[gentle music plays]
Now my father will be lonely without me.
I'm sure he'll understand.
He'll know that you left your heart with him.
I hope you and I can be friends.
At least that way, you won't be lonely too.
[music fades]
[Yeon-ui] You have not uttered a word since you were brought here.
The chief merchant has taught you well when it comes to holding your tongue.
- [ominous music plays] - Oh yes.
Do you remember your father?
The one who sold you?
It seems he was quite the gambler.
He squandered not only the money we gave him
but his health with his other pursuits.
He is now so ill as to lie waiting for death to slowly claim him.
I found him pathetic and vile when he pawned you off to my husband,
and my instincts were right.
However, if you do what is expected of you,
I will grant him a funeral in exchange.
The one fate that I have been given is…
to choose death.
[somber music plays]
DEAR HONGRANG
[music stops]
Do you wish me to have you executed?
Or perhaps you wish to have me killed?
Your Highness,
such words should never be spoken. I simply meant--
You wish to transfer ownership of your fictitious guild here
so that you will receive imperial protection.
Regarding the sulfur that you were found to be smuggling,
you would like me to declare that it was collected for the palace's needs.
Which would mean a death sentence for both of us.
I swear that is not my intention.
Trading sulfur is prohibited by decree
of His Majesty himself.
[sighs] You are
not here for favors, but to implore me to commit treason.
Highness! I have offended you with my actions.
I beg your mercy for my poor judgment.
It is due to the grandmaster's life being at risk.
Deliverance is in your hands.
Relinquish what you have been holding from me, Yeol-guk.
[ominous music plays]
And have both of your hands clutch firmly onto my most royal hand.
That is the only way that you may avoid a death sentence for your grave mistake.
[music fades]
Let me in.
Only for a little while.
No one will know if I make it fast.
Young mistress, Her Ladyship always finds out.
It would also be a death sentence for us.
- No! You cannot! - Mu-jin! I'm here!
- [man 1] You cannot! - [man 2] Please! We cannot let you in.
Can you hear me? Brother, answer me! Are you well?
Tell me that you hear me! Please, just say something, brother!
[man 1] We can't let you in!
This will be the death of us! Please go!
[sighs]
[Jae-yi] This was your doing!
I know that Mu-jin was only being faithful. This was your idea.
What if it was?
You are sacrificing him! How can you stand there being so cold?
Your grandmaster is also your son, remember?
This was his decision. I advised against this
and warned him of the consequences.
And he decided to ignore my counsel and followed through with his deceit.
And now he is to pay for his offense.
[Jae-yi] Have you ever been a father
to either of us?
Is your family important to you?
Did you ever look at either of us through a father's eyes?
I have trader's eyes, Jae-yi.
A merchant trader's virtue lies in his ability to assess value.
To assign a worth to goods as well as people,
including members of his own family.
I thought so.
As of now, consider my worth to you as nothing.
I will do my utmost to thwart your appraisal
as I refuse to be mere goods at your disposal.
[sighs]
Our only chance to save my brother is to have him acquitted of the offense.
And to do that, we will require evidence that this was not his doing.
Can we find it? I heard that there are papers
that show your brother registered that guild in his name.
I must start examining the ledgers.
It will show in the records how long the guild has been in place.
There should be evidence of financial transactions
to support my cause.
- [door opens] - [breathes heavily]
[suspenseful music plays]
[Yeon-ui] I trust you have removed
all records pertaining to the borrowed name guild.
[Yuk-son] Yes, my lady.
[Yeon-ui] Now is not the time to target the chief merchant.
He has made the difficult decision to forfeit the stake he put in place himself,
so I shall be obliging and protect his reputation despite my hatred for him.
[music stops]
Well done with the corrections.
Mun Gyu-ha? What have you learned about him?
[Yuk-son] My lady,
he seems to have disappeared.
He is not at the inn where I was informed he was staying.
He has not contacted the minister of finance
or the chief merchant either.
He has gone into hiding after causing me this headache?
Search everywhere for that treacherous snake
as it is likely he will soon contact my husband.
They are conspiring to oust me from my reign.
[Yuk-son] I fear so.
But, mistress, what of the grandmaster's fate?
Do we leave him as he is?
[Yeon-ui] Of course.
He decides his own fate.
He may choose to starve to death.
Or take my poisoned offering.
[sinister music plays]
- [music fades] - [bangs door]
[eerie chiming]
[tense music plays]
[Hongrang] Mother.
[music fades]
[Yeon-ui] My son.
What brings you here so late at night?
I was awakened by a memory. I wanted to ask you about it.
