Minjun is awakened by the sun rays coming through the cracks of the open window. He doesn’t feel any pain but the fatigue is getting to him. Perhaps he stayed out too long yesterday or worried too much. His hand stretches out and brushes along the gung bed. It has been cold for a while. 

He gets up and sees a letter on the pillow beside him. His body freezes. Did Eunwoo abandon him?

The sound of wood stacked on top of each other on the other side of the wall releases him from that anxiety-inducing illusion. He picks up the letter and reads it with much relief. 

Minjun checks underneath the pillow just as the letter instructed and finds the money bag. Then he places it with the little porcelain container as Eunwoo has asked him to.

The letter also says that Eunwoo had discussed matters with both the village chief and the children’s father. He has already paid for the adoption and took a pot of rice porridge and medicine over to the children this morning. 

Minjun brings the letter to his face, hiding his happiness. He is very satisfied with the level of competence his husband is capable of. With a smile, he hides the letter and washes his face.

“You’re up. Are you feeling better?” Eunwoo enters the kitchen with some firewood in his arms. 

“Yes.”

“That’s good.” Eunwoo places the firewood down, “I’ll start making lunch. Why don’t you go and bring the children home—”

For the first time in their married life, Minjun takes the initiative to touch Eunwoo. He slips his arms under Eunwoo’s and encloses an embrace from behind. His bosom and stomach press against Eunwoo’s back.

“That isn’t fair,” Eunwoo pouts. He breaks loose and turns around for a deep kiss. Their tongues fight an endless battle, neither yielding. Minjun’s arms hook around Eunwoo’s neck, and Eunwoo holds the little waist. 

Soon, both are at their physical limits and finally release each other’s breaths. 

“I’ve been holding back, thinking that you don’t find me attractive,” Eunwoo squints his eyes with a sinister grin.

“Impossible.” Minjun looks away with rosy cheeks and licks the saliva left on his lustrous lips. 

Eunwoo leans in and licks the spot where Minjun just licked, “Sweet like honey.”

“Your Highness needn’t hold back. This subject is willing,” Minjun raises himself up with the tips of his toes. “Kiss me again.”

Eunwoo smiles and gives Minjun a peck on the corner of the lips. Minjun frowns, but Eunwoo laughs, “I believe you. However, if we continue, I won’t be able to stop. Besides, we have other things to worry about. We need to bring our older children home and grow the little one inside of you. The little one is growing rapidly and is taking all your energy for themself.”

“Understood.” Minjun places his head against the chest before him. Recently, he has been sleeping in these arms and on the beating chest, and it seems that he has become addicted to their warmth and affection. 

“Are you still tired?” Eunwoo whispers softly into Minjun’s ear. 

Minjun answers, “Not tired… This subject woke up and Your Highness was gone. This subject usually wakes up to sleeping together, so it’s weird if…”

“I see. My wife misses me.”

Embarrassed by these words, Minjun pushes Eunwoo away. He touches his cheeks with his cool hands, “I’ll go bring the children home.”

“Just one moment.” Eunwoo goes and grabs an egg from the counter. He peels it and hands it to Minjun, “Eat this first so you won’t be so hungry. I’ll make delicious food and wait for your return.”

Minjun nods and takes the egg. 

While outside, his beating heart calms down but the voice in his head gets louder as a result. They are spouses who have already consummated with a child on the way. Why is it that he still feels so nervous and embarrassed when Eunwoo says cheesy things? 

He is busy talking to himself, not noticing the gazes of the villagers he walks past nor the enemies in the darkness. 

Before long, a goblin-like child runs up to him on the road. He looks terrified but curious. Without a filter, he asks as soon as he meets Minjun, “Ahjussi. Ahjussi. Is it true? Your husband adopted my noona and me?”

“It’s true.”

“Really? Ahjussi isn’t lying to children, is he?” 

“No.”

The child smiles, showcasing both the top and bottom baby teeth. He takes Minjun’s hand and pulls them to the little shed at the edge of the farmlands, at the foot of the mountain.

They enter the little shed, catching the older sister rebandaging her wound on the stomach. The color is white and green, or dead and infected. 

Minjun tries not to show anything on his face, but the older sister already made a look of annoyance. She pulls down her shirt and greets the guest, “What’s bringing Ahjussi here today? Aren’t you coming here too often? Won’t your husband beat you?”

“Noona…”

The older sister glares at the younger brother, “Take the guest out. Our home is not suitable for guests.”

“Haven’t you heard? My husband and I adopted—”

“I never asked for your pity! I can protect my brother by myself.”

“Noona!” The little goblin-like child cries and curls up beside his older sister. 

Both Minjun and the older sister stay silent, only staring at one another while the younger brother sobs quietly. Minjun goes to sit beside the bed and stares at the hidden rebandaged wound.

“Did it happen when I was sick and wasn’t around?” Minjun furrows his brows. With the silent treatment from the girl, Minjun continues, “Hiding it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist… Come live with me. It’ll give you a better chance of protecting your younger brother.”

“Why should we? If your husband can beat you, his lawful wife? Then he’ll beat us too.”

“Well, that is true… But I promise that he would never lay a hand on either of you. He has turned over a new leaf. I know he has changed and I’ve seen the change. My husband is a good person and a competent husband.”

Seeing that the older sister is a little convinced due to the new rumors, Minjun adds, “Come join us for lunch and see for yourself. My husband only has eyes for me. He will not hurt me or either of you.”

Speaking of lunch, all three of their stomachs growl. They rub their empty stomachs and decide to test Eunwoo. 

On their way back, Minjun carries the thirteen-year-old girl on his back with a little goblin by his side. This time, he is aware of the stares and glances of the villagers on the fields and on the road. It feels like forever before they reach the edge of the village where Eunwo has prepared lunch for them.

