There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 463

Mong—

I stared blankly at the TV screen, arms crossed.

Though a dazzling action scene unfolded, it didn’t register.

– Forgive me, Gildong….

– Brother…!

Lost in thought, the animation raced toward its climax.

The half-brother, kidnapped and turned evil, regained his senses just before dying. He shared last words in the protagonist’s arms, then breathed his last.

The special ending song echoed as the staff roll appeared.

As soon as it ended, my younger sibling’s eyes sparkled with eagerness.

They’d insisted I watch the animation, explaining they couldn’t see the movie without knowing the backstory.

“How was it? Awesome, right?”

“Yeah, it was.”

I snapped out of my reverie and casually agreed.

‘Geez, playing the older brother is tough.’

‘This is a task, I guess.’

What task? Building rapport with my sibling, something the original version [referring to the original timeline or character] had neglected.

Still, it seems we’ve gotten closer easily, since they only want to talk about their interests.

‘Easy.’

At first, I was surprised, thinking they had a picky personality.

However, even while fostering family bonding, my mind was complicated by what I’d seen earlier.

‘I didn’t see it wrong.’

If all our family members exist in this world, Juso-hwa [a character from the protagonist’s past] must exist too.

That in itself was joyful.

However, there’s one problem….

‘Where do I have to look?’

Finding Juso-hwa in Seoul, or rather, in the heart of the Empire, Hanseong [the capital city], which might be even bigger, wouldn’t it be harder than finding a needle in a desert?

‘Damn it! I shouldn’t have missed her then.’

Whether she soared into the sky or disappeared into the ground, I should have found her inside the movie theater.

If I really can’t find Juso-hwa until the very end….

I shook my head.

That can’t happen.

If I hadn’t known she existed in this world, I might not have known, but now that I do, there’s no way I can accept it and live on.

I bit my lip and thought.

Then, a voice full of dissatisfaction burst out from beside me.

“Ah, stop acting like you have anxiety and just leave it alone.”

I’d been unconsciously poking at the remote control, constantly changing channels.

My sibling forcibly snatched the remote control from my hand.

Just then, the news was playing on the channel I had last turned on.

A reporter, seemingly a field correspondent, held a microphone and spoke towards the desk.

– ······The two people who met in Constantinople today had an in-depth discussion about cooperation between the two countries.

Prime Minister Jeong Chung-shin congratulated the new French President Richelieu on his inauguration, saying, “I hope that the friendship between the two countries, which has continued since the time of Emperor Mujong and the first President Joan of Arc, will last forever.”

– Reporter Yoon Seon-do, I heard that President Richelieu has a special background?

– Yes, that’s right. In fact, the name Richelieu is a kind of pseudonym taken from the name of the region where he was a student activist in his youth….

– Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jeong is planning to visit our athletes in Constantinople today to encourage them….

I was watching the news without much thought when suddenly my sibling propped their chin and asked.

“If you hadn’t caused trouble, would you be out there right now?”

“Shut up, you. I’m innocent.”

Really, no matter what trouble I caused, I’m innocent.

That’s all the original version’s doing.

“Well, you got kicked out of the national team and now you’re unemployed.”

That’s a relief.

Otherwise, I would be riding a horse and doing tricks on the other side of the world without even knowing why.

So I answered nonchalantly.

“Am I the only unemployed person in the world?”

“You’re the only unemployed person in our house, though?”

That’s a bit much.

Do all my siblings work? Even Mom?

“Come to think of it, where did Mother go?”

“She probably went to work at the art gallery. There’s a special exhibition of artifacts from the Imperial Vault.”

“Oh….”

“If you have nothing to do, go help Mom with her work.”

Why would I have nothing to do? Do you even know what my current worries are?

…I wanted to say that.

But in reality, it was true that I had nothing to do right now.

‘As of now, there’s no particular way to find Juso-hwa.’

Instead of being cooped up at home, it would be slightly more likely to wander around Hanseong outside.

It would still be a very, very small probability, but wasn’t it something that had already happened once?

I got up with a heavy body.

===

I stared up at the sign that read ‘Yeoheung Art Gallery’ for a long time.

‘Damn, it’s so luxurious.’

With its dazzling interior and strangely shaped artworks on display.

It was such a splendid sight that you couldn’t help but say they poured money into it.

‘As expected, it’s run by a gold spoon [born into wealth].’

Of course, that gold spoon refers to our mother in this world.

I heard that she came from the family of the owner of the Yeoheung Daily and married into our family.

‘I remember Yeoheung Soonbo being a collaboration between the two Min families.’

Min In-saeng was in charge of editing, but his uncle Min Mu-gu also managed the business.

After Min In-saeng died and time passed, his descendants didn’t seem to be so passionate about running the media, so they naturally stepped down.

Anyway, the villainous young lady of the Yeoheung Min clan, one of the most prestigious families in Samhan [Korea], seems to have taken a truly luxurious position here as well.

She’s the wife of a Hallimwon – also known as a National Assembly member – and she also received an art center from her parents’ home and is serving as its director.

‘Did she push her father-in-law with her family’s money to make him a member of the National Assembly?’

I inadvertently had such thoughts, but I don’t know the exact truth, so let’s move on for now.

Since there was no need to hide my face here, I took off my hat, and the employees who recognized me quickly guided me to the director’s office.

“Rembrandt, he’s a rising star over there. Painter Wang Si-min also said he’s a talent of the century, so I was wondering how to find out about him… Oh my!”

My mother, who was on the phone, looked at me, quickly ended the call, and approached me.

