As soon as the children are out, Eunwoo slips his arms around Minjun’s waist and digs in Minjun’s neck and hair. Minjun giggles and attempts to tease, “Can’t get enough of me?”

“That is the only explanation.” Eunwoo takes in a deep breath and holds in the gentle scent of his wife.

“Was it not Your Highness who rejected this subject earlier today?”

“I was wrong. Please let me touch you and smell you and kiss you and—”

Minjun uses his hand to cover up the mouth that has no shame. His face blushes in a soft warm color where it’s not too deep like it’s bleeding and just enough to make the whole face brighter. 

Eunwoo grabs the hand covering his mouth and kisses the long scar that starts at the pinky and runs along the side up to the elbow hidden by the sleeve. 

“Your Highness…”

The husband looks up to see his wife’s lightly tearful eyes. He cups the beautiful face with his other hand, and looks into those black eyes with all his attention. If nothing else, he hopes this person knows how much he means to him. 

“Can this subject expect that he won’t ever lose this affection from Your Highness?” Every word is said very carefully so that nothing can be lost. Minjun doesn’t want Eunwoo to mishear or risk not conveying everything with just the right tone. 

“This heart,” Eunwoo’s places Minjun’s right hand on his left chest. “And this person are all yours. They belong to no one and nothing else. You can expect more too because I intend to give you more. So much so that you’ll never tell me to abandon you… And when you are tired of me, I’ll do whatever it takes to get you interested again.”

“Impossible.”

Eunwoo teases, “Then, can this humble man expect that he won’t ever lose this affection from the beauty here?”

“Can expect more.” Minjun nods.

The children walk in on them, the older covering the younger’s eyes and the younger is confused and tries to tear the hands away. 

Minjun sighs but doesn’t push Eunwoo away. He gestures for the children to come closer. Then he says to them, “How about it? You’re welcome to stay here with us or continue to live by yourselves and we can support you from afar.”

“Eomma! Young stays with eomma,” the little one squeezes himself between Minjun and Eunwoo.

Yong, on the other hand, is hostile, but secretly enjoys the food and the attention from these so-called parents. But more so, she is angered that Young has been won over in less than an instant. As if he already accepted his new parents even before they were invited for lunch. 

Was it because she is a child herself that this little brother couldn’t see her as a parent figure? Or is this little brother selfishly longing for parents? Either way, she’s angered that Young doesn’t try to be more cautious. 

Minjun hugs the little boy and Eunwo pats his head. Minjun turns to the daughter, “How about Yong? Do you wish to stay in our home or return?”

Yong sees Minjun, but she glares at the big man beside him. She doesn’t mind Minjun who had already shown himself to be a good Ahjussi among wild men in the past year, but Minjun’s husband had never carried himself in that way until now. In her mind, Eunwoo belongs in the same hell as her biological parents, relatives, and the entire village. However, Young has already decided to stay with them so if she goes back, she won’t be able to protect the foolish little brother. 

“Stays,” Yong answers in an annoyed tone. 

The two adults look at each other with surprise. They reach out their hands for Yong to join them, but she averts her gaze and mumbles, “I’m tired.”

Minjun unfolds the gung bedding and tells Yong to rest. Meanwhile, Eunwoo takes Young back to the shed at the foot of the mountain to bring back all of the children’s valuables, even if they’re a few blankets and old socks. 

On their way back, a few children approach them. They’re older than Young by a few years, perhaps seven or eight years old.

“Dok, is he your new appa?” 

“Does he give you money?”

“I bet he hit you already.”

Young smiles and grabs Eunwoo’s leg, “ Appa makes really good food for noona and me. Appa doesn’t hit anyone in my family.”

“Liar! Whether it’s the new or old Appa, your Appa is a wife beater! He’s just waiting to sell you and your noona! Better run away again.” 

The children giggle among themselves until they feel Eunwoo’s blood thirsty glare. Their spines go cold and they jump before running away screaming. 

Eunwoo pats Young’s head, “I won’t hit or sell anyone in our family. I love you all very much. You’ll believe Appa, won’t you?”

“Yes!” 

Young giggles on their way back to their house. Though he is naive, he is happy. 

Inside, Minjun and Yong are sleeping already. Eunwoo puts the children’s things away and brings out some papers. He starts the preface before the calculations. 

“What’s Appa doing?” Young leans over Eunwoo’s shoulder. 

“Writing. Would Young like to write as well?” 

The child nods, and Eunwoo gives him a few pieces of paper and a brush. They share the ink. Young watches Eunwoo write a word and then he writes a word, trying to copy the essence of writing rather than the strokes that make a character into a word. 

Soon, Young is tired of writing and goes to squeeze between his sister and Minjun. 

Eunwoo goes outside to take measures. When he returns, Minjun is getting out of bed. He moves toward his wife, “How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“How can I when my husband is so attentive? Where did you learn to be like this?” Minjun falls into Eunwoo’s warm arms. 

“I learned from listening to all the women of the world,” Eunwo answers. “If there are flowers in this season, I'll have already gotten you flowers. If there are sweets, I’ll have already bought you some… Perhaps, I can make you some later.”

“You can make sweets?”

Eunwoo scratches the back of his head, “Well, I know how to bake some sweets, but I’ll need to make an oven and flour and a flour mill to make the flour and find wheat to turn into flour. There is just so much for me to do.”

