Original subtitles

Did you say it would all end once we leave Sungkyunkwan?

There's no such thing as the end.

Because I'll... just start over again and again every single day.

Let's drop it.

You know, don't you?

Who is the culprit?

I told you already.

The one I trust is not the king, but you, Geol Oh.

We said we'd find him.

We said we'd find the mastermind no matter what, for that surreal new Joseon.

Behind all these incidents is the Left State Minister.

What?

Lower your voice!

So...

the mastermind behind all these incidents is Left State Minister?

Lee Sun Joon's father, is that it?

Answer me.

The mastermind who did all that to destroy Geum Deung Ji Sa...

was Left State Minister? I'm asking you!

I told you to lower your voice.

What did you say, Senior?

Who did you just say was the mastermind behind all these incidents?

I must hear it.

I'm sorry, Daemul.

Nothing is confirmed yet.

Is it true that once we find out who the owner of this document is,

then we can confirm who the mastermind is?

Will it be fine if I looked into it?

Will you be able to?

If my father is really the mastermind of this case,

then am I not the one most suited for it?

Is it because of Daemul?

The reason why you don't want to continue...

is because of Kim Yoon Shik who might...

get hurt because of Lee Sun Joon?

You are really something.

Since when did those two...?

No. Since when did you know...?

Lee Sun Joon left.

He went to meet Left State Minister to confirm Officer Yoon's land deed.

What is this?

I'm here to hear that answer.

The landowner, Baek Dong Soo, was the manager of our household.

I see.

But the true owner of that land is you, Father.

Will you please tell me why this land deed...

ended up in the hands of a patrol guard from ten years ago?

Stop it.

Stop everything you are doing now.

Am I not allowed to know these matters because you can't be frank about them?

Are you looking for the Geum Deung Ji Sa?

The misfortune of the Crown Prince Sado in the year of Imoh (1762)...

I've never thought to be wrong.

My belief that, as opposed to the father-son personal relationship,

- *temple for previous kings - our priority should be to save Jongmyo* and the grain of this land,

Remains unchanged.

To achieve what's right,

it's not uncommon for father and son to turn into enemies.

Also, if there is a winner, there must be a loser.

Crown Prince Sado was merely the loser,

nothing more and nothing less.

If this was the right decision,

why are you afraid of the Geum Deung Ji Sa?

I wasn't afraid of the Geum Deung Ji Sa.

I was afraid of the moral laws of families.

The late king's heart muddled by his longing for the son he personally killed.

And the reigning king's remorse for losing a father at a young age.

If authority was held in the hands of such foolish hearts,

then there would have been another bloodshed in this country.

My loyalty will prove itself in history.

So, don't search for it anymore.

Don't involve yourself in the search for the Geum Deung Ji Sa.

Due to your fleeting romanticized ideals,

the entire Jinsung's Lee family can get wiped out.

So, to allow the Jinsung's Lee family to flourish,

you sacrificed Sungkyunkwan Professor Kim Seung Hun...

and Student President Moon Yong Shin,

and destroyed the Geum Deung Ji Sa?

No.

I cannot accept your words as I once did because...

this document before me is telling me the indisputable truth.

Stop right there!

How dare you turn your back on your father!

Did you say that father and son

can become enemies for justice?

I...

now seek to be your enemy, Father.

So...

the mastermind behind all these incidents is Left State Minister?

Lee Sun Joon's father, is that it?

It's late.

If you just read books and don't get any sleep, you won't grow tall.

About the Geum Deung Ji Sa, from the books we got from the bookstore,

it appeared in the "Classics of History".

I understand that the Norons were afraid.

And so, to my father...

Take it slow, one matter at a time.

Go in and sleep.

I'm going to sleep with Yeorim, to avoid your bad sleeping habit.

Senior!

Do you think it's really true?

Something must have gone wrong, right?

Don't worry too much.

When he comes back, we'll find out.

I... think I better go out there.

It's time. Lee Sun Joon will come.

This is something that happened over ten years ago.

