Original subtitles

(Moon River)

(A Good Friend to Meet)

(All people, incidents, and backgrounds...)

(in this drama are fictitious and unrelated to reality.)

(Also, children and animals were filmed under production guidelines.)

(Final Episode: A Fleeting Memory)

Bring it on.

You cowardly jerk.

You are all very lucky.

You ran into me while I am like this.

Otherwise, you would all be dead...

Or not.

I surrender. There. We good?

Since no one has been caught yet, I guess everyone is safe.

Our fortress has been discovered. Should we not inform everyone?

First, move our base into the village.

I will handle it after the Royal Wedding.

Yes, sir.

Sir.

The mountain fortress is surrounded.

- Find the leader! - Yes, sir!

You are all dead now...

- Your Highness. - Your Highness.

- Oh, my. Are you all right? - Your Highness.

- What is going on? - Your Highness.

- What happened? - Your Highness.

- Your Highness. - I must put an end to this charade.

- Your Highness. - Summon the Royal Physician!

- Your Majesty! - Your Majesty!

Gang! Summon the Royal Physician!

Get the Royal Physician!

Gang.

- Your Highness, are you all right? - Are you okay?

Your Majesty.

The killer of the former King, the Crown Prince,

as well as the Queen Dowager in the Gyesa Year,

is the traitor Kim Han Chul. Please order his arrest!

What?

- That is impossible. - Kim Han Chul, a traitor?

- That is absurd. - How dare you call him a traitor?

What in the world is he talking about?

What...

do you think you are doing?

Revenge.

Un will be here.

He has to be.

Your Majesty.

Kim Han Chul's home is connected to a collapsed, abandoned mine...

and a brewery.

It is the brewery with the Jimjo cave.

For over a decade, he abducted and held the former Queen Jangjeong.

He also raised a private army all over the country,

dealt in counterfeiting coins,

illegal weapon manufacturing,

loan sharking, human trafficking, and more.

I have also discovered evidence of all his illegal acts.

Do you...

intend to go down

with me?

Your Highness!

You will be walking that path alone, Left State Councillor.

All alone.

What is going on?

What was that?

Your Highness!

Now,

your era is over, Left State Councillor!

Your Majesty.

I have fulfilled our great cause.

This is a royal order.

Arrest...

- the traitor this instant! - Yes, Your Majesty!

What is going on?

- What is happening? - What is going on?

- Protect His Excellency! - What is going on?

Protect him!

Protect him!

Protect him!

Protect him!

Call physicians and guards for the hurt.

Yes, Your Highness.

What are we supposed to do now?

The Royal Wedding and everything else is all over, is it not?

We are ruined.

- Clear the way! - Clear the way!

I hereby revoke the title of consort bestowed upon her.

- Arrest the traitor's daughter. - Yes, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

U Hui.

Please do not.

I am now the daughter of a traitor.

If you rush in to save me,

you will be implicated as well, Your Highness.

I would gladly take on all of your crimes.

For now, please stand down.

Your downfall is not part of my plan, Your Highness.

Wait for me.

I will come for you soon.

Your Majesty.

I will go of my own accord.

Please grant me your permission.

So be it.

How did you come to have the secret pact?

But more importantly, how is this possible?

How can you still be alive, Your Majesty?

The Left State Councillor saved my life.

But why would he?

A long time ago,

we were lovers.

As for the secret pact...

For the past 15 years, I was not in my right mind.

My moments of lucidity were few and far between,

starting six years ago.

And it was because of that secret pact.

What do you mean by that?

When the throne passed to His Majesty,

I feared something terrible had happened to you.

Please take me to the palace.

This letter...

- I apologise for her. We must go. - Let go of me!

Let go!

So I took the secret pact...

and tried to get to you.

I heard she had regained her senses.

It was only for a moment.

She took this and tried to run away.

I will find a new hiding place for it.

We will keep it here.

But you told me to reveal this if you were ever harmed, my lord.

We cannot leave something so vital in this place.

It is to protect her...

that you and your men even exist.

In all of Joseon,

this should be the safest place, should it not?

Even so, my lord,

to leave it in the room of an unstable woman...

Are you confessing your own incompetence?

Forgive me, my lord.

I will obey your command, my lord.

You are dismissed.

I leave my very life in your hands,

so that one day...

you will return to us.

Your Majesty.

