Original subtitles

Father.

Oh, my.

- Like this. - Okay.

Yong Gae, you are an amazing man.

Tell me about it.

With these two sticks, I am not afraid of anything.

Come at me!

How about your fear of women?

What are you talking about?

- Oh, my. - Oh gosh.

Oh, my. Il Chung.

I need to solve your farting problem before I die.

To do that, you would need to live forever.

- You are my only hope. - Pardon?

You are my only hope, Il Chung.

Yes, master.

It is true. I used to be a nobleman.

But nobody believes it.

That is, so...

In fact, I used to be a foster son of a nobleman.

A foster son is a son, too.

I looked so pretty when I was young.

Master,

why is there no nickname for me?

As a matter of fact, I asked the magistrate to...

make a nickname for you.

"Unexpectedly Charming Kkeut Swe".

- "Unexpectedly Charming"? - Unlike your appearance,

you are sensitive and cute inside.

People call that unexpectedly charming.

"Unexpectedly Charming Kkeut Swe"?

I do not want to have "Hong" as my surname.

If I am of the Hong family,

that means Gil Dong and I are brother and sister. Right?

Do you like Gil Dong?

Yes.

But he likes someone else.

Gil Dong likes you, too.

Master,

are you not cold?

My friend,

you do not need to call me master.

I have a question.

Why did you help me then?

- Are you okay? - Are you okay?

I am sure that this is...

- not that man. - That scumbag.

You could have accused me.

Just because.

Just because.

Then why did you team up with me?

I thought...

you were out of your mind.

You wanted to harm your master...

and to conspire a plot.

And somehow,

I was with you on these plans.

I must have been out of my mind.

But Gil Dong...

He is the one truly out of his mind.

How dare he...

provoke the royalty?

How far do we have to go?

We are nearly there. We just need to walk for about half a day.

Are you tired?

I am fine.

Do you know...

how your mother and I met?

After I was...

harshly beaten by Lord Jo,

I decided I could not live like that anymore...

and tried to run away that night.

Somehow, your mother knew...

and was crying near the wall.

A girl who acted cool and never answered my questions...

stood there crying,

and asked me whether I would really leave.

Oh, my. It broke my heart.

So I stayed.

That is why your mother was always apologetic,

saying she should have let me go when there was a chance.

But...

without your mother,

I would not have realized how happy I am to have been born.

Gil Dong.

Yes?

Come to think of it,

you are...

what kept me alive and going.

So...

think of our Hong family.

You must...

stay alive.

Can I ask you something?

Go and help.

I will not be long.

My darling.

Just a few more hours...

and I will be by your side.

- Thank you. - Stay safe.

Look at you, Father.

You did not even notice that your shoe came off.

Oh dear.

Father.

You managed well.

You really...

managed well.

Father.

In our next life,

let us be father and son.

When we do,

you can be born as my son.

I will teach you...

how to read and write,

buy you sweet taffy,

and clothe you in silk.

Mother,

Gil Hyeon, and Uh Ri Ni...

I will see to it that...

we never scatter.

So...

in our next life,

let us be father and son.

You did well in this life.

You did very well.

Father.

Father.

Father.

- Gil Dong. - Yes?

Do not think too much about it.

We live because we were born,

fight when we must fight,

and die when it is our time.

My father.

He was born the son of a servant...

and lived as a servant.

He was given the lowly name...

Ah Mo Gae...

and died as Ah Mo Gae.

With nothing but his bare fists,

he took on life...

and made it through.

I can never forget...

his voice...

when he called my name.

- Gil Dong. - "Gil Dong."

Gil Dong.

"Gil Dong."

- Father. - Yes.

You were born to be an academic.

Father.

Chant the Chinese alphabet.

I want to see and hear you study.

Yes, Father.

"Mencius wished to give up his title and return to his homeland."

"So the King visited him and said,"

"'I had always wished to meet you.'"

"'I was very pleased to...'"

