PARK HYUNG-SIK
JEON SO-NEE
PYO YE-JIN
YUN JONG-SEOK
LEE TAE-SEON
OUR BLOOMING YOUTH
THIS IS A FICTIONAL STORY
NAMES, CHARACTERS, PLACES AND INCIDENTS IN THIS DRAMA
ARE FICTITIOUS
ANIMAL SCENES ARE CREATED
WITH PROPS AND VISUAL EFFECTS
Your Highness!
Go after him.
Catch him.
People must know it was a human
who shot me.
Your Highness!
Wake up, Your Highness!
Your Highness!
Find the one who shot the arrow.
Catch him at all costs!
Yes, sir.
Your Highness!
We haven't found anyone.
Search every space. He wouldn't have left the hunting ground yet.
Yes, sir.
If there are two Tae-gangs, one of them can shoot His Highness
Please wake up, Your Highness.
while the other is next to him.
They are twins.
Right. It could be possible if they're twins.
Shouldn't we let him know that
Tae-gang has a twin?
-Where should I put this, My Lord? -Put the cauldron in the kitchen.
Be careful with that.
Make sure the paper is stuck well so there are no gaps.
-Install the door so it doesn't fall off. -Yes, My Lord.
Hurry up, it's getting late.
-Alight them. -Yes, ma'am.
Your Highness.
You have to walk from here.
EPISODE 17
Go on inside.
I will stand guard outside.
Let's go.
I'm very sorry I made you come
all the way over here.
No problem.
We came all the way here to ask you for a favor
so I hope you understand.
Have you heard about us?
I may be a drifter,
but I do know physiognomy.
Your physiognomy tells me you two are very special guests.
Now please give us the room.
Your Highness.
I'm sorry, but I have to go to the bathroom...
Oh.
-Go ahead. -Yes, Your Highness.
If Tae-gang really is a twin
then this is really bad.
One of them is near His Highness and the other one with the exact same face
is involved in those heinous crimes.
Perhaps they're all in it together.
There's no way.
Does Tae-gang know he has a twin?
If they were separated at birth, he may not know.
We'll find out what happened.
Eunuch Go, didn't you say you solved a mystery?
What is it?
It's about this peony petal.
The Bodhisattva of Great Compassion...
Until the moment Sim Yeong died,
he believed he and Min Jae-yi were lovers.
How can someone have blind faith like that?
I know. Was he possessed by a ghost or something?
Not a ghost. It was something else.
In the Ming Dynasty, there's something called "Opium." I once ran into a merchant
who often went overseas.
Since the Tang dynasty, merchants have been bringing opium here
and can still be found today.
I've heard of that.
So have I.
I heard if you take opium, you'll go crazy
and can't even recognize your own parents.
Are you supposed to eat opium?
I'm not sure.
Anyway once you get high on opium, you can't even tell where you are.
If the dried peony petals are anything like opium,
maybe it was used on Sim Yeong.
It could've made him believe
Jae-yi were his lover.
What's scaring you, Your Highness?
Grandfather.
My grandfather gave me peaches
and I brought it to Ui-hyeon
and he passed away
after eating that.
You mean a Mind-control?
I've read some books about people
who can do such things.
What is it?
They mess with a person's soul
cause delirium and plant fake memories.
You've never gave
Prince Ui-hyeon peaches.
Yes.
I never gave him peaches.
Prince Ui-hyeon passed away after eating peaches
is just a rumor, not a fact.
It's just a rumor, not a fact.
Your painful memories will now disappear
as well as the scary memories.
If you perform mind-controlling sorcery
while burning dried peony petals,
you can control someone's mind?
So that's how Sim Yeong's mind was impacted?
I have returned.
I am Song and I came back because of innocent people in Byeokcheon
who were killed wrongly.
I'll become the king.
I will become the king.
The shaman.
She did the same. As if possessed, she kept saying that
the Song family had given her a revelation. She seemed to believe it firmly.
Using the dried peony petals
and mind control witchcraft,
she was led to believe it was true.
