The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 97



< Regime Change >

While Lee Kang struggled to build connections with high-ranking officials in the United States the Korean Empire was slowly being eroded by Japanese capital.

The Japanese-style high-class restaurants that are popping up all over Hanyang can be seen as one example of this.

“Hye-yeon.”

The character Hye-yeon was a woman who worked as a handyman at a restaurant called Ihwajeong that had just been established this year.

Hye-yeon’s family sold her for a small sum of money 500 nyang.

Slavery was abolished ten years ago but trade is still carried on secretly and she has been working here penniless for three years.

“Hye-yeon.”

“yes?”

Hye-yeon was very sad at first.

But as time passed I became more and more indifferent.

There may be several reasons but the biggest reason is that unlike in the past people no longer go hungry.

“You come here and have a bowl of buckwheat noodles.”

“Yes. I’m going.”

There were quite a few staff members living in Ihwajeong.

From technicians in charge of clothing repairs.

A musician who plays a musical instrument.

A parasite who serves people and sometimes even sells her body.

And even the servants and domestic servants who do all kinds of odd jobs.

People of various classes lived together.

“Here it is. Come here.”

Among the numerous employees.

There was one person who took special care of Hye-yeon and his name was Gaedong.

Although Gaedongi was only sixteen years old he was strong and eight feet tall which was rare for that era.

“It’s really delicious. Eat it quickly before someone steals it.”

“thank you.”

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“Hey what…..”

Gaedongi quickly handed Hyeyeon the noodles he had prepared separately for her.

Hye-yeon was careful with her chopsticks and Gaedong-i smiled brightly for a while as if he found that adorable before quickly turning his gaze back to his bowl.

Slurp-

Slurp-

The dog poops and scratches his head.

hereto.

One of the musicians who was watching Gaedongi playing with noodles grabbed a spoon and hit Gaedongi on the head.

“Ah! Why are you hitting me?”

“You bastard. How can you eat noodles so obscenely!”

“I’m just happily eating a bowl of noodles. Why are you so angry?”

The musician put down his spoon and began to give a long speech.

“If you eat like that outside you’ll hear people ask you who taught you table manners. You idiot I’m giving you this advice just for you. Instead of bowing your head in gratitude why don’t you open your eyes?”

“Tch.”

Gaedongi grumbled and ignored the musician’s words.

He put his head down and quickly began eating the remaining buckwheat noodles.

“You piece of shit.”

“huh?”

Hye-yeon thought back to the story her mother had told her and gave Gaedongi some careful advice.

“As my mother said you should swallow noodles quietly when you eat them.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. I heard that if you eat dog poop while making noise like you and splashing the soup people will curse you behind your back.”

Gaedongi with a very aggrieved expression on his face told Hye-yeon about the scenery he had seen last time.

“Did all the staff members of the Government-General of Korea who came from Namsan eat like me?”

A musician who was drinking the remaining broth next to them joined their conversation.

“Aren’t they just shallow Japanese? You are a Korean. Koreans should eat like Koreans observing table manners. You are trying to eat things that have no basis!”

Gaedong-yi stuck out his mouth and suppressed his discontent inside.

The lady the owner of this house also made the same noise and was squeezing her face.

He didn’t say these words out loud but thought about them quietly to himself as he began to eat the rest of his meal.

“oh!”

“Madam.”

“Oh you’re here?”

A woman who could be called the owner of Ihwajeong appeared.

Her outfit changed from time to time.

Some days she dressed like a noblewoman and other days she dressed like the wife of a Western bastard.

Sometimes I dress like a Japanese person and today was one of those days.

“What are you all doing? Aren’t you all working briskly? Have you forgotten that His Excellency the Governor is stopping by here today?”

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“Oh yes ma’am.”

At the woman’s scolding all the employees working at Ihwajeong put down their rice bowls and hurriedly returned to their seats.

Hye-yeon and Gae-dong like the others tried to put down their food bowls.

“Hey you piece of shit.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“You finish eating and go.”

The woman grabbed Gaedongi and ordered him to finish the rest of his lunch.

“What good would it do you if you went? You can’t cook either.”

The owner of Ihwajeong approached Gaedongi a little closer.

She started feeling Gaedongi’s body here and there.

“Oh my. You’re all grown up and healthy now… You don’t have a single wrinkle maybe because you’re young.”

Gulp-

Although she was a bit older she was still a woman.

Gaedongi’s face turned red in the strange atmosphere.

“Oh my I thought it was just the outside but it’s actually really solid inside.”

“Madam.”

This is Joseon.

A place where you can’t even imagine doing something menial outside.

The woman sat up again her mouth watering.

“Come on eat. The noodles will burn.”

Gaedongi looked back and forth between the madam in front of him and Hye-yeon’s back as she returned to her seat then began to inhale the remaining noodles.