"'work with you in court.'"

Father. Father.

Father.

Father.

Father...

You leave this world now. When will you return?

Even when the sun is rising, we are not allowed to say.

We laugh in silence so as not to anger the sea.

Keep your doors open.

- The wind will blow - One more time!

Even when the sun is rising, we are not allowed to say.

Prince Choong Won is gone, and Ah Mo Gae is dead.

Now, the silver mine is truly mine.

Ah Mo Gae's death...

will have distracted everyone.

- Now is our chance. - Yes, however,

one of his men is incredibly powerful.

He took down dozens of men alone,

but he was wearing a mask, so we could not identify him.

We only stand a chance if we can isolate him. Do you...

know who that is?

An incredibly powerful man?

One person comes to mind.

Kkeut Swe, it has to be him.

I saw him brag about his strength a few times.

Who are they?

- You fools! - Who are they?

Ga Ryung!

Let go of me! Gil Dong!

Kneel.

What a sight.

We are sending my father off.

How dare you do this?

Now, Kkeut Swe is subdued,

and you have no weapons.

You cannot fight back.

- What is it you want? - The silver mine.

And...

one of your ears.

Do you think I forgot how you took mine?

Today, instead of your father's,

I will take one of yours.

Heo Tae Hak.

I will ask you one last time.

My father is leaving us.

Let us not shed blood.

Take the girl.

Kill the rest.

I will kill anyone who touches my people!

Kill him.

Mo Ri.

We must go. Protect me first. Let us go.

Come here.

Come on.

Uh Ri Ni.

- Gil Dong. - Gil Dong.

It is okay. Come here.

- Gil Dong. - Uh Ri Ni.

Uh Ri Ni.

Uh Ri Ni. Come to me.

We are okay now.

Uh Ri Ni.

This time,

I did not lose you.

Gil Dong. Gil Dong.

Gil Dong. Gil Dong.

She is here.

So...

how is he?

He ate and fell asleep.

Does he still not remember?

What on earth did we see?

Well... There is something...

you do not know about Gil Dong.

What is it that we saw?

He is not a human being.

- He is a beast. - Master.

We must go into hiding.

No, we should not.

We should go to him and ask for forgiveness.

We will definitely die if we have him for an enemy.

Master. His father tried to cut off your ear.

Have you forgotten that insult?

Do you want to ask for his forgiveness?

I will keep you safe.

Let us lie low for a while and bide our time.

Do you feel better? Do you recognize me?

Do you remember anything?

I know you.

You are Ga Ryung. You slapped me the day we first met.

You followed me around ever since you left Danyejeong.

My father.

You really liked him.

Ga Ryung.

I will be...

your real brother from now on.

Please stay here for today.

I will take you to my acquaintance's house tomorrow.

Let me live. Please let me live.

Hey.

Can you really let a man who caused a disruption...

during Master Hong's last moment?

I did not do it.

I said we should go and plead for our lives.

It was Mo Ri.

He said we should not beg. I am speaking the truth.

Please trust me.

Master.

How dare you? You must speak the truth now.

I said we should go and plead, but you have stopped me!

This is why you should take responsibility.

You told me...

that I could become Master Hong's brother.

You asked me to become Master Hong's brother.

I thought...

you two were rather close.

Did you not consider him like your own son?

My own son? No.

I do not know where this guy came from.

I took him in out of sympathy. Just plain sympathy.

There is nothing between us.

We are not associated.

I see.

Let us take only Mo Ri.

- Let go of Heo Tae Hak. - Hey, Gil Dong.

However, you can never become...

our brother.

That is...

your punishment.

Thank you. Thank you, Gil Dong!

Hey, eat this.

Darn it. That little jerk.

Was that good?

Mo Ri will take care of Heo Tae Hak.

It would be the worst...

for a thug to be betrayed by a subordinate.

Master, where are you going?

Mo Ri.

You were...

alive.

I am so glad.