Forgive my impertinence, but I have something I must say.

Very well. Speak your mind.

If it had not been for the Left State Councillor's daughter,

we would neither have found the pact nor exposed the councillor's crimes.

So please...

spare U Hui's life. We will flee and live like we are dead.

As if we never existed.

I beg of you, do not turn away from my plea.

If you flee, you can never return.

Je Un.

You are throwing away everything you have.

The only place for me to return to,

and the person I must protect above all else...

is her only.

Where are you taking me?

Do you really think you will get away with this?

Shut your mouth.

The mountain fortress is surrounded. Find the leader!

What is going on?

We are escaping through the back.

What?

No sign of the Left State Councillor?

Forgive me, Your Royal Highness.

- Search beyond the capital. - Yes, Your Highness. Let us move!

Your Royal Highness.

You are here.

- We have cleared out The Nameless. - Good work.

But what about Dal?

She left with Queen Jangjeong.

- Has she not arrived in Hanyang? - You did not see her at the fort?

Did you not surround the Queen's quarters?

There was no one inside her quarters.

Forgive me. The secret pact...

has been stolen.

Let us go to Dongnae and plan for the future.

The one thing you were supposed to protect...

was not the secret pact.

Please kill me, my lord.

Her Majesty the Queen...

went to the palace?

Yes. I heard she went with Grand Prince Lee Un.

Dal!

- Dal! - Where are you?

- Dal! - Where are you?

- Where are you? - Dal!

- Please come out! - Where are you? Can you hear us?

Wait...

To get to Hanyang from Mount Gamak,

you said they must pass by here, did you not?

Yes.

Then why have we not found her yet?

The Royal Guards are searching. If you could wait a bit longer...

And what if something happens to Dal while we wait?

Your Royal Highness, forgive me.

There is no time.

We are running out of time.

I have to find Dal.

Your Royal Highness.

Please stop, Your Royal Highness.

How can I just stop?

Dal must be so scared all by herself.

She must be terrified, all alone.

Your Royal Highness!

Please take my life.

I failed to guard the Crown Princess.

This is all my fault.

I failed to protect Dal again.

Once again, I have...

sent her to her death.

Your Royal Highness.

The Left Councillor has broken through the Souimun Gate. And...

Say it.

He is holding...

the Crown Princess hostage.

Put this on.

What is with this? It is not like it is for a funeral,

so why make such a scene about changing?

Hurry up!

So they are funeral clothes after all.

They really are.

Let us go.

- The gate has been breached. - Let us go!

- Let us go! - Let us go!

Hold the line! Protect the palace! Hold the line!

- Follow His Lordship's orders! - Yes, sir!

Set it on fire!

Dal!

Your Royal Highness!

No!

No!

She will die in 15 minutes, even without removing the blade.

You have 15 minutes to bring me Queen Jangjeong.

What? The Left Councillor is holding the Crown Princess at knifepoint?

If Her Majesty the Queen is not brought to him within 15 minutes,

he says the Crown Princess's life will be in grave danger.

How can this be happening to the Crown Princess?

- I will go. - No, Mother, you cannot!

He will not harm me.

Mother!

Do not worry about me.

Do not listen to what he says.

It is starting to rain.

Thank goodness.

No.

As long as you remember me,

and you run in my veins,

No, please do not do that.

- Then we will always be together. - No...

No! Do not do it!

No!

Your Royal Highness!

No, please!

The traitor, Kim Han Chul...

Arrest him!

No!

Your Royal Highness!

Arrest him!

Your Royal Highness...

Your Highness... Someone get a physician!

Please, someone get a physician!

What do I do?

Your Highness, please do not die.

Do you not dare die on me.

- I am sorry. - Do not give me that lame apology.

Apologise to me properly later.

I am sorry...

My love for you...

was selfish in the end.

No.

No.

Somebody save her, please. Somebody help me!

Your Royal Highness!

Please save him.

Your Royal Highness...

Just hang on a little longer...

Your Royal Highness...

Mother!

You must not, Mother!

Mother!

How is it?

She has already passed away, Your Royal Highness.

- Your Royal Highness! - Your Royal Highness!

No...

No!

Where did you go? No!

Who said you could leave?

No, you cannot! You cannot!

Your Royal Highness.

- Your Royal Highness. - Your Royal Highness.

Your Royal Highness!

