Miscellaneous Art

This image was sent to me by a fan of Jae Shin & Yong Ha:

Miscellaneous

Someone sent me this, and I wasn't too sure whether I should post it or not. I finally decided to post it, but be warned, it is X-rated and you might be offended. It's Jae Shin & Yong Ha in a very graphic sexual position. If I get too many complaints, I'll remove it.

X-ratedJaeShin & YongHa.jpg

May we have more translations?

I would like for this blog to have the novel as complete as possible. Is there anyone who can translate the missing parts of the novel from Korean, or from its Chinese translation, into English? Also, is there anyone who has a copy of the second novel and can translate any part of it? Don't worry if your English isn't perfect, you can send me your translations and I can correct your English.

It would be nice to have as much of the novel as possible online, so that English speaking fans can enjoy it.  It would be even better if the publishers would issue an English-language version, but if they haven't done it by now, eight months after the drama ended, I don't think they are going to do it at all. So I'm asking for your help.

Thank you to anyone that can help with this project.

Video (Gay themed) Jaeshin & Yongha

This has nothing to do with the novel, but a friend of mine made this video, and asked me to link it here. If you like it, please leave a comment on the YouTube page.

Tell Him

More about the second novel

The second novel is called:  The  Days of-Gyujanggak Gakshins (Government Officials), Volumes 1 & 2 <규장각 각신들의 나날>.)

It takes place after all four have graduated, and follows their lives after graduation.

About Yoonhee:

There were a lot of questions up in the air at the ending of the first novel.  The only thing ever said is that Yongha and Jaeshin are heading to Sunjoon and Yoonshik's sister's wedding, not that the wedding actually went through or that all four of them now openly know about Yoonhee's real gender.

From the beginning of the sequel, these questions are answered:

1)  Yoonhee STILL hasn't told Jaeshin and Yongha that she is a girl.  "Yoonshik" pretends that he has a sister that Sunjoon's getting married to, and when Yongha keeps on asking to get a look at Garang's wife, Sunjoon and Yoonhee tell him that they wouldn't let any woman near Yongha.

2)  Later on Yongha and Jaeshin are ABOUT to tell each other that they know that Yoonhee is a girl, but they stop short of saying the fact, and they just say that as her friend, if she wants to keep the secret, she has a good enough reason, and that they should go along with it.

3)  Yoonhee doesn't want to tell them because she doesn't want them to be a part of the lie, so that they aren't punished along with her if something goes wrong.

4)  The King appoints the Jalgeum 4 to work for him, at Gyujanggak (the King's Library).

Yoonhee had wanted to lie low and live as Yoonhee so that she can return her brother's name to him, but when she learns of the King's order to work at Gyujanggak, she realizes that she will have to continue cross-dressing and go back to being Kim Yoon Shik in order to obey the King's order.

About Jaeshin:

In the sequel, Jaeshin's mother finds a young bride for Jaeshin, 13 years old. She couldn't find a girl of 22 or 23 for Jaeshin (who is 24), so she sought a younger girl, but she didn't realize the kid is so little and not a woman yet. She's way too young, nearly half Jaeshin's age and height, and because she's so small, she'll probably be a "late-bloomer". Jaeshin's mother is funny, but a bit silly. She herself was 13 when she married Jaeshin's father, who was only 14 or 15 then, so they were both kids, and maybe she developed early. But a 13-year old girl who is still a child is much too young for the 24-year old Jaeshin. However, to the mother’s credit, she is very sweet to the little girl.

Jaeshin and the young girl seem to be quite sweet together, but Jaeshin treats her only as a kid, never even allowing her in his room.  (It’s good to know he’s not a pedophile). In the novel their interactions are quite funny. Despite his roaring appearance, Jaeshin has a gentle heart. He draws a line on the wall, telling his bride: when you reach this height, only then can you come into my room. I wonder if this happens within the pages of this second sequel, or if the author intends to write a third book.  It would be interesting to read how Jaeshin will react when she is finally a woman and he brings her into his room. After having waited so long for a woman, that should be one hell of a "first night".

 

About Yong Ha

In the sequel, Yong Ha will also get married. In the first novel, he said he had a wife, but he probably wasn’t really married to her. There was certainly no love there, as he said he hadn’t seen her in three years. In Korea in that era, a man could only have one wife although he could have many concubines. So if Yong Ha got married in the second novel that means either the first wife died, or he was never married to her to begin with.

                                                                      

____________

 

Additional observations:

These are the thoughts of someone who has skimmed through the novels of Sungkyunkwan Scandal [both the original and the sequel, Days of Kyujanggak Gakshins  (a/k/a Gyujanggak Gakshins) ]

“It's quite fun and accessible for a well-researched work on a somewhat scholarly setting. News that the author is planning a 3rd entry (which is hinted at the end of Kyujanggak, wherein the F-4 leave for Qing China on a royal mission) also makes me think that if the ratings for the drama rose any further, the Powers-that-be would have both the material and motivation to pursue a season-based development of SKKS. It's not going to be published any time soon (as in, the actors might reach their 30s by the time it surfaces), but ratings growth = temptation would be there. “

”Adaptation or no adaptation, the books are certainly popular, and I hope that by the 3rd novel, we'll actually get some explanation (not just insight or hint) re: Yeorim aka Yongha and his wife, and how being adopted by his rich merchant parents to carry on the family name (as alluded in Kyujanggak) has affected who he is and his marriage. It's a little frustrating to have all those hints at his love for his wife, or a more complicated personality and family history, but no actual follow-ups, especially when even Jaeshin’s child bride merits minor/supporting status in Kyujanggak. I wouldn't expect Yong Ha’s wife to actually make an appearance (that would be akin to Vera or Maris showing up on Cheers/Frasier) but a clearer explanation would be nice. The author has revealed (after being flooded with questions on Yong Ha and his wife) that she and the publishing house discussed a spin-off story on his background and attaching it as a supplement to Kyujanggak but she couldn't because it was too long (!) so it's not as if she doesn't have it on her mind. She says she didn't realize the depth of reader interest on this issue but she's either being coy or genuinely clueless because every morsel she shares when it comes to these F-4 just whets the appetite for more."