“What brings you here? I was going to leave work early because I heard you were back! Are you okay? Do you know how much your father stopped me from going myself when I heard about the accident?”

In contrast to my father’s lukewarm reaction, I scratched my cheek at her warm welcome.

‘Ugh, this kind of reaction is a bit overwhelming too.’

“It wasn’t a big accident. The medical facilities there were good too.”

“You’re saying the same thing as your father. Anyway, what brings you here? You never even visited Mom’s art gallery when you were alive.”

“My third sibling told me to come help Mom.”

“Help? Like carrying exhibits?”

“If you need me to….”

“Those are all national treasures, how can I entrust them to a newbie? Just go downstairs and look around until Mom finishes work.”

I didn’t bother to refuse.

That’s because I was quite curious about what treasures were stored in the Imperial Vault.

The Imperial Vault, where various relics and treasures were stored in the old days.

Of course, it was originally strictly sealed and only a few people who managed it could come and go, but as time passed, public opinion formed that ‘what’s the point of just keeping them locked up’.

Most of the artifacts were moved to the Royal Museum and are on permanent display in open places.

However, some artifacts are still kept in the vault and are only taken out for special occasions, and it seems that the Yeoheung Art Gallery is exhibiting them now.

I strolled slowly among the artifacts.

There were artifacts that were kept when I was alive, and there were also artifacts that were added later.

I walked past the early computers that had been steadily improved since I died, and the tribute items that were presented from South American countries, including Inca, when something caught my eye.

– Baekje Gilt-bronze Incense Burner

The incense burner of Baekje discovered by His Majesty Emperor Sejong the Great. It was used as a symbol of obtaining heavenly mandate for hundreds of years after its discovery, but the carbon dating method revealed that it was actually a relic from the Baekje period [ancient Korean kingdom], causing surprise….

Fortunately, thanks to diligent management, the condition of the incense burner had not changed much compared to when I was alive.

It was a relic that had been preserved in its original form until modern times in the original history, so I would have felt guilty if my descendants had managed it poorly.

After feeling a slight sense of relief, I continued to observe, but soon I had no choice but to stop again.

– Empress Munhyo’s Silver Mirror

I stood tall in front of it.

“Mom! Why is that still intact?”

A child was chattering from behind, and I chuckled.

Come to think of it, I remembered my grandfather and Juso-hwa having a childish fight over that.

But surprisingly, this seems to be an undying controversy even in this era.

When I turned on my phone and searched, there was even a separate entry on the wiki.

Depending on whether it’s a traditional historical drama that emphasizes the affection between grandparents and grandchildren or Lee Seong-gye’s aspect as a successor, or a fusion historical drama with romance as the main story, the direction of depiction is different.

I skimmed through a debate post on a historical drama mania community.

[Silver Mirror VS Lightning Struck Wood, which one do you think is real?]

└Ugh, I’m tired of it

└The 15497th Sejong saved who tteokbab [a common trope] this year lol

└Isn’t it obvious that it’s the silver mirror since the relic is still intact? Do the kids who push lightning struck wood even have a real thing?

└Lightning struck wood is obviously gone because it was hit by an arrow and split. No matter how hard it is, it’s a piece of wood, so would it still be there? The fact that there is no relic is proof that it’s real.

└When I investigated the silver mirror, there were no traces of being hit by an arrow lol

└Think about it. Wouldn’t that pure love Sejong have restored it even if he had to grind Jang Yeong-sil [a famous inventor] with a millstone? It’s his mother-in-law’s keepsake.

└I think that anecdote itself is fake. Professor Ki Ja-heon emphasized the implications as a successor who inherited Taejo’s legitimacy.

└I think so too. The fact that Taejo’s will left in the Taejong Sillok [historical records] and Empress Munhyo’s will left in the Mujong Sillok contradict each other seems to be because the transmission was modified for propaganda purposes after swallowing the Ming Dynasty, and then it went wrong.

└But it also appears in the writings of Min In-saeng, the last conscience of Joseon [historical Korean kingdom]?

I frowned at the last comment.

‘Could it be that Min In-saeng was also reincarnated in this era?’

I had a reasonable suspicion when I saw them calling him the last conscience of Joseon, but it didn’t seem to be the case.

Because for some reason, most people in the world know Min In-saeng as a historian and journalist of righteous and upright writing.

Why on earth? Is it because of his writing skills?

‘Ugh.’

Remembering Min In-saeng made my stomach ache without joking.

In the end, I even gave him the title of meritorious subject, but when I think about the trouble I had because of that human, I still have trauma.

Damn it, I should go get some stomach medicine somewhere. Should I ask the director’s office?

As I was thinking that and clutching my aching lower abdomen, my mother, who had come down with her secretaries, slapped my back and said.

“Why are you doing this in front of guests? Move over here so you don’t get in the way.”

I scratched my head and headed to the corner of the exhibition hall.

Perhaps the visitors were also conscious of such interest-oriented debates, there were many related mentions on the bulletin board where they posted their impressions after viewing.

While looking at the countless post-it notes, my gaze inadvertently turned to one side.

I reached for the memo that was attached there.

[Unconditionally Silver Mirror]

There was nothing written other than that one sentence, no name, nothing, but my gaze was fixed on it and wouldn’t let go.

From the time I exchanged letters with Hanyang [old name for Seoul] and Nanjing [city in China] as a child, to just before I died.

It was a handwriting I had seen hundreds and thousands of times.

“Mom.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Do you happen to have a list of today’s visitors?”

My heart rate started to rise again.