Chapter 8
“You stamp this here.”
At the subway station, Yoo-eun bought a single-use ticket and handed it to Yoo. He watched what she did and then passed through the ticket gate.
“Seonbi-nim, please come this way.”
Yoo-eun tugged at Yoo’s sleeve as he stared at the ticket gate with wonder. Yoo flinched slightly but said nothing and obediently followed.
Just in case Yoo might be startled, Yoo-eun had explained about the subway in advance. Thanks to that, even when the train arrived quickly, Yoo stepped back but didn’t cry out.
However, his eyes as he looked around the subway car were gleaming excessively.
“If something like this existed in Joseon, it would be a great help to the people. Miss, do you know the principle by which this object moves?”
“Um, I’m not really sure.”
“That’s a shame. Mi— Miss! The inside of the door is clearly visible! It’s empty?”
Seeing Yoo unable to hide his surprise at the subway windows, Yoo-eun felt relieved that there were few people at the station since it was midday.
Otherwise, someone might have filmed them and uploaded it to social media.
“Get on quickly. You can’t walk around inside, so please sit next to me.”
Yoo, who was not used to a vehicle that seemed to move on its own, fortunately sat quietly beside Yoo-eun. He didn’t stop looking around though.
He was surprised seeing the dark outside, but fortunately only raised his shoulders slightly. He seemed to be affected by the silence inside the subway.
But his scanning eyes sparkled, showing considerable curiosity.
After about fifteen minutes, they arrived at Gyeongbokgung Station.
As light spilled from the end of the underpass connected to the National Palace Museum, Yoo-eun’s steps gradually slowed.
Because Yoo was staring and waiting intently, she had no choice but to move her heavy legs.
Yoo, wearing traditional hanbok, enjoyed the privilege of free admission and strode into the palace.
The place where he stopped without hesitation was in front of Geunjeongjeon Hall.
“Ah…”
He had paused briefly in front of the ninth-rank position stone near Geunjeongmun Gate, then his jade-colored robe fluttering, he moved forward.
The tall man who stopped without hesitation beside the first-rank position stone looked at the main hall with an incredulous gaze, then walked briskly deeper into the palace.
His pace alternated between fast and slow, sometimes slowing down. In between, he would check if Yoo-eun was doing alright.
Sometimes Yoo’s gaze would go to the detailed explanatory signs installed in front of each building.
Even if he didn’t know the explanations written in Hangul, the Chinese character content was readable enough for Yoo, so Yoo-eun’s heart sank.
Only after seeing Sujeongjeon Hall, where Jiphyeonjeon (Hall of Worthies) had been during King Sejong’s reign, Sajeongjeon Hall behind Geunjeongjeon, as well as Gangnyeongjeon and Gyotaejeon, did Yoo stop walking.
“It is very similar to that of my hometown. Only the fact that the common people can freely come and go is different. By the way, where is the king of this country?”
Yoo-eun could read a strange tension beneath the man’s bright-looking face.
“And can you tell me what this place was used for?”
For a moment, Yoo-eun felt a strong urge to lie. She didn’t want to disappoint this man who seemed to have come from Joseon by telling him that his country no longer existed.
“Tell me honestly.”
As if reading her mind, the man urged her to tell the truth.
Yoo-eun closed her eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them and composed her breath.
“The residence of our country’s king is elsewhere. This place…”
“…”
“This is where the kings of the country that existed before our country, the Republic of Korea, used to stay.”
“The country that existed before – would that be Joseon?”
“…Yes.”
At Yoo-eun’s faint answer, the other man fell silent.
Occasionally, tourists passed by, but silence settled over the space as if no one was there.
The silence that seemed as if it would never end lasted only a few seconds in reality.
“Then what about Jongmyo… Jongmyo Shrine – does it exist?”
What was bound to happen had finally come.
Yoo-eun closed her eyes tightly and opened them.
“Yes.”
“Can we go there as well?”
For a moment she wanted to say no, but Yoo-eun slowly nodded.
“Follow me.”
