Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 3

Jjanggeura

Hello, Bomb!

3. Who is the Father?

A bright spring day with warm sunlight.

“We’ll stop here for today, Your Highness.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”
The young prince, who couldn’t have been more than six years old, showed respect that didn’t suit his age as he saw the young official out. Then, he stretched his legs and cursed.

“Shibal… I’m so tired I could die.”

He massaged his numb legs from kneeling and turned his head towards the window.

Above the rows of tiled roofs, the blue sky came into view.

The young prince sighed as he looked at the sky.

“Haa… It’s good to be born as a prince… but why a Crown Prince? And my royal father is Sejong…”
The young prince sighed deeply once more.

“I was so excited to be reincarnated, but why don’t I feel good about it?”
The child, who spoke of the word ‘reincarnation,’ which others wouldn’t believe if they heard it, was Jin-ho reborn.

He had been reborn as Yi Hyang, the eldest son of King Sejong and the future King Munjong.

* * *

When Jin-ho first opened his eyes, he thought he was in a temporary treatment facility set up at the site. The first thing he saw was the rafters.

‘Which nobleman in our neighborhood had a tiled-roof house…’
Jin-ho, who was briefly contemplating whose house the temporary treatment center he was staying in might be, soon realized another problem.

‘Why is this room so big? And why is it so stuffy? Could it be a full-body cast?’
Jin-ho turned his head with all his might. And he realized.

His body was wrapped tightly in swaddling clothes, and that body was smaller than expected.

“Kya?”

In a situation he hadn’t anticipated at all, Jin-ho involuntarily blurted out a word.

At that moment, a woman’s voice was heard from where Ji-hwan’s gaze hadn’t yet reached.

“My lady! The young master has opened his eyes!”

It took Ji-hwan three days to realize the reality that he had been born as a baby.

He was still wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying down, eating, sleeping, and repeating the process, counting only the number of rafters, but Jin-ho’s mind was constantly working to find an answer.

‘It’s certain that I’ve been reborn… but where is this? The setting looks like Joseon [Korean dynasty from 1392 to 1897]…’
Jin-ho couldn’t be sure where this place he would live anew was. It was because he couldn’t understand the language.

‘Is it another world that looks exactly like Joseon? If so, that’s refreshing?’
Jin-ho, who had fallen into various confusions, was finally able to be sure after three months when he could understand the language to some extent.

‘It’s Joseon alright! What kind of language is this…’
Jin-ho blamed the language, not thinking about the more than 500 years.

Jin-ho’s actions to confirm the situation led to his parents’ misunderstanding.

“My lord, our child doesn’t seem to be an ordinary talent.”

“Did you feel that way too, madam? I felt that way too.”

“That’s why I’m worried.”

“I feel the same way.”

The couple’s conviction that their child was no ordinary child deepened, and their worries grew deeper and deeper.

‘Royal family, huh? Royal family…’
Whether he knew that his parents were deeply worried about him or not, Jin-ho was making his first situation assessment.

1. His father is royalty.

2. He currently resides in Gaeseong. The capital of Joseon is Hanyang.

Conclusion 1. Combining 1 and 2, his current father is far from the throne.

3. Judging from the voices of the servants outside and his parents’ attire, they have considerable wealth.

4. According to what he knew in the previous life, the royal family consciously distanced themselves from academics for the sake of survival.

Conclusion 2. He doesn’t have to worry about making a living, he won’t be looked down upon anywhere, and he only needs to study the minimum amount.

5. Based on the information he’s heard so far, he is the eldest son. His position within the family will never be weak.

6. He remembers the knowledge he had in his previous life as it is.

7. After growing up to some extent, even if he starts doing things based on his memories from his previous life, it will be recognized as eccentric behavior by a royal family member with nothing to do.

Final conclusion. Awesome! It’s a sweet deal!

Confirming the conclusion he had reached, Jin-ho smiled brightly.