Slurp- slurp-

The woman looked pleased at this.

“How can food look so delicious?”

“Madam.”

“huh?”

“People say I’m rude and greedy when I see them eating… Does the sight of me eating make you happy Madam?”

“then.”

The woman looked at Gaedongi and was reminded of a man.

“Even His Majesty the Governor-General eats delicious noodles like this. Eating with a loud noise is the best compliment to a chef. All subjects of the Empire of Japan behave like this so you should continue to eat like this too.”

“…yes.”

The woman rested her chin on her hand and recalled the past.

“When I look at you I can almost picture His Majesty the Governor-General in his younger days. I bet His Majesty the Governor-General was even more handsome when he was younger…”

The woman took out a pouch from her waist.

There was something very precious inside.

“Dog poop. Do you like candy?”

“Candy reason?”

“Mom you don’t know candy yet? Then do you want to try it?”

“and….”

The dog who ate the candy made a face of rapture.

“Do you want to eat more?”

“yes.”

“Then in the future please tell me what the employees here are talking about.”

“yes?”

“It doesn’t really mean anything I just want to know what you need.”

Does it really mean nothing?

Gaedong thought for a moment.

But the delicious candies in front of him were so tempting that he grabbed two of them and answered the woman.

“Yes I will do so.”

“Okay. I’ll look forward to it.”

Gaedong quickly grabbed two candies in his hand and headed towards Hye-yeon.

‘As expected the lower class people are obsessed with food.’

For a while.

The woman who was thinking about Gaedongi looked at his back and soon walked towards her room.

* * *

“Your Excellency have you arrived?”

The owner of Ihwajeong.

The ambassador welcomed Ito Hirobumi.

She was also the adopted daughter of Ito Hirobumi and was a prominent pro-Japanese collaborator in Joseon.

He met with Emperor Gojong and Empress Dowager separately to threaten them and he also gathered rumors within the palace and reported them to Ito.

The fort was in charge of running a high-class restaurant near the Residency-General and comforting the Japanese employees working there.

“Even as time goes by you become more beautiful with each passing day.”

“Your Excellency I am also very grateful to you…”

Ito handed his coat to the dispatcher.

The person who arranged it folded it carefully as if it were a sacred vessel and hung it on a hanger.

“Your Excellency I have prepared a special gift for you today.”

“gift?”

“yes.”

At the beckoning of the conductor the women come in.

These are gisaengs who have just set foot in Namsanjeong.

“I’m seeing these kids for the first time.”

“Yes. They are women who have not yet put their hair up. Among them there are also daughters of noble families.”

Like any man of this era the highest echelons of Japan were very fond of women and made it known.

Ito was the TOP of TOP among them.

After taking office as the first Resident-General of Joseon he had a woman in his arms every night with the intention of taking all the women in Joseon.

The number is well over three digits.

The Koreans clicked their tongues and secretly despised Ito’s indecency.

However Ito did nothing even after receiving reports of gossip directed at him.

This is because in this era for a Japanese man to have many women was not a flaw but a point of pride.

“Why would you let this child’s father come here? He is the daughter of a noble family.”

What Ito loves most is taking the best women in Joseon.

The messenger told Ito about the woman’s true circumstances in front of him.

“Weren’t the traitors who were captured in Chungju a week ago executed en masse?”

“yes.”

“One of them is this child’s father.”

“Oh really?”

When Ito suddenly grabbed her hand the finely powdered woman began to tremble.

Ito consoled her like a baby.

“It’s okay it’s okay. It’s scary at first but as time goes by you’ll forget everything.”

“omg.”

The woman was so scared that she peed on the floor.

“oh my.”

Ito was not surprised by this.

Because I’ve had this experience several times already.

“I guess I need to wash up a bit. I can’t go on a business trip in this condition.”

“Yes Your Excellency the Inspector General.”

At the gesture of the messenger the people took the woman out.

She pleaded with him for help but Bae Jeong-ja turned away from her face and sat quietly next to Ito.

“Father.”

“okay.”

Bae Jeong-ja is Ito’s adopted daughter.

In front of people he used the title of “Your Excellency the Governor-General” but when the two were alone he spoke to Ito in Japanese.

“Are you having a hard time these days?”

The dispatcher rubbed Ito’s shoulder and expressed his concern.

“Are you okay? Your face looks worried these days.”

“I can’t hide it from you. You read my mind like a ghost…”

Ito turned his head 360 degrees as if his fatigue was relieving.

But his face was still full of worry.

“Because it’s you tell me what’s on your mind. Actually I’m not okay. I’m having a lot of internal and external troubles.”

Ito informed Bae Jeong-ja of the current local atmosphere in Japan.

“There will be an election on the mainland next month. Unfortunately… I don’t think the results will be good for me and for Japan.”

“How much is it?”

