks, sitting down in one of the chairs. "Remember that bet with Mrs. Bae?" she asks. The two men nods their head. "Well," she continues, "I'm not letting her daughter get the chance."

"What do you mean, halmeoni?" Seokjin asks,
"I thought you were gonna be a good sport with Mrs. Bae?"
"Mrs. Bae also have tricks up her sleeves, Seokjin-ah."
"So that's why you decided to have Seokjin and Minji come
to the vacation home, right?" Hoseok questions.

Seokjin's halmeoni nods to Hoseok's words. "Just exactly like that, Hoseok-sshi." she answers. "Your Grace," replies one of halmeoni's servant, "your granddaughter-in-law is awake; do you want me to bring her to meet you?" "I will go up to meet her myself." Seokjin's halmeoni replies, getting up from her seat, "Prepare a glass of water before meeting me up there, okay?" "Yes, ma'am." she replies, letting Seokjin's halmeoni go first. After losing sight of her, Seokjin turns to Hoseok and asks, "How did you get all of that except for me?" "All I did was guess, Seokjin." Hoseok confesses, "I had nothing to do with halmeoni."

"Will you stop calling her 'Halmeoni' when she's not even
your 'Halmeoni'?"
"She seems okay with me calling her that."

Back in the bedroom, Minji carefully climbs out of bed and heads over to the bedroom window to look at the beautiful view. 'Oh my goodness!' she thought, 'What a view!' Just then, there was a knock at the door. Minji turns to the sound and replies, "Come in." The door opens and it's Seokjin's halmeoni and a servant holding a serving tray with a glass of water on top. "Halmeoni—" Minji asks, walking up to her. "Come sit down, my dear." she replies, motioning to the bed. Minji walks back to the bed and sits down immediately as the servant hands her the glass of water. "Thank you." Minji replies, thanking her. "Now, Minji-sshi," Seokjin's halmeoni replies, "the reason why I've invited you and Seokjin to the vacation house is because I want to protect you from Mrs. Bae and her daughter." "Why is that?" Minji asks, after taking a sip of water, "All Seokjin told me was he had to spend time with Irene."

"Joohyun's mother and I aren't on very good terms, you see."
"But she can't be that horrible, right?"
"Not until her plan is ruined, Minji-ah." Seokjin's halmeoni answers,
"She'll do anything to hurt someone in her path."

Minji immediately places her hand over her stomach, worried for her child's life. "I won't let that woman touch you, my child." she reassures, placing her hand on Minji's lap,

"I promise that nothing will happen to my great-grandchild."

• • [ end of chapter five ] • •