The Wedding Night (from the second novel)

[Blogger's Note: This next scene is from the second novel, it was translated by a different translator, and posted on a separate website. I don't remember where it's from, but I want to thank the person who took the time to do this.]

The Wedding Night

Seonjoon and Yoonhee haven’t spoken a word until now, although they still exchanged glances and smiles. But they hadn't exchanged a single word .

The silence started from the moment they had entered the room decorated for their wedding . The room is so dark that the lights from the oil lamp in it is the only thing enabling them to see each other 's face . But still he is silent, and she becomes impatient with his silence. Finally, Yoonhee speaks first.

"This hurts so much "

As she predicted , this made Seonjoon jump in shock.

"Hurt? Where does it hurt? "

"Thanks to my heartless groom , my shoulders hurt , and my head feels so heavy."

The burden of being dressed in the heavy wedding costume, of course hurts her body. Seonjoon understands this, but he didn't respond with the answer she wanted to hear.

"Sorry , but can you endure it for a little while longer? I dont want you to disrobe yet. "

Yoonhee was speechless, watching him with eyes wide with surprise. The groom is saying that he doesn't wish to have his bride disrobe when they are on their wedding night, is there anything stranger than this?

But he speaks with such sincere and serious expresion that he doesn't seem to be joking.

"Are you really my bride? Are we really married? I still can't really believe it even though I am seeing this with my own eyes!"

"If you do not intend to prepare for your bride's funeral tomorrow , you better help me remove this heavy thing now! "

Hearing her complains, he responds by teasing her.

"This is the first time I'm seeing you dressed in female attire. I won't ever get sick of watching you dressed like this."

Yoonhee can't bear to continue her complaints, instead her heart is filled with such apology towards him, who is now frowning with such a serious request. Her voice and expression took on a hint of teasing .

"In the future I will just let you have your fill of watching me like this till you get sick of it, will that be okay ?"

In the future...Sunjoon repeated these words in his heart over and over again. Even if the future is filled with more obstacles, he would still wish to be wed to her. If they do not overcome this hurdle now, they might never have any future.

"Yes.. you must!" He answered with such conviction .

Then he started to help her disrobe, but after removing the wedding headgear, he stopped.

Yoonhee gazed at the old headgear that was borrowed .

"Sahyung is a man with such great status, but now i am making you go through such a humble wedding, I am really ashamed."

"What does it matter this kind of wedding or that kind of wedding. Just having you sitting right in front of me like this, I am already content!

The words were spoken with such tenderness and devotion ... and his eyes speak the same as he gazed at her. And also his hands that is now gently covering her hands, are filled with love and tenderness.

"Even if I were really a man, I will still have loved Sahyung."

Ever since he met this woman, how many times had he been through hell, and how many times more in the future? But as long as he can be with her together, even if there is hell far worse then this, he will be able to endure it.

Sunjoon frowned slightly but soon the frown wss replaced by twinkle in his eyes and a smile that emerged just for her.

"Thank you for being a woman. For me, the fact that you are a woman, there is nothing more that I am grateful for.

Yoonhee can sensed his feelings for her through his hands that hold hers so tightly.

"Wi ..wish ..I can still get a wish from you, right?"

"Yes"

"Now can I use that wish?"

"What kind of wish? Since I promised you, I will do my best to make it come true for you."

"This might be a bit shameless to ask,.but can you promise to love only me forever?"

She asked so cautiously and he replied without hesitation,  "I cannot grant you this wish."

Yoonhee held her breath as she stared at him. Contrary to the answer that he had given to her, his smile was filled with such love as he watched her.

"Loving you only forever, even if you didn't make a wish, to me that is the most natural thing to do. So I won't consider it a wish and grant it to you."

Yoonhee looked into his eyes, her eyes filled with such happiness.

Being with him like this, all the worries seem to have vanished, she didn't even dare dream of being his wife, and even if she had, she was so afraid the dream will be broken and it will hurt even more. So of course, she can understand him now, that he can't even bear to see her out of these clothes (cherishing the moment so much, thinking it might be a dream.)

Yoonhee stretched out her hands to help Junsoon remove his hat. She smiled as she continued on to remove that belt around his waist.

"I haven't heard of a bride removing the clothes for her groom on the wedding night."

It might sound like one of the groom's lectures again but there is no hint of reprimand in there. The bride responded in kind with a rebutt that wasn’t intend to sounds like one but more like teasing: “If there is a groom who intends to sit there till morning, then of course there has to be a bride that will do that.“

He was captivated by that suggestive graze in her eyes and quickly extinguished the lights out with the chopsticks.

He used his sense of touch to remove her clothes, his hands different from before...now they had become more eager and hurried. As if reprimanding him for his impatience, Yoonhee spoke: "though it is worrying when the groom sits till the morning, but a groom that seems to be obsessed with lust till it hurts his health, is even more worrying."

“Someone said that no matter how much rice wine you drink, you wont be drunk, no matter how much you adore your wife, it wont hurt your health. Having intimacy with one’s wife is not considered lusting."

“Whose words are those? Which sage said that? Confucius or Mencius? From now onwards, I will only follow the person who had said those words.”

Her resistance made him more anxious. He pushed away her hands, and as he started to remove her outer coat, he said: "Fortunately this is just a saying ,otherwise I will be jealous of the sages."

“What will happen to the Confucius and other sages that I have followed during my life? I won't stop my admiration for them in future too …"

He didn’t stop what his hands were doing, removing her dress. And with a hint of laughter in his voice:

"Huh, Nan-Sul-Hun’s * (a famous female poet in Joseon dynasty) husband treated Du Fu (a famous male poet in China) to be his love rival. Do you intend for me to make Confucius into my love rival? I am a petty husband who will get jealous!"