[chuckles softly]
[gasps]
When is the last time you slept? Or had any food?
[gentle music plays]
[sighs]
- I told you not to do this. - My arm is not what matters right now.
What does? What is more important than your health?
My brother's future. How can you not be aware of the danger Mu-jin is facing?
Those were his choices.
This is your brother's fate.
- Lives were lost in the accident. - The explosion was not his doing.
Defending him with no proof achieves nothing.
I agree. Which is why I will prove his innocence.
With what evidence? And why?
He has no one else.
I am his only family.
I am all he has.
And I have been careless.
I have been so entangled with my own troubles
that I was not aware of Mu-jin's.
[sighs] I was too preoccupied with you to notice.
[gentle music continues]
Do you
feel regret?
I betrayed him.
Mu-jin has put me first in his thoughts.
My brother has always been there without being asked.
Whenever I have needed a friend, he has held my hand.
He has been loyal when others have not.
Nothing you do will change his sentence. You cannot risk trying to change it.
I will.
- I cannot rest until Mu-jin is free again. - Sister!
I must protect my brother. If you cannot help me, leave me alone.
[music fades]
During the previous royal tribute, Her Ladyship was deprived
of her chance to offer tribute by a man named Mun Gyu-ha, an interpreter.
Mun Gyu-ha.
And this interpreter, he vanished after the tribute?
He did.
Young mistress, may I ask why you want to find this person?
[Yeon-ui] It is likely he will soon contact my husband.
They are conspiring to oust me from my reign.
- [Yuk-son] What of the grandmaster's fate? - He decides his own fate.
He may choose to starve to death.
Or take my poisoned offering.
I fear for Mu-jin. We must do something. Can we not help him get away from here?
He is heavily guarded and under constant surveillance.
Her Ladyship has dedicated much energy to keeping the grandmaster locked away.
Unless we can get the guards away from their posts, there's nothing we can do.
[suspenseful music plays]
[gasps]
[man whimpers]
[music stops]
"There is a way to resolve this situation to our benefit."
"Come tonight. The third tile-roof house
in the Ya Division of the Bansong District, Compound Two."
"Eleven o'clock."
You may deliver this
to the chief merchant as you were sent here to do.
But
you will not utter a word about what you heard here. To anyone.
If you do,
I shall have your family
killed in front of your very eyes.
[whimpers] Yes, my lady.
Have the servants gather before eleven o'clock.
I will be going to Bansong.
[man whimpers]
[suspenseful music plays]
[Eul-bun's mother] We have plenty.
You certainly seem hungry.
[man 2] Finish quickly!
[men] Yes, sir!
[man 3] Huh? The house servants?
Where are they all going?
What is happening around here?
Let me go find out what's going on. You all stay here.
All right. Yes, sir.
- You should all have some more. - Oh!
We can't have you standing guard all night with your stomachs rumbling.
[suspenseful music continues]
- Break it down! - Yes, my lady.
[men grunt]
Oh, these cramps are bad.
[moans] Where are they?
[groans]
[suspenseful music continues]
[gasps]
[Mu-jin coughs]
[tense music plays]
[sighs] Look at you.
Back to the household. This instant.
My lady.
[music fades]
[Kkot-nim] Someone addressed a letter to Chief Merchant Sim
and signed it in your name?
But Lady Min intercepted the messenger first?
Yes, sister. And she traveled to the address in the letter
to catch us scheming against her.
Sim Jae-yi.
This must be her doing.
That child
has discovered your existence and now uses it for her own gain, brother.
- Like father, like daughter. - I will attempt to stop what she has done.
[foreboding music plays]
[Kkot-nim] Ensure that you succeed.
Otherwise, your mother will rectify the situation.
If that happens, if you still wish to save that girl,
you will be forced to strike me down first.
[foreboding music builds]
There is a horse waiting for you just down the road.
Find a safe place to hide soon.
- I will try to get you out of this. - Jae-yi, I--
- I am begging you, do as I say. - This is dangerous for you.
Brother! You must go.
It is the only way for you to live. Please!
Before it is too late. Go!
[dramatic music plays]
Move aside.
Brother. Lower your sword.
I beg of you.
You take him.
Don't do this!
[gentle music plays]
Please lower your sword.
And then what?
What will happen to you then?
- What of your life if he leaves? - I gladly trade my life.
I cannot allow that.
No! Get your hands off!
I told you once
to keep your hands off of her.
Leave us alone.
Jae-yi, I cannot leave here like this.
What?
Sister,
there is no other place for me than the guild.
Everything that makes me who I am is here.