But it's just all circumstantial evidence.
But your master said that peony petals
are only used to calm people down.
He can't know everything from South East Asia.
I am a woman of courtesy,
but I called you for a reason, so I hope you'll understand.
Of course, Your Highness.
I have to ask you for a favor.
Yes, Your Highness.
I must take Prince Myeong-ahn
outside the palace tonight.
Why do you want to leave the palace?
Prince Myeong-ahn keeps getting sicker,
but the medicine isn't effective.
I let someone use witchcraft on him.
Your Highness, how could you act in a way that is illegal?
Section Chief Han, please don't ask questions.
I had no choice.
It's for Prince Myeong-ahn.
But
if something happens to Prince Myeong-ahn
while you're outside the palace,
how could I deal with the aftermath?
-Your Highness. -I'm begging you.
You're the only person I could ask.
Can you please protect me and Prince Myeong-ahn tonight?
Are you okay?
Court Lady Kwon, are you okay?
He went that way.
No, please don't know. It's too dangerous.
Court Lady Kwon.
The incense burner is for burning incense
but there are dried petals here.
Who are you?
You ask me who I am?
I am the one who saw everything.
The land that was covered in the blood
of the innocent subjects who were sacrificed
because of someone's greed.
I saw the not only devastation but also tears of blood
of the subjects you abandoned.
From nobles to lowly subjects,
every life is precious.
But
you cut off the tongues of innocent people,
branded them as a sinner
and even took their poor dry lands away.
How could I just sit and watch
such heinous crimes?
I have blood on my precious hands,
but the wellbeing of our populace is more important.
so I do not regret it.
Stop making excuses and tell me what you're doing.
What have you done to Prince and why did you try to hurt Princess Ha-yeon?
I have only one goal.
Song, Ga, Myeol, Lee.
The Lee family will be destroyed
and someone from the Song family will appear
and start a new dynasty.
And at last,
a genuine world without discrimination of status or rank,
the Land of Happiness
will come.
Monk Mu-jin...
A woman visited the Office of Shamanism often.
Every time the head shaman visited Gaeseong prayer site,
that woman visited the office.
She was covered up, so I couldn't see her face.
GAESEONG MURDER CASE
It's very dangerous, Scholar Park.
It's not just one of two of them out there.
They're free to go in and out of the palace
They disdained the royal family, killed Master Min's entire family
and dared to shoot an arrow
at His Highness.
We must find out who's behind them.
WHERE THE SHAMAN PRAYS
The shaman went to Gaeseong to pray? Why are you telling me now?
And while tracing the evidence of the Byeokcheon case
I found out that Byeokcheon people left Gaeseong to go back to their hometown.
There are also people who sent lots of items to Gaeseong
while claiming they delivered them to their hometown.
You mean they established a base at Gaeseong?
I'm not sure yet.
Nonetheless, several signs simultaneously point to Gaesong and Byeokcheon.
The shaman was also from Byeokcheon.
So the people who were kicked out of their hometown
are living in Gaeseong?
Then people in Gaeseong must know
that Byeokcheon people are living there.
The rumors must've spread already.
If they are in hiding...
That's why they must be sending things there.
If they buy things in Gaeseong, others might find out where they are living.
Songak Mountain is very rough,
people won't know if they built a base in the valley, right?
But everything is just a theory.
When we don't have anything, theories are important too.
If we start with theories
and narrow them down one by one, we might be able to reach the truth.
You're amazing, Eunuch Go.
Go ahead, my apprentice.
What are you doing? Tell them.
Master told me this morning that
we should make a team
to investigate these cases systematically.
And our name...
He decided it on his own.
The Shield Investigators.
-Shield Investigators. -What does that mean?
It means we are shields
that will protect His Highness.
I will be the leader.
Why are you the leader?
It's my decision.
I gave up Manyeondang, my precious lab
as our base of operations
so of course I should be the leader.
I stayed up all night to come up with this.
You really want credit for that?
Seriously?
