Chapter 1
Whoosh!
A pebble shot from a slingshot sliced through the chilly early winter air.
“Hit!”
A moment later, a ripe red persimmon hanging from the top of the tree plopped heavily onto the ground.
“Nice!”
I clenched my tiny fist and cheered.
To be honest, I was incredibly proud. After all, I was just a four-year-old child.
“Sighā¦”
But the satisfaction was short-lived.
Here I was, stuck waddling around on short little legs. A sudden wave of self-awareness hit me.
It had been six months since I, a 24-year-old history student, had woken up in the body of a four-year-old child.
‘If I woke up in a Joseon palace, shouldn’t I at least be a princess or something?’
I sighed and looked down at my clothes, which completely defied the usual rules of possession stories.
A loose, sky-blue jeogori (jacket) with wide sleeves, and a blue skirt. The sleeves were trimmed with red cuffs.
Red cuffs were the symbol of a Joseon court lady.
In other words, I was a young palace maid (aginain) belonging to the palace.
‘It’s bad enough that I possessed an ordinary court lady, but now I have to deal with a survival story too?’
How utterly cruel.
Grumbling to myself, I clutched my only weaponāthe slingshotāpreciously.
“One, two, three, fourā¦”
I counted the burst persimmons lying on the ground and looked around.
There were no more persimmon trees left with fruit hanging on them.
All thanks to my excellent slingshot skills, if I do say so myself.
“I’m done here. Now I just need to take care of the persimmons in the rear gardenā¦”
“There you go again, trying to knock down persimmons?”
“Oh! You scared me!”
Startled by the sudden voice, I spun around.
Standing there was a boy dressed in deep blue garments.
On his chest was a golden dragon emblem (yongbo) that shone brilliantly.
In other words, this person wasā¦
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“Yes, it’s me.”
The Crown Prince smiled at me.
He was thirteen years old this year, but he was tall and well-built for his age.
He was also wearing a tall ikseongwan (ceremonial hat).
Which meant I, being tiny, had to tilt my head way back to look up at him.
“Why are you so desperate to knock down every persimmon you see? Leave some for the birds and magpies.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Why not?”
“Because persimmons are dangerous. How many times do I have to tell you?”
“Did you have a fight with persimmons? Honestly, you’re such a strange child.”
The Crown Prince said this as he watched me cross my arms while still holding the slingshot.
I was doing my best to keep a solemn, determined expression on my face.
He must have found the sight amusing, because he let out a soft chuckle.
‘You’re the one who’s going to have a fight with persimmons, not me.’
The Crown Prince would later go down in history as the king who died after eating persimmons and crab marinade (gejang). I was running around trying to prevent that.
And now he was laughing?
“Your Highness, what did you eat today?”
“Hmmā¦ let’s see. For lunch, I had warm noodles (onmyeon). There was also sliced boiled meat (pyeonyuk) and crab marinadeā¦”
“Gasp. C-crab marinadeā¦!”
Seeing my horrified face, the Crown Prince quickly spoke up.
“I didn’t eat it! I didn’t! Since you hate persimmons and crab marinade so much, I didn’t even touch them even though they were served.”
“Phewā¦”
I breathed a sigh of relief and said in a serious tone.
“Your Highness, I’m telling you this sincerely and seriously.”
“Don’t even look at persimmons or crabs?”
“Yes. If you eat that, you’ll really die! Remember, remember againā¦”
“Oh dear, I get it, I get it. I swear I will never eat persimmons or crab marinade.”
“Promise?”
“Yes, promise.”
Just as the Crown Prince and I were pinky-swearing on our secret pactā¦
“There you are, little one. I’ve been looking all overā¦ Oh! Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”
A eunuch came bustling over frantically and bowed his head toward the Crown Prince.
“Eunuch Park, what brings you here?”
“Yes, Your Highness. His Majesty urgently summons youā¦”
“Father? I just paid my respects not long ago. Whyā¦”
The Crown Prince’s face darkened for a moment.
But how could he disobey the king’s command?
Taking a breath, the Crown Prince opened his mouth in resignation.
“Very well. Let’s go, Eunuch Park.”
“Ah, Your Highness. The thing isā¦”
Eunuch Park looked somewhat flustered.
“What is it?”
“Wellā¦ I’m sorry to say, but His Majesty is not summoning youā¦”
Eunuch Park’s gaze shifted sideways.
Precisely to me.
“Me?”
I had secretly tucked away my slingshot by then and asked the eunuch.
“Yes, little one. His Majesty summons you.”