If I disappeared tonight, so would my purpose.
I can save you.
I can.
Go. I cannot lose you!
[ominous music plays]
- Unlock it. - [man] Yes, my lady.
[suspenseful music plays]
[gasps]
[music fades]
[haunting music plays]
[music fades]
Mu-jin, the former grandmaster of the Sim household,
is hereby dispatched to the mine at Gapsan Mountain until further notice
to oversee labor relations.
[gentle music plays]
[Jae-yi] Gapsan Mountain?
Do you even know what kind of place that is?
The journey alone is fraught with danger,
and the land is so barren that no crops can grow.
Many of the laborers die from starvation or the cold or landslides.
They must recruit new workers regularly.
And you are banishing my brother there? This is just a death sentence in disguise.
Must you go that far?
You find my decision cruel?
[gentle music continues]
He has inserted himself in my rightful place,
indulged in what I should have received, and doubted me at every turn.
He behaved with force, raised his sword to me like a common thief.
Given his behavior,
should I be more lenient?
Removing him.
Was that always your intention?
I do respect him.
But he was only a substitute. I did not need an intention.
Because I have returned, he has lost his purpose here and must be removed.
[music stops]
Why are you so upset?
What is Mu-jin to you?
A brother?
[gentle music plays]
- Or a love interest? - [gasps]
What?
Do you see him…
as a lover?
[exhales sharply]
[scoffs]
[tense music plays]
I see us
as sharing a heart.
His knows what mine knows. What I have suffered.
When I look at Mu-jin, I see myself.
The pain I felt when I lost you.
His suffering resembled mine and he understood.
He could empathize with my agony.
His strength allowed me to survive all of these years.
His comforting hand…
Can you even fathom such a bond?
What am I, then?
[gentle music plays]
If he is that important to you, then what am I?
The little boy who was lost in the woods?
And that you needed to find?
Now that the search is over…
is that all I am to you?
The dream you have referred to, do you find it disdainful?
[gentle music continues]
Young mistress!
[music fades]
You should not be so cold to your little brother.
The young master has acted bravely. [cries]
Without his actions, things would be much worse.
[gentle music plays]
[Yeon-ui] This situation is making me feel uneasy.
After all, if a stake cannot be uprooted, then it must be cut down and buried.
This must be taken care of before dawn.
[Yuk-son] Yes, my lady.
[Hongrang] I suggest you let him live, Mother.
Spare the grandmaster's life.
My son, I cannot leave any loose ends untied for your sake.
It is rather
to avoid any loose ends.
The grandmaster committed a grave offense.
But in recognition of his loyal work,
the rightful heir has decided to spare him the death sentence
and banish him to the mountains.
I will make an official announcement for all to hear.
This should allow those who have supported Mu-jin to look favorably on his successor.
In turn, I will eventually gain their trust and loyalty as well.
I think it best to start my work on the right footing
and a reputation for fairness.
[gentle music continues]
[chuckles softly] Jae-yi.
How can you still smile like that?
How cruel of you.
Come closer. I have something to tell you.
[music fades]
I will be working in one of our stores.
You were assigned to a store instead of being in charge of the workers?
I am to go to the mountains for a few months,
after which Her Ladyship will call for my return.
But she has wanted you gone since he arrived, brother.
She has given me her word.
Father must have spoken to her on my behalf.
[Jae-yi] It was Hongrang.
Only he would be able to convince her.
Of course.
He does have her ear.
You must save me.
[sighs] I must protect the family.
Letting you live will put us all in danger.
[Mu-jin] If you let me die here,
you would lose not only her respect, but her love.
I know that the more she intervenes for my sake,
the more my sister's life is in danger.
- That is why-- - I will let you live on one condition.
You leave her with no concerns for your life
and with no lingering feelings either.
Or she will not survive.
I am relieved by this turn of events. When are you leaving?
I need to prepare Hongrang to take over. And finalize a few things.
I should leave in a fortnight or so.
I will be quite busy before I leave without much time to visit.
Please do not be upset with me.
I promise to write to you once I get to my new home.
Maybe you could come and stay for a while once I am settled.
[gentle music plays]
I would like that.
Good.
You smiled again.
- Everything seems to be in order, then? - We are very grateful.
[gentle music continues]
[sighs]
[music fades]
[Jae-yi] Perhaps
I have hurt your feelings.
[Goldie barks]
[Goldie whines]
Will you ever see…
what is truly in my heart?
[Goldie whines]
[gentle music plays]
[gentle ballad plays]
[music fades]
[tense music plays]
[man gasps] What is that? Is that a ghost?
