Original subtitles

ALL CHARACTERS, PLACES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND INCIDENTS

PORTRAYED IN THIS DRAMA ARE FICTITIOUS

Although you are not my family,

you can pretend to be one and visit me.

I cannot do that to you

even though I may be a horrible wench.

The first place of the military service exam

goes to Yeon Su.

Congratulations.

FIRST PLACE OF THE MILITARY SERVICE EXAM

Do you think I will let you get away with this?

Are you not going to take the certificate?

This is all because of you.

This is all because you are

the son of His Majesty.

Will you accept your certificate?

Are you okay?

I heard you almost got hurt at the gambling house.

I am sorry. I feel responsible for what happened.

No, it is okay. I went there because I wanted to.

Why do you not just become a court lady instead?

-You are pretty. -What?

-A court lady? -Yes, it will not be hard.

Approach His Majesty, get on the good side of him when he comes out in disguise.

Then you will easily get to enter the palace.

He comes out in disguise?

He thinks he comes out in secret, but everyone in the palace knows

that he goes out for walks at night.

You may go inside. His Majesty is waiting for you.

Are you not curious?

What do you think I said to His Majesty?

Yeon Su?

Are you here with the vice-curator?

Did you also bring the little girl and her drunk father?

-You... -Well then.

Take your time with His Majesty.

Were you that shocked?

Pardon?

You have been staring at me ever since you came in here.

And you have not said a single word.

I am sorry...

I mean...

I apologize, Your Majesty. I do not know...

I am not familiar with the customs of the palace.

You make me smile.

You do not need to try too hard.

We are close enough to ignore the customs of the palace.

Is that so, Your Majesty?

Of course.

Instead,

do not tell anyone about my evening walks.

Do not tell your woman either.

Will you do that for me?

Yes, Your Majesty.

You will be working with Officer Baek,

the man you met last time.

I want you to help him with his work.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Here.

You are awfully rude to your guest.

"Guest"?

What kind of guest shows up with a sword?

I will be a guest as long as you do not cause a scene.

What did you just say?

You are the one who barged in causing a huge scene.

Why are you fighting at the dinner table?

You are ruining my appetite.

My goodness.

She is right. That is enough.

You are ruining our reunion.

You brat.

Come here, you brat.

I do not intend to harm you.

-Not yet. -"Not yet"?

Have you lost your mind?

This is all because of me.

I should not have gone to the palace.

No, it is okay. He would have put a tail on me anyway.

Follow me.

Unfortunately, you survived.

Yes, thanks to you.

But let me ask you something. Why are you working at the palace?

To succeed.

I need to make a living.

And as you already know, I am a great swordsman.

What about you?

What are you trying to pull right now?

You were the first person to ever stab me with a sword.

I almost lost my mind and I thought I was going to die.

But after I woke up,

I came to the conclusion

that it would be a waste to let you die so easily.

Just deal with me. Do not mess with the others.

-If you do-- -What will you do?

Tell His Majesty that I am going to commit treason?

Do you think I will not?

I will destroy you and everyone in your family.

I do not think you can

because your older brother is helping me.

What?

Do not look at me that way.

He came back to me voluntarily.

You have such a weak spot for him,

but unlike you, he is very ambitious.

-Just like me. -You darn jerk.

What are you doing?

Be careful. You will get hurt.

Are you okay? Did you get injured?

If you do not want things to get worse, follow me.

What are you saying, you crazy jerk?

-Are you threatening me? -I do not care how you take it.

But I will not let you stay here.

Go inside and wait there.

I will bring my stuff. Wait here.

Are you angry at Dong-ju?

No.

I have just given up.

Pardon?

The only reason I condoned Dong-ju's reckless plan

was because I knew

that it was the only thing that kept her alive.

But some guy suddenly showed up

and started to stir her heart.

So I have just decided to give up.

I will no longer try to win her heart.

Then why...

I will make her mine.

I do not care if she does not like me.

I will make her stay by my side forever.

I will accomplish her long-cherished dream for her.

So I think I deserve that much.

Then why are you keeping him alive?

-He is a dangerous fellow. -Yes, I know.

But after seeing him and his father not being able to recognize each other,

I suddenly thought of a great plan.

A king who killed his son twice.

It perfectly justifies the restoration.

He will soon be killed

by his own father.

This is the only way.

Are you going to fight him and win?

Then you will always be on the run for having killed a royal family member.

Are you going to leave Aeng-du and her father?

-Or are you going to take them with you? -But still, why would you--

Because that way, everyone else will be safe.

And now, I no longer have...

I no longer have anything to do with you.

So do not fight him.

I do not want to see you get hurt anymore.

I am just moving.

I will be off now. Do not see me out.

That is enough!

You want him to dethrone his father and enthrone himself?

