I left Father all alone.
He will understand.
He will know that you have left your heart with him.
So let's get along.
That is what he would want.
Since you insist on remaining silent,
the chief merchant must have conditioned you well.
By the way,
that father of yours
who sold you off.
Perhaps he fell to gambling, as it seems he squandered all that money.
Bedridden by illness,
it is said he awaits his imminent death.
Though he deserves a harsher fate
for lumbering us with you all those years…
If you do your part,
I shall grant him a funeral.
The sole fate I am granted…
is death?
DEAR HONGRANG
Do you wish me to have you killed,
or do you wish to have me killed?
Your Highness.
I beg you not to speak so.
I simply meant--
You wish to transfer ownership of the grandmaster's shadow guild
to my royal residence?
As for the sulfur the grandmaster smuggled,
you wish to claim it was collected by order of the palace, meaning…
you would have both of us killed.
Your Highness, I meant no such--
Sulfur was banned by none other
than His Majesty himself.
Thus, what you are asking of me
is to commit high treason.
Your Royal Highness.
Please have mercy.
Blinded by the grandmaster's imminent danger,
I have committed a grave offense.
Relinquish one of your holds.
Relinquish what you've been clutching in that hand.
And then
clasp this hand firmly with both of yours.
Is there any other way you can withstand this?
Let me in.
Just for a moment.
Let me just see him.
- Mistress, what if Madam finds out? - We would be done for.
Brother!
- Let me through! - Mistress, please!
Brother, can you hear me?
Mistress.
- Are you okay? - Please.
Please say something, Brother.
- Mistress, please. - You cannot be like this.
This will be the death of us.
It was you.
I know you are behind everything, not him.
And if I am?
What do you mean? Why are you not doing anything?
He was only following your orders.
This was his decision.
I warned and cautioned him well in advance.
Mu-jin was the one who chose to bear the risk.
Hence, he must account for his crimes.
Have you ever, even once,
truly stood as a father to either of us?
Have you ever thought of us as your children?
I am a merchant.
A merchant's virtue lies in the ability to assess one's true value,
whether it be an object or person, including one's own family.
I knew it.
But now, you will find it impossible to assess me.
I will do everything in my power
to remain unshackled by your will.
We must find a way to have my brother acquitted.
To do that, we must prove that none of this was his doing.
But how?
I heard that the shadow guild is under the grandmaster's name.
I will scour the ledgers.
If the shadow guild has operated for so long,
there must be traces of its trades or finances.
I trust you have removed all records pertaining to the shadow guild.
Yes, madam.
Now is not the time to move against the chief merchant.
He has made the difficult decision to forfeit the stake,
so despite my hatred, I will stand down.
Well done with the amendments.
Any news of Mun Gyu-ha?
Well, madam,
he has vanished into thin air.
He has not been seen at the inn
or made contact with the chief merchant or the Ministry of Taxation.
He is hiding after causing this mess?
Search everywhere for him.
He will soon conspire to bring me down with the chief merchant again.
Yes, madam.
But
what of the grandmaster?
Will you just leave him like that?
Leave him be.
He will act on his own accord
to either drink the poison
or starve himself to death.
Mother.
My son.
What brings you here so late at night?
I was looking for you to ask you something.
Have you slept at all?
Or eaten something?
I told you not to do this to yourself.
This is unimportant.
Then what is?
What is so important to you?
Are you playing dumb? Who knows what may happen to Mu-jin--
Whatever happens, it's that man's…
It is Brother's fate to bear.
Innocent people died.
You know he's not at fault.
Without evidence, defending him is in vain.
Precisely. That is why I will find evidence.
How exactly? And why?
Because I am
the only person he has.
I am all he has,
but I have been negligent.
I failed to see his struggle because I was so preoccupied with…
I was preoccupied with you.
And?
Do you regret it?
I feel sorry.
So sorry that it drives me mad.
I never had to reach out to him.
He always held my hand.
He never failed
to put me first.
Your involvement solves nothing. You can't change a thing.
No.
- It is my turn to have his back. - Sister.
Just leave me alone
if you don't intend to help.