This time they took a bus to Jongmyo. On the way to the new place, Yoo did not look anywhere else even once. He looked only ahead, and a certain determination emanated from him.
As soon as they got off the bus, Jongmyo appeared.
As they entered Jongmyo, Yoo began to walk a step ahead. The fresh green shadows of spring suited his jade-colored robe well, but his broad back looked sad.
Fortunately, there were no explanatory signs in Chinese characters at Jongmyo, so Yoo-eun followed Yoo with inner relief. The place where the man stopped was in front of the main hall (Jeongjeon).
It was probably different from what the man had known.
The doors of the main hall, where the spirit tablets of the “Everlasting Ancestors” were enshrined, were firmly closed, but it was kindly written which kings were enshrined there.
After carefully reading the royal posthumous names of kings and queens written in Chinese characters, Yoo stared at Yoo-eun.
“Is this the only place where spirit tablets are enshrined?”
“No, there is one more building.”
With a sense of half resignation, Yoo-eun headed toward Yeongnyeongjeon Hall.
‘If it were truly not allowed, the director would have stopped me.’
Though somewhat unreliable, the director made the right judgment when necessary. In fact, he was the one who had protected Geumsungdang Hall back when cultural heritage was not respected.
“The main hall we saw earlier enshrines kings whose spirit tablets should not be moved, while this place holds the other kings.”
As Yoo-eun explained, Yoo examined each sign in front of Yeongnyeongjeon.
Yoo’s gaze, which had been scanning the positions of the spirit tablets of successive kings and queens enshrined in Yeongnyeongjeon, stopped somewhere.
King Munjong.
On either side of King Munjong were written King Jeongjong and King Danjong. The seonbi’s elegant finger was pointing at Danjong.
“What is the relationship between King Munjong and this person?”
“They are father and son. King Munjong passed away early, so the one who ascended the throne at a young age is King Danjong.”
“By any chance, do you know the duration of King Danjong’s reign?”
“1452… that would be the year of the Water Monkey. I think he reigned for about three years after that.”
“Ah…”
With a low groan, the man’s upright posture crumbled.
Yoo-eun, watching anxiously, supported Yoo. Whether he was unaware that she had grabbed his arm, Yoo’s handsome face was merely contorted.
“In the end…”
Veins rose over his two fists as he completely knelt down.
The man’s smooth forehead was creased, and thick drops flowed down his pale cheeks.
Seeing the man who had been pretending to be calm in an unfamiliar era crumble like that, Yoo-eun’s heart, which had been firmly closed toward the uninvited guest, gradually opened.
Seeing him weep so sorrowfully, perhaps he was one of those who had dreamed of Danjong’s restoration.
Yoo-eun vaguely guessed and carefully patted Yoo’s trembling shoulder.
“Did you know him?”
“He… is my nephew.”
At the words, like a suppressed groan, Yoo-eun’s hand paused.
“That person with the posthumous name Danjong is my young nephew. My pitiful nephew…”
“…”
“This unworthy servant… in the end, could not protect you.”
The man, his face wet with tears, struck the ground several times with his fist. Blood flowed from his knuckles where they hit the ground, but he paid no heed.
“How can I ever face my eldest brother in the afterlife…”
Now Yoo’s body, completely slumped forward, shook violently.
“My eldest brother was a man who loved inventing things.”
The eldest brother who loved inventing things, and his son was King Danjong – the eldest brother was clearly King Munjong.
‘Then the second brother who would send poison – that would be King Sejo, right?’
Yoo-eun felt like pieces of a scattered puzzle were coming together.
Among King Sejong’s many sons, there was only one who rebelled against King Sejo for the sake of King Danjong.
‘He is the only one among King Sejong’s sons who refused to submit to King Sejo and plotted to restore King Danjong. He was discovered plotting treason in his place of exile and ultimately met his death.’
King Sejong’s sixth son, Grand Prince Geumsung – Yi Gu.
‘In reality, Grand Prince Geumsung died at the young age of thirty-two.’
The words she herself had spoken just a day earlier echoed in her ears