‘Looking at the situation, studying the Thousand Character Classic [a classic Chinese text used for teaching Chinese characters] and the minimum amount of academics will be enough… After King Sejong, Hangul [Korean alphabet] would have been created, so I’ll study that, and around that time, Westerners running around would have entered China, so if I get a few Chinese translations, source laundering will be OK! It’s a sweet deal!’

Looking at Jin-ho, who was smiling brightly while dreaming of a rosy future, Jin-ho’s nanny and mother smiled and talked.

“Oh my, my lady! The young master is smiling!”

“Is that so? What makes him so happy to smile like that?”

The mother, holding Jin-ho wrapped in swaddling clothes in her arms, looked around.

In the surrounding scenery, which was no different from usual, the voice of her husband reading a book was heard. Thinking that the child was smiling at the sound of her husband reading, the mother stroked the child’s head and was happy.

“Seeing him already liking the sound of reading, our child must have outstanding literary talent.”

It was a fatal misunderstanding.

Meanwhile, Jin-ho was diligently grasping the situation and changing the scenario.

‘First of all, looking at my parents…’
When Jin-ho first saw the faces of his mother and father, whose swelling from childbirth had subsided, Jin-ho’s impression was simple.

‘A child gave birth to a child.’
It would have been a situation where both parents would have been in an uproar in the 21st century, but it was a situation that was somewhat understandable because early marriage was common in the Joseon Dynasty.

‘And I’m the eldest son, so I understand roughly, but the problem is that attire.’
Jin-ho tilted his head slightly while looking at the clothes his parents were wearing.

‘Recalling the dramas I saw in my previous life, it looks like the early Joseon Dynasty no matter how I look at it. Even if I push it back as much as possible, it would be Taejong, Sejong, Munjong, Danjong, Sejo… Seongjong at best? Or Prince Yeonsan? If it’s the Prince Yeonsan era, it’s going to be very difficult.’
An even more troublesome thing happened to Jin-ho, who was worried about what era he was born in.

* * *

After safely passing the 21st day and the 100th day, as the first birthday approached, the maternal relatives began to visit the house diligently.

In the midst of that, one day.

“You guys go out for a while.”

“Yes, madam.”
After sending the nanny and maids out, Jin-ho’s maternal grandmother spoke to the mother in a subtle voice.

“Is His Highness the Grand Prince still close to his books these days?”

“As always, he is immersed in his studies.”
To Jin-ho’s maternal grandmother’s question, Jin-ho’s mother answered proudly.

Hearing the answer, the maternal grandmother held the mother’s hand tightly and continued to speak.

“There is a lot of talk these days due to the Crown Prince’s outrageous behavior. As a result, there are many rumors circulating regarding His Highness the Grand Prince. Now that your father, Military Madam, is slowly making moves, please have His Highness the Grand Prince and Military Madam exercise restraint and self-control.”
At the maternal grandmother’s words, the mother was greatly shocked.

“Mother! What kind of outrageous words are those?”

“Don’t tell anyone and exercise restraint and self-control.”
It wasn’t just the mother who was surprised by the maternal grandmother’s words.

‘What is this all about! They’re saying they’re going to replace the Crown Prince! Who was the king who had the Crown Prince replaced in the middle?’
Lying in the blanket, Jin-ho desperately racked his brain.

‘King Sejong succeeded in replacing him, and how many people were almost replaced?’
Jin-ho frowned as he dredged up his memories.

‘There are too many variables!’
In the history of the Joseon Dynasty, there were quite a few cases where the Crown Prince’s qualifications were questioned.

There were not a small number of cases where the issue of replacing the Crown Prince actually surfaced, and cases that circulated below the surface and then fizzled out were completely impossible to grasp.

“Our Hyang. Are you not feeling well somewhere? Did you pee?”
Looking at the baby’s face, which was full of frowns, the mother hurriedly checked the diaper and made a fuss, checking the seat, and gave a warning to the mother [grandmother].

“Mother. I will pretend I didn’t hear today’s story. Don’t say it again.”