Someone took madam's opportunity for the palace supplies last time.
It was an interpreter by the name of Gyu-ha from the Mun household.
Mun Gyu-ha.
And you do not know where he is now?
I do not.
If I may, why do you wish to seek him?
He will soon conspire to bring me down
with the chief merchant again.
What of the grandmaster?
He will act on his own accord to either drink the poison
or starve himself to death.
We must move fast.
Is there no way to get Brother out?
She has all her eyes and ears on the grandmaster,
ensuring that his every move is being watched.
If only there were a way to divert all attention…
"We have found a way to resolve this situation."
"At eleven o'clock tonight,
come to Compound Two in Ya Community, Bansong District."
"The third tiled-roof house."
As you had intended,
deliver this safely to the chief merchant.
On one condition.
You must not speak a word about my seeing this letter.
Fail to hold your tongue,
and I shall have your family
ripped limb from limb one by one.
Yes, madam!
Gather the servants before 11:00. I will go there myself.
Eat up.
You must be starving.
Let us hurry.
Yes!
Huh? What the…
Where are you all going?
What is happening now?
I will go and see. Stay here and keep watch.
Sure.
- Have some more. - Okay.
You must not stand guard all night on an empty stomach.
- Break the gates open! - Yes, madam.
Goodness, my tummy hurts.
What is taking them so long?
Brother.
Let us go back. Now.
Yes, madam.
Someone sent a letter
to Chief Merchant Sim in your name?
And Madam Min
intercepted it before it reached him?
It seems Madam Min traveled all the way there
to catch us in the act of scheming.
Sim Jae-yi.
This must be her doing.
So that child
has now even become aware of my brother's existence?
Like father, like daughter.
I will rectify this situation.
As you must.
Or else, I shall have to intervene myself.
When that happens, and if you still wish to save her,
you will have to kill me with your own hands.
There is a horse further down this path.
Find a place to hide.
- Meanwhile, I will find a way. - Jae-yi.
Just listen to me this time.
You cannot do this.
No! You must go.
It is the only way for you to live, so go.
Make haste, Brother. Please!
Move aside.
Lower your sword.
Let him go.
I beg you.
Seize him.
Please!
Just let him go.
What if I do?
If he disappears like this,
what about you?
It does not matter.
It matters to me.
Let go. Let me go!
I warned you
not to dare touch her.
Go, Brother.
Jae-yi.
I shall go back.
What?
There is
no place for me outside the Min Family's Guild.
All that defines me
is there.
Outside the guild,
I amount to nothing.
No. You must go.
Go.
Please go.
Open the doors.
Yes, madam.
Formerly expelled Grandmaster Sim Mu-jin
is indefinitely assigned to oversee laborers
in the Gapsan mines.
The Gapsan mines?
Do you know what sort of place that is?
Aside from the arduous journey there,
the land is impossibly barren, and there is nothing to eat.
The deadly winters and summer landslides claim countless lives.
Even the miners work in shifts.
Sending him there indefinitely is as good as a death sentence!
Did you have to go so far?
Does he deserve my generosity?
Sitting in my rightful place and indulging in what ought to be mine,
he doubted me and pressured me
with his sword raised against me to force me out.
Given his behavior,
why must I offer leniency?
Did you intend to have him removed from the start?
If I say that I did,
will you be disappointed?
He was here in my stead,
but I am here now.
He has lost his purpose, so I had him removed.
Who is he for you to look at me like that?
Is he
a man to you?
What?
Do you see him…
as a man?
He is me.
I see myself in him.
He shares the life I have lived and bears my scars.
When I look at him, I see myself.
My life without you was like his.
Having someone who shared my pain and understood my agony
was my sole comfort during those times
and my strength to survive.
You could never understand.
Then what am I?
If he is that important to you, what about me?
Am I just the brother you lost
and so needed to find?
Now that I am found…
is that enough?
Is anything beyond that so repulsive that you wish it were a dream?
Mistress!
You should not be so cold to him.
If it were not for the young master…
something much worse could have happened.
Having him around will not do.