I will never let Nok-du do such a thing,

and you have no right to dethrone the King.

ROYAL COMMAND

My lord.

Everyone is on his side now.

He will make his move soon.

What do you plan to do?

I am

going to become a king with absolute power and authority.

He destroyed a village of women just because he needed to.

He killed Madam Chun without hesitation even though she was on his side.

We cannot let Prince Neungyang become the king.

The government troops will try to stop you.

Let me go with you.

I want you to stay.

If anything happens to me,

do what I asked you to do.

Yes, my lord.

Please be careful.

You cannot leave. It is the royal command.

Get out of my way. I need to talk to His Majesty.

Stop.

I will relay your message.

Get out of my way!

I have been serving His Majesty for far longer than you have.

And I need to meet him so I can protect him.

So get out of my way.

I will have a palanquin ready. Please wait.

Let us eat.

You saved me that day

when the widow village got attacked.

Yes, I did. But you left.

How did you get past those bandits?

I am powerful enough to do that.

No, you had enough power to scheme the attack.

It was inevitable.

Is that who you really are?

Are you the kind of person who holds people hostage, threatens them,

and kills innocent women?

So what?

Are you disappointed?

Since when did you ever care enough

to show interest in what kind of person I am?

That is not important.

It was for me.

More than anything else.

Then why are you doing this to me?

Because it does not matter anymore.

I begged you for your love, but you never gave it to me.

So I found another way. Therefore, just stay--

I clearly told you.

I may have moved out of that house,

but I do not intend to stay here like a puppet.

If you want me to stay here,

you will have to kill me.

That will be the quickest way.

I must meet Her Majesty first.

I heard you were locked up.

What in the world happened?

And what is it that you need to tell me?

I see you still have that with you.

20 YEARS AGO

Please bury this alongside my son.

Yes.

I asked you for that favor

so I could keep this with me at all times.

This is how I console myself for having lost my baby

the moment I gave birth.

Come to think of it,

I never once asked.

Did you bury him safely?

Your Highness.

It is long overdue...

What are you doing here?

He thinks he comes out in secret, but everyone in the palace knows

that he goes out for walks at night.

He secretly comes out for walks?

I might be able to kill him without even entering the palace.

Or I might get killed instead.

Boss, are you okay?

Do I look okay to you?

I swear I will catch them

and teach them a lesson.

-Darn it. -Slowly.

Slowly. Be gentle.

Darn it.

Go slowly. Be gentle.

My goodness, it hurts.

Are you here to see me?

No.

I was just passing by.

Good luck with your new job.

How are you? Are you okay?

Of course I am okay.

I am doing fine. The house is huge.

Look. I am even allowed to come outside.

So do not worry and just focus on yourself.

What is it?

Do I look extremely handsome in this?

I know.

You have no shame.

You do not look handsome.

But you do look like a newbie.

You should go.

I told you to stay in your house.

I apologize, Your Majesty.

But I came to urgently tell you something.

I heard you wish to protect me.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Tell me.

What is it that you need to protect me from?

I know a man who is planning to commit treason.

Who is that?

It is Prince Neungyang.

Prince Neungyang is doing all sorts of wicked things

in order to take the throne.

What?

"Prince Neungyang"?

You must arrest and punish him.

And as soon as you do that,

you should also kill me for being a disloyal subject.

You sounded so desperate

that I almost believed you.

Repeat what you just said.

What did you just say?

Your son who was born

twenty years ago

is still alive.

What? He is still alive?

How did you find out?

I met this man by coincidence

and heard the things

I never should have found out.

He is

Jung Yun-jeo's son

and a living witness.

My so-called brother turned out to be your son, Your Majesty.

My father raised him.

How do you expect me to believe that?

Please show us mercy, Your Majesty!

What?

There is one more person who knows about this.

Who is that?

Chancellor

Heo Yun, Your Majesty.

He has been threatening me.

He told me he will frame me for plotting treason

if I did not agree to stay quiet.

However, I could not stay quiet.

I could not lie to you, Your Majesty!

Your Majesty.

You cannot let him fool you.

Then who am I supposed to trust?

You?

You were my loyal subject and friend.

But you have been lying to me!

Do you know how much I hoped to be wrong?

Even as I doubted you,

I still hoped I was mistaken!

Do you have any idea how much I wished to be wrong?

Kill me, Your Majesty!

However, you cannot trust Prince Neungyang!

I do not want to hear it!

Quietly

take him to the dungeon.

Your Majesty!

You can punish me all you want!

But do not trust Prince Neungyang!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Do not trust him!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

You cannot trust him!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

I am Yeon Su, the new chief administrative officer.

-I heard you came to the palace, so-- -Yes, I heard about you.

His Majesty has urgently ordered us to arrest a criminal.

-So follow me. -Okay.

We already have a witness.

It will be useless to meet Heo Yun.

