The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 4



< Seed money >

I was tired last night.

Because I spent the whole night thinking about how to take slush funds out of Emperor Gojong’s pocket.

‘How much was the Emperor’s secret fund?’

The contents of the article ‘Various News Topics in the World’ that I had read in a Korean newspaper flashed through my mind.

Yeah yeah.

Emperor Gojong’s slush fund was estimated to be around 2 million dollars.

‘This is quite a large amount to call it just seed money…’

If everything goes according to plan I’ll have a huge sum of money in my hands next month or so.

Emperor Gojong’s secret funds were money that would eventually be stolen by Germany and Japan if left alone.

That’s why I didn’t feel too guilty.

Wouldn’t it be better for me to take it and use it for something good rather than have someone else do it for me?

“What would you like to order?”

“Bring out coffee and an omelette.”

“yes.”

Bringing the emperor’s secret funds is not an easy task.

That’s why I stayed up all night and planned it.

‘On days like this caffeine is the answer.’

I stayed up all night so I need to recharge with some coffee and sugar.

“Ah! I’m a bit tired today so bring me some extra shots of coffee.”

“Huh? Add another shot?”

“You know when you brew coffee beans… It means that after roasting the beans you brew them one more time to make them stronger than usual.”

“Oh yes. I will do that.”

“Why don’t you ask me to do it?”

I looked at Woo Hyun-sik who followed me down and asked.

Then Woo Hyun-sik.

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“Shouldn’t we save some money?”

And showed the aftermath.

“This guy too… Here. Bring me a cup of coffee.”

“You must save it Your Majesty!”

Woo Hyun-sik is my financial manager who manages my funds.

Last night when I was checking my assets I was a bit annoyed because I didn’t have any money saved…

This guy makes a really awkward sharp sound.

‘How timid…’

for a moment….

Let’s think again.

Who has spent all that money so far?

This is Lee Kang.

Even though Woo Hyun-sik tried hard to dissuade him from the beginning Lee Kang spent a lot of money on the party and invited people.

‘This guy did nothing wrong.’

Just timid.

You managed your money well.

If you think about it there is no debt right?

“I’m saying this because I’m uncomfortable. Come on eat.”

“No you can’t. You have to save it.”

Eight!

They say that even if you save small amounts of money like this you won’t become rich.

If people saved money like this and lived well everyone in the world would be rich.

“You have to eat to live. Then wouldn’t you work hard?”

“….”

“Last night… Ahem. I’m sorry. I forgot about my past behavior.”

Woo Hyun-sik makes a surprised expression.

but.

It’s rare to see a superior apologizing.

“Okay…. So let’s eat breakfast now. Waiter. Bring me one more from the same menu.”

Woo Hyun-sik nodded slightly at my suggestion.

Perhaps my mind was a little at ease as soon as breakfast was served I started munching on food.

‘It looks delicious.’

Watching Woohyunsik inhale food makes me curious.

What is my relationship with interest?

Why did interest follow me to this far away place?

‘Now that I think about it Woo Hyun-sik is related to the deceased Won’s body by blood.’

Not royalty though.

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Woo Hyun-sik is Lee Kang’s biological mother’s second cousin.

Is that why?

The time I spent with Lee Ja after possessing this body was only two weeks but I feel quite close to him perhaps because of the memories of Lee Kang that remain in my head.

‘I guess that’s because we’ve been through a lot together since we were young.’

Oh by the way.

There were two people who followed me to America.

One was Woo Hyun-sik who was next to me right now and the other was Choi Hyun-woo.

Until a few days ago he followed me around as if he was there and then he wasn’t there but where is Choi Hyun-woo today?

“Ah… There’s someone else besides you.”

“yes?”

“Choi Hyun-woo. Where is he now?”

He quickly asked about the other vassals’ status.

Then Woo Hyun-sik picked up the coffee cup he had just received and looked at me again.

