There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 248

< Fate (2) >

“Are you awake?”

I asked, supporting Lee Seong-gye’s head as he woke up.

“Yes, uhn… Aigo, where is this?”

Lee Seong-gye, holding his head, asked as if he were in a ‘Where am I? Who am I?’ state.

It’s not like he’s waking up to a strange ceiling for the first time, but why would he suddenly say that?

“This is Taesangjeon [the residence of the retired king]. You’ve been asleep for a whole day.”

Lee Seong-gye, who used to rant about how old age makes you lose sleep, suddenly slept for too long, which startled me.

“Slurp, what were you doing without waking me up until then? What if I had kicked the bucket in between?”

“Wipe your drool before you speak.”

“You rascal, you should have told me that sooner.”

Lee Seong-gye wiped the drool from his mouth with his arm.

He sat up and leaned against the wall, asking,

“Did anything happen while I was asleep?”

“Something did.”

I couldn’t sleep all night because of his snoring.

This is why I didn’t want to sleep with the old man.

“…Besides that.”

“What else could there be besides that?”

In this era, things that could be called ‘big news’ don’t happen that often.

Unless a coup breaks out in the capital, there’s no way such a scoop would come in a day.

The most recent big news was the passing of Monk Muhak, wasn’t it?

Lee Seong-gye seemed to have thought of that too, as he murmured powerlessly.

“For Monk Muhak to leave like that, I can’t believe it.”

I heard that old people are used to people around them passing away.

But that’s just talk; it seems they never really get used to it.

Especially Lee Seong-gye, who has a sentimental side.

“I had a dream while I was asleep.”

“What kind of dream?”

“Your father killing his brothers.”

“…”

I closed my mouth.

To have such a terrible dream. It’s an event that could be traumatic.

“Do you trust your father?”

“I do.”

I answered immediately.

If I don’t trust my father, who would I trust?

“I also trusted my son.”

Does that mean I might be betrayed too?

In the face of that damn power?

“When I first came back to this palace, I was going to kill your father. I hid a *cheoltoe* [a type of iron mace] in my sleeve to get rid of him.”

“Ew.”

Why do the people in our family like *cheoltoe* so much?

There might be a family *cheoltoe* hidden somewhere in the palace.

“Back then, you boasted that you would show me *bijeon* [a nonsensical term meaning ‘flying before,’ used here to imply a grand vision], so I held back. And I’ve come this far.”

Ah, I remember.

The memory of confidently saying I would create a country where everyone eats rice and meat soup.

He still remembers that nonsensical word made up of mixed Chinese characters.

“But after having that dream earlier, I started to think I should pick up the *cheoltoe* again.”

This old man is saying something terrible!

“Since ancient times, fathers have worried when their sons do well. How many fathers were jealous of their sons? It would be better for me to bear the *ak-eop* [bad karma] and go.”

“If you do that, the country will be a mess.”

There might be pathetic fathers like the one Lee Seong-gye mentioned somewhere in the world, but at least my father isn’t one of them.

I frowned and said.

“Family members shedding blood is enough with what’s already happened.”

I know what Lee Seong-gye is worried about.

The words I’ve heard incessantly since I fell into this era, that damn lust for power that divides even fathers and sons.

But what was Lee Bang-won like when I saw him?

Were the things he did really because of his lust for power?

Everyone, even his own father, might think so, but as someone who watched him closely, I had doubts.

“I want to entrust Joseon to you and your descendants.”

“Our Abamama [father] will think so too.”

“Then have a *wonseon* [the first grandson of the king] quickly. That’s how your position will be secure.”

“We can have children anytime.”

I forced the topic away.

“I heard that a eunuch delivered Monk Muhak’s will from Hoeamsa Temple. Have you read it?”

I asked, shaking the will placed on the *mungap* [a small cabinet].

“…No.”

Lee Seong-gye subtly turned his gaze away.

He doesn’t have the courage to read it yet.

“Well, would you like to read it first?”

“Sure.”

Anyone else would decline in this situation, but I’m not one to refuse.

I immediately opened it and started reading.

“Oho.”

“…What does it say?”

He says that, but he seems curious.

He’s subtly asking.

Lee Seong-gye became impatient as he watched me hesitate for a while.

I took a deep breath and said.

“I don’t know.”

“You rascal, if you don’t know after reading it, who would know!”

Lee Seong-gye burst into anger.

No, what am I supposed to do when I really don’t know what it means?

“Read it yourself.”

I handed the will to Lee Seong-gye.