If that's what it takes to be a leader,
let's change the base to somewhere else. I'll find us a better place.
Do you think it makes sense for a person
who can't shovel to become a leader?
I'll show you how shoveling is done one day.
Anyway I'm in charge.
No matter what!
Tell His Highness that
Myeong-jin is the leader of the Shield Investigators.
Fine. By all means, go ahead.
I don't care about the leader,
so I'll be the youngest.
But call me as Golden cute boy.
-Then, I'll be second... -I'll be second...
I'll be third in line.
Well, we should talk to His Highness
and start investigating that bodyguard.
I'm not sure if he's the older or the younger one,
but his twin is involved in every case,
so we will be able to find a lot of things out.
Shield.
Your Highness.
Tell Her Highness this and call a physician.
-Yes, Section Chief Han. -Be discreet.
No one can know about this.
Are you okay?
I was just stabbed in the side. I'm fine.
You were the one who took them there.
He tried to hurt Princess Ha-yeon and you.
How do you know the monk?
The court ladies talked about a man
who can cure the illness of the mind.
I had no idea this would happen.
Section Chief Han. Court Lady Kwon needs medical attention as well.
If the dried peony petals make
your mind susceptible to Mind-control...
you also smelled it before.
I just don't remember what happened that day.
I don't remember anything different.
What's different for me is that
I smelled the burning petals,
but no one used Mind-control on me.
But Ga-ram said
she saw Master Kim's master
in Gaeseong.
He and Sim Yeong knew each other?
Someone controlled Sim Yeong's mind to kill your family.
If he and Sim Yeong met in Gaeseong,
I think it's not a coincidence.
It's nothing special.
It's just a commonly used herb
to calm people down.
Need to find out more about him.
He could be in on it as well.
But did you really not know
Tae-gang had a twin?
You have the list of bodyguards
memorized in your head.
Tae-gang was adopted.
So the list alone isn't enough to check his birth records.
If we look into his adoptive parents,
maybe we'll be able to find out
where and why they adopted him.
His foster parents were the Royal Tomb Official at Hwalinseo.
It was me and Seong-on who left Tae-gang under their care.
Pardon?
I met Tae-gang ten years ago.
Yes! I did it!
Let's go see.
-Find where it is. -Spin it.
Hold on.
It's here. Watch closely.
-Make your betting. -Here.
There.
You made a fine bet.
What? Catch him!
You seem like a fine young man with talent,
-why are you doing this? -What's so bad about it?
I'm making money on my own
without having to depend on others.
Is stealing from others making money on your own?
Take us to your place. Where do you live?
I'll have to meet your parents and tell them about this.
Do you think I would be doing this if I had parents?
I am your mother from now on.
Cheng Hao said
rule the world,
but to correct customs
and acquire talented people.
Hey!
THREE YEARS AGO
CHOI TAE-GANG
Did you truly pass the military exam?
I'm so proud of you.
I will never forget what you did for me.
If I hadn't met you two, I'd still live stealing
on the street.
No.
Even if we didn't meet,
I'm sure you would've found your way and lived a good life
because that's just who you are.
It was Tae-gang for sure.
What is going on?
How could he do such a thing?
He said he had been living on the streets without knowing his parents or hometown
so he probably doesn't know he's a twin.
Could he be from Byeokcheon?
Everything his twin did was for Byeokcheon,
so he must be from Byeokcheon
as well as Tae-gang.
On one hand, I feel relieved.
About what?
If we're right about this,
then Tae-gang had nothing to do with
the death of my family and he wasn't the one who attacked you.
But his twin shot an arrow at you
and killed the messenger you sent.
If he's going in and outside the palace looking like Tae-gang,
this is a big problem...
Your Highness, I went to the East Palace and they said you'd be here.
What is going on?
You told me to go visit the house near Tongwoon bridge.
I prepared everything as you asked.
Thank you.
Section Chief Han, your clothes...
There was a problem. I'm in a hurry. Announce my presence.
His Highness isn't in the East Palace.
He said he'd be at the library tonight.
