It was the day the mistress and the young master
held an ancestral rite for the mistress's late mother.
How dare you make my son bow!
You dare make him bow to such a lowly spirit?
Mother.
Jae-yi of the Sim household shall die in three days.
SIM JAE-YI
Young Master!
My goodness!
Madame Gwigokja.
Please come in.
Come now, Young Master.
I was so incredibly frightened that I would get into trouble that I…
I was out of my mind.
I surely was not in my right mind.
Then I finally pulled myself together
and left to call for help…
But when I returned with the others, it was as if it had all been an illusion.
The young master had completely vanished,
leaving not a single trace or drop of blood behind!
Dispose of him.
No.
That is not my son.
How pathetic you are.
Did you truly think
that you could get rid of my son by doing this?
Did you truly believe
that doing this
would bring everything into your grasp?
Please hold a funeral for him.
My brother,
yours and Father's son.
It is time we sent Hongrang off.
All this time, he has been there, unknown to all.
Imagine how lonely, helpless, and scared he must have felt.
Did you say we should hold my son's funeral?
What nonsense.
How dare you bring this filth here, and…
You will hold such a thing over my dead body.
Then die.
Die, then.
You know you deserve to.
Where is my son?
My real son, whom you promised to bring back to me.
Where is my Hongrang?!
Do not call him that!
Hongrang is here. He is right here!
Do you deny it?
You won't even recognize him?
Who do you think made him this way?
It was because of that talisman you hung in hopes of my death.
Your mad intent to murder is what killed your own son.
You
killed my brother.
It was you.
No!
This is not my son.
No!
This cannot be my son!
It cannot! It is not my son!
No!
This cannot be him!
HONGRANG'S GRAVE
I apologize for taking the liberty of using your name.
In return…
I will protect the sister you cherished
until your last breath.
I will protect her until the end.
I have no clue
what I should say
or how
I should send him off.
A "farewell"
would suffice.
In a sense,
saying "farewell" is like saying "hello."
When you say farewell,
you wish the other well until next time.
You are hopeful that you will meet again.
And so,
the farewell you say now means,
"Let's meet again."
Farewell…
Hongrang.
DEAR HONGRANG
I shall hurry to recreate my talismans,
even if painting them will break me.
As for
Hongrang…
Annihilate the Geomgyedan bastards who ruined my ritual
and bring Hongrang back to me.
I will do as ordered, Your Highness.
I doubt we will learn anything from him.
-Find the Geomgyedan's hideout yourself. -Yes.
While we eliminate the Geomgyedan,
we will also kill the Soul Reaper.
But His Highness ordered us to bring him back…
Understood.
It must have been painful
and terrifying.
I hated it
and felt ashamed.
You have no reason to be.
Those who did this to you are the ones who should be ashamed.
But still, I am the one…
left with the scars.
Just as your pain
remains here…
and here.
I hope that one day,
both our scars…
will fade from sight and memory.
They do not have to fade from sight or memory.
They just need to be seen, acknowledged,
and embraced, as I will do for you.
We should go to bed.
I am convinced
that the prince will try to blame me for all his crimes.
Hence, we must find the Soul Reaper first
and use him as our shield against the prince.
Yes, sir.
What are you doing?
You dropped this.
Right.
I'm going to visit the village.
Very well.
-I will collect some firewood. -Okay.
Tell me the location of your hideout.
If you do that for me,
you may leave here with this unscathed.
Should you refuse,
you shall be killed immediately.
I am not here to take you back.
I am simply here to tell you why you must return.
Save your breath.
The Soul Reaper
cannot stay by your side.
In the near future, you will be left alone.
That will not happen.
That man
is dying.
I am sure you have seen red rashes on his body.
The others with paintings like him
are all either dying or already dead.
To turn their skin into painting paper,
Chief Merchant Sim bleached their skin with alum and arsenic.
The toxic buildup from them is causing such symptoms.
He will show other symptoms,
such as shortness of breath due to lung damage,
stiffness in the body, seizures,
or even loss of vision due to damaged eyes.
No, he is fine.
He may be fine for now,
but it will not be long.
Stop being absurd.
He must have known all along,
which means keeping you by his side
is cowardly and selfish--
-Enough. -You may hope otherwise.
I'm sure you wish it to happen,
but unfortunately, I do not believe you.
I only hoped to give you time to accept the truth
and a chance for you to turn away.
Even if you are telling the truth, you have nothing to look forward to.
Whatever happens,
I will never leave him.
Fine.
If you cannot sever ties yourself,
I shall do it for you.
I have visited all other physicians, pharmacists, and herbalists, but none…
You are my only hope.
Please, there must be a way.
