Original subtitles

‎DONHWAMUN GATE

‎May His Majesty ‎have remained in good health.

‎THE SCANDAL

‎You said your farewells already,

‎so why are you asking for ‎your clothes now?

‎Good grief.

‎Damn it!

‎Here.

‎All right.

‎Head back to Hanyang first.

‎Just me? Why?

‎You fool, do you think

‎I came here for pleasure?

‎Well,

‎His Majesty ordered me ‎to inspect the construction site.

‎I wasted the entire day, so I am busy.

‎Off with you now.

‎But I just got to see Eun-sil.

‎My lady!

‎My lady!

‎My lady!

‎I have brought your change of…

‎clothes…

‎Wait.

‎My lady.

‎When did you change?

‎Oh, right.

‎Here.

‎Well…

‎Where did you even

‎find these clothes?

‎You are

‎remarkably quick.

‎There.

‎My lady.

‎Are you awake?

‎May I come in?

‎My lady.

‎My lady!

‎Since my husband passed,

‎I have lived bearing the shame and guilt ‎of not following after him at once.

‎Now, it seems the time has come.

‎I take my leave with the joy of knowing

‎-Is that true? ‎-I shall see him again.

‎Hui-yeon!

‎Farewell.

‎Hui-yeon!

‎It seems Hui-yeon came to see ‎her brother one last time

‎before taking her leave of this world.

‎Listen. Search every well in the village, ‎the lower reaches of the river,

‎and every mountain ‎within ten ‎li‎ if you must.

‎Bring me Hui-yeon's body.

‎-Yes, sir. ‎-Yes, sir.

‎And you, Eun-sil, ‎go to the Left State Councilor at once

‎and inform him of Hui-yeon's noble death.

‎Yes, sir.

‎My lord.

‎Yes, tell me.

‎The truth is, when I was there that day,

‎I was taught ‎that taking one's own life is a sin.

‎The Lord forbids ‎the harming of human life,

‎so surely taking one's own life ‎is no different.

‎I felt I had come to know ‎something I ought not know,

‎and I was afraid.

‎And then, of all places, ‎I encountered you there.

‎On the day you came to know ‎what ought not be known,

‎you met the person you ought not have met.

‎And yet…

‎my heart longs for you, my lord.

‎My lord.

‎Good to see you back.

‎It has been some time.

‎I hope you have been well.

‎Yes, well then.

‎Young master!

‎Goodness! Young master!

‎Have you been well?

‎Yes, sir.

‎I shall stay in the outer room,

‎so give this fellow my room.

‎Young master,

‎are you telling me ‎to give a room to a servant?

‎He is no servant.

‎There are circumstances, so hurry now.

‎Follow me, then.

‎"After reading the letter ‎hidden in the tobacco box,

‎I fell utterly for your manly charm,"

‎the young widow said.

‎Dear cousin‎.

‎She is all but ready to yield.

‎Her undergarments ‎are practically in my grasp.

‎What a lovely aroma.

‎Please wait here a moment. ‎I shall fetch the young madam.

‎Thank you.

‎"In filial piety

‎and brotherly devotion ‎lies the root of benevolence."

‎"Fine words

‎and an insinuating appearance are

‎seldom associated with virtue."

‎A concubine?

‎How can she be…

‎What lousy handwriting.

‎That wretched girl.

‎I should have been the one to come here.

‎She broke this?

‎She's out of her mind!

‎TO YOUNG MASTER

‎Mother!

‎Yes, you are back.

‎Did you find anything?

‎Here.

‎I found this in So-ok's room.

‎You read it.

‎I am too drowsy to read it myself.

‎"Young master,

‎you may not believe me,

‎but thoughts of you leave me breathless,

‎and I spent the night ‎thoroughly drenched."

‎"My…

‎thighs seem to part of their own accord,

‎yet there are no great hands ‎to spread them further."

‎"I long for you, young master."

‎Leave us now.

‎Leave at once. Quickly!

‎What on earth?

‎You…

‎You really found this in So-ok's room?

‎Yes, Mother.

‎But why would she… Why?

‎"Young master."

‎"Young master"?

‎That little vixen.

‎That must be what she calls the minister ‎when she dallies with him in private.

‎What?

‎Surely not.

‎What do you mean, surely not?

‎Then what?

‎Are you saying my So-ok…

‎-No… ‎-Mother!

‎I sent her there ‎to become a concubine, and instead…

‎Are you heading out?

‎I am off to see my brother-in-law ‎at Janganmun Gate.

‎See to him well, would you?

‎He must be quite weary ‎from the long journey.

‎You are the only one I can trust.

‎Of course.

‎Safe travels, sir.

‎Everything written in my prior letter was…

‎-‎falsehood and jest. ‎-"Everything was falsehood and jest"?