At the fence, they could smell that it was a bird and rice soup. Probably because there are two sick people. 

Eunwo carries a tray out of the kitchen when he sees them. Before taking the tray to the main room, he calls out to them, “Come wait by the door. I’ll fetch a pan of water for washing hands and faces. Then, let’s have a good meal.”

Minjun and the two children peek inside the main room. In the center of the room, there are many bowls of meats, vegetables, and multigrain rice. The two children had never seen such a grand lunch outside of holidays or milestone celebrations before. 

“Wash your hands and faces,” Eunwoo sets down a pan of water from the well in the backyard. Then he hands Minjun a handkerchief, “My wife, you’re a little pale.”

As soon as Minjun and the two children heard it, Minjun’s face instantly turned red, as if to contradict Eunwoo’s words and make him a fool. Eunwoo sighs and gestures for them to enter the house.

For the first time, Eunwo and Minjun sit on the same side to eat a meal together. The two children sit on the other side, drooling over the food. 

“Let’s eat.” Eunwoo picks up his chopsticks and eats a bite of the meal before feeding Minjun as usual. 

And unlike last night, Minjun smiles and eats from Eunwoo’s chopsticks, “Remember to feed yourself too.”

A big laugh catches all of them off guard. Eunwoo excuses himself and tells them to continue eating. This morning he was not in a good mood learning about the two children’s biological parents and the adoption process. Well, not being in a good mood is an understatement. Eunwoo was furious and very close to beating people up. 

The children’s biological mother is the type of woman who can’t live without a man. She worships her husband to a fault where she sacrifices not just herself but also her children. Their biological father is a man who easily gives into pleasure. Pleasure for alcohol. Pleasure for gambling. Pleasure for sex. Pleasure for entertainment. All the vices. 

The girl is not their eldest child. She is their tenth. All those before her were sold. The biological father usually keeps his daughters and second-class sons longer. He raises them to be around twelve and tastes their firsts before selling them off. The sons are sold immediately. In fact, there are two brothers whose ages are between the girl and the little goblin that was already sold. 

Eunwoo asked the village chief why they haven’t punished those low lives, but the village chief said that it’s not illegal to sell one’s own children because children are just property and assets. He feels more in his heart that he doesn’t care if the Kingdom of Silla falls, but he’ll please Minjun and calculate the day of the total solar eclipse.

“Eat slowly, you might choke yourself.” Minjun takes a handkerchief and wipes the oily soft cheeks of the youngest. 

“It’s so tasty, Ahjussi! I like it very much,” the little goblin laughs. 

The girl glances at her brother with much embarrassment but also happy to see him laughing and eating to his fill. Just sitting up and eating has taken a toll on her, but the happiness she feels makes her forget about the pain and the wound on her stomach.

When everyone is full, the girl quickly gets up to clean up the dishes. Eunwoo stops her, “Before doing that. I have some rules. First, you both need to address me appropriately. You don’t need to call me Abeoji or Appa, it can be Ahjussi, Eunwoo Ahjussi, or whatever else you think is acceptable. However, I will not tolerate being called You, Hey, Hey you, or any of those sorts. Wife, how do you want them to address you?”

“Likewise, anything appropriate is fine,” Minjun replies after a while.

“Eomma? Can I call you that? I want Ahjussi to be my eomma.” The little goblin crawls around to the other side of the food tray and places his head on Minjun’s lap. 

“Eomma is appropriate.”

The girl glares at her younger brother, then at Minjun and Eunwoo. Her heart tightens. She doesn't know why she’s angry but she is. In front of the new guardians and after eating a good meal for the first time in her life, she says nothing but is visibly uncomfortable. 

“Okay. Now, what should we address you? What’s your name?” Eunwoo asks.

“I… We… You’re the parent. Name us,” the girl answers with balled fists.

Eunwoo raises his eyebrows, “How about I give you two a few names each and you can choose. For you: Ji, Seulgi, Hyun, Yoon, Yong—”

“Yong.”

“Alright. Yong, it is,” Eunwoo is also satisfied with that name for the girl. He turns to Minjun and the little goblin, “Your turn. I’ll list a few names and you can pick. For you: Kyong, Hyun-Shik, Iseul, Jihoon, Sangwook, and Young.”

The boy frowns and looks up at Minjun, confused and nervous. Without help from Minjun, he looks back at Eunwoo, “I don’t know. I can’t choose.”

“You’re a cute child with a straightforward personality. I don’t know how you’ll grow up to be, but I have no doubt that you’ll be great someday. Any of the names I said are good for you.” Eunwoo smiles at the child to give encouragement.

“I don’t remember. Can Ahjussi say them again?” 

“Of course. The names are Kyong, Hyun-Shik, Iseul, Jihoon, Sangwook, and Young.”

The child frowns and thinks hard about that list of names as he continues to lie on Minjun’s lap. His sister wants to pick one for him, but Eunwoo insists that the boy picks one for himself as those are all good names, none was inherently better than the other.

“Young. I want to be called Young so that it’s similar to my noona’s,” the little goblin laughs. 

Yong narrows her eyes. Their new names may sound similar but have completely different meanings. For instance, she chose her name because courage ascribes both her past and her future. But unchanging is the opposite of that. How can her little brother pick a name such as that one? 

“It’s a great name,” Minjun pats the boy’s head and glances over at Eunwo who also nods with satisfaction.

Only Yong is left unsatisfied. She rearranges the plates, “If you’re done. I’ll go do the dishes.”

“Ahjussi. Call me, Ahjussi. It’s not so hard.”

Without saying another word, Yong takes the tray of dishes outside. Young wants to cuddle with his new parents but feels guilty to let his sister do all the dishes, so he follows her.