If the patient's skin and eyes already show damage,
internally, they are likely critical.
Little can be done.
We must wait and see whether their body endures or fails.
Jae-yi?
Why are we yet to hear from Hongrang?
I told him to leave after handing over the deed of gift.
-What? -He has done his part.
Has he not?
-Kkot-nim! -Chief!
Shield us!
Kkot-nim!
Sim Yeol-guk!
How dare you!
So it was you.
How are you still alive?
Your child inside my womb
took the full impact
of the sword you sent my way.
Tell me.
Where is the Soul Reaper?
You dare!
Brother…
Chief!
Brother.
Chief!
Brother…
We must get you out of here.
What brings you here?
The Soul Reaper.
You are planning to challenge the prince by catching him first, I suppose.
Let me ask you. How did you know to come here?
I see.
I suppose the answer is obvious.
I had a treacherous thief under my wing.
What a waste of valuable information I paid a hefty price for.
The Soul Reaper is not here.
The Geomgyedan have been attacked, and In-hoe has been taken captive?
I must go.
What can you do in your condition?
You are unwell, are you not?
So you knew?
Why did you not say?
I feared it would cause you pain,
deepen your guilt, and make you suffer.
That is why I must go now,
before my condition worsens and while I am still of any use.
If I do not break their hold,
you will live forever looking over your shoulder, as I did.
I must go to protect you.
Please let me
protect you.
I will return to you, Jae-yi.
I promise.
Okay.
You can go, then.
But remember
that once you return,
it will be just the two of us.
If only we had loved a little sooner.
If only.
Then all those seemingly meaningless days
would now be cherished memories.
Once you return…
from then onwards,
you must stay by my side
forever, okay?
Yes.
I will stay with you…
come what may.
Forever.
Forever
and after.
As for Mother, she said you will secure the deed with these words.
"Gently stroke
the shoulders of Mong-jun."
As for this man,
do you perhaps recognize him?
Mong-jun was the childhood name
of my father and your grandfather, the previous chief merchant.
My son has been here.
He has the deed of gift.
He will soon return
to restore everything to order.
Come along now. We must prepare to greet him.
My son!
I am not your son.
-My son. -I said no.
You are not my mother.
My dear son.
What do you possibly--
The woman you and Sim slashed not once but twice.
Her name is Kkot-nim.
She is my mother.
Who will protect her if you die?
Protect her well.
And you. I hope you survive.
I hope you live on to fully experience
how it feels to be forsaken and to lose someone dear.
What did you just say?
I would like to file a report regarding my father, Chief Merchant Sim.
The report details his years of criminal activity, along with evidence.
These Min Family's Guild ledgers demonstrate its corrupt practices.
Sim Jae-yi.
You dare…
to report me?
-Let me go! -Get off me!
Chief!
-Stop struggling! -Why are you doing this?
Tell her this.
If she wishes to find them, have the Soul Reaper come to me.
-Why are you doing this? -Let me go!
Chief!
-Let go! -Release me!
-Damn you! -Let me go!
-Let go of me! -Let me go!
Let me go!
Stop there.
Your Highness.
As you commanded,
I have brought bait to lure the painting of yin and yang.
Should I
consider you cunning
or just plain foolish?
All things have their own worth and varying degrees of importance,
so why have you brought only those that are petty and worthless…
when there is something so clearly of far greater value?
Your Highness!
That is a wicked demon disguised as a human.
That creature lured my painting of yin and yang
into forgetting its purpose and spiraling.
We must no longer leave any room for hollow regrets or misguided will.
Now drive a stake
into its heart and head.
Jae-yi!
-Jae-yi! -Jae-yi!
Let go of me!
-Jae-yi, no! -Jae-yi!
Mistress Jae-yi is in danger.
You are a tenacious one.
Kkot-nim.
I only realized once I lost you
that it had all been
Min Yeon-ui's scheming.
I tried to save and protect you in any way possible.
Perhaps I have driven myself mad
to pay for how I wronged you.
Yes, that must be it.
That must be why I failed to recognize you.
Kill me if you wish,
but please let me settle my vengeance before you do.
You know it, too, do you not?
From the very beginning,
you alone have resided in my heart.
Commence the process.
Why are you so surprised?
Did you truly think that I
would be able to kill you?
Brother!
Brother.
Jae-yi!
No, you cannot…
I am relieved.
Now, at last,
I can stop.
Truthfully,
I feared
that you would never forgive me.
Brother.
Yes.
Just hearing you call me that
used to bring me such joy.
That was
more than enough.
I am sorry
for wanting and dreaming of more.
No, Brother, please.
His wounds are not fatal.
The Soul Reaper is here. Please get to safety.
Brother.
-Go on. -Brother.