Just because you go outside and wait,

what happened will neither disappear nor change.

Besides, there is someone else who will go out to meet Lee Sun Joon.

Hey!

Let's talk.

Don't do it.

You don't know anything about that land deed.

It has nothing to do with you.

Just say that.

Our secret mission is to find the Geum Deung Ji Sa.

I too plan to quit searching for who is behind it.

Why is that?

At this point where we are unable to decipher the secret instructions code,

that culprit and mastermind is the only clue to finding the Geum Deung Ji Sa.

So then, why should we stop?

Furthermore, in order to find the truth about the mastermind, you have...

That's right.

I... I who scorned those cowards who remained silent in front of the truth,

I want to keep quiet.

If you're insisting on being upright, dignified, and honorable,

and showing off like that again...

I advise you to give up now.

Senior...

People become cowardly...

because they have someone they want to protect.

Kim Yoon Shik.

Isn't he someone like that to you?

Do you think that kid will be able to forgive you?

Before seeking forgiveness, the culprit should first sincerely atone for his crimes.

That's what I believe.

Above all, Senior,

Kim Yoon Shik is not the only person whom I need to seek forgiveness from.

I'll do my best to not let Kim Yoon Shik get hurt.

What did you just say?

So you're saying...

I said that the land deed that went to the Hanseongbu official...

was indeed my father's.

So, the one who murdered my father...

is really the Left State Minister?

Is that what you're saying?

I thought it was right to tell you.

I don't understand what's going on at all.

Enough.

Telling me to continue listening to this,

it's just too cruel.

If it's possible, I want to ask for forgiveness on his behalf.

If you can't forgive, I'll have to accept that too.

But, if you'd allow me, I want to do everything I can.

In redressing this case and finding the missing Geum Deung Ji Sa,

I want to see this through with you.

How will you redress anything at this point?

Geum Deung Ji Sa?

How will anything change by finding it?

I...

I need some time.

I, too, need some time to think.

Hey, Lee Sun Joon! You don't know this, do you?

At times like this, most people need a drinking buddy.

We can forgo the drinks, but you could at least use a friend, right?

Here.

Geol Oh, you too.

Now that I have a chunk of meat in my mouth,

I'll disappear so that I won't get caught, Your Excellency.

I won't bade farewell to the Left State Minister.

Once things have settled, I will visit him.

Please send him my regards, Your Excellency.

You promised me.

Because you're under surveillance,

don't forget to hide yourself quietly outside the capital the next few days.

It's time you told me, Mother.

It's the duty of a child to know how her father passed away.

I don't wish for you to hold hatred against this world because of this.

The world shows what great power it has to whoever dares to defy it.

This is how I lost your father.

Thus, you'll hear nothing from my mouth.

So, Mother, you're saying that it's true Father met a wrongful death,

enough to harbor hatred against this world?

If you had told me this from the start...

If you had done that, it would have been better.

What kind of person do you think Father was?

Yoon Shik, whenever I think of Father,

a cold wind blows through my heart.

Because while Father held you on his lap and read to you,

your sister's seat was always outside that door.

So whenever I thought of Father,

I couldn't recall his face.

I always recalled his silhouette through the door.

Sister, you really didn't know?

Father always sat next to the door and read in his loudest voice.

He always chose books too hard for a little boy like me to understand.

Father was always reading aloud, not to me,

but to you sitting outside the door.

Sister, you really didn't know all this time?

It pains me to see my daughter's increasing knowledge.

As a teacher, the child's talent is praiseworthy.

However, to a daughter who is unable to progress in this society,

is it right to teach her such ambition?

The helpless father who is unable to give his talented child that chance...

Holding my breath as I listen to my daughter read,

I once again cry silently in my heart.

Teacher, I have a question.

In leaving behind a secret message with the Geum Deung Ji Sa's location,

perhaps Father had a premonition.

In order to steal the Geum Deung Ji Sa, someone would try to kill him...

That's likely.

The late king initially put it in Jongmyo,

and it was your father who secretly moved it to the temple in Wolchul Mountain.