[woman 1 screams]
[child] Mother…
- [woman 2] Su-nam! - [Su-nam] Mother…
Su-nam!
[eerie music plays]
My son! My son!
My sweet boy!
- The boy? - [music fades]
Returned from the dead in the night?
The son of Lord Song, my lord.
He died in a fire and was given a funeral last year.
- He was found alive by his mother. - This is very strange indeed.
He appeared with all the burns, just like the ones on the day he died.
[woman 1] Nonsense! They cleaned him up for his burial.
Well, what did he say? People must have asked him where he was all this time.
He could die again soon.
They say he has not even taken a sip of water
and mumbles gibberish until he falls asleep.
And when he wakes, he screams until he falls back asleep.
[man] Maybe he didn't really die,
or is he visiting before crossing over to the netherworld?
Poor child!
- There was a Snow Man. - [woman 1] Yes?
There was a ghostly creature, cloaked in white, soaring over the house that night.
Soaring over the house? Their minds were playing tricks on them.
- [woman 2] No, the servants saw it! - [woman 1] Nonsense.
[haunting music plays]
- [laughter] - [man 1] The liquor never tasted sweeter.
[man 2] No flower compares to your beauty. Particularly when you laugh.
[women laugh]
So the one who impersonates the young master and his band of assassins
are on a search mission?
Yes, sir.
The return of Lord Song's dead son does seem to have caught their attention.
[exhales slowly]
The Snow Man.
The ghost in white that flew over the household.
The sister was after it too.
She thought her brother's disappearance was due to that ghost, didn't she?
I must know what those bastards are looking for.
Why would assassins look for a ghost?
[man] Ya!
Hyah!
[suspenseful music plays]
[door opens]
[man] Grandmaster!
[music stops]
Is this the sketch of the young Hongrang?
No, my lord. That is another boy who was a servant.
It was drawn up in an attempt to capture him after he left his master's household.
The sketch was posted in the vicinity of Paju, where it turns out
several people have claimed to have seen the Soul Reaper when he was a child.
What if the servant boy who ran away and was never heard from again
is the man who became an assassin?
I knew it! This shows he is a fraud.
[somber music plays]
Does this boy look familiar?
Oh! I could never forget that traitor.
What was his name?
I think it was Dog Tail.
Or Horse Tail? Or Rodent…
Rodent something.
He was my living talisman the second he came into the world.
Your talisman?
[shaman chants]
We implore the Great Jade Emperor, Umasallyong of Baek,
three guardian gods of cattle, the nine mountain gods,
the spirits of the three kingdoms, hear us!
Rid us of this presence!
Disease of evil begone!
Begone! Begone at once!
Riddance! Evil!
Begone! Begone!
[man 1] But who knows?
Perhaps that actually led him to become possessed by a demon.
[somber music continues]
[man 2] Did you break something? What was that?
[man 1] At one point,
it seemed that anything that idiot boy touched would break.
But we spared his life because he was still only a child.
We took pity on him. We even gave him a great honor.
After my father passed,
we let that devil enter the three-year mourning period beside his grave.
But he ran away before the one-year anniversary.
Ungrateful bastard. We should have known.
[tense music plays]
[Su-nam] The white ghost,
it put me
in cold water,
then the fire.
My breath is burning.
It hurts so much.
[mother] You are safe now, my child.
[Su-nam] M-Mother?
[mother] I am here, Su-nam.
- [Su-nam] Mother! - [mother] You are safe now.
I was buried.
[panicked breathing]
I was inside that grave.
Rest. You are safe now, my son.
Drip, drip,
the rain is falling
nonstop.
- [mother] My baby, you are safe. - [Su-nam] The white ghost.
[mother] I am right here.
- [eerie chiming] - [Su-nam] The white ghost.
[mother] My baby.
[eerie chiming continues]
[panicked breathing]
- [mother] Mother is here. You are safe. - No! No!
- Ah, don't kill me! [screams] - [mother] I am here!
- [Su-nam wails] - [mother] Su-nam, you are safe here.
[breathing heavily]
[Su-nam screams]
[Su-nam] Please stop!
[breathing heavily]
[eerie chiming continues]
[Su-nam wails]
[chiming stops]
[sinister music plays]
[Su-nam] Drip, drip,
the rain is falling.
We were buried alive like that.
In a grave that was rained on.
[sinister music continues]
[children whimper]
[eerie chiming]
It was the painter.
He did exactly what he did to us
to that poor child.