You were always wondering where I came from...

and what my background was.

I think I was about six.

My own father...

tried to kill me by pushing me off of a cliff.

My father said it was a mistake, but I knew.

He really tried...

to kill me.

That is why I ran away.

I still do not know...

why he tried to kill me.

Yes.

I am a son whom his own father tried to kill.

I had no reason to live, and I was not worthy to live.

However,

you took me in.

Since then,

I considered you like my own father.

Sometimes,

I secretly called you...

my father.

I was determined...

to treat you like my father for my entire life.

Mo Ri.

Yes.

I will be your father from now on.

But I was wrong.

I knew it.

There is no such person as a father in my life.

Mo Ri killed our boss and ran away.

Please take us in.

- Master Hong. - Master Hong.

Master Hong.

Do you think they are worthy enough to take in?

These are Heo Tae Hak's men.

- Master Hong. - Master Hong.

- It's Master Hong. - Master Hong.

The new leader of Ikhwa-ri is...

- supposedly very strong. - How strong is he?

He is faster than a tiger and stronger than a bear.

Come on. That cannot be.

No, I am serious. Look at how big he is.

- My goodness. - Come on.

- Master Hong. - Master Hong.

Master Hong.

Master Hong!

My gosh, Master Hong.

Father.

I brought Mother here too.

Are you glad?

Father.

I will keep...

my promise with you.

I will keep our Hong family safe,

so that they will never slip off of the cliffs of life.

Gil Dong, I think you should leave Ikhwa-ri.

You are so strong. You do not have to live as a thug.

Like your father said,

you should go and take the state exam...

to become a general of this nation.

Your father may have passed away,

- but I will make sure... - So Bu Ri.

My father's wish...

was not for me to become a general.

My father's real wish was...

to never see...

any members of the Hong family slip off of the cliffs of life...

and for us to live a safe life.

That is why I have given this much thought.

How can our family...

live our lives without slipping off of a cliff?

I will not...

bow down before assistant magistrates or city magistrates.

I will bow down before the highest office in Joseon.

The highest office?

The King.

I will keep the King as my support.

I heard the King has been exercising quite some authority lately.

According to the customers who come to Hwalbinjeong,

after what happened in 1498,

all of the scholars who used to make...

all kinds of appeals to the King have disappeared completely.

I want to use Mountain Daeja as my hunting ground.

What do you all think?

Also, I want to hunt...

at least four times a month.

That is very reasonable.

That is very reasonable.

- That is very reasonable. - That is very reasonable.

That is not all. According to a court lady, the King...

does everything he wants without the administrators' approval.

It looked like the saddles...

of the royal guards are all very old.

(Royal guards: The King's bodyguards)

If the royal guards' saddles are old and rugged,

how would that make the King look majestic?

Change all of the royal guards' saddles to new ones...

for the next hunting.

However, Your Majesty, the Royal Treasury is running...

Yes, we will see to it.

Good.

His Majesty is finally smiling. What are you trying to do?

However, the Royal Treasury is running out of silver.

We must find a way around this.

To gain the King's heart,

we must give him what he needs.

Il Chung. I heard the King needs money...

because all he has been doing is going hunting and having feasts.

What do you think about giving him some silver?

How could you satisfy the King with a few blocks of silver?

If you give him the silver mine, that would be something.

Hey, do you know what we did to get that? No way.

- You cannot give that. - Il Chung, what are you saying?

Let us do that.

Let us give him...

- the silver mine. - What are you saying?

- So Bu Ri. - Gil Dong.

- Let us hear from him. - If we give him the silver mine,

we will have to give him half of what we make as tax,

but we also do become legitimate silver miners.

It took too long to hear them say, "That is very reasonable."

I guess they finally know how to fear their King.

However,

it all does seem very dull.

How can they turn their attitude...

only after a few flogging?

This is very boring.

And it all feels empty.

Why did my father not choose to go down this easy road?