The layers of inner garments under the dress is making him lose patience, there seems to be no end to the layers . And that whispering voice of his wife is making him even more anxious.

“I said before that the skies (heaven) are greater than the sage, so how can the sage compared to my husband who is as high as the sky."

The memories of that moment flashed through his mind, he pushed her to the mat on the floor, his lips sealed hers, and they drown in each other kiss and it was so addictive that they can't stop.

Suddenly there were shoutings from outside the door:  “Yo Garang! are you in there!"

Sunjoon's hands stopped what he was doing, that amusing tone seemed to belong to Yongha Sahyung. In Sungkyunkwan , his voice never faiedl to appear at the most inopportune of moment. Now Sunjoon is even hallucinating about it.

Yoonhee was laughing: "It is really amazing this thing about habit. I think I heard Yeorim Sahyung's voice!"

"Yes I heard it too."

But he doesn’t care about this hallucination now, and continues his quest to remove what is remaining of her pants. And Yongha's voice becomes more clearer now.

“I received information that the one and only Garang is having a secret wedding here! Quick come out to receive your punishment!"

Sunjoon broke off from Yoonhee in a hurry . Yoonhee was also in shock and sat up instantly. The two looked at each other; if they heard it together, then it cannot be be hallucination, hence both of them were so in shock that they did not even dare breathe.

"Oh! This is the newlywed's room? How can there not be anyone peeping in! This wont do, at least I need to poke into the window to take a look."

“Hey! Stop it. The ones inside are not children! What are you doing looking in like that?“

That voice came from Jaeshin.

Jaeshin and Yongha! And there is something more urgent then the problem of both of them being here now. The emergency is that Yongha's voice is getting closer to the door!

"The fun of wedding nite is to peep into the newlywed's room, how can you do without that!"

He isn’t thinking of poking into the paper window is he? But with his kind of character, Yongha will definitely do it! Yoonhee and Sunjoon stood up at the same time. She looked around flustered, and was in such a hurry to get out that she can't even differentiate which is the front and back door.

Sunjoon grabbed her hands, and pointed to her clothing, she had only the inner garments on. She was too panicked to care about her state of dressing and took the dress to covered herself.

Meanwhile, Yongha's fingers are closing in to the window and poked open one of them.

Sunjoon snatched the dress that Yoonhee had taken to cover herself and covered it over the window! Luckily there was voice outside that came to stop Yongha.

“Who are you! Why are you here?” Lady Cho asked outside.

Sunjoon listened to what was happening ..and whispered to Yoonhee.

“I will take care of this...you just stay here. Don’t go out!"

 

And he let Yoonhee take the dress, while he looked for the hat he had just taken off. As he searched, he yelled towards the outside. "Yeorim sahyung! We haven’t start to undress yet, there is nothing to watch! I will be right out!

There was a twinge of anger in his voice. It isn’t enough with what happen in Sungkyunkwan, now he had to come and ruin the wedding night. Which groom would not be angry! And it had to happen right after he had managed to remove all those layers of clothes.

So he stepped out with a stern face, wishing that they weren’t even here right now!

END OF TRANSLATED EXCERPT FROM THE SECOND NOVEL.

Here’s an additional scene from the wedding night which follows the above scene, but hasn’t been translated. This comment was made by someone who had read the second novel, and posted her comments on one of the many websites about the drama:

Yoonhee has kept telling Sunjoon to tell his father about her crossdressing, since his father already has seen her face. Sunjoon lies to her that he did (also he lies to her that she hasn't been called to work at Gyujanggak) so that she'll agree to marry him. When Yoonhee finds out (she finds out on the wedding night) she runs over to Sunjoon's father to tell him the truth, and Sunjoon's father cancels the whole marriage, despite Sunjoon and his mom's protests. Well, not cancel, but he's not letting them start living together, even though the wedding is done.

[Blogger's Note: Those of  you who watch a lot of Korean dramas know that in Korea, a marriage has to be recorded in order to be recognized, and when it is recorded, the wife is officially listed as part of the husband’s family. So basically, this means that the marriage is not official yet.]

Part 32

 

The Conclusion

[All four of them passed the preliminary testing (the Hwe-shi), which means that the four all successfully graduated from SKK. The results they are waiting for is the Jeon-shi, the testing where you get acknowledged and basically hired by the King.]

[The King announces the result of the tests. Yoonhee and Yongha both make it to 을과 Eul-Gwa, the second tier of the tests (which is still pretty high). Both of them are assured that Jaeshin and Sunjoon are then 갑과 Gap-Gwa (the best three tests)--then it's announced that Jaeshin is the 탐화 Tahm Hwa(the third place out of the three best).

Then the King announces 장원 (Jang Won, and you've heard this word said at the Dae Sa Rae, it means first place, or the best one), Lee Sun Joon. His father clenches his fist because he is so proud of his son, and he almost forgets that he is in front of the king because he might have shouted in happiness. Sunjoon get up to the king, and King tells him that he's glad, because he was waiting for him. Jaeshin is supposed to put the 어사화 Uh-Sa-Hwa (it's a long arching flower ornament they put on a hat) on Sunjoon, but Jaeshin's hands are big and stubby and he fidgets with them, careful as to not snap it. Yoonhee and Yongha are about to burst into laughter at the this sight, because it's not every day you see a man as gruffy as Jaeshin trying to handle flowers.

But Sunjoon doesn't laugh, because it seems like he's still thinking about something else. Jaeshin's face reddens with embarrassment while Yongha is planning on how to tease him about this later. ]

Sunjoon's father comes to him with his arms open and embraces his son.

"I'm proud of you! My son, Jang-Won!"

"Father, you must keep your promise."

"Of course! You achieved Jang-won, how could I go against my word?"

"Then, please, send someone right away."

His father pulls away from the embrace.

"Right now? Why are you in such a hurry? There's a lot of things to prepare..."

"Please, if you just send someone, mother told me that she will take care of everything. She's already prepared for it."

"Huh, you two have been planning this without me, is it? You know that I can't say no to your mother..."