“No, wait. I’m not ready yet…”

Lee Seong-gye shouted in panic, but I opened the will and held it in front of Lee Seong-gye’s eyes.

What kind of preparation does he need, like a girl receiving a love letter?

He should just read it coolly.

Lee Seong-gye, who was covering his eyes with his hands like a maiden, glanced at the contents of the will through his fingers, and then slowly removed his hands.

Then, he picked up the letter and began to read it.

“Heo.”

Lee Seong-gye sighed deeply and read the will again.

There was only one word written on it.

“他生之緣(tasaengjiyeon) [Other life’s缘 (relationship/destiny)].”

Lee Seong-gye muttered several times with a meaningful face.

‘Is it a Zen riddle?’

It seems to be a word left for the *Taesangwang* [retired king], who is a Buddhist, so it’s natural that I don’t know what it means even if I read it.

I was about to let Lee Seong-gye gather his thoughts, but then I felt a strange presence.

“Huh?”

I clearly saw a shadow when I glanced sideways, but when I opened the door, there was no one there.

“…”

But my senses, developed from being stalked by Min In-saeng, clearly told me that a stranger had been here until just now.

My eyes narrowed.

…I don’t think I heard that the Taesangjeon was being monitored.

===

Lee Bang-won’s eyebrows twitched when I entered, as he was waiting for the eunuch.

I plopped down in front of him and said.

“The will won’t come.”

Our father is also difficult.

He could have just asked directly, but he had to see the will himself.

‘Well, would he believe it even if I told him straight?’

The *Taesangwang* and Father have stabbed each other in the back once.

Once with the Prince’s Rebellion, and once with Jo Sa-ui’s Rebellion.

No, going back further, we could even go to the assassination of Jeong Mong-ju or the appointment of Lee Bang-seok as Crown Prince.

This discord has somehow been kept under wraps, but there must still be resentment left.

“Who taught you?”

Lee Bang-won, who was about to ask that, clicked his tongue and said.

“A foolish question. I taught you to control people directly.”

“…”

“One of Wang-ho’s henchmen, right? Or Wang-ho himself.”

I subtly avoided Lee Bang-won’s gaze.

I didn’t know I would use it like this either.

Maybe if it wasn’t for this incident, I wouldn’t have shown it in the future either.

“Do you think this father’s appearance is ugly?”

“It doesn’t look good.”

Even as I said that, I added one more word.

“But I understand.”

Even if they are father and son, there is no law that says they should always have a good relationship.

Rather, wouldn’t our father-son relationship be rare?

Lee Bang-won has trusted me to a surprising degree, considering he is considered the embodiment of lust for power.

Even so…

“Isn’t it just a possibility? Do you need to be so wary?”

Lee Bang-won’s position, having directly confronted Lee Seong-gye militarily, might be different, but that’s what I thought.

“This *yongsang* [dragon throne] doesn’t just have my life on it. Your mother, your siblings, and the lives of the officials are all on it together.”

Lee Bang-won said firmly.

“So, the moment I lose the *yongsang*, they all die together.”

His gaze didn’t gleam with madness, nor did it show any signs of paranoid anxiety.

He was just *chakjap* [complicated] and *damdam* [calm].

I slowly opened my mouth.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“What do you mean, *gwaenchanta-ni* [that it’s alright]?”

“I know the contents of that will.”

“You saw it first…”

I know what he was going to say. He was going to ask if I peeked at it first.

But Lee Bang-won swallowed his words.

He knew I wouldn’t do that.

“…The *Taesangwang* showed it to you.”

Lee Bang-won’s tone contained faint envy and resentment.

“Halbamama [Grandfather] couldn’t bring himself to read it.”

I said defensively.

“Was there anything that could subtly provoke the *Taesangwang*?”

“There wasn’t.”

“Then that’s good.”

Lee Bang-won waved his hand.

He didn’t believe the *Taesangwang*’s words in the first place, so he didn’t even ask, but he was relieved as soon as I said it was okay.

“Aren’t you curious about the contents?”

“Not really. It’s probably just a silly old story.”

Lee Bang-won probably thought it was a story about memories.

But I shook my head.

“It’s a story related to Abamama [Father].”

“What?”

His father’s eyes widened.

===

The call from Taesangjeon came some time later.

“The *Taesangwang* is looking for His Majesty.”

“…Let’s go.”

I had an ominous feeling, but since Lee Seong-gye, who had been rejecting people other than the Crown Prince, called him, Lee Bang-won had no choice but to move.

Lee Bang-won hurried his steps and reached the front of the distant Taesangjeon.