Sure.

My father wanted to create some kind of peace.

He wanted to become...

a flag of Confucius and Mencius, fluttering over this land of Joseon.

However, Ja Won,

I never believed in peace.

That is all...

a talk of vanity.

Oh, right. I did not reward someone I should give the biggest reward to.

Thanks to you, I found everyone standing against me.

There has been no one as honest as you in my life.

As a reward, I heard you have someone you would like to meet.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Who is it?

Is this a lover of yours?

My mother was...

also an official kisaeng.

There was a district magistrate who made my mother hold...

her daughter's hand into his room for me to attend on him at night.

I wanted to meet him again...

and let him feel as devastated...

as how my mother felt...

on that day.

However, I also lived as a kisaeng like my mother.

I had...

no power to do so.

Dust it off harder.

Hey, massage this side.

Are you Kim Chun Gun, the man who served as...

the governor of Osan 17 years ago?

- Yes, I am. - We found evidence of...

your embezzlement of national money while you served as a governor.

His Majesty ordered to take you into the Tribunal for an interrogation.

- Take him. - Yes, master.

What? What are you talking about?

Why are you bringing up what happened 17 years ago?

Do you have any evidence? Do you?

I am the witness and the evidence.

Do you...

remember me?

Who... Who are you?

You probably do not.

You probably do not remember.

You have hurt both my mother and my heart,

but you probably forgot all about it.

Today,

I finally feel rewarded...

to have lived until now...

without dying.

- What? This cannot be. - Master.

- Master. - Let go of me.

- Master. - Oh, no.

The transcribers including Park Ha Sung and others,

and five scholars who have found all of the men...

who hid Kim Jong Jik's literature,

and Governor Uhm Ja Chi, who helped capture Prince Choong Won.

Governor Uhm Ja Chi has...

made a significant contribution in dealing with rebellious subjects.

Therefore, Uhm Ja Chi is promoted up two ranks,

making him an assistant magistrate at the capital, senior fifth rank.

(Assistant magistrate takes care of administration at the capital.)

Uhm Ja Chi, you are a successful man.

You are getting to see His Majesty.

Is there a man who wants to offer his silver mine?

Yes, Your Majesty. A man named So Bu Ri of the town...

which Uhm Ja Chi, the man who helped take in Prince Choong Won,

has offered his silver mine.

When the others find a silver mine, they keep it quiet...

and try to make profit just among themselves.

Why is he offering it to me?

He must want to do something for the nation...

and gain something in return.

His Majesty must have received it, right?

Well...

The thing is, His Majesty...

wants to meet the person...

who offered him the silver mine himself.

That is right. That is right.

He should.

I cannot go.

I will not go.

I realized that the government workers are very careless.

I even carried a fake identification when I pretended to be Stepstool,

but no one checked it.

So?

I mean, do not worry.

If the King wants to reward you for giving him the silver mine,

you must do as I say.

I cannot go.

I will not go!

Are you So Bu Ri, the man who offered up the silver mine...

to the nation?

I... I... I am...

humbled...

to be in your presence.

Your heart for the King is quite commendable,

so I would like to reward you.

I... I... Did not...

find... The silver mine...

all by myself.

There are... Men in my group...

but... They are not worthy... To come here...

Anyway,

I... I wish...

I wish to...

assist... Your Majesty...

Hey. So Bu Ri.

Hey. So Bu Ri.

Hey.

So Bu Ri. So...

So Bu Ri.

This way. Careful.

So Bu Ri.

Wake up, my man. Wake up.

Wake up. Goodness.

That is a true subject.

He is so humbled by the King...

that he could not look me in the eye.

I want to reward him for giving me the silver mine.

Then...

since he offered up a silver mine,

how about making him a royal craftsman?

(A person who creates items with the King's gold and silver)

It has been done.

His Majesty has decided to appoint you...

to be a royal craftsman.

(A royal craftsman is a government position.)