“Very much. If we do something wrong the regime could change.”

“this….”

The caregiver stopped the massage he was giving and sat down in front of Ito with a disappointed expression on his face.

Ito held her hand tightly without saying a word.

“Then Father….”

“I might leave this Joseon land for a while.”

“No that won’t work.”

“….”

“The only one who can rule these foolish and lowly Koreans is my father. Of course I am not saying this with any disdain for my father’s other colleagues…”

“I know your heart very well. I think so too.”

The arrogant Ito believed that only he and his faction could rule Joseon very effectively.

The same was true for Bae Jeong-ja who was a pro-Japanese collaborator.

“I’m really worried. If that guy Katsura Taro really takes power again… I hate to even think about it. He’d definitely shit himself.”

Ito sighed while sipping a glass of sake.

“The colonial rule of Joseon has not yet stabilized. But that boar-like guy doesn’t know. He is a hothead who is not satisfied with the international situation. I can’t sleep at night because of him.”

That headache.

Ito was nervous that something might happen.

Ito shook his head as he recalled Katsura Taro’s face.

“But hasn’t one of your worries been resolved? Hasn’t everything been more stable these days? Thanks to you Father.”

The editor-in-chief brought up Ito’s past policies.

“Thanks to the military police assistant system public security in Joseon has stabilized considerably. Aren’t the plots of rebellion by traitors being discovered one after another?”

“Yeah. I guess that could be seen as a blessing.”

Ito was a very intelligent man.

Rather than the Japanese ruling the Koreans directly they let pro-Japanese Koreans rule the Koreans.

This was applied to the Residency-General of Korea referencing how Britain ruled India which was larger than itself.

This surprisingly worked in one go.

This is because spies seeking money and a handful of power accused numerous independence activists.

“If things continue like this Joseon will soon stabilize. However….”

“but?”

“There’s one thing that keeps bothering me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard that guy Lee Kang is getting married.”

“Are you talking about King Lee’s second son?”

“okay.”

The dispatcher recalled a man’s face.

He was a person who had a pretty face but was quick-tempered and was thought to be of little threat to Ito.

However Ito mentions Lee Kang every time he meets Bae Jeong-ja.

The frequency is gradually increasing and the vigilance towards the river is also becoming more and more severe.

“The opponent is said to be the nephew of Rockefeller the richest man in America.”

“Why are you so worried about marrying the president’s daughter or the nephew of a mere businessman?”

Ito sighed and looked at Bae Jeong-ja.

“You are saying the same thing as your fellow members. Let me explain it to you in simple terms. The United States is a country… where the influence of businessmen is strong.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Just as our Japan is influenced by the local daimyōs and military they are also influenced by the capitalists.”

“ah!”

Bae Jeong-ja nodded and immediately understood what Ito was saying.

“By any chance Father… is there anything I can do to help you? If you want I can go to America and act as a spy.”

“Okay.”

Ito shook his head back and forth.

Because many spies have already been sent to America.

Although he did not rise to an important position isn’t it true that some information is still being transmitted to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Residency-General?

“You are helping me by staying here in the Korean Empire. Even if I am not on this land shouldn’t you stay and help me?”

“Oh Father. Don’t say that…”

Boohoo.

The tears that Bae Jeong-ja had been holding back soon began to shed.

“Stop crying.”

Ito read the assignment carefully.

Then he soon put his nose to the nape of her neck.

“You smell so good today. It almost smells like musk.”

Bae Jeong-ja is Ito’s legal adopted daughter.

but.

Ito occasionally lusted after her which was not surprising since it was a twisted Japanese tradition.

Since Bae Jeong-ja also loved Ito she had no qualms about this relationship.

“I was thinking of taking my father with me today along with the child I sent away earlier.”

“Oh that’s a good idea. I guess I’ll have to make love to you for once.”

I can’t sleep these days because I’m worried about Lee Kang but I forget about it when I’m holding a woman.

Ito looked at the door with an expression full of anticipation.

It’s to welcome a new woman into my arms today.

* * *

Tokyo the capital of Japan.

As news of the vote counting began to arrive from those in charge of the counting the results began to reach the ears of politicians.

“Your Majesty! Greetings!”

Although it will be known only after the full counting is complete most expected that the hardliners led by Katsura Taro would win this election.

The moderates led by Saionji had been in control of the cabinet and running the government but they were unable to revive the Japanese economy which was suffering from massive debt resulting from the Russo-Japanese War.

Disappointed by this the Japanese people were once again flocking to Katsura Taro who was at odds with Saionji.

“Your Majesty. The results of the votes from Kyushu and Shikoku are also being reported one after another.”

The hardliners all bowed deeply to Katsura Taro and began swearing allegiance to him.

“Congratulations on your return to your position Your Excellency the Prime Minister!”

<Regime Change> End