Tae-gang also went there just now to see him.
Tae-gang went to His Highness?
Your Highness, Sorry I'm not dressed properly.
How are you here without a scratch?
Your Highness, something happened earlier and I'd like to search Tae-gang.
What happened earlier?
Where were you two hours ago?
Pardon?
Tae-gang was near Tongwoon bridge at the time.
No, Your Highness.
He was near Surak mountain at that time.
What are you talking about?
I was carrying out His Highness' orders near Tongwoon bridge.
There were also others with me...
No, Your Highness.
Please let me see his shoulder.
A sword slashed your left shoulder a while ago.
It wasn't Tae-gang.
Your Highness.
Show him your left shoulder.
That's an order.
Section Chief Han, why are you doing this?
I saw your face for sure.
You pointed your sword at me no less than two hours ago.
I saw you
at my house in Gaeseong.
I saw you near the kitchen.
When His Highness was confined,
did you meet Master Kim of Manyeondang at the market?
No, I didn't.
But Master Kim said
he saw Tae-gang in disguise.
Do you
have a twin?
Answer me.
I asked if you have a twin.
No, Your Highness.
No.
-Tae-gang, give us the room. -Your Highness.
I will call you, so leave us be for now.
Your Highness, does Tae-gang have a twin?
I don't think he knows he has a twin.
Are you sure the man you saw had the same face as Tae-gang's?
What were you doing there?
Did you hurt him with your sword?
I know they're twins, but how can they look so much alike?
You mean San?
I thought it was San.
He probably doesn't know his brother is alive, right?
But didn't his clothes seem like
he was a government official?
Why was he at Manyeondang?
Don't you know what the monk and San are up to?
-You went to the Shamanism Office... -Hey.
When can we go back home?
I had a dream where
wild animals dug up Oh Wol's grave.
We buried her without a memorial or a tomb.
I'm not sure we'll find her again.
Go on inside.
Tuck Dal-rae and Meo-roo in.
Goodbye, Master.
Okay. Bye.
Let's go. Lead the way.
Aren't you going home?
It's dangerous at night.
So?
I'm just worried.
-I'll walk you to your home. -All of a sudden?
As a scholar, I should be worried about someone
who's smaller and weaker than me.
Come on. I'm not weak...
What is it?
It was a ghost...
No, a monster...
Monster?
He grabbed my neck.
No...
How could you go home alone
when you're so easily scared?
Don't you feel reassured
since I'm right here next to you?
Yes, Master. You're a brick.
It's that way.
So are Ha-yeon and Myeong-ahn okay?
Yes, they're both fine.
Prince Myeong-ahn was asleep.
Your Highness,
I saw the same incense
which was at the shaman's house.
And he said...
Song, Ga, Myeol, Lee.
The Lee family will be destroyed
and someone from the Song family will appear
and start a new dynasty.
And at last,
a world without discrimination...
Isn't it strange?
What did he look like?
He was wearing a monk's robe, but he had long white hair,
so I don't think he was an official monk.
But he said he converted to Buddhism and he talked
about a world without discrimination, so he may be a drifter,
but he must've studied Buddhism at some point.
So he and Tae-gang's twin was together
and if he mentioned Song, Ga, Myeol, Lee
so he must've worked with the shaman.
What did you do with his body?
I told a reliable man to take the body and incense
so you can see them in the morning.
Take that incense.
Section Chief Han specially ordered us
so make sure to take everything.
Yes, sir.
Your Highness, I'm not sure how to say this.
Wasn't there a woman who used to frequent
Shamanism when the shaman was murdering people?
The woman with the veil.
Court Lady Kwon also wore a veil when she went to Surak mountain today.
Court Lady Kwon at the veil on
and there was a sword fight
where she took Princess and Prince.
I must ask Princess Ha-yeon why she left the palace.
He was talking nonsense about seeing
a ghost and a snake. And now he's saying he gave Ui-hyeon peaches.
How can all that be true?
Prince Myeong-ahn must've had an inevitable issue. I must go see him now.