Why will we not switch?

Why will we not switch?

Why will we not switch?

Your Royal Highness.

Please, that is enough.

How am I supposed to stop?

He died trying to save me,

and once again, I did nothing. All I have ever done is take,

and now I have even stolen his body, so how can I stop?

I cannot!

- Your Highness! - Your Highness!

Your Highness, are you all right?

- Your Highness! - Your Highness, please wake up!

Your Highness.

Your Highness.

- Your Highness. - Your Highness.

Your Highness!

Your Highness, are you back?

Yes, I am back.

What happened?

A miracle.

Who are you?

Is this...

the afterlife?

If you are worried you have died, do not be.

You will be going back.

But how?

Have you ever heard of a human's final seven minutes?

For about seven minutes, after one's last breath,

the soul remains in the body...

and relives the happiest moment of that life.

During those final seven minutes,

you prayed for only one thing.

He died trying to save me,

and once again, I did nothing. All I have ever done is take.

My dear.

I love you,

Park Dal.

I want to stay longer.

By your radiant side,

I want to stay for a long time.

The desperation in your heart during your final moments...

and that woman's desperate heart...

revived the dying flower of your shared fate.

There is a finite amount of everything in the world.

Why would a bond between two people be any different?

Your bond, severed for the past five years...

It is time you reclaimed it.

Why are you...

granting me this miracle?

All I did...

was seal that woman's red thread of fate.

And the one who swapped our bodies...

was you, sir?

That, too, was your own doing.

The red thread of fate, desperately longing for its half,

was a desperate cry for you to recognise each other,

and a cry of resentment.

Resentment?

That woman tried to drown herself,

and you tried to kill yourself with poison.

The body switch,

the breaking of the seal on the red thread of fate,

and destroying the thread that had tangled your destiny.

It was all your doing.

Your love for each other conquered all.

So, what all these miracles have built up to create...

is destiny.

So, go back now.

To your fated one. No.

To your miracle.

Yes.

I am back.

What happened?

A miracle.

A seven-minute miracle.

Once the seal on the thread of fate was broken,

everything returned to its rightful place.

My body, the rest of Dal's memories,

and my title.

Everything fell back into its rightful place.

Here.

There you go. Look at you, eating so well.

Is it good?

But am I really allowed to stay here in the Eastern Palace?

Well, with Kim Deok Chun's confession, your name is cleared,

and you are now the Crown Princess. What is the problem?

Stay here until your room is ready. Got it?

You are eating so well.

Is it good? Oh, dear.

Why are you here?

I confessed.

My crimes,

the Left State Councillor's crimes, and everything.

For years, while my mother was held hostage,

I lived like a dog for the Left State Councillor.

But now,

I intend to live the rest of my days as a person.

That is the only way, even in death,

I will be able to face my mother with my head held high.

I am sorry...

for dragging you into this.

For ruining your life.

Saying "I am sorry" feels so inadequate.

But I am so sorry.

Thanks to you, my lady,

I was at least able to get my mother some medicine.

For me, that is more than enough.

Those criminals!

- Those godforsaken scoundrels! - You jerks!

- They are not even human! - Those jerks!

The wicked were punished.

I apologise.

Truly...

I am so sorry.

Had you only been cruel to me, I might have forgiven you.

But for the pain you caused my son,

I can never forgive you.

I...

will spend the rest of my life...

in repentance.

The guilty repented,

and the end for the wicked...

was pathetic beyond measure.

By Royal Command, the traitor Kim Han Chul's assets will be taken.

- Begin! - Yes, Your Highness!

- Search everywhere! - Leave no stone unturned!

Your Royal Highness.

What is with all these medical books?

They are about madness and Jimjo poison.

It seems the Left State Councillor wrote them himself.

Your Royal Highness, I found more over here.

I imagine...

he wrote all of this for only one woman.

I told you to get some more rest.

What if your wound gets worse?

I am going stir-crazy just lying around.

What have you been up to, Your Royal Highness?

I went to the Left State Councillor's house.

To seize his property.

Why? Did something happen?

The Left State Councillor...

was an enigma to the very end.

There were dozens of medical texts on madness and Jimjo Poison.

After searching high and low for every possible cure,

he ended up turning to poison.

How ironic.

The secret pact was in the mirror,

and the reason he kept a mirror by his bedside...

was a superstition about calling back a spirit.