But why did he do such a dangerous thing?

Because he believed that Geum Deung Ji Sa...

was the key to starting the new Joseon that His Majesty dreamt of.

To your father, in order to open up a land of opportunities for his gifted child,

the Geum Deung Ji Sa was his hope, for which he was willing to risk his life.

The Geum Deung Ji Sa is at Sungkyunkwan.

What?

Sungkyunkwan?

The words in the secret code, "Sung, the site of talented people."

In other words, make a nation complete with the help of talented individuals.

"Kyun, forgo the old customs."

Meaning make everyone equal...

This is neither a resignation letter nor a poem. Rather...

"Sung Kyun."

It's the origin of Sungkyunkwan!

But what happened so suddenly?

How did you know that this poem is the origin of Sungkyunkwan?

It is from a person who sincerely wished that Sungkyunkwan becomes...

a national institution of knowledge worthy of its name...

Professor Kim Seung Hun.

It was recorded in one of my father's lectures.

Now that makes sense!

Somewhere in Sungkyunkwan is the place where learning is headed,

and where the nations begins. In that place is the Geum Deung Ji Sa, right?

Shouldn't we start by looking at the map of Sungkyunkwan?

I just thought it was something I had to do.

I...

have always resented Father for dismissing me.

But in fact, I was the one who didn't take a close look back at my father.

I... want to find it.

Why my father so desperately wanted to find the Geum Deung Ji Sa...

I want to know.

This might be the first and the last time...

that I'll have the chance to understand my father.

I...

have made my father lonely for too long.

That is why I...

That's enough...

You don't need to explain further.

I understood.

I promise you.

No matter what it takes,

we'll find the Geum Deung Ji Sa.

You don't have to worry about Officer Yoon anymore, Your Excellency.

Thus, with matters in place now,

about the marriage...

Tell your son.

Yes...

Yes?

About the Geum Deung Ji Sa...

The king is instilling false hope in young Sungkyunkwan scholars.

He ordered Sungkyunkwan scholars to search for the Geum Deung Ji Sa?

The president...

He can keep an eye on them.

But, why not your son?

Then... is it your son who is...?

So what did I tell you?

If we had gone through with the marriage and had him leave Sungkyunkwan earlier,

none of this would have happened...

Did you say the marriage, Minister of War?

Do you really not know what is the source of all this trouble?

Your... Your Excellency...

Don't mention the marriage ever again.

I will never be your family.

But Your Excellency!

This is something from my mouth.

Do I have to repeat myself?

Did he forget who helped him reach his current position?

Dare he disgrace me and my daughter!

It's time to let him know who I am.

The source of all these troubles...

We must first catch that bastard.

There's something you must do.

- Your Excellency. - Did you call for me, Father?

Excuse me, is Hanseongbu Officer Yoon's house here?

Yes, that's correct.

Excuse me, do you know where Officer Yoon may be?

- I don't know. Let's drink! - Another bottle here!

Madam!

I don't know, I don't know. Madam, give us our drinks!

Lee Sun Joon is not the type to be late.

As expected, it must be hard for him.

Let's just wait fifteen more minutes.

He is not the type to break his promise.

Isn't it human to break such a promise?

No matter how great is the king's dream,

it's not easy for a son to uncover his own father's crimes.

I totally understand Lee Sun Joon.

Lee Sun Joon and his gang are looking at Sungkyunkwan's map and blueprint.

Is that what you're saying?

President.

It seems like they are looking for something.

A place where the learning is headed, that's related to studying...

First, there's Myungryundang*. (*Sungkyunkwan's lecture hall)

There's also Jonkyung-gak*. (*Sungkyunkwan library)

Why forget the testing site for the civil service exam, Daeseongjeon?

But the next step is the problem.

Myungryundang, Jonkyung-gak, and Daeseongjeon...

are all places that the learning is headed.

But we can't dig up the land in all these places.

That's a waste of energy.

There's one more clue.

"A nation's..."

"beginning."

A nation's beginning.