He passed away like that?
Section Chief Han took off San's mask
and saw his face.
He went to His Highness
he would've told him about Tae-san now.
Your Highness.
His Highness will come here.
You have nothing to do with what happened.
If there's a problem, I will take responsibility and die if I have to.
Don't say that.
You must live.
You must live so you can go back to your hometown.
I'm just a lowly court lady.
My life isn't that important.
You must be safe
for Prince Myeong-ahn's safe
and for everyone to be able to go back home.
Please think of the people who's trusting you and Prince Myeong-ahn.
They're waiting for the day to go back home
living in hiding in Naewang Village.
You must stay strong, Your Highness.
I'll take care of things from here.
You should go back and get treated.
Prince Myeong-ahn is just in deep slumber.
His pulse and breathing are all okay
so there's nothing to worry about.
You may leave.
Why did you leave the palace?
I heard he hadn't been sleeping well
ever since he saw the interrogation of the shaman.
Not only is he your brother,
but he is my brother as well.
If you made a decision for him,
shouldn't I know about it?
Her Highness is here.
I heard that news.
How could this happen?
He's just asleep.
He'll wake up, right?
Of course, Your Highness.
I'm sorry I made you worry, Mother.
I'm just glad that you're okay.
Tell me.
Why did you take your young brother out of the palace?
I must know why
in order to catch them.
If it weren't for Seong-on, what would've happened to you and Myeong-ahn?
He attacked you with a sword.
You saw the man who tried to harm Myeong-ahn kill himself.
Don't you get that they were in on it together?
This won't do.
I can't let his slide.
Father must know that he tried to hurt
the Princess and Prince of this country.
Hwan, please don't tell...
Ha-yeon.
You must tell His Highness the truth.
Myeong-ahn saw the shaman
get interrogated and on his way back
he saw the plum tree catch fire.
Since then he hasn't been eating or sleeping.
The royal physician did what he could, but he got worse
so she was just worried about him.
I was so worried,
Court Lady Kwon informed me about him after hearing from others.
I had to do something, so I took a chance.
Mother.
Court Lady Kwon didn't do anything wrong.
I was the one
who decided to do this, not her.
I told her not to tell you.
Princess.
Hwan.
I didn't want to worry you since your wedding is happening soon.
So I thought of a way and asked Section Chief Han for protection.
I had to do something.
Hwan.
It's been a month since he fell ill.
If something were to happen to him, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.
You must've had a difficult time.
Don't cry, Princess.
I'm just grateful for what you did.
Don't worry about Myeong-ahn.
Myeong-ahn has you and Hwan
as his sister and brother.
You two are very strong,
so I'm sure he'll be better in no time.
What was the guy who tried to kill Myeong-ahn like?
He said he was a drifter and a monk, but who knows who he really is.
Did you see what he did to
Myeong-ahn?
Did you see the incense in the room?
Incense...
I did.
Were there dried petals in the incense?
I think so.
And what else was there?
It was a small temple
and there was nothing special...
Oh, he was drinking tea.
Do you remember what kind of tea?
I'm not sure.
He didn't give me or Myeong-ahn any.
Your Highness, do you think
it's a coincidence that Court Lady Kwon took them to see
that monk?
And she was wearing a veil.
We'll just have to ask her and check tomorrow.
But if she's also in it, it won't be hard to get their stories straight.
And veils are worn by women all the time.
Court Lady Kwon is undergoing treatment
so leave her be for now.
She works for Mother, so we can't do as we like.
Yes, Your Highness.
And Court Lady Kwon
is a bonbangnayin.
What does that mean?
When she entered the palace she brought Court Lady Won from her parents'
so she could assist Lord Cho.
Oh.
But to say he has anything to do with this...
There's no reason he would want to hurt Myeong-ahn and Ha-yeon.
And since Court Lady Kwon is on his side,
she can't be Song's wife.
Then
it must've been the doing of the people of Byeokcheon.
If they weren't thieves and really put up
the white flag and waited for the deputies,
then they must be after the throne
to get revenge for what happened.