“I left the hotel early in the morning because I had some business to attend to.”

“Leaving the hotel?”

It is said that he rushed to the post office following someone from the Japanese government.

‘I followed a Japanese government agent…’

A feeling of uneasiness came over me.

For a long time I just ate and reminisced about Choi Hyun-woo.

* * *

“majesty.”

“Speak.”

“I see Ho-seon (Choi Hyun-woo’s ship) over there. It looks like he just arrived at the hotel.”

As Woo Hyun-sik said I saw Choi Hyun-woo in my eyes.

He stands out easily as he walks among short Japanese people.

Choi Hyun-woo also noticed us and hurried over to us.

“majesty.”

I motioned to Choi Hyun-woo who had just returned to join me.

“I came looking for you for a moment… Where have you been until now?”

When asked where he was going Choi Hyun-woo answered quickly.

“I had to go to the post office urgently.”

“Friendship?”

“Yes. I heard that a telegram had arrived from Hanyang so I started moving early in the morning to give it to Your Majesty as soon as possible. Here it is.”

Choi Hyun-woo handed me a piece of paper.

The telegram’s contents were interpreted.

“Hmm… Let’s see.”

I sent someone the other day.

I would like you to send some of the good men working at my house to Tokyo.

Because I wanted to get to know my people a little more before leaving for America.

A reply came by telegram confirming receipt of this.

“…Okay. Is this the end?”

“yes.”

“In Hanyang? How is my return to Korea progressing?”

“that is….”

I have no intention of going back.

But in order to get his hands on his father’s slush funds he had to keep pretending that he wanted to enter Joseon.

‘I need to meet some people.’

The relationship between the owner of the original body and his father King Gojong is not very good.

About four years ago some hard-line progressive reformists launched a radical revolution.

Although it ended in failure the problem occurred next.

‘It was just a spark that flew.’

These failed traitors tried to make Yi Gang the new emperor instead of Gojong.

Without even Lee Kang knowing.

Because of this King Gojong Lee Kang’s biological father began to dislike his son.

Due to the concubine’s instigation the relationship between the two rich men worsened further.

‘I’m not the kind of person who would easily give up slush funds…’

The target of attack should be the treasure keeper not King Gojong.

The blue-eyed safekeeper.

I had to talk to Hulbert.

‘To meet him either I have to go to Joseon or Hulbert has to come to Japan.’

In some ways returning to Joseon would be the easiest but the problem was that once you go in when will you be able to get out?

In addition since Joseon will be monitoring my movements in real time it will not be easy to meet the vault keeper who manages the slush funds.

Then there is only one option left.

It was necessary to invite Hulbert to Japan as naturally as possible.

‘That requires acting.’

There was a reason why I sipped coffee at the hotel from the morning.

I hope everyone knows about the conversations we’re having today.

I took a deep breath and then started screaming.

“It’s the same thing again. Wait! Wait a little longer! You’re just repeating it like a parrot.”

Boom- Boom-

He made a loud noise by banging his fist on the table.

I used my voice with all my might.

“what?”

“What is that Asian guy so excited about?”

All eyes are on you.

It is as I intended.

‘Okay… watch me. And relay the conversation we have.’

I started getting angrier and angrier so everyone could hear.

“How long do I have to wait! Eight!”

I got up from my seat and headed outside.

My vassals and watchmen followed me.

* * *

Act 1 is over.

It’s time to prepare for the next act.

He continued to maintain an excited expression and moved to his room for a while.

“majesty.”

“Okay.”

Time for dinner again.

I came out with two Koreans.

“boss!”

That was when.

Blue-eyed foreigners approached us in front of the hotel.

Familiar faces.

“Bo-o-s!”

“Whew… Boss. It was so hot I thought I was going to die.”

These people are impressive with their freckles and red hair.

Although their body sizes are all different their faces are similarly colored.

I expressed my joy at seeing them.

“Aaron. And Kaplan Max.”