‎"Everything was falsehood…"

‎Remembering the feelings ‎I once held for Lord Cho Won,

‎I merely teased him for amusement.

‎So I pray

‎you laugh my letter off.

‎Do not trouble your heart over it,

‎and I beg your generous forgiveness.

‎"Everything was falsehood and jest"?

‎"Feelings I once held"?

‎The banquet requires ‎a great many hands, all right?

‎Men shall be sent from the palace,

‎but there is much ‎to be prepared here beforehand.

‎I understand your concern,

‎but the construction is proceeding ‎faster than expected.

‎With things going so smoothly,

‎if we start pulling men away ‎to other duties,

‎people will surely talk.

‎We cannot allow that.

‎Which is precisely why ‎we must find another way.

‎I say this only because I truly wish ‎to see this matter carried through well.

‎Come here, all of you.

‎Well, we are finally…

‎Brother.

‎You seem rather occupied, ‎so I shall leave you to it.

‎My apologies.

‎The matter is of such importance ‎that there is much to settle.

‎Come by my quarters sometime.

‎Let us sit together and speak ill ‎of your cousin for once in her absence.

‎Very well.

‎Thanks to you, we were able ‎to supply paper again as before.

‎I hardly know how to repay such a favor.

‎It is no favor.

‎It is simply

‎His Majesty's benevolence

‎spreading throughout Hwaseong.

‎What are you doing? Make haste!

‎Pull harder. That's it.

‎My lady, it is I.

‎May I come in?

‎Have you been crying?

‎Do you regret it?

‎It was my own choice. I have no regrets.

‎Then what troubles you?

‎It says everything was falsehood and jest.

‎I did feel something was amiss,

‎but if you

‎have merely been toying with me…

‎-If that is the truth-- ‎-In my haste to bring you away,

‎the matter of this letter ‎entirely slipped my mind.

‎You should have told me sooner ‎instead of troubling your heart over it.

‎You saw the earlier letter as well, ‎did you not?

‎There was another?

‎Pardon?

‎So you did not deliver that letter ‎to the widow after all.

‎Your thoughtful resolve to hand me ‎the widow and grant me my reward at last

‎nearly moved me to tears.

‎Now that matters have come to this,

‎I must begin with the first letter.

‎This shall be a somewhat lengthy tale,

‎so I beg you steel yourself well.

‎There was a time when I traveled around ‎the country writing on tobacco.

‎I came to know a woman ‎who dealt in tobacco,

‎and as she was knowledgeable ‎in such matters,

‎she offered to assist me in my writings.

‎Whenever the flavor of tobacco ‎clouded my senses,

‎that woman made no effort ‎to conceal her lewd desires toward me.

‎One day, she went so far as…

‎to beg for my love.

‎Wishing to prove myself a man, ‎I put on a show of reckless bravado.

‎In the end,

‎I indulged in that woman's lewdness.

‎However…

‎just as the blazing heat of midsummer ‎flees before the crimson leaves of autumn,

‎my wandering too came to an end.

‎I believed that brief affair

‎had vanished ‎before it could become a scandal.

‎And yet,

‎not long ago, she somehow discovered ‎where I was and sent me a letter.

‎She wrote of her lingering desire for me…

‎in the filthiest and most obscene words.

‎I had no intention of replying.

‎I meant to cast it straight into the fire.

‎But through my own carelessness,

‎I feared it had been sent to you ‎among my own letter.

‎I was deeply ashamed.

‎I could think of no remedy. ‎I was at a complete loss.

‎So in the end, I sought the woman out

‎and pleaded with her ‎to write that everything in the letter

‎had been falsehood and jest.

‎I clung to her

‎and begged for it.

‎How could you do that to such a woman?

‎Because my affection for you…

‎is more sincere

‎than any feeling I have ever held

‎for anyone else in my life.

‎That is enough.

‎You have laid everything bare before me…

‎so I shall fill the void in your heart.

‎This wretched past of mine…

‎Those shameful days ‎that have torn your heart to pieces…

‎No, how am I to show you ‎this desire I have

‎to punish myself for it all?

‎It is all right.

‎Thank you, my lady.

‎My lady!

‎Whatever am I to do

‎with this miserable past of mine?

‎How shall I ever

‎earn your forgiveness

‎for those shameful days…

‎When I offered the widow some flowers, ‎she faintly smiled.

‎She learned how to make ‎hwajeon ‎from Mrs. Asan and made some herself.

‎She said the scent of flowers may fade, ‎yet their taste lingers in the heart.

‎And told me

‎to gather flowers for her again ‎this time next year.

‎Look at that.

‎She speaks of spring?

‎She means to live until the new spring, ‎when the streams thaw and run free again?

‎Dear me.

‎So she does not wish to die.