How come Her Highness...
You must tell His Highness the truth.
While returning, Myeong-ahn saw the shaman get interrogated.
he saw the plum tree catch fire.
Since then he hasn't been eating or sleeping.
She was just worried about him.
She said she's telling the truth,
but why didn't she tell him Prince Myeong-ahn was the one who gave
Prince Ui-hyeon peaches?
Oh, it's getting late. Get home safely.
I'll walk you to the door.
Oh.
My Lady.
Scholar Park knows who you and I are.
He gave me fabric to make clothes for you.
-Fabric? -He said we should go back
once everything is over.
We will be able to clear our name
and go back to Gaeseong, right?
Ga-ram!
And I also ran into a man who used to be a deputy in Gaeseong.
He recognized me.
I got scared and ran away and he gave up for now.
You may run into him when you come to Manyeondang so be careful.
Deputy of Gaeseong?
Is she talking about the man
who moved to Hanyang after he got promoted
to a battalion commander?
If she can't remember
whether her memories are mixed up
because of peony petals or opium, then I'll have to try to remember for her.
When the murders happened...
I remember that
it rained a lot.
No, not that.
Master Min was drawing.
Was it even a drawing?
Why was he drawing in red?
He didn't seem like he was drawing orchids.
Why did he draw so many lines?
Does it have anything to do with what happened?
Do you have a twin?
I saw your face for sure.
You pointed your sword at me
no less than two hours ago.
You really weren't at Surak mountain?
The body disappeared?
We search everywhere near the temple all night,
but there was nobody.
I looked into the temple.
It was originally part of the Biwon temple
and drifter monks stay there when they need a place to sleep.
The dead monk never stayed at that place before.
The one who took the body
must be Tae-gang's twin.
Maybe.
I've asked the court ladies,
and there were rumors about the monk going around in the palace
and the one who told Court Lady Kwon told
her two months ago and meant nothing by it.
Great work last night.
I'm grateful you were there to protect Ha-yeon and Myeong-ahn.
I did what I had to do.
Her Highness is looking for you, Section Chief Han.
The Crown Prince saw the ghost's letter.
Crown Prince.
Why couldn't I have been your birth mother?
I wish
you were my real son.
Song's wife is in the palace.
The Lee family will be destroyed
and someone from the Song family will appear
and start a new dynasty.
LIKE SIM YEONG'S WHITE HAIR
If someone's mind is controlled by burning peony petals
his hair turns white.
That's why Sim Yeong and the shaman both had white hair.
Your Highness, how much have you figured out?
Since you are smart, it would be just a matter of time
before you figure it all out.
He was drinking tea.
He didn't give me or Myeong-ahn any.
The tea prevents the caster from
intoxicated with the peony petals.
Jae-yi didn't drink the tea,
so her memories got lost.
Stop.
-San. -Pretend you didn't see me here.
We'll be able to go back home soon.
We'll catch up then.
Are you looking for a book...
Catch him!
Let go of me! I have to catch him!
No.
Let go of me. What's wrong with you?
Let go! Let me go!
Don't forget the ghost's letter which talks about your fate.
Bung-ja-bae-do, woo-ja-hyang-geom.
Your best friend will stab you in the back.
Your Highness, Section Chief Han is here.
Eunuch Go Sun-dol of the East Palace
is Master Min's daughter, Min Jae-yi.
Come in.
Welcome, Section Chief Han.
You do have a twin
and you knew.
You're from Byeokcheon, aren't you?
Stop it. Just stop!
You're in on it, aren't you?
I must tell His Highness. He must know.
Shut up.
You're wrong.
SPECIAL THANKS TO LEE HA-YUL
OUR BLOOMING YOUTH
The card to take His Highness' down...
-Aren't you Section Chief Han's fiancé? -She will be near His Highness.
There must be something he has to keep secret.
What else is there that I don't know about?
The critical clue to solving all of this
might be inside.
To get to the truth,
it's not something you can ever avoid.