“Sounds very complicated.” Minjun chuckles at the silly man. “I’ll make us some sweets. I was thinking of making some anyway.”

“Yes,” Eunwoo nods. He glances over Minjun’s head toward the children. “When I was in America, my parents sent me to public school to make friends with those who are less fortunate. Some of my teachers always have a snack box where the children can grab one or two if they’re hungry and it’s not lunch time. The snack box is out in the open so the children never have to ask the teacher and simply take whenever. I think we should do that in our home as well.”

“Let’s do that. I’ll go make some sweets.” 

“Thank you.” 

Minjun looks down and blushes softly. He feels appreciated whenever he does something as insignificant as making sweets for the children, and he doesn’t know what to make of it. Does his husband need to thank him for every little thing? But he doesn’t want to be not appreciated if he says anything now.

He lets it go and enters the kitchen. With only a few ingredients, he intends to make some pressed cookies. They didn’t know they were going to have two children when they last went into town, so there aren’t a lot of options. 

After spending a couple of hours in the kitchen, he returns to the main room where Yong is still napping, Young is sleepily awake on Eunwoo’s lap, and Eunwoo is studious but still lets a small child play on his lap. 

Minjun’s body feels light. He was worried that Eunwoo only felt a sense of fatherly duty because there is an enormous debt to him and the fetus somehow, and Eunwoo probably agreed to adopt these two children because he asked, but it looks like Eunwoo enjoys the company of children too. Or at least he appears to tolerate the idea of father and children.

“Appa, Eomma is stuck by the door,” Young tugs at Eunwoo’s collar. 

Confused, Eunwoo looks up from the paper. He smiles as soon as he sees Minjun. His hand drops the brush, “Eomma made us snacks. Are you happy, Young?”

“Snacks? Young is happy!” The child sits up straight, no longer having a sleepy face. 

Although the pressed cookies are presented before the little Young, he keeps his hands to himself and smiles. Minjun takes two cookies and hands them one each. 

“Yummy!” Young grabs his cheeks. “So yummy!”

Eunwoo nods, “Agreed. It is yummy.”

“There are still plenty, but save some room for dinner.” Minjun places one in his mouth as well. It doesn’t taste like the ones in the palace, but it’s not bad. 

“Thank you for the cookies, Minjun.”

Young chokes. He hits his chest and swallows quickly. He laughs, “Thank you, Eomma! Young likes cookies very much.”

“You’re welcome,” Minjun pinches the bulging and soft baby cheek.

After finishing the cookie, Minjun insists on making dinner and for Eunwoo to continue writing and watching the children. Alone in the kitchen again, he calms his heart. He never expects to have a family like this. He is happy.

“Minjun. Will you boil some water? Young needs a bath!”

Eunwoo calls from the other side of the wall. But even when the water boiled, Minjun didn't see the two come over. He sighs. Perhaps, Young isn’t willing. Children hate bathing.

“Is the water still hot?” Eunwoo carries a naked child covered with a towel. The child has red eyes and a pouty face. 

“Yes, but don’t force him…”

“It’s just a bath. Children need to build up good hygiene habits, otherwise a small problem will become a big problem later.” Eunwoo shakes his head and takes the bucket of hot water.

He mixes the hot and cold water in the tub and places the child inside. Then he returns to wrap less than a handful of rice in a cloth. He bathes the boy and scrubs away the layers of dirt. 

Young sits there, sad and depressed. 

“Lift your chin.”

Young covers it up with both hands and shakes his head. 

“Let Appa cleans it for you,” Eunwoo sighs but the child refuses. “Why don’t you want to clean it?”

“I… I’m hiding the flower,” Young answers in a meek and tearful tone. 

“Why?”

They stay silent for a while but Eunwoo wants Young to bathe himself often in the future. After all, within a beautiful body rests a beautiful soul. Is that not the paradigm of the Silla dynasty?

“Because Young needs to be a real boy. Young needs to protect himself from bad people. If there’s a flower, then Young is only half a boy.”

The child cries.

Eunwo pats the little head and peels the thick layer of mud under Young’s chin. He has been wondering about this piece of mud for a while, confused why neither Yong nor Minjun bothered to help the child clean. Indeed, underneath the thick layer of mud, there is a flower in a dark color. Young will grow up to be a second-class man like Minjun. Looks like a man and is treated like a woman.

He wipes the anxious tears, “Appa will protect you and Eomma and Yong. Young doesn’t need to worry about bad people. He can be a cute baby like he is.”

“Appa!” Young sits up from the tub and hugs Eunwoo. And when he finally stops crying, he apologizes, “Young is sorry. He doesn’t mean to dirty Appa’s clothes.”

“It’s alright.” Eunwoo picks up the boy and changes the water a second time. He bathes the boy three times when the water no longer runs muddy. Then he wraps the boy up and puts him in warm clothes.

Eunwoo leaves Young in the main room with Yong and returns to the kitchen. The food is almost ready. He sits behind Minjun and rests his head on Minjun’s shoulder. 

“Tell me I did a good job.”

“Good job.”

“Thank you. Minjun, did you know Young is like you?” 

Minjun nods.

“I really want to kill that bastard,” Eunwoo hisses.