‎She wishes to live.

‎That widow has found the will to live.

‎She came back alone?

‎-What happened? ‎-My lady.

‎The young madam

‎has left this world in the end.

‎My lady.

‎Is something troubling your mind?

‎Why do you ask such a thing?

‎The flowers in your painting seem angry.

‎I wonder whether you get that wit ‎from your mother or your father.

‎Madam, it is Gye-hwa.

‎I have something urgent to tell you.

‎The Left State Councilor's ‎daughter-in-law's servant has returned.

‎However,

‎she came back alone.

‎Of course she did.

‎At first light tomorrow, ‎I shall visit the Lady of the First Rank.

‎Yes, I shall make the preparations.

‎All right, let us go.

‎You look quite unwell.

‎Do I?

‎Yes.

‎Word has come ‎from my daughter-in-law's family home.

‎It seems

‎the poor girl met her end there.

‎What?

‎You mean your daughter-in-law ‎has passed away?

‎I suppose ‎there is some comfort in thinking

‎my Geum-ho shall no longer be alone.

‎Yet

‎there is no telling ‎whether she threw herself into the river

‎or cast herself into a well.

‎They have not yet found her body.

‎Oh, dear.

‎I cannot begin

‎to imagine your sorrow.

‎I, who shared a friendship with her,

‎am overcome with grief as well.

‎I cannot fathom how painful ‎this loss must be for your family.

‎Well…

‎Lady Cho.

‎Though I am ashamed to ask,

‎may I beg a favor of you?

‎Yes, of course.

‎Do tell me.

‎We would not wish for rumors ‎to begin spreading.

‎Would it be possible

‎for a virtuous lady such as yourself ‎to submit a petition to His Majesty?

‎You wish me--

‎Could you not do that for me ‎with Lord Yoo's assistance?

‎Yes.

‎I shall do so.

‎"Would it be possible

‎for a virtuous lady such as yourself ‎to submit a petition to His Majesty?"

‎"Lady Cho?"

‎To think she would come ‎begging favors of me now.

‎-So-ok. ‎-Yes, my lady.

‎I shall not be long.

‎Do not stir up trouble ‎and give people cause to talk.

‎Yes, my lady. Safe travels.

‎All right, up now.

‎Let us go.

‎All right, make haste.

‎We must finish before nightfall.

‎A letter for you.

‎There is something I must tell you.

‎Please, you must come.

‎I shall wait all night at the study annex.

‎Oh, my goodness!

‎Wait, who are you?

‎-Quiet now! ‎-Mom?

‎Come here! Come!

‎Oh, for heaven's sake.

‎You meant to give this love letter ‎to that young master?

‎Yes.

‎Have you gone insane?

‎Come now!

‎Even the madam gave her permission, ‎so why are you hitting me?

‎Do you know anything ‎about the lives of women in Bukchon?

‎What did you just say?

‎Who gave permission?

‎The madam?

‎The… The madam?

‎So the mistress of this house ‎knows of it all as well?

‎That's right, Mother.

‎She said it was all right.

‎In fact, she even encouraged me ‎to seek Lord Cho Won's help,

‎saying it would benefit me.

‎Can you not tell at a glance?

‎Those are not words ‎I could have written myself.

‎Cho Won?

‎I know well enough ‎what worries you, Mother.

‎But you need not fret.

‎Neither the madam ‎nor the servants of this house

‎treat me as nothing more than ‎a womb to bear children.

‎Mother, are you even listening to me?

‎Be quiet, you fool.

‎So you wrote this letter ‎together with Lord Cho Won?

‎That is what I said.

‎Do you happen to know him as well?

‎So-ok, tell me the truth.

‎Aside from writing the letter,

‎did anything else happen ‎between the two of you?

‎What else would there have been?

‎Truly nothing else happened?

‎I told you, no!

‎Then I suppose you never saw ‎the tiger-shaped birthmark upon his chest.

‎He had such a thing?

‎Confound it! ‎I was the only one stripped bare.

‎He never even undressed, so I saw nothing.

‎You little…

‎Now that I think of it, ‎I never took off my underclothes…

‎Oh, you…

‎Oh, that's right!

‎What?

‎What now? Is there more?

‎You darn little…

‎Not that!

‎I was in the madam's quarters.

‎I just remembered ‎something I overheard there.

‎They were speaking in secret

‎of how the Left State Councilor's ‎daughter-in-law's maid returned alone.

‎Well, I do not know the truth of it,

‎but I heard the maids here whispering.

‎They said the daughter-in-law ‎was as good as waiting for death,

‎so she might have fled ‎in the middle of the night.

‎Fled in the middle of the night?

‎Eun-sil.

‎Go on.

‎I know you grieve ‎for the young lady you served,

‎but that is enough.