"I'm sorry."

"Hahaha! I understand. I will send someone right away."

"Thank you."

"I promised you. I can't betray my son."

His father leaves happily. Jaeshin's father similarly congratulates Jaeshin, lightly hitting him on his head. Jaeshin's father looks towards Sunjoon in acknowledgement, and disappears as well.

Yongha and Yoonhee appear. Yongha starts teasing Jaeshin right away, and Yoonhee can only stare at Sunjoon.

A feast is held for the recently graduated, with the food and drinks provided by the king. The Gisaengs come and dance and everybody parties. Yoonhee is smiling on the surface within all the noise, but she's upset, and to try and soothe herself, she heads away from the feast. When she is out of the gate, she thinks about how much time she has left now. She will have to say goodbye soon. It's as though Sunjoon was thinking the same, because he's followed her out.

Yoonhee sees Sunjoon and asks, "Why did you come out?"

It seems like Sunjoon's ghost is finally gone, because he is grinning widely. Yoonhee is a little angry because she can't believe how happy he looks. Sunjoon looks around, and grabs her and takes her behind the building. Yoonhee can't smile even as she is being dragged away. After Sunjoon makes sure that nobody is around, he kisses her. It's been so long since she felt his lips. She won't be able to feel them for much more longer. He pulls away.

"I really can't keep secrets."

Where did that come front? Yoonhee is dumbfounded. It's so out of nowhere that a small smile escapes her.

"I can't bear it any longer. Ahh.. Should I just say it?"

"Say what?"

"Ah I should wait! You will find out soon when you head home... I was going to keep quiet until then, but I'm just so impatient..."

Yoonhee is speechless. How could anyone be more frustratingly patient than he is? She is peeved, and says, "well, I'm impatient. I'm curious, so just tell me."

"Soondol and my Jip-Sah (head servant) will be heading over to your home soon."

"What? Why?"

"To send my proposal."

At first, Yoonhee doesn't understand. Then her eyes widen and her jaws drop.

"What? A proposal? A proposal proposing that we, uh..."

"You've written a proposal at your store before, haven't you? You know what it is."

He smiles widely, but Yoonhee's still in shock.

"Then, is the promise you made with your father--"

"Yes. This was all so I could marry you."

"Then does your father know about what I've been doing? It doesn't seem like he knew, from when he talked to me earlier."

"He doesn't know that it's you, but he knows that it's a daughter of a Nam-in family. I also told him about your family's situation."

"And he gave you permission?"

He smiles again, but Yoonhee can't smile. She hangs her head, as she says, "I can't marry you."

Sunjoon's face drops. "What do you mean?"

"I can't marry you. There's still time before my brother can regain his name, after the memory of me as Yoonshik is well enough faded, because only then I can go back to being Yoonhee..."

"You can wait that time after marrying me!"

Yoonhee shakes her head. She can't. Sunjoon raises his voice, which is now mixed with a little anger. "Fine, then we won't wed!"

He grabs her hand. "But I have to at least verify that we will marry, in a contract. (He's basically telling her that he wants to make their marriage registration in advance). Let's go right now to get some paper and a brush!"

"What? W-wait!"

Yoonhee struggles to stop Sunjoon from dragging her away, because she can see that he's not joking around.

"To me, you're already my wife and I am already your husband, and I need a contract that verifies it until you marry me, if you're going to postpone the wedding! How can I just let you go? How will I trust you? You can't just leave me!"

"That's not what I mean--"

Sunjoon pulls her into an embrace. He whispers to her, "Don't ask me for anything more cruel than to wait for you. I don't even think I have the strength to wait."

"Then, if we do make the contract, will you really wait for me?"

"Of course. I'll post the contract for everyone to see, and wait for you, whether it's raining or snowing, so you won't have a choice but to come back to me."

"Wha-- you're going to wait like that?"

"What, you thought I would keep it to myself? I still think you should marry me first, then wait."

Yoonhee tries to free herself from his grasp, but his arms hold her tighter.

"Let me go. People might come."

"Agree to a contract, or marry me. I won't let you go before you answer, even if his majesty himself shows up. If you know how much effort I put into study to make this happen, you should know that I'm not lying right now."

She stops struggling. "Why are you threatening me with such happy choices? If you don't let me go, I might just nod and go along, without thinking of the consequences."

"I'll take care of the consequences, so just please, do nod and go along."

She raises her head and looks at his eyes. She doesn't nod or shake her head, but her eyes tell Sunjoon that she agrees.

"You should have agreed from the beginning. Why do you always make me so nervous?"

But Yoonhee responds, "this is nothing compared to what you put me through lately!"

She suddenly feels all the sorrow she's tried to suppress the past month, and can't help but start sobbing. She collapses on the spot and buries her head into her knees, and cries loudly.

"Wh--Why are you crying? Please, stop crying--"

Sunjoon is taken back and he doesn't know what to do.

She sobs, "if you were going to do this, you should have just let me know!"

Sunjoon lowers himself next to her to try and calm her. "I-I didn't know if I could do it, and I didn't want to tell you just in case..."

"You wouldn't even look at me!"

"I-- It's not because of you! It was because whenever I looked at you, I'd get distracted and ... I'm sorry! It's my fault, I was wrong. I beg you, stop crying, please?"

Sunjoon puts his arms around her. "I wanted to be with you. And I wanted to hold you. Everytime I lost confidence, I thought about just giving up and running away with you. I thought about leaving my family, and leaving my name."

Yoonhee tries to wipe away at her tears, but they keep falling. "How could you think of making such a bet with your father?"

Aware that people might come around, the two pull away from one another, and Yoonhee is able to barely calm herself down. They both get up and start heading back to the feast, when Yoonhee stops. "I forgot! Mother!"

"Is something wrong?"

"I told my mother to reject any proposals sent home!"

"Soondol knows what's going on, so he'll wait it out--"

"But your Jipsah doesn't. If your father hears that our family rejected your proposal..."