If a stake cannot be plucked clean, it must be chopped down.
Get rid of him before daybreak.
Yes, madam.
I suggest you let him live.
At least spare his life.
My son,
I will not leave room for trouble for your first step.
It is rather
to prevent any trouble.
He committed a sin worthy of death,
but let it be known that I,
his successor as grandmaster,
granted him commutation
as recognition for his efforts over the years.
Only then shall his supporters not be hostile towards me,
which shall make it easier for me to make them my people.
Why provoke any animosity or ill will before I take my first step?
Jae-yi.
How can you smile like that?
How carefree you are.
Come closer.
I have something to tell you.
I have been appointed as a branch owner.
You are headed to a branch, not to oversee laborers?
She has promised to call for me
if I keep my head down for a couple of months.
Mother would never…
She has promised.
Father must have spoken to her on my behalf.
It was Hongrang.
This must be his doing.
You're right.
Perhaps it was him.
Please save me.
Your desperation gives me more cause not to let you remain.
If I were to die,
you would lose her forever.
I know that the more she intervenes for my sake,
the more she places herself in grave danger.
That is why--
I will let you live
on one condition.
You must leave her with no concerns
nor lingering feelings for you.
That is the only way she can live.
It is such a relief, still.
When are you leaving?
I have work to see to and must help Hongrang take over my place,
so in a fortnight, I suppose.
I will be busy for the time being,
so do not be too upset if you do not see me so often.
I will write to you, and once I am all settled,
you could even come and stay for a while.
I shall.
Good.
There is that smile.
- Everything ought to go smoothly. - Yes.
Perhaps I have
hurt your feelings.
When will you…
finally see my truth?
What is that? Is it a ghost?
Mother…
- Su-nam! - Mother.
Su-nam!
No, my baby!
Su-nam!
What?
A dead child has returned?
Lord Song's son, who died in a fire and was buried last year,
has returned alive.
That is most bizarre.
His entire body was charred exactly like it was the day he died.
How is that possible? The boy was buried.
What did the boy say? They must have asked him what happened.
I hear he is dying.
He cannot swallow a sip of water
and speaks gibberish until he passes out.
He awakes, then screams himself back to sleep.
Heavens, might he die a second time?
Perhaps he is just passing through.
Precisely.
I heard a giant Messenger of Death cloaked all in white
was sighted by the house that night.
- "Cloaked all in white"? - Yes.
They must have been seeing things.
Why, it is the truth!
- The liquor has never tasted sweeter. - Indeed.
Look around. No flowers could trump your beauty.
The fake Hongrang and the swordsmen in black are on the move, you say?
Yes, sir.
They seem to have taken an interest in the affairs at Lord Song's.
The Snow Man.
The monster seen at the lord's house must have attracted their attention.
That wench, Sim Jae-yi, was also looking for the Snow Man.
I must learn in detail what those bastards are up to.
Giddyap.
Grandmaster!
Is this not the sketch of Hongrang?
No, this is a sketch of a servant
who escaped from his master ten years ago.
Furthermore, this sketch was posted near Paju,
where, as it turns out, some claim to have seen the Soul Reaper.
If the servant boy and the Soul Reaper are the same individual…
Then Hongrang cannot be the Soul Reaper!
Do you remember this child?
Why, I know this one very well.
What was its name?
Was it Dog Scrap?
Cow Scrap? Or Horse Scrap?
No matter.
This boy was my living talisman since he was born.
Your living talisman?
By the gods of heaven and earth And the Great Jade Emperor
By the Ox Guardian And White Horse Warlord
By the Nine Mountain Gods And Three Earth Spirits
Begone!
You diseased demon, begone!
Begone!
Begone, you diseased demon!
Begone!
Perhaps that actually led to his possession by a demon.
What was that noise?
At some point, everything he touched
seemed to fall apart.
We gracefully let him live as he was but a pitiful child.
But that little creature was an ungrateful one.
After my father passed, we had him perform the mourning rites,
but he fled before completing even a year.
That ungrateful bastard. How ominous!
The white ghost…
The ghost
put me in water
and then in fire.