You will be a level 9 official.

(Royal craftsmen are level 9 officials.)

You may not be a nobleman,

but you will be proudly working for the nation.

Me?

Working for the nation?

- My goodness. - Wow.

Does that mean you do not need to run away from the officials?

- Correct. - You do not need to avoid soldiers.

Goodness. You are so silly.

I was a palace guard.

Being a royal craftsman...

is an honorable position that lets you enter the palace.

But if you go to Hanyang...

and say, "I am a royal craftsman," everyone will go,

"Hello and welcome."

Okay. Did you all hear that?

We received this precious position thanks to our silver mine.

Now that we have established a spot in Hanyang,

let us sit our bottoms on it.

This is where we will stay in Hanyang?

This is Wutdae.

It is where wealthy translators who are not noblemen...

and craftsmen live.

It is where the wealthiest people of Joseon live.

If we live here, no one will be able to point fingers at us...

and call us thugs.

It is nice.

Take a look around.

Come here. I want to show you something.

It must have been hard living with stinky, old men.

This is your room in Hanyang.

I did not know...

you would find me a place to live in Hanyang as well.

Now, I will do everything you want...

and desire. Everything.

I will be good.

I will be good to you.

I will not get angry at the men...

Do anything you want.

I will buy you nice shoes and pretty clothes.

I will...

marry you off to the best man...

in the world.

What...

You do not seem to know yet,

but I am not a member of the Hong family.

Just know that.

Wait. Hold on.

Wait.

- Hold on. - Stay still.

Wait... Okay. Okay.

I am fine.

Please make him a nice robe as well.

Anything looks good on you if you are handsome.

I used to be a nobleman.

That is why... That hurts!

Who said you may touch me?

- What? What? - Okay. Okay.

- Okay. - What?

Come on in.

Were you all waiting to see me?

It looks good on me, right? Like I was born to wear this.

The color is a bit...

- I am not sure. - The color does not suit you.

I thought you would be super pretty.

It does not look good on you.

Go!

I was kidding.

Go!

- Come! - Go!

I heard His Majesty sent Lord No Sa Shin...

some medicine.

I think he is going to pass away soon.

Come in.

Come...

Please stay down.

Thank you...

for coming.

I thought you despised me.

Why would I despise you?

It is the opposite.

I know...

that you...

are truly loyal.

Look. I do not have...

much longer to live.

- My lord. - Do not be shocked.

I have lived a long life,

and I have enjoyed enough.

I have...

no regrets. However,

I am afraid.

His Majesty's intellect...

is frightening.

His Majesty still has...

a big problem he has yet to solve.

The dethroned queen.

He shed so much blood...

over the matter of King Sejo.

What if...

he decides to take revenge on behalf of his mother,

the dethroned queen Lady Yun,

who will be able to stop him?

He does not kill his loyal subjects for personal grudges.

What he did recently...

was eliminate the faction who had contempt for the throne.

The faction who had contempt for the throne...

Hearing you say that...

reminds me of someone I used to know.

He said the same thing.

He said eliminating the factions that hold contempt for the throne...

is true loyalty.

However, you are a smart man,

so think long and hard from now on.

What is true loyalty,

and why...

is loyalty necessary?

Please.

Before I die, I shall...

nominate you to become the inspector general.

Please make sure...

His Majesty's power does not fall into the hands...

of the people overwhelmed with grudges.

People with grudges.

People who could use the King...

in order to act out on their grudge...

People who could even use the people.

Your Highness.

Your Highness, Prince Choong Won.

You said someone helped us get Prince Choong Won.

I heard from the flogger who flogged Prince Choong Won...

that when Master Lee Jong Soo named Prince Choong Won,

everyone withdrew because he was royalty.

However, one transcriber said he be interrogated.

Destiny gave a helping hand.

What is that transcriber's name?

I hear he is a young transcriber by the name of Park Ha Sung.

We cannot ignore someone who helped us.