The government troops are guarding his house.

You will not be able to see him.

I should still give it a try.

I need to hear both sides.

-Then let us go with you. -Yes.

I prefer moving alone. I will not be late.

That brat.

No one can ever know about this man.

So we must arrest him without causing a scene.

You must escape.

-What is going on? -Arrest him right now!

-It is the royal command! -Run out the back door.

I will be right behind you.

Run.

Where is my father?

Lord Heo asked me to give this to you.

He said you will need it to prove yourself.

They went that way.

Are you okay?

The person who saved Jung Yun-jeo was a woman.

I told you I can go alone.

I cannot let you do that. You got hurt.

Wait here. I will be right out after I talk to His Majesty.

Okay.

I will wait here.

You lost him?

How could you fail to catch him?

I apologize, Your Majesty. I will find him no matter what.

Did you find anything else?

I found this in Chancellor Heo's room.

It is a note that almost got burned.

You must find Jung Yun-jeo.

If you must, you can kill him.

Just bring me his body.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Open the gates!

When did you first think of betraying me?

Your Majesty.

Was it 20 years ago

when you told me that you killed Yun-jeo and my son?

Or...

Was it when you decided to hide the late King's letter?

I told you to bring me the letter if you ever happened to find it.

However, you told me that you burned it on the spot.

Is this what you wanted?

You were going to get rid of me

and have the direct heir take over the throne?

-Your Majesty. -Just like everyone else,

you also thought I do not deserve to be a king.

That is why you tried to betray me and replace me with a new king.

I deserve to die, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

You can punish me all you want.

But you should never trust Prince Neungyang.

-He is... -Prince Neungyang?

You are still going on about him?

Fine. Go ahead and tell me!

What is he scheming behind my back?

I figured the government troops might come for your family,

so they are with me right now.

I promise they will be safe

as long as you keep your mouth shut.

If you stay quiet and bear everything alone,

your family will be able to live the rest of their lives

more comfortably.

It was all Prince Neungyang's doing?

Yes.

The reason he got arrested at the palace

is because of the story between this man and His Majesty.

Then was Prince Neungyang also the one

who killed Deul-re?

Prince Neungyang told me otherwise.

He told me Chancellor Heo was behind all this.

Who are we supposed to trust?

Think about how Prince Neungyang managed to get involved

in the first place.

He is a cruel and meticulous person.

There is only one place where he could go to spend

a fun and secret night.

The best kisaeng house in Hanyang

that is right under Mokmyeoksan Mountain.

-My goodness. -Thank you.

-Let me pour you a drink. -Sure.

Then you can be the second minister.

Your Majesty.

Will you take me to the palace and make me become the queen?

Watch it.

You need to lower your voice.

Here is a drink for the prime minister.

And the chief royal secretary! Have a drink as well!

You said you do not like me.

And I am fine with that.

But you see,

I will make you like me.

Stop!

My goodness.

-Your Majesty. -My queen!

If you do not answer me, I will just move onto the next king.

Good idea.

I am more suited to be a king than that punk.

-Yes, that is right. -That jerk failed to pass his first exam.

Nok-du.

Nok-du!

You must find Jung Yun-jeo.

If you must,

you can go ahead and kill him.

Just bring me his body.

Are you looking for this?

Show your respect to Her Majesty.

I apologize, Your Highness.

I am a chief administrative officer at the police bureau.

However, I lost my hat somewhere in the palace.

But you look like

you have lost your way.

Pardon?

I am not

familiar with the palace yet.

You can take this.

I know my way around the palace.

I am honored, Your Highness.

Lord Heo asked me to give this to you.

He said you will need it to prove yourself.

What are you in a daze?

I waited for you.

And you came.

What is with that face?

Is someone giving you a hard time at work?

-It is me. -What?

I am the one who is giving everyone a hard time.

I should have lived a quiet life.

That would have been right.

I should not have done this.

-Hey. -I do not know what is right.

I just want someone to tell me the answer.

I do not know who or what to ask

in order to prevent people from getting hurt.

I feel

so lost.

I should not have said that.

Just forget everything I said.

I did not understand a word anyway.

Stop acting so sad.

Just go home and get some sleep.

Go on.

-Let me take you home first. -No one wants you there.

-Just go. -No.

You always come and go whenever you wish.

So let me do that for a change.

Hey.

You really should go.

No.

Do you not hate me?

I am always mean to you.

I adore you.

Why are you so complicated?

What are you so scared of?

Why are you so fearless?

We can never predict the future.

That is exactly why

I want to be honest about my feelings.

And I am walking you home because I want to.

And I am going to hold your hand.

Just until the end of this path.

Then I should walk slowly.

The government troops caused a scene at Chancellor Heo's house?

That means Jung Yun-jeo was there.

We must catch Jung Yun-jeo first.