My breath feels… hot.
It hurts so much.
You are safe now, my boy.
Mother?
Yes, I am here.
- Mother. - You are safe now.
That grave…
I was inside a grave.
All right. You are safe now, my baby.
Drip, drop…
It is raining.
- It rains incessantly. - My baby.
- The white ghost… - It's okay.
Your mother is here.
- The white ghost… - It's all right.
My baby.
- Good heavens, Su-nam! - No!
- Please let me live! - My baby!
Su-nam, you're okay.
Please stop!
Drip, drop.
It is raining.
In a grave where it rains.
We were once there too.
It is the painter.
He did to that child
exactly what he did to us.
Master.
We are in trouble.
What a bother!
Move the children at once.
What are you doing?
Move them elsewhere now!
If you were to see that child now,
would you recognize him?
Who knows?
It has been far too long,
but perhaps Mother may.
Is there anything that could identify him as the slave boy?
I do not recall such a thing,
but
he was always with this kid who couldn't speak.
Without speech?
And
what happened to that child?
Why,
it is most curious.
This woman appeared out of nowhere
and, for a handsome sum,
set them free and took them.
Would you still have
the slave sales documents?
They should be here.
Marvelous. It is now complete.
The time has come to set things right.
At tomorrow's morning assembly, I will present this evidence.
Young Master Yu and his mother have agreed to testify,
so I will finally be able to prove
that he is an imposter.
However, before I do that…
You should inform Mistress Jae-yi.
Once you know that he is an imposter,
you will return to your usual self.
It may break your heart to know you have been deceived,
but do not worry.
As always,
I shall be there for you.
- Giddyap. - Giddyap.
Jae-yi!
The Snow Man.
Is that whom you seek?
When you were young,
you told me that you saw the Snow Man in your dreams.
You followed me on the day Jjo-kkan died
and were out so late today to find the Snow Man, were you not?
When I last asked you,
you said you remembered nothing.
But it seems you lied.
So tell me.
Did the Snow Man really take you?
What happened that day?
How did it all happen?
What are you trying to do now?
You need not know.
- What? - And if you did, what could you do?
If you knew, what could you possibly do?
Stop worrying about others and…
and take care of yourself, Sister.
"Others"?
Wait.
It infuriates me.
So much so, that my insides feel on fire.
Why?
What infuriates you so?
That you see me as someone best left in the dark.
What I meant was--
It angers me that I have failed to understand you,
leaving you to suffer alone
and driving you to distrust and hide from me.
No, I merely…
I did not wish to tell you.
Why not?
There are sides to me
that I'd never want to show you.
Why did you not tell me that it was you who saved Mu-jin?
Why did you let me misjudge and press you like that?
Did you also wish to keep that from me as well?
- I hated it. - Hated what?
I just…
Seeing you saddened for his sake
and thanking me for his sake.
On the night of the wedding,
you saved me, returned me to my room, and…
I feel anxious
whenever you are out of sight.
It scares me, and I miss you, so I seek you out.
I cannot let go of you.
Now I constantly…
yearn for you.
This time, it is not a dream.
Jae-yi.
There is something
I must tell you.
Brother.
Truth be told…
I must be mad.
Sorry?
I must have gone insane.
Hongrang, he…
I have begun to see him…
as a man.
What should I do?
You are confused.
He is
your little brother.
He cannot be a man to you.
All those years of yearning for his return
must have you left confused.
Jae-yi.
Leave with me.
Once he is out of sight,
the confusion will subside.
Then,
your mind will regain clarity.
Come with me.
I beg of you.
You must not.
If his true identity remains hidden, you will lose everything.
You have just found your saving grace. How can you bury his secret?
Grandmaster.
I would rather lose everything than lose her.
If I were to lose her,
I could not go on breathing.
I see no life for me without her.
I was glad that I got to see you again.
Thank you for coming back.
I wish you well.
I have decided to leave.
What?
I will be leaving
with Mu-jin.
So that is…
your decision?
That is what you wish?
Not to be by my side…
but by his?
Subtitle translation by: Jimin Choi