The talisman inside the mirror...

must have been his desperate wish also.

He must have been desperate to try anything.

Desperate enough to grab onto...

the coattails of skies and beg.

That is how he must have felt.

Just as my last five years were consumed by revenge,

the Left State Councillor's time must have been just as intense.

If you had not been by my side,

I might have become a monster.

That will never happen to you now.

Gosh.

Because I will be by your side forever.

Speaking of the Left State Councillor...

What happened with Grand Prince Je Un and U Hui?

Well...

I am sorry I am so late.

I am sorry.

Let us go now.

I am not going.

I will...

atone for my sins alone.

If it is because you feel guilty, His Royal Highness has forgiven you.

Even His Majesty has allowed us to run away together.

You were finally reunited with the mother you missed dearly.

Please stay by your mother's side.

Are you telling me...

to abandon you all over again?

I am not asking you to abandon me.

I am asking you to honour my love.

Let me be the one...

to protect myself.

If we leave like this,

if I see even a hint of sadness on your face one day,

I will end up hating myself.

If you so much as sigh,

I will fall apart.

When you smile,

I will wonder if you are hiding your sorrow,

and my own heart will grow dark.

I will always be walking on eggshells around you...

until, in the end,

I will not be able to stand the sight of myself.

I do not want that kind of future.

U Hui.

Just as your desire to protect me is love,

my desire to protect you...

is also love.

Will you be all right?

Letting the Left State Councillor's daughter go like that?

I have not let her go. I am taking my mother and following her.

Not just to Yeongdeok,

but to the fiery pits, if I have to.

That sounds hot.

Could it be any hotter than the fire in my heart?

Even so,

could you be more passionate than the Crown Princess and I?

It is in!

I am holding my bow. Got it? So do not try anything funny.

Anything funny? Like what?

Like this?

For goodness' sake.

- Gosh. - Hey!

What are you doing? There are people watching.

Are you asking me to take you somewhere more private?

- That is what you meant, right? - No!

No.

- Come on. - No.

When did I ever say that?

You have not even been at your desk for 15 minutes.

- I cannot even hold your hand? - If you hold my hand,

you will just use it as an excuse to run off again.

- I do not care. Let us go. - If you keep this up,

I am going to start cooking.

Why is that a threat?

This hits the spot!

Wait.

Why have you not been eating much lately?

I think I have an upset stomach. It just does not feel right...

Wait, are you sick?

Are you all right?

- If she is sick... - It cannot be.

She is pregnant!

What is taking so long? Has something gone wrong?

A first labour is always the most difficult.

- Your Highness. - I see the head! Push harder!

Your Highness, you have to breathe.

Why are we not switching bodies now?

Just a little more!

Just one more time. Your Highness, just one more push.

Crown Princess!

It is the firstborn prince, Your Royal Highness.

I am so sorry.

I am so sorry.

You were in so much pain. I am so sorry.

My seven minutes...

has been renewed.

I do not think seven minutes...

will be enough.

(5 years later)

This king will abolish the practice of guilt by association.

- Your Majesty, you must not! - Please retract the royal order!

- Please retract the royal order! - Please retract the royal order!

Of course.

It would not be a proper assembly without some opposition, would it?

However,

this king will proceed.

Losing your life for a crime you did not commit...

or becoming a government slave is simply too unjust.

- But Your Majesty... - From this day forward, Joseon...

will be a nation where people are not defined by their birth,

but by how they choose to live their lives.

Abolishing guilt by association is the first step toward that future.

- Yes, Your Majesty! - Yes, Your Majesty!

I can do that, you know.

This is a secret,

but I am actually an expert at hanging laundry.

It feels like I have been seeing you more often lately.

I want to see you every day.

Six years have passed.

Can I now offer you a wedding gift?

- My mind has not changed. - But our circumstances have.

My brother No.

His Majesty has promised to grant you your freedom soon.

He said you will be adopted by one of your relatives.

So,

will you accept my proposal now?

Hey, now! Be careful, you lot!

These goods are for the palace.

- Yes, sir. - Yes, sir.

The Crown Prince is very particular.

He is as demanding as His Majesty.

Be careful, and careful. My goodness!

My goodness. My lord.

Have you been well? So you are the head merchant now.

Of course!

It has been six years already.

So what brings you to Hanyang?