After hearing this, Sunjoon becomes worried as well. He worked so hard for his father's permission; he has to make sure that nothing goes wrong. The two run back to the party, to say goodbye to everyone so that they can then hurry to Yoonhee's home. Yongha asks why they're in such a hurry.

"Something's come up at home, and we've got to go."

"Both of you?"

"Ah, I think I'll have to go along with him..."

"It seems like it's pretty urgent. Take my horse. I rode it here because I was late. It's outside the gate."

Yongha leads them to his horse, and Sunjoon and Yoonhee follow, hand in hand.

Sunjoon lifts Yoonhee onto the horse first, then gets on. They promise Yongha to return the horse, and they leave.

Yoonhee, stuck between his arms, jokes, "If I come home to my mother with you like this, I can't imagine how surprised she'll be."

She imagines the happiness on her mother's face, and she feels tears welling up.

"I can't imagine that she'll be more surprised than my father when he sees you. I'm curious as to how he'll react."

"Do you think he'll recognize me? I wonder what your mother will think..."

Sunjoon smiles. It seems as though he's not at all worried.

"How can you be so calm? I'm so nervous."

Still, Sunjoon can't help grinning.

The sound of the two riding the horse fades away, and Yongha heads back to the party, when he sees Jaeshin walking towards him with the uh-sa-hwa in his hand.

"Oh hey! Tam-hwa!"

"Hey! stop with the Tam-hwa business!"

"Why are you coming out?"

"Did those two leave?"

Yongha smiles and puts his arms around Jaeshin's shoulders, which hang in misery. Jaeshin tries to shake his sadness away and spits, "Let's go drink."

"Yes, let's. Let's drink until the day breaks!"

The two walk away, with Yongha still teasing Jaeshin for how he looked handling the flowers, and he doesn't stop, even after Jaeshin throws a punch.

[At some point later, Yongha and Jaeshin appear in front of the king, telling him that Sunjoon and "Yoonshik" cannot come because Sunjoon is marrying Yoonshik's sister, Yoonhee. Then Yongha and Jaeshin hurriedly head over to the wedding.]

~ THE END ~

Part 31

The Test Results

The day of the results, the new graduates gather at the Gwanghwamoon, the southern gate of Kyung Bok Palace. Yongha and Jaeshin are fooling around even in their green uniforms, but Sunjoon stares up at the sky as though someone’s sucked the spirit out of him. Yoonhee stares at his face. She won’t be able to see him anymore. She can’t waste a second looking at anything else.

And then! She sees him shake a little. She can’t believe her eyes. He’s never even flinched at Jaeshin’s threats, or in front of the King. It’s not like it’s cold anymore, so there isn’t any reason for him to shiver.

Sunjoon still does not look at Yoonhee, and keeps staring at the sky with a hardened expression. It’s as though he’s praying for something. It’s been a long time since they got together, but he’s still off in his own world.

Jaeshin watches Yoonhee and scowls in jealousy. He approaches her from the back and takes his hands to cover her eyes, then whispers into her ear, “Are you crazy? Why don’t you just announce to the world that you’re gay? If you keep looking at Garang like that, people will start talking.”

Before he can finish, he finds Sunjoon glaring his way. Jaeshin backs away from Yoonhee, and says, “Okay, I got it! I’ll stay away from him. If you’re going to be that scary, you should have thrown him a glance so he wasn’t staring at you so longingly.”

Yongha laughs. “I agree. I thought he was going to burn a whole in your face, Garang.”

Even though she finally has his gaze, Yoonhee can’t help turning her head away. Jaeshin shuffles his feet as he says to Sunjoon, “Garang! Let’s try to see more of each other. I mean, we were in the same room until now, but we’ve graduated and we might separate depending on where we go. Some of us might be sent into the faraway parts of the country, so we might not see so much of each other.”

Yoonhee feels tears welling up, and she tries hard to suppress it.

Yongha looks at Sunjoon and says, “ey, it seems like he’s still under his studying spell. I can’t even tell what you’re thinking.”

Right then, a lot of the gathered graduates bow towards someone who is coming their way. The four bow as well, after seeing that it’s none other than Sunjoon’s father, the left court minister. After greeting everyone else, Sunjoon’s father goes to the four. He gives a quick glare to Jaeshin and a kind smile to Yongha before recognizing Yoonhee. He seems surprised, but he congratulates her. “You must be the one who surprised the Jojeong (the king) by graduating at such a young age. Everyone is watching you with the highest of expectations, so keep working hard.”

Yoonhee nervously thanks him for his compliment. Sunjoon’s father looks at the pretty “boy”, who he assumes is a Nam-in, then turns to his son.

“Are you confident?”

“Please, keep your promise.”

“I told you that I won’t go back on my word. But you have to keep your promise as well.”

“I will.”

“It’s no easy thing to be one of the three best examinees. Even at your level, you’re still too young to achieve such a feat. You’re brilliant for your age, but I don’t think you are quite there yet.”

“I know that you made me the promise because you knew that it would be difficult.”

“It’s good that you know. My son is not a fool, after all. In any case, I am proud of you just for graduating. I don’t expect anything else. I will see you when the results come out.”

His father starts to leave, muttering to himself, “I wonder whose test his majesty has picked to be the best. Ha ha ha…”

The two men’s conversation is a riddle Yongha, Jaeshin, and Yoonhee can’t solve. Jaeshin puts his arms on Sunjoon’s shoulders and jokes, “I thought your father was much different than mine, but they’re almost exactly the same. That’s too bad; they might have been good friends if the situation was different…”

Part 30

The final exam.

Yoonhee sits at the testing site, unable to rid herself of her nervousness. She breathes in and out. She doesn't think she can even write properly, because her hands are shaking so much. She looks at Sunjoon sitting next to her. His face seems as though it's aged, because he's studied so much that it was almost as though it took the life out of him. But thanks to him, she could focus on her studies just as much. Jaeshin studied hard for the first time since his entrance to Sungkyunkwan, and Yongha, who didn't have anyone to play with, studied alongside them too.