Moonmyo*. (*literacy temple)

Isn't that where ancestral tablets are?

At Myungryundang...

And at Jonkyung-gak...

And the difficult to access, Daeseongjeon.

They all have ancestral tablets.

The problem is that there is no Geum Deung Ji Sa.

The place where the learning is headed, and where the nation begins.

Exactly where is it?

At this rate, we'll have to turn all the rooms in Sungkyunkwan inside out.

What if we tell the rest of the scholars...

This is the king's order.

A secret order.

I was just saying. If you take a joke so seriously,

I'll feel embarrassed, you punk.

The secret code...

wasn't used to hide the Geum Deung Ji Sa.

Rather, its purpose is to let us know its whereabouts.

I will look through the classics again.

Hidden somewhere in Sungkyunkwan...

is the answer to my father's riddle and the secret code.

Why are you so startled, Yeorim?

As though you got caught doing something bad.

What did you do?

Stealing? Womanizing?

Playing with men?!

Oh, shut it!

You must still enjoy hanging around with Lee Sun Joon and Moon Jae Shin, Yeorim?

Ah, about that.

I'm liking it more and more.

I hear that you're working hard...

looking through Sungkyunkwan's blueprints and secret documents.

Why?

Are you playing treasure hunt?

In consideration of our past, I'll give you some advice.

You...

don't belong with them.

You are different from them.

It's still not too late. You should...

Do you know that I am the most fashionable dresser in Joseon?

I will only tell you that secret.

The more the clothes don't match, the more boldly you wear them together.

Don't forget.

What you're wearing now...

is a bit tacky.

That insolent bastard! President, I'll...

Let him be.

Today will be the last time he acts up like that.

I'll consider it Sungkyunkwan Scholar Gu Yong Ha's farewell stage.

What the...!

Geol Oh! Geol Oh!

Lee Sun Joon...

caused trouble.

Are you...

the Lee Sun Joon that I know?

You were looking for Officer Yoon?

I couldn't waste time trying to solve an unsolvable puzzle.

For the body to react faster than the mind...

It's not like Lee Sun Joon.

The reason why you endured all this to search for Officer Yoon...

Was it to find the Geum Deung Ji Sa, or...

to prove your father's innocence?

What I want to know is the truth about what happened that night ten years ago.

I'll ask you just one thing.

If we find the Geum Deung Ji Sa, Lee Sun Joon, you...

might not be able to live as the Left State Minister's son anymore.

Is that all right?

Even so,

it's better than living as a criminal's son who murdered a friend's brother and father.

If it's for me,

you should stop now.

I can't even remember my father's face,

but my heart still wrenches with agony.

To Lee Sun Joon, your father means...

much more than that.

So, this is enough.

You can stop.

Because I can't bear to watch it anymore.

I wanted your forgiveness.

For having to fill your father's shoes...

and take on the burden of disguising yourself as a man to make a living...

and to take care of a sick brother.

For those days you suffered cold, hunger and loneliness,

I...

wanted to bow my head for forgiveness.

During those days, for having studied under a warm roof without knowing anything...

That I, too, can't forgive myself. That I'm sorry.

If it's possible...

That I want to turn back time...

and pay you back for all the privileges I enjoyed.

So...

please forgive me.

I wanted to ask you.

Lee Sun Joon...

has a way of surprising you the more you get to know him.

He will turn his back on the father he respects so much,

with all his dying strength.

You know very well...

How living your life hating your own father...

is torture worse than hell.

I...

now seek to be your enemy, Father.

Are those kids doing well with decoding the secret message?

Seeing that they have not asked me for help,

they must be doing well.

Somehow, I feel that this secret code...

is the last lesson left by Sungkyunkwan Professor Kim Seung Hun.

The last lesson, you say?

The place where the learning is headed, and where the nation begins.

What he wanted to teach those kids...

I, too, am very curious, Professor Jung.

Live happily!

Happiness is not far away! Look hard for it.

Officer Yoon, that guy, must have got a great financier.