Lee Seong-gye, dressed in *gapju* [armor], came into his sight.

‘Is it a hallucination?’

Lee Bang-won rubbed his eyes, but Lee Seong-gye was still staring at him with the same *hyeonghyeonghan* [sharp/piercing] eyes as when he defeated the Japanese pirates in Hwangsan.

Then he raised his *eogung* [royal bow] and aimed it at him.

“Heut!”

Only then did Lee Bang-won come to his senses and widen his eyes.

“Your Majesty! Be careful!”

The eunuchs hurriedly shielded Lee Bang-won, but Lee Seong-gye drawing his bow towards him was faster than that.

‘Seja [Crown Prince], you son of a bitch!’

What do you mean there’s nothing much in it?

What the hell did Muhak leave behind that made the *Taesangwang*’s eyes flip and pick up a bow?

But there was no time to think beyond that.

– Toong!

“Eut!”

Lee Bang-won quickly prostrated himself on the spot to avoid the arrow.

But even as time passed, he didn’t feel the chilling sensation of an arrow passing over his head.

Lee Bang-won, who was prostrate, raised his head in bewilderment, and his father, wearing armor, shouted with an empty bow.

“Good *insa* [greeting].”

“…”

Lee Bang-won’s expression was dyed with absurdity.

The eunuchs standing beside him were the same.

The only people who weren’t flustered were the *Taesangwang* and the *Seja* next to him.

“What are you going to do about this atmosphere? That’s why I told you not to do it.”

*Seja* Lee Je said to the *Taesangwang*.

“푸흐흐, I was trying to calm my mind after reading the *daesa*’s [great monk’s] will, but I couldn’t help but feel *gwaesseum* [resentful]. Still, isn’t it cheap to forgive the sin of killing my son and son-in-law with this one arrow?”

Lee Bang-won was listening to Lee Seong-gye’s words blankly.

“Forgive?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Seong-gye *palanggeoryeotda* [fluttered/waved] Monk Muhak’s will.

“他生之緣 [Other life’s 缘 (relationship/destiny)]?”

“You don’t study Buddhism, so you don’t know, but it means that even the trivial act of brushing against each other’s sleeves while walking is all due to the 緣 of a previous life.”

“I know that much too.”

Lee Bang-won *balkkeun* [became irritated] without realizing it.

He was proud of his knowledge, so he couldn’t stand his father, who was from a military background, subtly ignoring him.

“I thought I had roughly finished *jeongni* [settling/organizing] with 緣.”

Lee Seong-gye *jungeolgeoryeotda* [muttered].

From the people of his hometown in Dongbuk-myeon to the Jurchens, and even the dead King Chang and the Wangs.

Whether it was a good 緣 or a bad 緣, he had been ending it in his own way.

“One way or another, I’m seventy years old, so there’s still a bad 緣 that I haven’t *jeongni* [settled/organized].”

Even if it’s just brushing against each other’s sleeves, it’s 緣, so how *jilgigo* [tenacious] and *teunteun* [strong] would the 緣 between parents and children be?

Lee Seong-gye thought until the end.

There are several ways to cut off this *akyeon* [bad relationship/karma].

The easiest way would be to end everything with his own hands.

But Lee Seong-gye didn’t *jaeji* [nock] an arrow on the bow until the end.

“If I were alone, I could take it as *akyeon* until the end, but I can’t do that for the sake of my descendants.”

Lee Seong-gye said as if he were letting go of all the *hoehan* [regrets] he had been *damgo* [holding].

“I forgive you.”

Lee Seong-gye *neureotteuryeotda* [lowered] the bow.

“Although you killed my child, my son-in-law, and my friend, you are my son.”

Lee Bang-won looked at Lee Seong-gye with disbelief.

“And you are the second *imgeum* [king] of this country.”

“Abamama…”

Lee Bang-won’s voice *tteollyeotda* [trembled].

Lee Seong-gye’s son, and the *imgeum* [king] of this country.

He wanted to be *injeongbatgo* [recognized] of that fact by his father more than anyone else.

What he *jinjeong-euro wonhaetdeon* [truly wanted] was *sasil* [in fact/actually]…

*Seja* Lee Je, who was watching the scene, also started to tear up.

“Is it going to rain?”

Lee Je, *jungeolgeorideon* [muttering] that while looking at the sky, suddenly thought.

‘But isn’t the second *sangwang* [retired king]?’

Poor *keunabeoji* [uncle], forgotten again.

< Fate (2) > End

ⓒ 핏콩