Part 5

The 방방례 Bangbangryeh (Where the passing examinees are announced)

[Between above scenes and this one: Autumn turns to winter, and Yoonhee has just turned twenty.

Yoonhee takes the 진사 jinsa and the 생원 saengwon tests, but is disappointed to find that Sunjoon is not there for either (because he was most likely assigned to a different test site). When she comes to check for her name she finds that Sunjoon's name is first for both the jinsa and saengwon, while she is second for the jinsa and sixth for the saengwon. She sees Sunjoon, but before they can say anything to one another, soldiers come and ask them to line up (in order of the ranking on their tests) and are led towards the king's palace, to the puzzlement of all the examinees. ]

Yoonhee, like the others, is worried about what's going on, but Sunjoon as always seems calm.

"I was worried that something bad might have happened, since you're fighting an illness."

She is startled but glad he spoke. He sees her wide-eyed expression, and says, "I was curious as to how you were."

"I was curious too; I thought maybe you had gotten married or some--"

Yoonhee, shocked at what just came out of her mouth, stops. She's supposed to be a man; she shouldn't let her thoughts slip out like this.

But Sunjoon smiles widely. "I haven't even done anything with my life; I am not yet ready for marriage. How about you...?"

"Same here...."

Sunjoon looks at Yoonhee. Both of them are walking, but she's lowered her head. Sunjoon thinks to himself about how he wanted to see this... boy. The boy is weak and thin, but Sunjoon doesn't understand why he missed him as a man would, towards a woman. It's bizarre to him. That's why even though he recognized him right away, he fought with himself not to run and greet him, because it was bizarre, the way he felt. Sunjoon reasons with himself that he must just feel really apologetic for that night, since the seonjupkuns targeted Yoonshik because of him.

"I'm glad you look better."

Yoonhee's heart beats at his smile. She wishes she could stand in front of him as a woman. She wants to tell him, that the man "Yoonshik" who is walking by him right now is "Yoonhee", a woman, even if it means that he would leave, angry that she's committed such a crime. She should tell him, since they won't meet again, anyway, and she won't be able to stand in front of him as a woman, anyway. She should just tell him before they say their goodbyes today. She works up her courage and looks at him.

"Um...well..."

He stops walking and looks at her.

"After this, do you have any other appointments?"

Sunjoon, ignoring all the things he has to do later that day, answers no right away.

"I.... I have something that I really need to tell you. So..."

"I understand. I will wait for you after this. I have something that I would like to discuss with you as well."

Somebody yells at the two to keep walking, and they do, until all the examinees stop, seeing that they are right in front of the king's palace. The examinees clamor, asking why they are being directed here, to which the soldiers answer that they don't know, they're just doing what they're ordered to do.

Yoonhee hears the others talk. "Is the king himself handing back our scrolls? There was a rumor about this during the first exam... is that why they didn't hand them back yet?"

Everyone tightens with anxiety and nervousness. The only one who isn't shaken is Sunjoon, and with every door the they pass, the examinees become more and more aware that they are within the king's palace, and many of them aren't even able to breathe properly.

Yoonhee is in a daze, looking around at where she is. Suddenly Sunjoon pulls her to him, and she crashes into his arms.

"The middle is 어도 uhdo, so you can't set your foot there."

Yoonhee looks down at her feet. The wide pathway they've been walking on is tiled, but in the middle was a narrower way lined with stone tablets. She almost accidentally walked on the path on which only the king himself could set foot.

As they near their destination, horror surrounds Yoonhee--in this place, she feels more like a criminal than ever, and the soldiers' stern gazes seem like they are asking why there is a woman amidst all these men.

Everyone lines up properly and stops. Yoonhee is out of it, her head in complete chaos. She, as a woman, shouldn't even dare look at the King, or be in his presence, but here she was, with basically nothing that could buffer her from the King's eyes. She can only be thankful that the distance between the courtyard to the King's chair is so large. She tries to remember the right manners in which one receives the king, with the right number of bowing and whatnot, when she hears the dreadful roar, signaling the king's entry.

The scene which follows the above events is not translated, but it's the scene we see in Episode 2 of the drama, where the King commands that the top examinees who passed both tests (which includes Kim Yoon Shik), to enter the university immediately.