These are the ones who followed me from America.

These are the people who became connected when Lee Kang first arrived in the U.S. and helped pay for their mother’s hospital bills.

‘It’s also the result of studying abroad for six years.’

The three brothers were Americans of Irish immigrant origin.

That means they are not upper class but closer to the lower class.

That’s why they call me a boss not a prince.

The word prince was strange and reminded them of the British royal family whom they hated so Lee Kang personally ordered them to call him boss.

‘That’s what connections are.’

When it comes to spending money everyone wants to be friendly with you.

But when there is nothing more to exploit those connections disappear like bubbles.

Prince of the Orient.

When you first saw it you were probably curious and thought you could get something from it.

But he is a loser with no influence in his home country let alone a successor.

It turns out that even your wallet is empty.

People will quickly turn away.

‘Where did these guys come from?’

In American upper-class society Lee Kang was just a subject of gossip.

In the end only Lee Ja followed Lee Kang to the end.

“Yeah…. What did I tell you to find out?”

After returning to my room very angry I asked the people staying in the room next door for a few things.

These are the people who did a lot of the odd jobs that Lee Kang had them do while they were studying abroad in the US.

As expected from those who are loyal to their boss they earned their keep.

“Here it is.”

Aaron the eldest and head of the three brothers handed me the documents.

The note is written in English.

When I pointed to the note Aaron opened his mouth.

“The earliest boat to Tsushima is tomorrow. The next one is next Monday and the one after that….”

Max who is a man but has a very innocent voice chimed in from the side.

“Boss. While you’re at it why don’t you go to Dongrae or Incheon? Why are you going to Tsushima where there’s nothing to see?”

The facial expressions of the two Korean vassals change in real time.

One of them turned pale while the other’s face turned ashen.

‘Yeah yeah. Be more noisy.’

Even in the memories that Lee Kang gave Max was a very oblivious and chatty person.

As expected even now Lee Kang is acting according to his memories.

Max continued to grin no matter what people around him thought.

“I heard Tsushima isn’t much of a place… If the weather is good it doesn’t take even a day to get from Tsushima to Dongrae right? Why don’t you take this opportunity to return to your homeland?”

“Max. The boss must have a deeper meaning. He said the other day that he hadn’t been granted permission to enter the country yet.”

“Can’t you just ignore that and go hyung? Boss our boss is a prince. What are you so afraid of that you’re so afraid of?”

As the conversation began to take a strange turn Choi Hyun-woo quickly intervened.

“Your Majesty. Are you really planning to go to Tsushima as they say?”

huh?

I am calm.

He looked at Choi Hyun-woo with a face that asked what he had done wrong.

“I was frustrated with just staying in Tokyo so I asked my friends to look into the Tsushima ferry schedule.”

What did I do wrong?

If I think about it I didn’t necessarily have to be in Tokyo in the first place.

It exists because Tokyo is the only developed place in Japan.

‘Plus I’m here because I have easy access to telegrams and can communicate quickly with my home country.’

What do you do living near the telegraph?

Negotiations are supposed to be conducted between people.

‘In short you’re saying that you don’t necessarily have to be here.’

I shrugged and answered.

“Since you’re already in Japan shouldn’t you travel around the provinces as well?”

“Hey boss. Let’s go to Dongrae instead. What was the purpose of coming here in the first place?”

Aaron taps Max’s side.

It seems that he was observing the frozen faces of the Joseon vassals and grasping the mood.

“Oh why? Then. How long are you going to wait?”

Then Max started to get really annoyed.

Oh my. Good job guy.

“majesty!”

Choi Hyun-woo read my expression and threatened me.

“If you attempt to enter the country without His Majesty’s permission….”

“It is a sin. Yes. I know that very well.”

I answered with a very clever expression on my face.

And then he added snapping his fingers:

“But… I am His Majesty’s child. Would His Majesty punish me for returning to my home?”

< Seed money > End