But Sunjoon's been strange. He's closed his eyes, sitting properly, as he's always done, but his hands are shaking. He's never been like this for other exams. He's never shown any sort of nervousness before, and she doesn't understand why he's so afraid this time. She's also a little angry, because even now, he won't even say a word to her.

Yoonhee looks at Yongha, who sits behind Sunjoon. She grins when she sees his fancy outfit; he's obviously using every trick in the book to try and pass. There's a rumor that if he wears the inner clothes of a student who's successfully graduated he will meet the same fate and pass, too. Yoonhee is laughing because she knows that inside those fancy clothes is someone's old inner clothes. Jaeshin, who's sitting behind Yoonhee, gives her a light kick.

"You must not be worried, seeing as how you're smiling like that."

"Ah, it's not that..."

Yongha glances at Yoonhee and smiles, aware that she is smiling because of his secret. Even with his smile, it's obvious how nervous he is. Jaeshin too. Yoonhee looks at Sunjoon one last time, but Sunjoon does not even glance at her.

The testing starts, and the three start writing.

The four return to Sungkyunkwan after they're done, but Sunjoon, without a word, heads to Bicheondang with his books to study for the second testing. It seems as though nothing matters to him, except this exam. Yoonhee, Jaeshin, and Yongha all look at him, worried.

"I think he is really under a spell or something. He can't possibly be like this unless he’s  possessed by  a ghost. How can he be so hard on himself?"

"Yeah, there's only the Jeon-shi left... Why is he studying so hard?"

Yoonhee starts packing her books to follow Sunjoon, but Jaeshin stops her.

"Why are you going too? The Hwe-shi just ended! We can rest today, at least!"

"I can't leave Garang Hyungnim alone--"

"Just forget about him! He's already a lost cause."

"Don't kid around like that."

She gets up, but Jaeshin pulls her down by her wrist and throws the blanket on top of her. He yells at Yongha, "Go and bring Garang back! I'm going to force Daemul to sleep."

"How will you put him to sleep like that? He'll suffocate first."

"Now!"

"How will I bring him back? He's so stubborn."

"Just do something!"

Yoonhee tries to get out of the blanket. "Let me go! I'm going to study!"

"Shut up and stay here! I've been too nice lately. You should listen to your Sahyung!"

Yongha leaves, and Yoonhee calms down. Jaeshin rests his head on the lump of body under the blanket, and says calmly, "I've seen a lot of students go just as crazy before an exam. I understand that it's good to graduate to start a career. It's commendable to study hard, but doing it today is a bit much. He's out of his mind."

After a moment of silence, Jaeshin speaks again. "Garang is probably going to graduate this time around. What are you going to do then?”

Yoonhee doesn't say anything. Even if Sunjoon graduates, even if Sunjoon, Yongha, and Jaeshin graduate, or even if she graduates along with them, she can't escape the farewells she'll have to face. She's been trying to run away from this thought for so long. She wonders if Sunjoon is thinking that way too. Is that why he hasn't even tried to look at her? Yoonhee, buried under her blanket, doesn't know that Sunjoon is outside the room, listening to the conversation. She swallows up the tears that come up. She feels as though her insides will explode of sadness.

[Soon after is the Jeon-shi. Everyone looks beat up and tired because of the nonstop studying, and Sunjoon still seems surprisingly shaken at the exam site, but the four finish the testing in without falling ill. The results are to be announced later by the King. Announced will be 3 Gap-Gwa (The three top tests, the first/best tier of the examinees), 11 Eul-Gwa (the 11 next best tests, 2nd tier), and 23 Byung-Gwa, (the 23 tests after that, 3rd tier), a total of the 37 of the best tests (its basically picking the smartest 37 people out of the country).

Before the results, all the students are given their day off. Yoonhee returns home and dresses as a woman again, and she gets a visitor. It's a woman who claims to be a merchant. When Yoonhee tries to tell her nicely that she has no money to buy anything, the woman tells her that it's okay, and that she just wants to have a conversation with her. Yoonhee thinks it's strange how elegant and well-mannered this merchant is, and takes interest in what she has to say.

The woman seems very interested in Yoonhee and engages her in a story. She tells Yoonhee about how when she was younger, she took the name of her brother and tried to test for school, but failed. Yoonhee is glad to find someone like her and tells her that it's unfortunate that she failed, but the woman laughs, saying that she was lying. How could a woman even take a test? The woman gives a comb to Yoonhee as a present and goes on her way, leaving Yoonhee dumbfounded. The woman, when she comes a good distance away from Yoonhee's house, gets into a carriage waiting for her, and directs her servants to take her back to Bookchon. (That is where Sunjoon lives, if that's any hint to who this woman_is.)

It's not clear if she is a woman from Hyo Eun’s household (the noblewoman who wanted to get engaged to Sunjoon) because she wanted to confirm what she suspected as to why Sunjoon rejected the engagement, or maybe it was a woman from Sunjoon’s household, sent by his mother?)

[While at home, her mother tells Yoonhee that when she comes out of Sungkyunkwan she should get ready to wed. Yoonhee convinces her mother to postpone her marriage, and tells her to reject any proposals that are sent to their house. Yoonhee's mother and Yoonshik note how sad Yoonhee looks, and her mother wonders why, especially when Yoonhee will now be safe from danger after she gets out of the school.]

Part 29

Contract

It's late at night at Bicheondang (a communal study space for the students). Students file away one by one, but Sunjoon stays firmly planted in front of his book. It's as though he doesn't even notice Yoonhee's presence. Sunjoon had started being this way ever since the [증광시] Jeung Gwang Shi was announced. (It's an exam held every time the country is celebrating something significant, and held every 30 years or so... It's a pretty freaking big exam, the second biggest that you can take in the Joseon era. Basically, through such an exam the students can become officials for the King and graduate from SKK)  Everyone is studying hard, including those who are just trying to catch up on their classes.