“Oh, again? Why?”
“ā¦How should I know? Let’s go, little one.”
“I’ll go since he’s calling, but I’m not a ‘little one.'”
I hated being called “little one” (aga).
Just because I had a young body, my mind was that of a grown woman.
“Ohā¦ but His Majesty always calls you ‘aga,’ so I’ve gotten used to the term.”
Despite the eunuch’s explanation, my lips pouted out like a duck’s beak, and my cheeks puffed up.
It wasn’t that I wanted to act like a child.
But what could I do? In a four-year-old’s body, the moment I felt the slightest dissatisfaction or irritation, this kind of reaction just came out automatically.
Seeing me like that, the eunuch hurriedly said.
“Wellā¦ your name isā¦ Hwangā¦ what was it again?”
This eunuch uncle must have a terrible memory. Honestly, I thought it was a name that was harder to forget.
I proudly shouted my name.
“Hwambom-bo!”
ā¦Failed. It was a name difficult to pronounce for a four-year-old with immature vocal organs.
“Hwang, Bong, Bong!”
I enunciated as clearly as I could, one syllable at a time.
“Ah, right. Hwang Bong-bong. That’s your name. Yes, Bong-bong. Let’s hurry to the main hall.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Well, if His Majesty was calling, there was no helping it. If he says come, I come; if he says go, I go.
I looked at the Crown Prince. For some reason, he looked relieved.
“Your Highness, I’ll take my leave now.”
“All right, Bong-bong. Then, see youā¦”
Just then, with aĀ whoosh, the sound of footsteps cut through the chilly wind.
The fluttering of skirt hems was particularly loud, and my head turned involuntarily.
“Wowā¦”
This time, what escaped my lips wasn’t a sigh but an exclamation of admiration.
My gaze landed on a lavishly dressed woman standing at the forefront of the court ladies.
‘I should be used to it by now, but every time I see her, it feels new.’
A truly breathtaking, incomparable beauty.
A peerless beauty before whom even the most beautiful flowers in the world would bow their heads in shame.
‘Jang Hee-bin.’
Looking at that glamorous faceāwhich I had never once encountered in either of my two livesāI thought:
‘Well, it’s no wonder that later generations consider Jang Hee-bin the epitome of beauty.’
Just then.
“Huh?”
Hee-bin had approached me without my noticing and abruptly snatched my hand.
It wasn’t exactly rough, but it was quite a firm grip.
“Hee-bin, are youā¦?”
“Yes. Bong-bong, let’s go back to Chwiseondang now.”
Hee-bin began walking.
The force was too strong for a child to resist, so I had no choice but to scurry along on my short legs.
Eunuch Park, looking horrified, urgently cried out.
“Your Ladyship, Lady Hee-bin! I’m sorry, but Bong-bong must go to the main hall right now. His Majesty urgently summoned Bong-bongā¦”
“Eunuch Park.”
Jang Hee-bin spun around.
A radiant smile bloomed on her face like a crimson peony in full blossom.
“Pass this on to His Majesty.”
“Wh-what shall I say?”
“If he has business with Bong-bongā¦”
Across that smile, which could make any onlooker lose their senses, a cold, venomous sneer passed.
“Tell him to come to Chwiseondang.”
“ā¦”
“Bong-bong is, after all, the young maid of my quarters. I am taking her.”
With Hee-bin holding my hand, my short legs hurried along, and on my face spread a worry unbefitting my age.
‘Please let this be a dreamā¦’
Swallowing the sigh that threatened to escape, I thought.
I wished that after sleeping and waking up, I would be back to my life as a graduate student in the Republic of Korea.
But over the past few months since opening my eyes in the body of a young palace maid, I had called out to Buddha, to God, to Dangun the Grandfather, and even to my professorāall in vain.
In the end, I had to accept it.
My name is Hwang Bong-bong.
Age: four years old.
Occupation: young palace maid (aginain).
Affiliation: Chwiseondang.
And the era I had possessed was the calm before the stormāwhen the deaths of Jang Hee-bin and countless others were imminent.
In other wordsā¦
‘If I don’t act, all that will remain in this palace is ruin.’
Thereforeā¦
‘Only by preventing Jang Hee-bin’s death can I survive too!’
*Excerpt from the Annals of King Sukjong, Year 27, 9th Month.Ā *
His Majesty issued a royal memorandum at night.
“The crimes of Hee-bin Jang have been revealed to the whole world.”
“Therefore, Hee-bin Jang is ordered to take her own life by poison.”