‎This brings great honor upon this family.

‎So if you keep weeping like this, ‎you shall only earn their displeasure.

‎What will happen to me now?

‎Now that my lady is gone,

‎they will treat me ‎worse than a dog, will they not?

‎How should I know?

‎That is why I am telling you ‎to stop your crying.

‎And go outside the main gate.

‎What's his name, Chil-seong or something?

‎The servant of that lord ‎who was staying here waits for you.

‎I nearly drove him off,

‎but I felt too bad for you.

‎Did you say Chil-seong?

‎Yes.

‎Are you all right?

‎Good heavens, your face has grown so thin.

‎I heard

‎that your lady has passed away.

‎This is beef. Dried beef.

‎Here.

‎Even if grief has turned ‎your mouth bitter,

‎you still must eat well.

‎The living must go on living.

‎It took some effort to get this,

‎so savor it.

‎Young master!

‎Young master, you have a visitor.

‎You came all this way ‎without so much as a word?

‎Have you perhaps

‎come to grant me my reward in person?

‎There is something I must tell you.

‎Dear cousin.

‎Do tell me.

‎In Bukchon, ‎they believe the widow is dead.

‎I would imagine so.

‎And that is now tightening the noose ‎around both our necks.

‎Well now.

‎How interesting.

‎Won.

‎We must stop now.

‎None of this can have happened.

‎Don't tell me.

‎Do you mean to withdraw our wager now?

‎Come now.

‎What an absurd thing to say.

‎If this continues,

‎your honor and our family's standing ‎may be dragged through the mud!

‎My honor, did you say?

‎Did you?

‎My honor?

‎Do you truly claim ‎to worry for my honor now?

‎Since the day we became literary friends,

‎I have always followed your wishes.

‎As time passed, ‎I vowed I would no longer do so.

‎Yet each time I watched myself ‎crumble so helplessly,

‎I thought that until the day I die, ‎I would never defy your wishes.

‎However,

‎this wager?

‎I mean to see it through no matter what.

‎Wait here.

‎Yes, madam.

‎Miss Yun?

‎Miss Yun, is that really you?

‎How long has it been?

‎It has been a long while,

‎Mrs. Asan.

‎Lady An.

‎It is you, isn't it?

‎I never thought I should see you again.

‎So this is where you have been.

‎How could you be so reckless?

‎I am deeply ashamed.

‎You could have told me at least.

‎I believed

‎you had gone ‎without so much as a farewell.

‎How are my mother- and father-in-law? ‎Are they in good health?

‎In Bukchon, everyone believes

‎you took your own life.

‎You can never return now.

‎What is done cannot be undone.

‎What on earth did you intend by all this?

‎Was it my cousin

‎who brought you here?

‎It was my own choice.

‎I chose to follow him here.

‎Even if only for a while,

‎I wished to remain by his side ‎as nothing more than

‎an ordinary woman.

‎I envy you.

‎I truly…

‎wished to be like you.

‎I…

‎wished I could be another An Hui-yeon.

‎As a child, ‎I learned proper script from my father.

‎Thanks to that, ‎I can make it look proper enough.

‎What is that?

‎"The son, Won of the Cheongyu Cho clan,

‎humbly seeks a marriage match

‎with your esteemed daughter, Hui-yeon."

‎"We respectfully submit this proposal

‎and await your gracious consent."

‎I am but his cousin,

‎so I have no true right to this.

‎Madam.

‎You said you wished

‎to be with my cousin as an ordinary woman, ‎even just for a moment.

‎Then do so.

‎And…

‎leave with honor.

‎You must follow the fate laid upon you.

‎That is the only way

‎to uphold the dignity of a woman ‎who shall never be called by her own name

‎until the very end.

‎All of this

‎is for your sake.

‎I know.

‎Though I can no longer call it honorable…

‎I suppose I must ‎atone through death in the end.

‎I have one request.

‎Anything.

‎The letters I exchanged with the lord ‎remain somewhere in my quarters.

‎I ought to have burned them long ago,

‎yet I could not bring myself to do it ‎and left them there.

‎I only wished…

‎to yearn for him a little longer.

‎Do not worry.

‎I shall see to everything.

‎You should simply

‎spend the rest of your days ‎by my cousin's side

‎and make this ‎the most tender ending of your life…

‎with no regrets left behind.

‎Do that.

‎Young master.

‎You are late.

‎Has my cousin left?

‎Yes, she has.

‎She spoke to the guest ‎in the outer room before departing.

‎Lady Cho wrote this for us.

‎I wish to remain by your side, my lord.

‎"I care not if they point fingers

‎and say we have defied Heaven's order."

‎Just say that to me.

‎I, too, wish to remain by your side.

‎I care not.

‎Subtitle translation by: Yoonjung Song