I will head to Aseowon.

I want you to follow Nok-du. He will visit his father.

Here is a sketch of Jung Yun-jeo.

You must be discreet.

You are...

You still dress in women's clothes?

I have my reasons.

Anyway, were you at Chancellor Heo's house?

How do you know that?

What happened to the man you saved?

How is his injury?

-He left that day-- -Where did he go?

He left because he could not trust me, so he did not say anything.

But why do you care so much about him?

He is my father.

I see.

He was a bit injured, but he was okay when he left.

He left with Chancellor Heo's right-hand man, so do not worry.

But what are you doing here?

Are you going to take revenge on Prince Neungyang?

"Revenge"?

He is not here yet?

Then can you give this to him for me?

This is the only thing I know that he likes.

You should wait and give it to him yourself.

I need to go somewhere.

Really? Then you can give it to him once you come back.

Please give this to him for me.

Okay.

-Goodbye then. -Bye.

My lord.

We are here for you, not me.

Why do you look like you have not eaten for three days?

Did you lose the thief you were chasing after?

I always lose them.

By the way,

were you on your way to the kisaeng house?

Yes.

I have business there.

It does not seem like you wish to be a kisaeng.

No.

I am trying to find a servant job in the palace.

You

also wish to enter the palace?

I heard it is a stable job.

I see.

By the way, do you still have trouble sleeping?

You did not do as I told you, did you?

No, I could not.

I have left my wife

all alone for way too long.

I cannot ask her to comfort me all of a sudden

just because I feel lonely.

Yes, you can.

If she was lonely for that long,

she might also be waiting for you

to approach her first.

INN

Boss, I swear I will find them tomorrow.

-If we stay here... -Yes.

You!

They say the foot of the candle is dark.

We searched the entire village, but you were nowhere to be seen.

But it turns out you were so close by.

It is nice to see you.

You have the wrong person.

Are you sure?

Let me see.

-Oh, gosh. -Boss.

Catch her!

-Let us go. -That little wench...

DO NOT ENTER

PLAGUE OUTBREAK

Why did you run so much?

My butt still hurts from all the flogging.

Let us see.

You stole money and made me get flogged.

It is okay. Come here.

Come over here. It is dangerous there.

What... What in the world...

PLAGUE OUTBREAK DO NOT ENTER

Oh, my gosh.

Boss!

My goodness, what are you doing here?

Everyone in this village died due to a plague.

-"A plague"? -Yes.

She is dead. She has to be dead.

I bet she is dead. Let us go.

-Master. -Hey, you are home.

By the way, is Dong-ju okay?

-Why? -Because she came by earlier

and asked me to give you this.

And she seemed like a lost puppy.

Help.

Is anyone there?

Help!

Please help! There is someone inside!

Help!

Help!

Please help!

Help!

My goodness, it is raining so much.

Hey.

So he is not hiding her somewhere?

He is looking for her, too.

Then do you think she left

just like last time?

No.

She could not have.

Then where could she be?

You searched Hanyang for two days.

-I will be off now. -Hey, wait. Take this.

Take this.

Here.

My goodness.

Help.

There is someone inside!

Please...

My goodness.

Boss!

I finally found you, you darn punk.

-Move. -No.

I will kill you.

You will get to meet that wench once you die.

-You can look forward to it. -What?

Did you not know?

She is dead.

I killed her.

And I am going to hold your hand.

Just until the end of this path.

Then I should walk slowly.

Dong-ju!

No, Dong-ju!

Dong-ju, no!

Dong-ju, wake up! No!

Dong-ju.

Dong-ju, wake up! Dong-ju!

I feel ashamed to say this, but I came here

because I could not sleep.

Pardon?

It is not your fault.

It is all...

It is all my fault.

Your Majesty.

If it is okay with you,

will you

let me sleep

by your side tonight

just like the old days?

Are you okay? Do you feel better?

What are you doing? You need to get more rest.

Go. Go away.

Hey.

How could you...

How could you say that to me?

Do you have any idea how worried I was?

Who told you to worry?

Why did you come looking for me?

Why did you jump into the well?

What is the matter with you?

-Dong-ju. -I had to do something.

It was my goal for my entire life.

I figured

I would be able to meet my mom and finally be happy

when everything is over.

It was what kept me going.

But I almost died before I can carry out the plan.

But...

But why you?

Why did I suddenly think of you?

I could not stop thinking of you!

You keep making me want to live.

You keep making me want to...

I do not know

what it is that you need to do

and what you are so scared of

that forces you to push me away like this.

But whatever that may be,

and whatever happens to us,

what matters is that we are together right now.

So why can you not

just follow your heart?

You see,

I just...

I just like everything about you.

I like you.

I like you, too.

I am also crazy about you!

Subtitle translation by Ja-won Lee