When the two are left alone, Yoonhee closes and opens her book several times to try and get Sunjoon's attention. He doesn't even flinch. She drapes herself over her desk and raises only her head, to see Sunjoon's shadow cast on the wall. She takes the shadow of her own hand and motions it so that her shadow is punching the shadow of his head.

It's as though he felt the punches himself, because Sunjoon looks up. He's finally looking at her! Happy, Yoonhee sits up nicely and smiles at him. He gets up and approaches her. She doesn't want much; she would just be happy if he will hold her for a bit. But he picks up her book and tosses it into her lap. Then he forces her up and pushes her outside Bicheondang, locking her out.

Yoonhee doesn't even register what just happened. Tears start coming out of her eyes as she comes to her senses.

"Garang Hyungnim, why are you doing this?"

She can hear Sunjoon say from the inside, "You're distracting me."

Yoonhee sits down on the steps in front of the door and wipes away at her tears.

"It'll be time to take the Hwe-shi (the first of the two levels of exams--so they basically have to do two separate testings), then the Jeon-shi (the second test, where the topic they write about is directly given by the king, who then picks the best "tests". The tests are more like essays written in the format of a poem), " he said.

"And that's all the more reason you should stop distracting me."

How could he be so mean? Yoonhee wants nothing more than to stay at Sungkyunkwan longer with him, but all he wants to do is take the exam to get out of here. There's so little time left. He's wasting away this precious time, looking at his book instead of her.

Yoonhee tries to protest, telling him that he is wasting what little time they have, but Sunjoon shuts her out. Yoonhee looks at his silhouette from the door, and mutters to herself, "He's so frustrating! I hope you live happily ever after with your stupid books!"

Snow starts to fall, and Jaeshin, wrapped around a blanket with a book in his hand, approaches Yoonhee, who is now covered in snow.

"Ugh, it's so cold. What are you doing over here?"

"Ah, Gul-oh Sahyung! I came out here to try to wake myself to focus..."

"Garang is still studying? It should be freezing in there, because they don't heat it. Garang is pretty intense, staying there to study."

"I think he's staying there on purpose because he might fall asleep if it's warm."

Yoonhee looks back to Sunjoon's silhouette. Sunjoon is blowing hot air into his hands as he turns the pages of his book. Other students pass by, remarking that Sunjoon is the same as everyone when it comes to the king's exam, that he cares about his own promotion and career as much as the next person. Some even whisper rumors that the King told Sunjoon himself that he'll punish him if he does not graduate out of Sungkyunkwan through this exam. Another rumor is that since there are ghosts of students that never graduated, one of them must have Sunjoon under a studying spell. Sunjoon is completely unaffected by these words and he goes on turning the pages of his book.

"Daemul, if you're sleepy, leave Garang here and go back to the room where it's warm. The blankets are laid out already."

"It's okay. I'm going back in. He must be cold, and more bodies will make it warmer..."

"You're going to get sick."

Jaeshin looks at Yoonhee, who is shaking in the cold, and makes a worried expression. He turns his head as he says, "Don't shiver like that in front of me."

Because you're making me want to hold you, he thinks to himself, but he can't get the words out of his mouth. He looks over towards Sunjoon's silhouette.

"Whoever becomes his wife, she's going to have a troublesome life. Pfft, to be honest, he may be good looking, but I've never seen anybody that stubborn. If I had a sister, I'd never let her marry him."

Yoonhee laughs, and sees Yongha arriving with his books, dressed in fancy, thick, leather outerwear. Following him are is a servant, carrying a lot of things other than his books.

"Damn you Gul-oh! If you want to study, you should do it alone! Why would you wake me up and force me to come with you?" He sneezes.

Even the servant seems sleepy. Yongha motions him to leave the things inside the Bicheondang. The servant does so and leaves. Jaeshin, by force, takes off the leather coat from Yongha and puts it over Yoonhee's shoulders. She says that it's okay, but he puts it on her nonetheless.

"You're giving my coat to Daemul?"

You're already well covered up anyway. Why'd you bring so many things? I told you, just books and a blanket. You look like you're moving in here."

Yoonhee interrupts them. "Wait. Are you two going to study here?"

"Why? Is there a reason we can't?"

"Ah, no, but... He might throw us out if we are even a little loud..."

Yongha, with a yawn, stealthily takes the coat from Yoonhee and wraps himself with it.

"Let's go in before we freeze to death. I'm never even awake this late unless I'm with a woman! hmph."

They enter, and see that Sunjoon is still focused on his book. Sunjoon greets them with a quick smile, and turns back to his studies.

Jaeshin mutters about what a bookworm Sunjoon is, when Yongha suddenly takes out a Hwaro (it's like a bowl they would put flames in, like a small stove). The four end up studying around the Hwaro. Yongha doesn't study though, and instead takes out a bag with some sweet potatoes.

"This is why I brought this stove."

He boils water on top of the Hwaro and passes around a cup of hot water to everyone. Sunjoon glares at Yongha, as though he's warning him not to distract him, but Yongha doesn't notice. Yoonhee is scared that he'll chase them out, but Yongha doesn't care: he even takes out some rice cakes and starts cooking them on the Hwaro. He definitely is not here to study. Jaeshin is also wary of Sunjoon's glare, so he tries to stop Yongha, but Yongha starts passing around the now cooked sweet potatoes.

"We have to warm up our body so we can focus, don't we? Let's eat this before we study. We're all going to get sick because of this exam if we don't take care of ourselves."

Sunjoon lets this go, worried that Yoonhee might be hungry. Yoonhee, relieved, bites into the sweet potato. Yongha flips the rice cakes on the Hwaro and says to Sunjoon, "You know, with your skills, you're not going to have any problem passing the exam. Why would you go through so much trouble to study, risking your health? We're the ones who should be staying up to study."

Sunjoon lowers his head, and makes fists with his hand. "How can you say I'll get through it so easily?! I'm as worried as everyone else!"

The three can hear his voice shaking. They're surprised, and Yongha asks, "What? Why would you be so worried....?"