I had heard you went down to Yeongdeok.

Oh, I am back now.

And I am here to buy a few goods.

Goods? Are you looking for anything in particular?

Well...

Come on, at your age, what is there to be shy about?

Our master is getting married.

Wonderful!

He is here to shop for the wedding.

What wonderful news!

Everyone!

Bring out every single one of our finest new arrivals!

- Yes, sir! - Yes, sir!

- Thank you. - Congratulations, my lord.

You have not changed a bit, my dear.

I mean, you could have just said that from over there.

Well, you should not have called me that, then.

It just slipped out.

This...

is because you called me "my dear."

That came out of nowhere.

Then...

how about we make a little context, my lady?

As if being alone was not sad enough,

it has to rain too.

I am so lonely.

Hang in there.

I am alone too.

Hey, what are you doing?

What is wrong? Do not be so serious.

- Come on, what is the big deal? - Court Lady Hong.

- What are they... - Please stop!

Those thugs are harassing Court Lady Hong!

Hey, you! Knock it off!

How dare you! Stop right there!

How dare they! Do they not know I am Se Dol?

Court Lady Hong, are you all right?

Are you all right?

Thank you for saving me.

But I am the one who saved her.

I guess I will have to be reborn.

You look much better since your abdication, Your Majesty.

Even silk robes and leather shoes are useless if they do not fit.

And that is even more true for one's position.

Here, this is for you.

Thank you, Royal Grandfather.

What is wrong? Do you not like it?

No, it is not that.

Actually, my Royal Father scolded me.

Why?

He was mad I split personal colours into eight...

instead of studying.

H has forgotten he was once a tadpole himself.

Your father is that very frog.

How about I make you a frog?

- Yes, please! - Okay.

I will make you one right now.

Goodness.

There we go.

Gosh.

My goodness, you really love that thing.

You seem to smile more...

at those jars than at your husband.

This kimchi is six years old.

And?

It means for six years, we have not had to run away.

This jar is living proof that we have lived in peace.

Oh, do not make such a fuss over six years.

Just you wait.

We will be eating kimchi aged for a thousand years to come.

Oh, please. We would be dead by then.

Goodness, you really know how to kill the mood.

Maybe it is from all our past crises.

I do not have time for mood.

There will not be any more crises from now on,

so you just trust me.

I have been Unjeong Palace's steward for six years now.

You think I cannot protect my own wife?

Oh, honestly. Goodness.

Anyway, where is Hong Nan? She went there again?

My lord.

I have kept my promise.

Are you at peace now?

And just like that,

we have been apart longer...

than we were ever together.

So,

if there is a next life,

let us be together...

for a long time.

Goodness.

Royal Mother.

Yul.

You know what? If you catch a falling petal,

they say your first love will come true.

Then I am going to marry you, Royal Mother.

Marry me?

Well, well. Freeze.

- Royal Father! - Come over here.

Give me that. This petal is hereby confiscated.

- Got it? - But why?

Now, listen closely.

Your mother is already married to me.

Therefore,

she is mine.

All right?

No! I do not care!

- What? - I do not care!

- I do not care! - You do not care? Too bad.

You do not care? Too bad.

I do not care!

- Goodness, you. You do not care? - I do not care!

Your Majesty, why are you making him cry again?

But this is all...

- your fault, my Queen. - Oh, so it is my fault again?

Whose fault is it then? Who told you to be so beautiful...

- to divide a father and son? - Oh, honestly.

Shall we go? Let us go. Come on.

What a beautiful day.

It really is.

Look over there.

I was really startled.

You are not afraid of water anymore, are you?

Water?

Afraid of it?

I am grateful for it.

It is what brought you back to me.

What are you looking at over there?

You should only be looking at me. Like this.

Okay?

The water.

And our reflection, flowing with it.

I cannot.

Arrest him!

No!

That water...

must remember all our time together, do you not think?

Then I suppose that water had better have a good memory.

Because our story...

is going to be a very long one.

Even if you...

lose your memory all over again,

even if I were to die again,

or whatever else stands in our way,

I will conquer it all.

And we will live happily for a long time.

Me too.

Come what may, I will not make any excuses.

I will spend my life by your side, Your Majesty.

And I will hold on to you forever and ever.

- Again? - Again? Of course.

(Moon River)

(Thank you for watching and supporting Moon River.)