“…I understand.”

“I won’t see you off.”
At the mother’s firm appearance, the maternal grandmother quietly left the room. The mother, who was only looking at Jin-ho with her back turned, sighed deeply.

“Hoo~.”

‘Am I going to become a slave as soon as I pass my first birthday?’
Jin-ho, who was worried about his future, learned at his first birthday party when and as whose child he was born.

* * *

“Congratulations!”

“Thank you.”
On the day of Jin-ho’s first birthday party, people wearing splendid silk clothes flocked in and offered their congratulations.

Every time guests came, Jin-ho’s father diligently returned the greetings and thanked them for their congratulations.

‘Is the nobleman who is my father quite influential? Then isn’t it even more dangerous?’
Looking at the faces of the visitors, Jin-ho was torn between whether to be happy or not.

‘It would be a big problem if I bet on the wrong thing and lost everything…’

“Our Hyang, why doesn’t your expression look good on a good day?”
Jin-ho’s mother, seeing Jin-ho frowning, picked up Jin-ho and brought her hand to his bottom.

“It’s not wet… Our Hyang, what don’t you like?”
At the mother’s words, Jin-ho sighed softly.

‘Putting aside everything else, from now on, I’ll have to live as Hyang.’
Jin-ho, who was still sometimes confused about whether he was Jin-ho, finally came to a conclusion.

‘From now on, I will live as Hyang, who has the memories of Jin-ho.’
At the moment when Jin-ho, no, Hyang, decided his identity, the person with the most important answer appeared.

“Haha! Chungnyeong [King Sejong’s title before he became king]! Congratulations! Sister-in-law! Congratulations!”

“Sister-in-law, congratulations.”
As two young men in their mid-20s appeared, everyone who had come earlier stood up from their seats.

“Welcome, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Welcome, Your Highness the Grand Prince.”
Looking at the people who were politely paying their respects, one of the young men raised his hand and responded.

“Yo~. Nice to see you.”
The young man in question, who came up to the head table, fluttering his robe, approached Hyang’s mother.

“Sister-in-law, may I hold our nephew once?”

“It is an honor, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
The Crown Prince, receiving Hyang from his mother, gently comforted Hyang and looked at Hyang’s face.

‘Smile! Smile!’
As soon as the Crown Prince held him, Hyang made a desperate effort to smile brightly. Seeing Hyang’s smile, the Crown Prince laughed loudly and looked at Hyang’s father.

“Hahaha! Chungnyeong! The child looks very bright, resembling you!”

“Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Don’t be too formal between brothers. That’s your problem.”
The Crown Prince lightly chided his brother, who always answered politely. The Crown Prince, returning Hyang to Hyang’s mother, sat at the head table, and the party resumed.

Meanwhile, Hyang could not escape from the shock.

‘Chungnyeong! My father is Grand Prince Chungnyeong? My father is King Sejong? Then I am Munjong, and my child is Danjong?’
When Hyang barely regained his senses from the sea of shock, the party was already about to begin the first birthday fortune-telling.

“Now! Let’s see what our nephew grabs!”
Following the Crown Prince’s thunderous words, a few things were placed in front of Hyang.

With the eyes of everyone attending the party focused, Hyang’s gaze turned to the objects placed in front of him.

‘Let’s see. Brush, rice, gold ingot, jujube [Korean date], thread, wooden sword… just so-so.’
Hyang’s eyes were fixed on one place as he pondered what to choose.

The place where his gaze was fixed was the Crown Prince’s ear. To be exact, it was the earring hanging on the Crown Prince’s ear.

‘Is such craftsmanship possible in this era?’
Hyang, whose curiosity was aroused, reached out to the Crown Prince without realizing it.

“Kyaa!”

“Me?”
As soon as the Crown Prince held him, Hyang reached out and touched the earring.

“Earring?”

“Kyaa!”
When Hyang touched an unexpected object, those gathered at the party began to worry about how to interpret this.

End