Sunjoon doesn't answer.

The smell of the rice cake cooking fills Bicheondang, and the four silently study, wrapping themselves in their blankets to bear the cold.

 

Part 28

The Mosquitoes

After Yongha and Jaeshin come in, interrupting Sunjoon and Yoonhee, the king visits Sunjoon. He is foremost looking to see that Sunjoon is alright, but he's also there to try and recruit Sunjoon, Jaeshin, and Yongha to work (all three are from pretty important backgrounds and were already expected to do great things--the King has actually been trying to get Sunjoon to start working for him since the beginning of the novel, but Sunjoon refused, saying that he still has a lot to learn.)

The King tells Sunjoon that he would allow him a wish, and Sunjoon asks for access to the books in the Gae Yoo Wah, which is a part of the GyuJangGak, which is the king's library (it's also where the Jalgeum four will work in the second series), and the King tells Sunjoon that he can get access to any books there if he agrees to work at GyuJangGak. The king tells him to think about it and leaves.

The three (Sunjoon, Jaeshin, Yongha) contemplate on the prospect of working at GyuJangGak, thinking that it might be the right thing to do, and Yoonhee is saddened by the idea that she will probably be left at Sungkyunkwan all alone. ]

"Aagh! Lets go inside before the mosquitoes eat us up."

Yongha and Jaeshin both get up to go back (the four and the king were conversing outside), but Sunjoon stays put.

"Go ahead in. I have some things to think about."

"Then, me too..." Yoonhee moves to sit next to Sunjoon.

Yongha grins and says teasingly, "Didn't you say you were tired? You guys are going to stay here at this hour? Alone?"

"You two can stay as well..."

Jaeshin spits, "are you crazy? And be bitten to death by these mosquitoes? I'm gonna go in and sleep."

As Jaeshin starts heading back, Yongha follows Jaeshin, obviously disappointed that he can't stay to tease the two more. He tries to convince Jaeshin to stay, but Jaeshin won't have it, and all Yongha can do is yell back at Sunjoon and Yoonhee, "Come back fast! If you don't, I'll spread the rumor that the two of you are doing it! And when I spread a rumor, it doesn't stay within Sungkyunkwan, it'll be the talk of the country!"

Yongha's laughs disappear as the two get farther away. Sunjoon and Yoonhee are left alone in the calm night air. Even though they are alone, Sunjoon's eyes are looking at the stars in the sky. Yoonhee glances at his hands and thinks back to how hurriedly they were trying to undo her clothes earlier that night. She can't help hate the king a little for interrupting her night. She looks up at the stars, too, a little miffed.

She asks,

"Are the stars that beautiful?"

"Do you think only the stars are beautiful?"

Yoonhee waits expectantly for his follow-up, but all she gets is:

"The moon is beautiful as well."

Sigh.

"Since your eyes are busy with the stars and the moon, I might as well just turn in..."

Yoonhee turns her head away from him.

Sunjoon smiles.

"I couldn't see them in the prison."

"And you could see me in prison?"

Sunjoon laughs. Yoonhee softens at the sound of his laughter, and asks him if he will indeed take the exam to star working at the king's library. She says hesitantly,

"Do you have to take it so soon? You could stay here a little longer..."

She can't get the words she wants out of her mouth. Couldn't you stay a little longer here, with me? She can only mutter, "even though you'll start your career, I won't be able to, and I would like to stay here a longer, so when initiation comes, I could do to the new students what was done to me, and...Ah!"

Yoonhee slaps her arm. She's bitten by a mosquito.

"What's wrong?"

"I got attacked by a mosquito."

"Where?"

Yoonhee points at where she was bitten, and Sunjoon, without warning, puts his mouth there, and licks the spot. He pulls away.

"Were you bitten anywhere else?"

Yoonhee reddens and points her finger at her lips. Sunjoon smiles, and his eyes seem like they're calling Yoonhee a liar, so she becomes embarrassed. "I mean, I wasn't bitten there, but, ah, the moonlight, and, uh, Arang's eyes..."

Sunjoon lightly bites her lower lip. "Now you're not lying."

And he does the same to her lips as he did to her arm.

Yoonhee says to Sunjoon, "the one that bit me on the lips is so much bigger than the one that bit my arm--shouldn't you be putting your mouth on it that much more? When are you planning on using the math we learn here?"

Sunjoon laughs loudly. He puts his arm around her waist and pulls her to him. He whispers, "you want me to be satisfied spending the rest of the night kissing you?"

"It's better than spending the rest of the night looking at the stars!"

Sunjoon gets up and dusts himself. "I wonder if anyone's at Bibokcheon right now..."

Yoonhee gets up, too, knowing what he means. Her face brightens and the two head down, hand in hand.

They arrive at Bibokcheon, and Sunjoon jumps the wall first. As Yoonhee is about to do the same, she hears Sunjoon's voice.

"What are you two doing here?"

Yoonhee freezes. She hears Yongha's voice.

"Can't you see by the way we're dressed? We're trying to wash ourselves."

Yoonhee hears another voice that she recognizes as Jaeshin's.

"Why are you here?"

Sunjoon stammers, "A-Ah, well, I thought I should wash as well..."

"Didn't you wash after you got out of the prison?"

"Ah, well, I thought I could use another wash..."

"And Daemul?"

"He went back already."

Darn it! Yoonhee swallows up her frustration and tries to get away as silently as possible, when she hears Yongha.

"Hmm! I hear some noises there behind the wall."

Startled, Yoonhee gets down low and runs as fast as she can back to their room. Sunjoon hides his disappointment as he goes to the well to wash himself alongside Jaeshin and Yongha.

Jaeshin complains, "Yeo-rim suddenly dragged me here, telling me that we should wash, out of nowhere. He's always making me do whatever he wants to do..."

Yongha grins as he looks at Sunjoon. This night, all Sunjoon can do between the two men is wash his sexual frustration away with each pour of water on his back.

(Typical Yongha mischief-making!)