[sinister music builds]
[music fades]
[zither melody plays]
[woman chuckles]
[quiet moaning]
[Du-ryeong exhales]
[laughs]
[zither melody continues]
[Du-ryeong laughs]
- [music stops] - Master Du-ryeong!
- [Du-ryeong] What is it? - We are in grave trouble.
[haunting music plays]
This will not do!
You will move the children elsewhere this instant.
Why are you still standing there?!
[exclaims]
If you were to see the talisman boy now, do you think you would recognize him?
Who knows? Huh.
It was long ago. I do not think so.
But perhaps my mother would.
Is there a particular feature or characteristic that you noticed?
I hardly noticed that rat at all.
He did have a close friend who could not speak at all though.
He was mute?
That boy?
Do you know whatever happened to him?
Well, now that you ask,
I remember a woman appearing out of nowhere,
and she offered a handsome sum to take both of them.
Would you by any chance still have the documents related to their purchase?
Of course. Our records are thorough.
[music fades]
This is good news. We have succeeded.
The proof we needed to restore the rightful order is at hand.
I will present this document as evidence at tomorrow's roll call.
Young master Yu and his mother will confirm these findings.
Their testimonies and this record
are going to let us show everyone that he is an imposter.
Although, I should first…
You should share your findings with your sister.
[gentle music plays]
[Mu-jin] Once you discover that he has tricked all of us,
that he is a fraud, I believe that you will return to your usual self.
It may be painful and heart-wrenching
to accept that you have been deceived all this time,
but do not worry.
I will be there for you
just as I always have been.
Hyah! Ha!
[gentle music continues]
Jae-yi!
[music fades]
The Snow Man.
That is the creature you are searching for.
I recall that you told me
you would see a white ghost in your dreams when you were little.
I think it is the reason you followed me into the woods
on the day that Jjo-kkan died,
and why you were out late tonight.
You said you did not remember anything about your younger days when I asked you.
But I suppose that is not true.
So tell me now.
Was it really the Snow Man who took you?
What happened to you that day?
And why did you lie? I think I deserve the truth after all these years.
The truth is too dangerous.
- What? - If I told you, what would that change?
What good would it do?
- You should take care of yourself. - [exhales]
And stop worrying so much about everyone else.
Let others watch out for you for once.
[exhales]
Others?
[sighs]
- Wait. - I feel furious.
So furious that I feel like my insides are on fire.
[gentle music plays]
Why?
What is making you so furious?
It pains me that you see me as someone who cannot face the truth.
You mistake my intentions.
And that my unwillingness to recognize you caused you to suffer further alone.
You hide things from me because I have not gained your trust.
That is not so.
But I do fear certain truths.
Why?
[Hongrang] There are aspects of me that I would never want you to see.
Why would you not want me to know that you were the one who saved Mu-jin?
You never said anything when I was so awful to you.
Why would you keep something like that to yourself?
- I hated it. - But why?
It hurt.
[exhales]
[Hongrang] Seeing you saddened for his sake
and knowing what he means to you.
You were the one who took me to my room, making sure I survived that wedding.
[exhales] I feel
anxious whenever you leave my sight.
I miss you the second we are no longer together.
It is frightening how I need you. How you have turned into…
the man my heart yearns for.
[gentle ballad plays]
This time is not a dream.
Jae-yi, I…
I have some news
that I fear will upset you.
Can it not wait?
It should not.
[Jae-yi] I must have gone mad, brother.
What?
I do not feel that I am in my right mind.
Hongrang…
I have started to feel…
an attraction.
I do not know what to do.
[ballad continues]
Your heart is confused.
He is your
little brother.
You cannot see him as a man.
All of these years you have yearned for his return
have left you lost and confused.
Jae-yi, I…
You cannot stay here.
Get away from him.
Come away with me, far from him.
The distance
will allow you to remember who he is.
I beg you.
Come with me.
[ballad continues]
[man] You cannot do this.
If you keep the truth about his identity a secret,
you will lose all that you have worked for.
You have discovered the evidence that will save you.
How can you consider destroying it? My lord!
My life will be nothing.
Nothing else matters without her in my life.
If I lost Jae-yi, I would not have the strength to…
to force air into my lungs.
I could not live a single day without her love.
[ballad continues]
[Jae-yi] I was glad to be reunited with you.
Thank you for coming back.
I wish you well.
[music fades]
I have decided to leave.
What?
I will be going with Mu-jin.
It is for the best.
What you want…
is to leave
with your brother?
To be by his side…
instead of mine?
[ominous drumbeat]
[breathes shakily]
[ominous music plays]
[dramatic music plays]
[gentle ballad plays]
[music fades]