He paid off all his gambling debts and is moving to the countryside.

Why do you walk so fast?

I thought I was going to die trying to catch up with you.

Looks like I've been caught.

It really... is Chosun.

Where the learning is headed.

Where the nation begins.

The road from the temple that night was...

Young Yi Mun.

The late king...

initially hid the Geum Deung Ji Sa in Jongmyo...

Jongmyo?

The place where the nation begins.

Jongmyo.

Where Joseon enshrines the ancestral tablets of Joseon's great kings: Jongmyo.

The place the learning is headed.

To prepare for the day when the king would need extreme power,

the late king placed Geum Deung Ji Sa under the ancestral tablets at Jongmyo.

The place where the learning is headed.

The place where the nation begins...

is not Sungkyunkwan.

Jongmyo. That's right, it's Jongmyo.

That very place the Geum Deung Ji Sa was first hidden.

President!

Kim Yoon Shik was looking at the city map in the library and he suddenly ran out.

Jongmyo...

Say it.

What exactly happened that night ten years ago?

Interesting.

Who ordered the murder...

of Sungkyunkwan Professor Kim Seung Hun and President Moon Young Shin?

What shall we do?

It is this hunting dog's old habit not to open its mouth until it's fed.

You were nearly killed!

Think about why Moran-gak's Cho Sun was after your life.

Moran-gak's... Cho Sun?

Wow.

Interesting!

Where did the money that Officer Yoon used to pay off his gambling debts come from?

Well...

Hey.

He frequently met with Minister of War.

Minister of War?

The person who guided me...

is the current Left State Minister.

Was it really...

the Left State Minister...

who ordered you to kill them?

In return for the land deed?

Say it!

I'm not one to speak with my collar grabbed, so let go.

With no regards to the Left State Minister's will,

the one who ordered me to kill them was...

the Minister of War. It was the Minister of War.

After the Left State Minister found out the truth,

he gave me the land deed to keep my mouth shut.

Is that enough?

But now... the Minister of War... is after my life?

Interesting!

So... the Minister of War is behind this case, huh?

Ha In Soo and the Ministry of War's guards are headed to Jongmyo.

But why?

You haven't found Kim Yoon Shik yet?

What are you doing, not going out to look?

He should be the first one to know the Minister of War was the true mastermind.

Senior.

It's a relief...

For your sake and mine.

It would have been tiring to hate you for the rest of my life.

Daemul? Daemul isn't here?

Jongmyo?

Did Daemul go to Jongmyo?

Ha In Soo...

is taking the Ministry of War's guards to Jongmyo.

So what?

Ha In Soo, that punk, knows.

So he's after Daemul.

If caught,

his life might be in danger.

Geum Deung Ji Sa is right here, under the ancestral tablets.

This is the last chance to destroy the Geum Deung Ji Sa.

Use whatever means necessary to destroy the Geum Deung Ji Sa!

Yes!

You promised me...

that you won't let Kim Yoon Shik get hurt.

Senior.

I'll hold off the royal guards.

- It's the Hong Byuk Seo! - Hong Byuk Seo!

What are you doing?

- Hurry and catch the Hong Byuk Seo! - Yes!

You! Go to Jongmyo! Now!

Yes!

Geum Deung Ji Sa is here,

at the initial location placed by the late king under the ancestral tablet.

"Where the learning is headed."

Becoming a public servant and building up the nation.

"Where the nation begins."

This place where the ancestral tablets of those who started Joseon rest.

Brought to you by the Sungkyunkwan Scandal Soompi Team

THIS IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY AND NOT FOR RESALE

Translators: softy, lolipop

Spot Translator: blue, dramaok

Timers: soutsada7, Dai-chan

Editor/QC: thunderbolt

I'm fine.

I'm... more than happy with the way things are now.

Because of you...

I've done all the things I never thought I could do.

People become cowardly because they have someone they wish to protect.

Did you say it would all end once we leave Sungkyunkwan?

There's no such thing as the end.

Because I'll... just start over again and again every day.

I love you.