Come with us.
You must leave now.
Let us go.
I see children.
One, two, three, pull!
-Children, come. -Let's go.
In-hoe.
I am sorry
for coming so late.
Grandmaster.
Bu-yeong.
Yes?
Let us take our time.
Yes.
That child…
She seemed worried, did she not?
I told her your wounds were not fatal and that she need not worry.
Well done.
As always,
you are the only one
who truly understands me.
Do you think you could
serve her as you did me?
I would gladly oblige.
Thank you.
It is time that I be on my way.
Where will you be going?
Someplace
far away.
Back to some time that day.
That is where
I shall remain
for all eternity.
Young Master.
Jae-yi.
Jae-yi!
Take the children and get out of here.
I will be right behind you, okay?
We must go now.
Go on.
Hurry up, run!
Hurry, we are almost there.
Yes, come on inside, quick!
No, not yet.
You have returned to me.
My child,
what is it that angers you so?
Whatever it may be, do away with it.
For your wailing anger
comes from your ignorance and misunderstanding.
Why did you
do such heinous things
to me and those children?
My search for greatness
is not driven by selfish aspirations or avarice.
Rather, it is my fervent zeal
for all people.
I must become a deity.
Only then
will this country and the entire world achieve serenity.
So you are just an idiot.
You were simply a grotesque madman.
A mere nobody, bound by a vain delusion in hopes of becoming someone.
Your filthy sense of inferiority and lunacy put those children--
How dare you speak to me so boldly!
Shut it, you crazy bastard!
How could you be so foolish?
How could you be so arrogant?
Have you no sense of gratitude?
You were born into nothing but a body of lowliness and filth,
bound to rot and stink if left without a purpose.
That was your fate
until I repurposed you into a glorious being.
You must see that this was all for your good.
Not once
have I fallen asleep without fear
nor taken a breath
untainted by pain.
Not once have I truly laughed
or cried to my heart's content, yet here I am,
alive.
You've made us living corpses.
I know that, of course.
How could I not know
when I own you all?
Just have a little patience.
I shall hasten to paint new talismans, and then…
Try painting them now.
No!
Do you really think this will end…
when I draw my last breath?
I have inscribed
my spirit and soul onto your body.
I will live on with you
until the end of days.
That is not all.
As long as my paintings of virtue and infinitude remain,
a deity destined to inherit the great cause will one day reappear.
I will continue to exist with you
as my great work
carries on its legacy!
No, I will not allow it…
You saved me.
After everything ended,
I had planned to end myself too.
I knew I had to burn or tear this filth off me
to finally break free.
I had to die
to become human again.
But not anymore.
None of that matters now.
Because you made me human.
You made me a man.
This night
feels unusually long.
I wonder when morning will come.
If you feel weary,
you may rest a while.
You could take a short nap.
What if I sleep for too long?
I do not wish to keep you waiting again.
It is okay.
You may take a stroll into your dreams,
and even if you steer too far,
you can come back.
I just need you to come back.
I cannot…
see you anymore.
Even if you cannot see me,
I am here.
Now that all I see is darkness…
you are the only one who remains.
I feel your presence
even stronger now.
Just because you cannot see something
does not mean it has disappeared.
Just as you cannot see the stars on a rainy day.
That does not mean they are not there.
I will tell myself that I am simply weathering a long rainy season.
And when the time comes,
like bright stars
on a cloudless night,
come back to me.
I will.
Where…
Where should we go now?
I will go back to my place,
and you to yours.
Where is that?
My place is next to you
as your place is next to me.
Just as we are now.
I am glad.
We are both where we are supposed to be.
We just need to…
stay like this.
Like this?
What should we do next?
There is so much to do since we have done so little together.
What should we do first?
How about we go boating? It has been warm and sunny lately.
We can also enjoy the moonrise
and take a stroll beside a long stone wall.
I also want to ride a swing.
Make sure to push me so I can swing higher, okay?
And…
I hear that aster leaves are in season,
so let us make rice with them.
After we have eaten,
we can lie down on the wooden porch
and chat about anything,
and then…
2 YEARS LATER, SPRING
Madame High Shaman.
Where is my son?
I wonder where he went this time.
It is taking him so long to return.
Do not worry.
He is on his way here.
I suppose he is.
I wonder…
I wonder when he will come.
Soon.
He will be arriving shortly.
Look here. You do it like this. Be gentle with it, okay?
Here I am!
-Pick me! -Please pick me!
Let me be it!
Welcome.
Whenever this wound flares up, look at this.
Remember that I am always
holding you close.
Jae-yi.
Farewell.
IN MEMORY OF PARK ZI-A
Subtitle translation by: Jimin Choi